| Prehistoric Figurines: Representation and Corporeality in the Neolithic Contributor(s): Bailey, Douglass (Author) |
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ISBN: 0415331528 ISBN-13: 9780415331524 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $49.39 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2005 Annotation: "Prehistoric Figurines "is a radical new approach to one of the most exciting but poorly understood artefacts from our prehistoric past. The book explores the ways that people use representations of human bodies to make subtle political points and to understand their own identities and to negotiate their relationships with friends and enemies. Moving beyond the traditional mechanisms of interpretation, the argument is an original and coherent interpretation of prehistoric figurines from southeastern Europe. The author propels the debate past the limitations of the out-dated interpretations of figurines as Mother-Goddess; Bailey investigates individual prehistoric figurines in their original archaeological contexts and in terms of modern exploitations of the human form. The book benefits from author's close understanding of the material culture and the prehistory of the Balkans and from recent developments in the fields of visual culture studies and social and cultural anthropology. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Eastern Europe - General - History | Ancient - General - Art | History - Prehistoric & Primitive |
| Dewey: 949.6 |
| LCCN: 2004023464 |
| Physical Information: 0.5" H x 6.86" W x 9.66" (1.19 lbs) 264 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Prehistoric - Cultural Region - Balkan - Cultural Region - Eastern Europe |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Fully illustrated, Prehistoric Figurines brings a radical new approach to one of the most exciting, but poorly understood artefacts from our prehistoric past. Studying the interpretation of prehistoric figurines from Neolithic southeast Europe, Bailey introduces recent developments from the fields of visual culture studies and cultural anthropology, and investigates the ways in which representations of human bodies were used by the pre-historic people to understand their own identities, to negotiate relationships and to make subtle political points. Bailey examines four critical conditions: * figurines as miniatures * figurines as three-dimensional representations * figurines as anthropomorphs * figurines as representations. Through these conditions, the study travels beyond the traditional mechanisms of interpretation and takes the debate past the out-dated interpretations of figurines as Mother-Goddess as Bailey examines individual prehistoric figurines in their original archaeological contexts and views them in the light of modern exploitations of the human form. Students and scholars of History and Archaeology will benefit immensely from Bailey's close understanding of the material culture and pre-history of the Balkans. |