The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines
Figurines dating from prehistory have been found across the world but have never before been considered globally. The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines is the first book to offer a comparative survey of this kind, bringing together approaches from across the landscape of contemporary research into a definitive resource in the field.

The volume is comprehensive, authoritative, and accessible, with dedicated and fully illustrated chapters covering figurines from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia and the Pacific laid out by geographical location and written by the foremost scholars in figurine studies; wherever prehistoric figurines are found they have been expertly described and examined in relation to their subject matter, form, function, context, chronology, meaning, and interpretation. Specific themes that are discussed by contributors include, for example, theories of figurine interpretation, meaning in processes and contexts of figurine production, use, destruction and disposal, and the cognitive and social implications of representation.

Chronologically, the coverage ranges from the Middle Palaeolithic through to areas and periods where an absence of historical sources renders figurines "prehistoric" even though they might have been produced in the mid-2nd millennium AD, as in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The result is a synthesis of invaluable insights into past thinking on the human body, gender, identity, and how the figurines might have been used, either practically, ritually, or even playfully.
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The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines
Figurines dating from prehistory have been found across the world but have never before been considered globally. The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines is the first book to offer a comparative survey of this kind, bringing together approaches from across the landscape of contemporary research into a definitive resource in the field.

The volume is comprehensive, authoritative, and accessible, with dedicated and fully illustrated chapters covering figurines from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia and the Pacific laid out by geographical location and written by the foremost scholars in figurine studies; wherever prehistoric figurines are found they have been expertly described and examined in relation to their subject matter, form, function, context, chronology, meaning, and interpretation. Specific themes that are discussed by contributors include, for example, theories of figurine interpretation, meaning in processes and contexts of figurine production, use, destruction and disposal, and the cognitive and social implications of representation.

Chronologically, the coverage ranges from the Middle Palaeolithic through to areas and periods where an absence of historical sources renders figurines "prehistoric" even though they might have been produced in the mid-2nd millennium AD, as in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The result is a synthesis of invaluable insights into past thinking on the human body, gender, identity, and how the figurines might have been used, either practically, ritually, or even playfully.
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The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines

The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines

The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines

The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines

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Overview

Figurines dating from prehistory have been found across the world but have never before been considered globally. The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines is the first book to offer a comparative survey of this kind, bringing together approaches from across the landscape of contemporary research into a definitive resource in the field.

The volume is comprehensive, authoritative, and accessible, with dedicated and fully illustrated chapters covering figurines from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia and the Pacific laid out by geographical location and written by the foremost scholars in figurine studies; wherever prehistoric figurines are found they have been expertly described and examined in relation to their subject matter, form, function, context, chronology, meaning, and interpretation. Specific themes that are discussed by contributors include, for example, theories of figurine interpretation, meaning in processes and contexts of figurine production, use, destruction and disposal, and the cognitive and social implications of representation.

Chronologically, the coverage ranges from the Middle Palaeolithic through to areas and periods where an absence of historical sources renders figurines "prehistoric" even though they might have been produced in the mid-2nd millennium AD, as in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The result is a synthesis of invaluable insights into past thinking on the human body, gender, identity, and how the figurines might have been used, either practically, ritually, or even playfully.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780199675616
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication date: 06/13/2017
Series: Oxford Handbooks
Pages: 960
Product dimensions: 6.80(w) x 9.80(h) x 2.20(d)

About the Author

Edited by Timothy Insoll, Al-Qasimi Professor of African and Islamic Archaeology, University of Exeter

Timothy Insoll is Al-Qasimi Professor of African and Islamic Archaeology in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. Educated at the Universities of Sheffield and Cambridge, he was a Research Fellow at St John's College, Cambridge from 1995 until 1998, when he was appointed Lecturer at the University of Manchester. After becoming a Reader in 2004 and being awarded a personal chair in 2005 he moved to the University of Exeter in 2016. He is the author or editor of 16 books, three special journal issues, and numerous articles and reviews on a wide range of research topics across the discipline of archaeology, and has completed fieldwork in Mali, Ghana, western India, Bahrain, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Uganda.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Introduction1. Miniature Possibilities: An Introduction to the Varied Dimensions of Figurine Research2. The Archaeology of Figurines and the Human Body in Prehistory, Lynn Meskell3. Comparative Perspectives in the Interpretation of Prehistoric Figurines, Richard G. LesurePart 2. Africa4. Predynastic Egyptian Figurines, Alice Stevenson5. Prehistoric Figurines in Sudan, Gunnar Haaland and Randi Haaland6. The Sahara, Barbara E. Barich7. Southern Africa, Alex Schoeman8. West Africa, Timothy Insoll9. Equatorial Africa, Pierre de MaretPart 3. The Americas10. Caribbean, Andrzej Antczak and Magdalena Antczak11. Mesoamerica - Maya, Erin L. Sears12. Mesoamerica - Olmec, Christopher A. Pool13. Mesoamerica - Highland Formative (Early to Middle Formative) Figurines, Jeffrey P. Blomster14. Aztec Figurines, Lisa Overholtzer15. North America - Southwest, Polly Schaafsma16. Figurines and Figural Art of the Northwest Coast, Roy L. Carlson17. Inuguat: Prehistoric Human Figurines in the North American Arctic, William W. Fitzhugh and Bernadette Driscoll Engelstad18. South America - Andes, George F. Lau19. Figurine Traditions from the Amazon, Cristiana BarretoPart 4. Asia20. Anatolia, Ellen Belcher and Karina Croucher21. Prehistoric Figurines in China: The Deep History of Figurative Imagery in China, Sascha Priewe22. South Asia - Indus Civilization, Sharri R. Clark and J. Mark Kenoyer23. Anthropomorphic Clay Figurines of the Jomon Period of Japan, Koji Mizoguchi24. Clay Ideas: Levantine Neolithic Figurine Trajectories and Intellectual Threads, Ian Kuijt25. Figurines in Prehistoric Mesopotamia, Stuart Campbell and Aurelie Daems26. From a Bird's Eye View: Prehistoric Human Figurines from Iran, Aurelie DaemsPart 5. Australasia and the Pacific27. Wooden Figurines of Easter Island, Catherine Orliac and Michel OrliacPart 6. Europe28. Cycladic Figurines, Colin Renfrew29. Minoan and Mycenaean Figurines, Christine Morris30. Palaeolithic Central and Eastern Europe, Rebecca Farbstein31. Neolithic Eastern and Central Europe, Eszter Banffy32. Figurines of Malta, Caroline Malone and Simon Stoddart33. Mediterranean - Cyprus, Daisy Knox34. Prehistoric Figurines in Italy, Robin Skeates35. Mediterranean - Sardinia, Isabelle Vella Gregory36. Southeast European Neolithic Figurines: Beyond Context, Interpretation, and Meaning, Doug Bailey37. Palaeolithic Western and North Central Europe, Paul Pettitt38. Neolithic Figurines of Western Europe, Chris Scarre
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