Regional perspectives on the neolithic anthropomorphic imagery of northern Greece

Abstract

This article considers the ways in which regional differences in material culture are constituted and maintained, using the example of Neolithic anthropomorphic figures from northern Greece. The aim of the paper is to offer an alternative approach to the still dominant discourse that attributes variation to some sort of ethnic identity, by redirecting emphasis onto the active rehearsal of localities through the use of material culture. In this vein, some examples are offered that pertain to the production and use of figures with different traits in adjacent areas of northern Greece. © The Fund for Mediterranean Archaeology/Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2006.