This is NOT a Toy, Folks!

Interesting article at Biblical Archaeology online:

Apotropaic Guardians, Ancient Symbols, Divine Icons or Children’s Toys?
The many interpretations of Israelite plaster figurine

Biblical Archaeology Society Staff • 03/08/2012

Plaster figurines have been
 interpreted in countless
 ways, as anything from
 apotropaic spirits to toys
. While the meanings of
 these ancient symbols
 are evasive, context and
 typology are an archaeologist’s
 best tools

Clay, stone and plaster figurines have been found across the ancient world, but their significance repeatedly mystifies archaeologists. What are these ancient symbols? Could they be apotropaic guardians, children’s toys, goddesses?

Plaster figurines, such as this example from the Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa (pictured), can crumble over time, and are comparatively rare in the archaeological record. This figurine’s original context is uncertain, so it must be analyzed through comparison to other plaster figurines. Typological comparisons suggest that the statuette is Roman or Byzantine, and scholars have called some contemporary plaster figurines apotropaic. Apotropaic (meaning protective from evil spirits) is a very common designation for these ancient symbols.

Interpretations of these ancient symbols run the gamut, from games to gods. In her study of this figurine, Renate Rosenthal-Heginbottom, who has taught at the Hebrew University and digs at Tel Dor, quotes another Israeli scholar, Raz Kletter, to reject interpretations of plaster figurines as “toys, mortal figures, mother goddess, nurturing goddess, fertility goddess, [etc.]”*She then suggests the figurine had an apotropaic function.

There are many questions archaeologists can ask to evaluate the function of these ancient symbols. How and where were they made? Who worked with paints and plasters in the local communities where they were made? Are other ancient symbols or apotropaic objects created out of these materials? Are similar plaster figurines found in churches, shrines, graves, homes or workshops? Did neighboring cultures use such objects and, if so, how?

This particular figurine is painted in red and black and depicts a woman wearing a floor-length tunic with a red neckband. The roundels on her shoulders are repeated near the bottom of her skirt. On the bottom edge of the tunic is a band with triangles, colored red like the neckband. The woman has large eyes with eyebrows and wears a red cap. Between her breasts she holds a large egg-shaped object.

But who is she, and what is she holding? Without a clear context, chronology or established typology, it is impossible to say for certain. Bible History Daily readers are encouraged to offer their interpretations in our comments section below.

---

Notes

* See Renate Rosenthal-Heginbottom, “Statuettes in Clay and Plaster in the Hecht Museum Collection,” Michmanim 23 (2011), p. 21.

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Based on Strata, “What were they used for? What did they do with them?” Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 2012.

Whatever else she may be, she is NOT a toy.  No parent with half a brain would give a child a "toy" made out of plaster that could easily crack and injure the child, or as is well known in the case of young children they put objects into their mouths -- the head could break off and choke the child.  Archaeologists are parents too - they should know better than to put forward such a silly hypothesis!

As far as not even taking a "guess" as to what function this lovely figurine may have fulfilled, I ask you - have you ever heard of a figurine designed to ward off evil spirits HOLDING AN EGG?  I mean, come on folks!  The large eyes are ancient and iconic - they date all the way back to cave drawings of bird goddesses.  I think that should give anyone a clue, don't you???  The symbolism of the egg is also well known - and it has nothing to do with warding off evil spirits, darlings, unless it happens to be cheap Russian vodka...

Ancient Female Figurine 'Factory' Uncovered

Reported at the Cyprus Mail (online):
Ancient figurine ‘factory’ uncovered
Published on June 10, 2010

A BRITISH archaeology team has located evidence for the production of cruciform figurines such as the Idol of Pomos (image, left, not from the article), which is depicted on the Cypriot one and two euro coins, the Antiquities Department said yesterday.

The evidence comes from a settlement of 3000 BC located at Souskiou near Palaepaphos. The Pomos sculpture represents a woman with her arms spread. It was probably used as a fertility symbol.

“This is the first time that such detailed information on this subject has come to light in Cyprus,” a statement from the Department said.

“Among the remnants of a house lay the tools for making the figurines together with abundant fragments or chippings from the initial stages of production. These come from pebbles and blocks of raw material which the sculptors obtained, ultimately from the Troodos Mountains. A further production stage is evident from roughouts in which the figures begin to emerge from the parent rock. Also present were nearly finished figurines that were discarded because of imperfections.”

This unique evidence will allow archaeologists to reconstruct the techniques used by the prehistoric artisans and to see how the craft was organised within the Chalcolithic community. They said it was already clear that the workshop functioned in a building where domestic tasks were also carried out.

“There were many such houses at Souskiou which must have been a vibrant centre for the production of these iconic images. Eventually it may be possible to establish the characteristics of the Souskiou style and so to source some of the many figurines in museums,” the announcement added.

In another part of the settlement, the team investigated “rich economic data” such as animal bone, ceramics, charcoal and bone needles. “Normally washed away by erosion, the material here was trapped beneath buildings that were constructed over this ashy dump of food remains. It may have been deposited by temporary visitors to Souskiou before it was formally settled,” it said.

The four-week field work at the site was conducted by a team from the Lemba Archaeological Research Centre and the University of Edinburgh under the direction of Professor Edgar Peltenburg.

Ancient Female Clay Figurine Excavated in Japan

13,000-year-old clay figure found
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
May 31, 2010

OTSU--A clay figure believed to be 13,000 years old and one of the oldest in the country, was found in an archaeological site in Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture, the Shiga Prefectural Association for Cultural Heritage said.

The tiny figure, 3.1 centimeters in height and 14.6 grams in weight, depicts a female torso with breasts and a waistline.

The figure, which was discovered at the Aidanikumahara archaeological site, is from an incipient era of the Jomon Pottery Culture, according to the association.

Another female clay figure from approximately the same era was found in Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture, in 1996.