Counting and comparing : figurative representation density in Neolithic Central Europe and the Balkans

Bristow, Rebecca (author), Becker, Valeska (author), Iversen, Rune (author)

As Neolithic figurative finds – that is to say anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, vessels, applications and impressions – were uncovered in Europe and the Near East, it was quickly apparent that they all shared common features over several millennia and thousands of kilometres: they were made of clay, usually depicted women, and were found in settlements. This led to cross-cultural comparisons and, in turn, wide-ranging interpretations regarding the use of figurative representations during the Neolithic. However, this cross-cultural approach eventually met its limits, as regional studies highlighted differences in features and distribution among various cultural groups. Figurative finds were, in fact, not spread evenly across Europe. While some areas yielded multitudes, others yielded none. This article addresses the challenges of making cross-cultural comparisons, and underlines the need for a quantitative and contextualized approach: introducing a new relational database containing more than 2500 figurative representations from Central Europe and the Balkans, we compare find densities across cultural groups and regional clusters in order to examine the development of clay figuration in Neolithic Europe.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Neolithic, figurines, Central Europe, Balkans, figurative representations
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 70-81
• Numbering: Vol. 52
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180568
• ISSN on article: 1854-2492
• DOI: 10.4312/dp.52.14
• COBISS.SI-ID: 272595459

Copyright

Podatek o licenci CC BY-SA 4.0 je naveden na pristajalni strani članka (glej zgoraj izvorni URL). (Datum opombe: 11. 3. 2026)

• Publication date in RUL: 11.03.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Documenta Praehistorica
• Shortened title: Doc. Praehistor.
• Publisher: Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 1854-2492
• COBISS.SI-ID: 220673792

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Štetje in primerjanje : pogostost figurativnega upodabljanja v neolitiku Srednje Evrope in Balkana

Abstract

Ko so bile v Evropi in na Bližnjem vzhodu odkrite neolitske figurativne najdbe – torej antropomorfne in zoomorfne figurice, posode, aplike in odtisi – je hitro postalo jasno, da ohranjajo skupne značilnosti skozi več tisočletij in na tisoče kilometrov daleč: izdelane so bile iz gline, običajno so prikazovale ženske in so bile najdene v naseljih. To je vodilo do medkulturnih primerjav in posledično do različnih pojasnitev uporabe figurativnih upodobitev v neolitiku. Pristop pa je sčasoma dosegel svoje meje, saj so regionalne študije pokazale razlike v značilnostih in razširjenosti med posameznimi kulturnimi skupinami. Figurativne najdbe namreč niso bile enakomerno razporejene po Evropi – nekatere regije so prinesle številne primerke, druge pa nobenega. V članku se ukvarjamo z izzivom medkulturnih primerjav in poudarjamo potrebo po kvantitativnem in kontekstualiziranem pristopu. Z uvajanjem nove relacijske baze podatkov, ki vsebuje več kot 2500 figurativnih upodobitev iz Srednje Evrope in Balkana, primerjamo pogostost najdb med kulturnimi skupinami in regionalnimi skupinami, da bi lahko preučili razvoj glinene figuralike v neolitski Evropi.

• Keywords: neolitik, figurine, Srednja Evropa, Balkan, figurativne upodobitve

Projects

• Funder: Carlsberg Foundation
• Name: A World Without Images: uncovering the absence of figurative representations in Early Neolithic Northern Europe