De-constructing Terracotta Female Figurines: a Chalcolithic Case-study
Andrea Pizzeghello, Massimo M. V. Vidale, G. Salemi, Vincenzo Tinè, Archaeological Superintendency of the Veneto Region, Italy, Sergio Di Pilato, Pantamedica, Fidene, Italy · Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica - Natural Sciences in Archaeology · 2015
We report the results of detailed imaging studies of the inner structure of a terracotta female figurine dated to the 6 th millennium BC, most probably from the Lakes region of Turkey, now kept at the National Museum of Oriental Art "Giuseppe Tucci", Rome.The figurine was investigated with advanced CT scanning, recording 966 transversal sections.Each section was stratigraphically interpreted and digitized, reconstructing in three dimensions the form and mode of application of each lump or slab under the potter's fingers.A review of the available information on the techniques of construction of prehistoric terracotta figurines in Eurasia reveals at least two diverging technical templates, here named core and dual forming processes.The structure of the investigated figurine and its operational sequence reveals a version of the dual technical template, confirming the presence and influence, at a cognitive level, of organic analogies and a possible map of the female body in the modelling process.