Marble figurines of the 3rd Millennium BC Aegean: contextual analysis of the deposition patterns of Early Cycladic marble figurines

Figurine sculpting had a long-lasting tradition in the Cyclades although marble did not attract the same attention in Neolithic times as it did during the EBA. White marble was found desirable or necessary by Early Cycladic islanders in order to craft predominantly female human figures for centuries during the EC period. Marble, even the smallest pebble offered an ideal shape for carving the human body. The aesthetic peculiarity of the figurines captured the curiosity of the research. The figurines were monopolized by an art historical perspective, meaning that they were treated as art through the prism of European art rather than as archaeological objects.
In order to gain a representative view of the emergence of the Early Cycladic marble figurines in the EBA, it became obvious that it was crucial to know, where and in which contexts these artefacts were found. Therefore, the final deposition of the figurines, their archaeological contexts including their closest associations in assemblages became essential and fundamental criteria for their further approach. The marble figurines are deeply enigmatic artefacts and perhaps will remain so, because their interpretation is almost impossible in the absence of written sources. Our imagination offers numerous avenues for speculation. The contextual evidence can contribute to their better understanding, provoking questions on different aspects relating to their possible roles and functions; but at the same time, it can contribute to making them yet more enigmatic.
The aim of this thesis is to present a new set of existing data and apply it in a systematic analysis with a comparative approach. With the result of the complex analysis and evaluation of the processed data I am looking for any discernible patterns or regularity in their deposition patterns if they had, to shed more light on their enigmatic role and function. The heterogeneous nature of the selected materials in association with the deposition of the figurines in burial, domestic and other special deposition contexts, reflect variations in the function and use of the figurines which participated in different aspects of the life and death of certain groups of people who possessed them. Such differences arose from the unique features and characteristics of the EC communities and were also incorporated into the culturally specific nature of the marble figurines that identified them as ‘Cycladic’ as opposed to other figurines from Mainland Greece, Crete or Anatolia.