Clay images in Neolithic Southeast Europe

Humans began to express themselves only during the Upper Paleolithic, carving stone and bone, and only occasionally using clay. Only later were terracotta anthropomorphic figurines produced in large numbers, becoming one of the most enigmatic components of the “Neolithic package” of European first farmers. In the last decades, many interpretative hypotheses, new perspectives, and interesting ideas have been offered to interpret the essential meaning, semiotic significance, and possible social function of anthropomorphic figurines. These clay statuettes are indeed a challenging enigma since they represent tangible surviving evidence of ancient human beliefs and behaviors. Anthropomorphic figurines are considered an important indicator of cultural affiliation and contacts. Moreover, by observing in detail the way human body representations were shaped, constructed, used, and discarded, we can try to infer the ultimate significance of prehistoric statuettes and shed light on past human societies. Modelling something with clay is an act of creation, act and firing is a consolidating step of this creative process.