This book examines ancient figurines from several world areas to address recurring challenges in the interpretation of prehistoric art. Sometimes figurines from one context are perceived to resemble those from another. Richard G. Lesure asks whether such resemblances play a role in our interpretations. Early interpreters seized on the idea that figurines were recurringly female and constructed the fanciful myth of a primordial Neolithic Goddess. Contemporary practice instead rejects interpretive leaps across contexts. Dr Lesure offers a middle path: a new framework for assessing the relevance of particular comparisons. He develops the argument in case studies that consider figurines from Paleolithic Europe, the Neolithic Near East and Formative Mesoamerica.

This book examines ancient figurines from several world areas to address recurring challenges in the interpretation of prehistoric art.

About the Author
Richard G. Lesure is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He conducts archaeological fieldwork in Mexico and has authored papers on prehistoric figurines in Current Anthropology and the Cambridge Archaeological Journal. His most recent book is Settlement and Subsistence in Early Formative Soconusco.

Reviews
"Recommended." -Choice



Book Information
ISBN 9780521197458
Author Richard G. Lesure
Format Hardback
Page Count 260
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 760g
Dimensions(mm) 262mm * 185mm * 18mm