HESPERIA

72 (2003)

Pages 4 os-44 6

PAI

NTE

CYCLADIC

EARLY
FIGU

RES

AN EXPLORATION
OF CONTEXT
ANDMEANING

ABSTRACT
EarlyCycladicmarblefigureswerecommonlyenrichedwith paintedpatterns.Certainmotifsoccuron a greatnumberof figures,supportingthe hypothesisthatsmallcommunitiesseparated
byspaceaswellastimewishedto
acknowledge
andconfirmculturalunity.Otherpatternsarerelativelyrare,
suggestinga needto expresssmallergroupor individualidentities(perhaps
associated
with particularevents).Possiblefunctionsandmeaningsfor the
figuresareproposedhereon the basisof thesepaintedmotifs,the archaeologicalcontextsof the figures,andethnographic
parallels.

INTRODUCTION
Theexamination
ofEarlyCycladic
figures
incollections
intheUnitedStates
andabroadmakesit clearthatmostwerefinishedwith strongcolorsin
patterns
thatarenot easilyfathomable
to observers
today(e.g.,Fig. 1).1
Ihaveexamined
approximately
450suchfigures
undervarious
conditionsmostlythroughvitrineglass-and haverecordedevidencefor painton
morethan200 examples(e.g.,Figs.2, 3). To thisnumbercanbe added
many
figureswithevidenceforpaintthatI haveseenonlyin published
illustrations.2
Whyweretheseworkspainted?In orderto approach
this
question,
we mustaskanother:
Whyweretheymadeat all?
1.This studycouldnot havebeen
carried
to thispointwithoutthe
generous
encouragement
andcritical
advice
overthe lastseveralyearsof
Tony
Frantz,PatGetz-Gentle,Gunter
Kopcke,
JoanMertens,JohnM. Russell,
andGeorgeWheeler.My debtto
caretakers
of collectionsin Greeceand
the
UnitedStatesis gratefully
acknowledged;
in particular
I wishto thank
Katie
Demokopoulou,
DollyGoulandris,
NikolaosKaltsas,MarisaMarthari,
JoanMertens,PhoteiniZapheiropoulou,
andEos Zervoudaki.

Ihavealsobenefitedfromthe comments
of audiencemembersat the
Bronze
Age Colloquiumin NewYork,
where
I presentedan earlierversionof
thispaperon February
11,2002.I am
grateful
to RobertKoehlforinviting
meto presentmyworkthere.My
thanks
alsoto the editorof Hesperia
and
to the anonymous
reviewers,
whose
suggestions
greatlyimprovedthe text.
All photographs
anddrawingsare
the
workof the author.
2. The majorityof EarlyCycladic
(EC)
figuresillustrated
in catalogues

donot comefromdocumented
excavations.
Theseexamplescannonetheless
provideinformation
abouttheir
original
appearance
if oneis willingto
take
the timeto checkforsurface
patterns
capturedbythe photograph
(which
is usuallycomposedandlit to
show
formratherthansurfacetexture).
Some
of the mostusefulillustrations
can
be foundin the followingcatalogues:
Zervos1957;Thimmeand
Getz-Preziosi
1977;Doumas1983;
Getz-Preziosi
1987a,1987b;GetzGentle
2001;Renfrew1991.

American School of Classical Studies at Athens

is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
Hesperia

www.jstor.org

406

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

In this articleI seekto identifysomeof the possiblefilnctionsand

meaningsassociated
with the paintedfiguresof the EarlyBronzeAge
Cyclades.3
Toaddress
therelationship
betweenindividuals
andthemarble
figuresthattheymadeandused,I consideronlysometypesof evidence
relevant:
1) themarblefiguresthemselves,
theirformsandespecially
their
paintedsurfaces,
whicharemademorevisiblebyvariousmethodsofdocumentation;
and2) patternsof deposition,
the archaeological
contextsof
thefigures.I assumethatananalysis
of theartifacts-thevisualinformation-will allowus to addressmyoriginalquestions:
howdidthemarble
figuresfilnctionin EarlyCycladic
communities,
andwhat(various
things)
couldtheyhavemeantto the peoplewho usedthem?That is, canwe
discernthesortsof memories
thatwerebeingmaintained
andtransmitted
bythefigures?4
The pursuitof thesequestionsmayalsorevealwhothose
peoplewere.Whyweresomeindividuals
associated
withthefigureswhile
otherswerenot?
APPROACHES TO THE MATERIAL
In referringbelowto EarlyCycladic"culture(s)"
I mean,in a general
Childeansense,thetendencyfora groupof peoplelivingin theCyclades
to expressa commonidentityby makingartifacts
or usingmaterialin a
broadly
consistent
way.Thisexpression
maychangeovertime,andsmaller
groupswithinthe greaterenduringcommunity
will addto andsubtract
fromthebasicculturalcomplex,givingit a localflavor.Noneof thatdiminishestheoverriding
"pan-Cycladic"
identitythatcanberecognized
as
such(now,and,I wouldargue,duringthe EarlyBronzeAge),madetangiblein stone,clay,andmetal,andthroughburialhabitsandotherbehaviorslessresistantto the passageof time.5Thislargercommunity
mayin
facthaveencompassed
onlysomeof theinhabited
islands,butthesalient
featureis thatmultiplesmallgroupsseemto havealliedthemselvesto
forma largerentitycapableof satisfying
generalneeds.
Comparisons
to othercultures
willbe madewhenrelevant.
TheseincludeNeolithicgroupsfromtheAegean,aswellasmodernnonindustrial
groupsdescribed
in theanthropological
andethnographic
literature.
Neolithicexamples
areusefulforinsightstheyprovideregarding
thepossible
originsof (anddepartures
from)EarlyCycladicattitudestowardtheuse
3. Thefunctionof the paintedpatternwasto alerttheviewerthatanotherlayerof meaningwaspresenton the
figure,whereasthe meaning
of the particularmarkings
wouldhavebeenunderstoodonlyby thosewho hadbeen
taughtthe correspondence
between
motif(includingplacementon the body
of the figure,color,contextof application)andconcept.SeeHoffman2002,
p. 525,andespeciallyTalalay
1993,
p. 38, fora generaldefinitionof the
terms"function"
and"meaning"
in archaeological
scholarship.

4. MelionandKuchler(1991,p. 3)
definememoryas"aprocessprecipitatedandshapedbythe relayingof
visualinformation."
5. As Nakou(1995,p. 13)writes,
"theuseof metaltechnologies
was
tiedto thelife cycleof its users,while
the persistence
of the abstractforms
throughconstantrepetitionandrecreationwitheachgeneration,
ensured
the timelesscontinuityof groupidentitywithinandabovethe individual
community."

PAINTED

Figure1. EarlyCycladicmarble
figurefromKeros,Kavos.H. 54.5 cm.
Naxos,ArchaeologicalMuseum,
Chora,4691.

EARLY CYCLADIC

FIGURES

4o7

408

ELIZABETH

etOt

w40>

A. HENDRIX

Figure2 (lefi). Detail of painted

nostrilson EarlyCycladicfoldedarmfigure;no knownfindspot.
H. 36.3 cm. New York,Metropolitan
Museumof Art 34.11.3, Fletcher
Fund,1934.
Figure3 (below). Sketchof Early
Cycladic"Violin"figuresfrom
Naxos,Akrotiri,tombs20 (Naxos,
ArchaeologicalMuseum,Chora,
1993) and21 (Naxos,Archaeological
Museum,Chora,no visibleaccession
number).

p.e.

bc\ - -\ts

sb t<

v ,qX

>
of

7 oe

bv-_ ;
v sowt cf iSk^"
ob\z

tu.eTH
..

./

,...

.zA (

. 8'D
,{-

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v4'F'sy
|W

reve t

PAINTED

EARLY CYCLADIC

FIGURES

4o9

Studiesof moderngroups
markings.6
of figuresandthefunctionof surface
with figuresand
areusefulfor suggestingpossiblemeaningsassociated
especially
theirpainted"skins."
in graves,
The EarlyCycladicfiguresarefoundalmostexclusively
data.Recentworkhasmadeuse
prompting
theneedto examinemortuary
betweenprehistoric
the relationship
of severalmethodsfor considering
Forexample,typesof burialgoods
Aegeanpeoplesandtheircemeteries.
with,among
fromEarlyandMiddleMinoanCretehavebeencorrelated
aswellasrankingbothin life andin
otherthings,"socialdifferentiation"
types
we tendto assumethatartifact
death.7
In makingthesecorrelations,
valuableto the people
we findvaluabletodaywouldhavebeensimilarly
on indiwhomadethemin thepast,andthata similarstatusis conferred
is madethatthereare
vidualsburiedwiththesegoods.The assumption
labor-intentovalueexoticorrarematerials,
consistent
humantendencies
skills.8As we shallsee,the archaeological
siveproducts,
andspecialized
had
datafromthe EarlyBronseAge suggestthatdifferentindividuals
andwithinthis groupsomehadacaccessto certainkindsof artifacts,
rare,areknownfora
tombs,although
quiredmoreof them.Well-provided
goodsthatwerenot
fewindividuals,
butthesedidnotcontain(preserved)
aboutsocialstratifiavailable
to others.It is difficultto drawconclusions
individuals,
butwe maysurmisethatparticular
cationfromthisevidence,
setsof material.9
hadaccessto particular
whether"rich"
or"poor,"
that
is the assumption
Underlying
muchof thefollowingdiscussion
withcertain
humanbeingsmake,use,andbecomeintimatelyassociated
andcontrolthe worldthey
kindsof objectsthathelpthemunderstand
inhabit.The veryexistenceof gravetypes,burialgoods,andotherclues
thatthe EarlyCycladic
regarding
attitudestowarddeathdemonstrates
to helpthem
specificsetof behaviors
peopleshadworkedouta culturally
thepastfour
thathavesurvived
remains
copewiththisevent.Thematerial
to fivemillenniacanthusbe treatedaswindowsto someaspectsof this
behavior,
andthemarblefiguresarea partof thisevidence.I wouldstress
solefunction;as
here,however,thatfinaldepositionneednot represent
withthepaintedmotifssuggests
detailedbelow,someevidenceassociated
usesforthe figurespriorto burial.
6. The paintedmotifsfoundon
MiddleandLateNeolithic(MN, LN)
terracotta
figuresfromtheAegeanand
surrounding
coastsprovideapparent
antecedents
forsomeof the motifs
foundon EC marblefigures.Difficult
to explain,however,is the dearthof
on the decreased
surfaceembellishment
figures
numberof anthropomorphic
recovered
fromsitesdatingto the Final
Neolithic(FN) period,justpriorto the
EarlyBronzeAge (EBA).Thereare
twopossibilities:
eitherthe motifswere
materialssuch
carriedon in perishable
aswood,cloth,orbodypaint;or the
apparent
linksareasfortuitousas

parallelsdrawnbetweenskinembellishmentsin modernNew Guineaor

AfricaandstrikinglysimilarEC deof allthe
signs.Closeexamination
beforeone alterevidenceis necessary
nativecanbe favoredoverthe other.
7. Karytinos1998,pp.78-79;Maggidis1998,pp.87-91.
8. See Helms1993fora fulltreatmentof thisthesis.
9. Broodbank
(2000,p. 263)
andwithobservesthat"possession
drawal[of goods]throughfianerary
depositionwasstartingto be reworked
in a fewpartsof the Cycladesinto a
meansof definingstatusor controlling

value,anincipienttrendthatwasdrasticallyamplifiedin EBII."Helms
(1993,pp.3-4) alsoarguesthatposor skills
sessionof specialmaterials
(amongotherthings)definesandis
to the "elite."
I wouldrather
restricted
remainmoreneutral,andusethe term
forthosewho areactively
"specialists"
materials
or
withrestricted
associated
skills.MetcalfandHuntington(1991,
p. 17) alsocautionthatthe equationof
for
on graveconstruction,
expenditure
example,withthe statusof the deceased
is risky;muchmoreeffortmighthave
or otherbebeendevotedto "rituals"
record.
haviorsthatleft no permanent

4IO

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

Inaddition
to mortuary
studies,
consideration
ofcontemporary
Bronze
Agepractices
relatedto bodymodification
andmodernethnographic
parallelsmayalsoshedlighton howsomeof the marblefigureswereused.
Liketheproduction
anduseof objects,
bodymodification
alsohelpsorganize the worldaccording
to a group'svisuallexicon.Severalstudiesby
TristanCarter,forexample,demonstrate
thatprismaticobsidianblades
wereoftendepositedin EarlyCycladicburialsunused,suggestingthat
eventhepotentialeffectofusewassufficient.l
Carterarguesconvincingly
thatthe ideaof thebladeswasintendedto conjurebodymodificationshaving,
cicatrization,
tattooing,
bloodying-rather
thanfoodpreparation
or otherexternaltasks.The patternsof painton the marblefiguresmay
similarly
havesignifiedtheideaofbodyembellishment,
eitheruponactual
peopleorthosepersonae
represented
bythemarblefigures.ll
GailHoffman,in a relatedstudy,concludes
thatthelong-livedpracticeof womenscratching
visible(bloody)linesdowntheircheeksaspart
of the mourningritualin manypartsof the Mediterranean,
eventoday,
maybe represented
bytheredstriations
paintedon thecheeksof a numberof EarlyCycladicmarblefigures,as on laterandmorecertainrepresentationsof mourning
women.l2
Theseredmarkings
wouldhavebeen
appliedattheappropriate
time,suggesting
a modification
of meaningvia
theactof painting,a pointI returnto below.
The significance
of paintedmotifsmaybe furtherrevealed
by a consideration
of elaborated
"skin"
in thelongertradition
of figureembellishment,stretching
backto theNeolithicperiodin thelandssurrounding
the
Aegean.LaurenTalalay,
forexample,
usesthe nonanatomical
designson
southernGreekclayfigurinesfromthe Neolithicto arguefor intersite
communication,
particularly
betweenFranchthi
CaveandCorinth.l3
The
autonomous
andpainted"split-leg"
formsfromseveralMiddleNeolithic
sitesin thevicinityof Franchthi
CavefilrthersuggesttoTalalay
thatthese
sortsof objectsfunctionedas two halvesof a socialagreement
between
partiesatdifferent
sites.Sheproposes
that"thecirculation
anduseof such
deviceswouldonlymakesensein a sphereof regionalintegration
where
literacywasnot yet available
to renderexplicita rangeof obligations
or
tiesamongseparate
butinterdependent
settlements.''l4
Herethe painted
patterns
helpto "match
up"twohalves,physically
demonstrating
thebond
the two partieshadwhenthe figuresweresplit.The ideaof agreement
betweenseparate
groupsembodiedin a paintedanthropomorphic
figure
is thepointthatinterestsmehere.
In otherregionsandtimes,communities
haveusedpaintedmotifson
three-dimensional
anthropomorphic
figuresto expressthesocialstatusof
the deceased,
as,forexample,in the elaborately
paintedMalangan
wood
10. Carter1994,2002,andforthcoming.
11. Sherratt(2000;citedin Broodbank2000,p. 253) suggeststhatthe
marblefiguresmayrepresent
women
broughthomeasbridesby seafarers
withinexogamous
networks.
This seems
to be pushingthe pointsomewhat.
12. Hoffman2002.
13.Talalay1993,pp.16,45, 83.

Pottery,too,mayprovidea "skin"
for
embellishment.
Cullen(1985)suggests
thatmotifson GreekUrfirnisware
fromthe MN periodhelpedmaintain
relationships
amongdisparate
communities.Emberling(1995,pp.182-192)
demonstrates
thatpainteddesignson
early-third-millennium
potteryfrom
Mesopotamia
andnorthwestern
Iran
canbe correlated
withperiod,region,

andcontext(forpublicconsumption
orin domesticor funerary
spheres),
describing
deliberate
expressions
of
community
differences
orsimilarities.
He notes(p.190)thatthismarksa
breakfromearlierperiodswherethe
potterywas"largely
undecorated,
and
asmuchas 90%mass-produced."
14.Talalay1993,p. 46.

PAINTED EARLY CYCLADIC FIGURES

4II

ritualsin PapuaNew Guinea.As Melionand

madeforfianerary
carvings
bybeing
imagesposittheirownbiography
observe,
"theengraved
Kuchler
motifswiththeirownhistory
of independent
depictedas an assemblage
wouldbe ableto interpret
individuals
"Cultured"
andtheirownfilture.''l5
andthereby
themeaningsof thosemotifs,teachthemto theuninitiated,
passdownspecificgroupmemories.
theEarlyCycladic
A moregeneralmodelthatseemstoworkwellwith
datais looselybasedon G. W. F. Hegel'sdiscussionof ourtendencyas
aspectsof ourrelaandparticular
humanbeingsto seekboththeuniversal
the individual
In Hegel'sphilosophy,
tionshipto societyandbeyond.l6
worldcan(andmust)serveas a toolforselfthatthe external
recognizes
freewill,whichpassesthrough
generates
Self-consciousness
consciousness.
within
duringthegrowthoftheindividual
threekeystagesof development
offree2) establishment
of selfinpossessions;
"civil"
society:1)expression
(bysharingpossesthroughfamilial"contracts"
domamongindividuals
comon othersin a broader
sions);and3) statedorunstateddependence
This
rightsto possessions.l7
munitythatdefinesandrespectsindividual
his
viewcanbeappliedto theBronzeAge:apersonachievesandexpresses
relatimesa particular
atdifferent
by1) exhibiting
orherownpersonality
worldthroughspecificskills,roles,orpossessions;
tionshipto theexternal
throughfamaxis)relevance
(alongatemporal
2) acknowledging"vertical"
of
ily/clanbondsthatconnectto the pastandfuturevia manifestations
bonds
throughcultural
relevance
"horizontal"
and3) establishing
memory;
or
community
andclanto thelargercontemporary
thatlinktheindividual
and
of
particular
existsas a duality
Thusthe individual
communities.l8
statesof being:I canownparticular things(includingskillsets
universal
androles)becauseI belongto a community thatacceptsthisideaof ownerprojecting
ship-in thepast,present,andfuture.If we feeluncomfortable
commupreindustrial
ontoa prehistoric,
the conceptof privateproperty
goodsorskills,"
associated
with"closely
nity,we canreplace"possessions"
forwhichthereis ampleevidencein thetombassemblages.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
by the southernAegean
The peoplewho inhabitedthe coastsbordered
stylizedanthropopeculiarly
Seaduringthe EarlyBronzeAgeproduced
morphicfiguresthathavecometo be knownas"EarlyCycladicfigures"
(Fig.4).Thesearewithsomefewexcep"figurines"
or,ratherdismissively,
thatresulted
tionsmadeofwhitemarbleandwerefinishedwithabrasives
15. SeeMelionandKuchler1991,
p. 29;the authorsgo on to write:
areconceivedas skinsthat
"Sculptures
bodyof a
replacethe decomposed
deceasedpersonandthusprovidea
containerforhis or herlife force.The
life forcemergeswiththe material,
whichis thoughtto comealivein the
This meaning
processof sculpting."
changedoncethe carvingsbecamea
valuablesourceof income(soldto

butthe functionof
Westerncollectors),
the motifsremainedaspotent,now
protectedby a consensusthattreated
themessentiallyas a variantof intelpeoplehadrightsover
lectualproperty:
certainmotifs,whichtheycould"lease"
fortangiblegoodsor exchangeforright
lands,etc.In
of accessto neighboring
otherwords,the sharedimageestabrelationships
lishedandmaintained
parties.
betweenseparate

16. See alsoHelms1998,pp.3,

of
6-13, on the basicorganization
andgroup
humansinto"individual
of Us andnot-Us."
identifications
17.The relevantpassagesin
Hegel[1821]1981canbe foundin
paragraphs
44, 75, 164, 170,and
186.
18.On the useof theseterms,see
Helms1998,p. 37.

4I2

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

Figure4. EarlyCycladicmarble
figurefromKeros,Kavos.H. 58.0 cm.
Naxos,ArchaeologicalMuseum,
Chora,4181.

in smoothtransitions
betweenforms.l9
Groovedlinesmadewithnarrow
abrading
toolsoftenemphasize
interiordetailssuchastheneckline,
pubic
triangle,
spine,buttocks,
legs,andknees,aswellasdefinefingersandtoes
on manyof the figures.Conspicuous
in theirabsence,facialfeaturesare
onlyveryrarelyindicated
withgrooves,
exceptontheearlier
varieties,
such
as the so-calledPlastirastype,wherea shorthorizontalincisionsometimesrepresents
themouth.20
Thechoiceofmaterial
is significant.
Inearlier
periods,
theoverwhelming majority
of anthropomorphic
figuresmadeon Creteandthe Greek
mainland
wereproduced
in clay,whichlendsitselfto anadditivemodeof
19.Formanufacturing
techniques,
seeOustinoff1984,1987.
20. See,forexample,the Plastirastypefiguresillustrated
in Thimmeand
Getz-Preziosi1977,pp.231-235,
nos.65-79;PreziosiandWeinberg

1970,p. 7, pl. I:4;andin theAthens

NationalArchaeological
Museum
(NAM),no.3919,whichpreserves
the
pebblein theleft eye("Amorgos"
is
writtenon its labelbutI havenotbeen
ableto confirmthatthisis the source).

Eyeswereoftenindicatedon thistype
bypebblesinlaidin boredsockets;the
socketsareusuallyallthatremaintoday.
SeeGetz-Preziosi1987a,pls.18, 19,
fora preserved
pebbleinlay.

PAINTED EARLY CYCLADIC FIGURES

4I3

bystone.2l
abrasive
moderequired
ratherthanthesubtractive,
production
Claycanbe smoothedandpolishedas a finalstep,as wascommonfor
the plasticityof the materialpermits,
pottery,but in figureproduction
thejoiningtogetherof majorpartsandthe additionof
evenencourages,
detailson top of the basicshapes.Formsarequickly
three-dimensional
mistakes
polisheddown.Planningis lesscritical;
builtup,notlaboriously
in a single
maybe appliedspontaneously,
areeasilyfixed.Surfacetextures
This processis in
stroke,andsmoothedoverif deemedunsatisfactory.
rubmarkedcontrastto thatusedto shapemarblefigures:thepersistent
appliedabratoolaidedby constantly
bingbackandforthwitha narrow
straight)surfacefeaturesin stone.The comsiveslurryto cut(generally
for shapingstoneis fargreaterthanthatfor
mitmentof timerequired
sinceclayandstonewere
is thussignificant
clay;22
the choiceof material
of theCyclades.
to theinhabitants
equallyavailable
Toproasmuchasfinaleffect,mayberelevant.
Modeof production,
thatmusthavebeen
ducea marblefigure,a grindingmotionis required
mealfrom
familiarto those(women,I imagine)in chargeof producing
strength,patience,andan
endurance,
grain.It is an activitythatrequires
concerns
that
bymoreimmediate
abilityto resumeafterbeinginterrupted
cropup duringa dayof domesticduties.On the otherhand,it is alsoan
outin a socialsetting,sinceit is notdangeractivitythatcouldbe carried
with largepiecesof equipment(asweavingon
ous,loud,or associated
it maybe noted,is alsoa major
somekindsof loomswouldbe).Grinding,
It is possiblethatwomenwerethe
componentof pigmentpreparation.
the scenariosuggestedaboveis consisof themarblefigures;23
producers
workin ruralsettings.24
tentwithwomen's
displaying
of EarlyCycladicfiguresarefemale,25
The greatmajority
breasts-usuallyof smallsize andpubictriangles.It shouldbe noted,
beyondthe dithatthesegendersignifiersarenot exaggerated
however,
visualevidenceon
Thereis no conventional
anatomy.
mensionsof average
conceptsthat
weretheprimary
thesefiguresthatfertilityandprocreation
groovesthat
The few figureswith abdominal
inspiredtheirproduction.
21. Forclayfigures,see illustrations
1996,pp.298,
in Papathanassopoulos
299,302,307, nos.203,204,211,221.
Talalay(1993,p.126, n.12) reports
thatNeolithicstoneor marblefigures
atThebesaswellas at
predominate
nearSparta;shedoes
Kouphovouno,
notlist sitesthatproducedbothclay
andstonefiguresin equalabundance.
therearemorewhite
Significantly,
stonethanclayNeolithicfiguresknown
fromthe islands,excludingCrete;the
oppositeis trueelsewherearoundthe
Aegean.A notableexampleof a Neolithicstonefigureis the"FatLadyof
a marbleseatedfemalefrom
Saliagos,"
LN Saliagosthatis similarin formto
Neolithicexamplesfromnon-Cycladic

regionsaroundtheAegean(seeEvans
andRenfrew1968,fig. 75, andtext
p. 86;see alsoPapawithbibliography,
1996,p. 319,no.240,
thanassopoulos
forcolorpls.).SeeTalalay1993,p. 30,
fortechniquesof makingNeolithic
figuresof clay.
22.Talalay(1993,p. 32) reportsthat
it takesten minutesto anhourto create
a clayfigure,and,citingOustinoff
1984,fiveto sixtyhoursto produce
one of marble.
23. See Gero1991forthelikeliworked
hoodthatwomenin prehistory
stonefortoolsin a domesticsetting.It
mayalsobe relevantthatat Franchthi
Cave"ongivenoccasionsthroughout
the Neolithic,figurineswereassociated

withdomesticworkareas,particularly
thosewheresomekindof grinding
(Talalay
activitieswereconducted"
1993,p. 48).
24. In thevillageof TellAhmar,
northernSyria,forexample,I have
in wool-sortinggatherings,
participated
whereallthewomenof anextended
familygroupconveneto separateraw
woolaccordingto quality.Muchof the
during
villagenewswascommunicated
to me
andit appeared
suchgatherings,
amongwomenwere
thatrelationships
in thatsetting.
formedandmaintained
Seethe essaysin GeroandConkey
to discerningthe
1991forapproaches
ot womenln prellstory.
Orgazzatlon
25. Butsee Getz-Preziosi1981.
r

4I4

ELI ZA B ET H A . H EN D RIX

havebeeninterpreted
aspost-partum
linesmaybeexceptions.26
Thedepictionof identifiable
roles,suchas(rare,andmainlymale)musicians,
is unusual;the"folded-arm
figures"
aremuchmoreabundant.
MostCycladicfiguresarequitegeneric,represented
withfeetangled
downward,
legstogetherandbentslightlyattheknee,armsfoldedacross
the chest(leftoverright),faceforwardandoccasionally
tiltedupward.
Hundreds,
if not thousands,
of examplesthatfit intothiscategorywere
produced,
evenif theproportions
andanglesshiftedsomewhat
overtime
andplace.Whetherthiscanonical
posturewasmeantto represent
a recliningpositionor one moreor lessupright(leaningor perhapsheld)is
debatable.27
Paintedfeatures
mayweighttheargument
in favorof thelatterposition(seebelow,pp.439-440).
Establishing
a chronology
fortheEBACyclades
is difficultgiventhe
lackof stratified
sites.Severalattemptshavebeenmadeto ordergroupsof
artifacts
basedon seriation,
mostnotablybyColinRenfrewandChristos
Doumas.28
Forpresentpurposes,
I amconcerned
withbroadtrends;the
archaeological
evidenceindicates
thatEarlyCycladic
peoplesburiedtheir
deadwithpaintedanthropomorphic
figuresthroughout
thethirdmillenniumB.C. In this paperI seekto establishthe essentialmotivesof this
practice;
a studyestablishing
the variations
in paintedmotifsovertime
mustbe leftto thefuture.
It is important
formyargument
to useexcavated
examples
asoftenas
possible;not onlyarequestionsof authenticity
thusavoided,butassociatedburialgoodscanalsobringmoremeaningto the presenceof paint,
andtothemarble
figuresingeneral.
I sometimes
refer,
however,
tounproveniencedfiguresin NorthAmericanandEuropean
collections
in orderto
makeit easierfora widelydispersed
audienceto examineaccessible
figures"intheflesh."Unlessthelightingfora photograph
wasdesignedspecificallyto revealvestigialtracesof paint,it is nearlyimpossibleto see
suchevidencein individual
photographs
of figuresin publications.
Eventhenonspecialist
caneasilyrecognize
"Early
Cycladic
sculpture,"
as it is oftenreferred
to today.Severalvarietiesandsubvarieties
of the
figureshavebeenrecognized,
andthesecanbe seenasevolvingfromone
to the nextoncetheirrelativechronology
is identified.29
Whilethe term
"sculpture"
is anachronistic,
its usesuggestshowtheseobjectshavecome
to be categorized.
In ourown agetheyhavemadethe transitionfrom
"repulsively
ugly"30
curiosities
to elegantworksof art,worthyof displayin
thefinestartcollections
in theworld.Indeed,onemayarguethatin many
casesa degreeof formalrefinement
musthavebeena concernforsomeof
26. Getz-Gentle2001,p. 10.
27. Getz-Gentle(2001,pp.35-37)
espousesa recliningposture.
28. Renfrew(1972,pp.72-75, 138142)developeda relativechronology
basedprimarily
on the stratigraphy
of
Emporioon the islandof Chiosand
Phylakopion Melos.By comparing
the
potteryandotherfindsat thesesitesto
findsfromlesswellstratifiedsitesin
the islandsandsurrounding
mainlands

(e.g.,AtticaandtheTroad),he wasable
to arrangegroupsof objects,including
the marblefigures,in roughlychronologicalorder.Althoughdetailsof this
orderaredebated,(see,e.g.,Doumas
1972,p. 151,n. 1), thebasicframework
stillholds.BarberandMacGillivray
(1980)objectto Renfrew's
identificationof chronological
periodswith
dominant"cultural"
groups,andprefer
insteadthe moregeneralEC I, EC II,

andEC IIIA andB.Thesearethe most

commonlyuseddesignations
forthe
periodsRenfrewdescribesusingcultural terms.Fora recentexamination
of
EC chronology,
see Broodbank
2000,
pp.53-55.
29. Fora description
of thevarieties,
see Renfrew1969;Getz-Preziosi1987a.
30.Wolters1891,p. 47,"abstossend
hassliche"
(referring
to a headin
Athens,NAM 3909).

PAINTED EARLY CYCLADIC FIGURES

4I5

theEarlyCycladicmarbleworkers.31
No casecanbe made,however,
that
theoriginalpurposeof theworkswasto pleasetheeyeorsatisfya senseof
aesthetics,
althoughthisis a legitimateresponse
fora modernaudience.32
If one considersthe additional
surfaceelaboration
on thesefigures
(see,e.g.,Figs.1, 4), it is mucheasierto imaginethattheyweremadeto
satisfya widerrangeof needs.Thepresence
of anysortof embellishment
on the polishedwhitesurfacesof EarlyCycladicfiguresmaybe visually
startlingto oureyes,trainedto lookapprovingly
at sculptural
analogies
suchasthoseproduced
byModiglianiandBrancusi,33
butin the context
of prehistoric
figureproduction
in the Aegeanbasin,the paintedEarly
Cycladicfigurefits,evencomfortably,
intoanearlierandapparently
complextradition.
METHODS FOR REVEALING EVIDENCE FOR
PAINTED PATTERNS
Usinga broadrangeof lightingandphotographic
techniques,
computer
enhancement,
andmicroscopic
examination,
I havebegunto document
thepaintedsurfacefeatures
thatwereappliedto EarlyCycladicfigures.34
The patternsrevealed
includerecognizable
featuressuchaseyes,jewelry,
andhair,aswellaslesseasilyidentifiable
markings
on theheadandbody.
In mostcasesno pigmentremains,
butphotographic
andcomputer
manipulation
techniques
canenhancethe subtleeffectsof ancientpainting.
Ultraviolet
lighthasproveduseful,althoughthereasonsforitsefficacyare
stillnotunderstood.
Rakinglightexaggerates
topographic
differences
on
themarble's
surface
resulting
fromtheeffectsof paint(orsurfacepreparationpriorto painting)longsincevanished.
These"ghosts,"
described
in
1970byPreziosiandWeinberg
on a varietyof Cycladicfigures,hadbeen
alreadyidentifiedearlierby Papathanassopoulos
on a figurenowin the
AthensNationalArchaeological
Museum,althoughhe did not use the
term"ghost."35
31. See Getz-Preziosi1987a.Cory
minutetracesof extantpigment;
(1956,p.33) reportsthatwhileany
(3) ultraviolet
(UV) visiblefluorescence
memberof the modernBantucommuphotography,
whichpermitsfluoresnitymaymakefigurinesforthe various
cencein the visiblerangeof the specfunctionsforwhichtheyareneeded,
trumto exposethe film;(4) UV-reflecthosewho aremostskilledaresuffitancephotography,
whichpermitsonly
cientlyvaluedto be invitedto make
thosewavelengths
belowthevisible
figuresforothers.See alsoBroodbank
rangeof the spectrumto exposethe
2000,p.63.
film;and(5) computerenhancement
32. Fortheinfluenceof Cycladic
of digitizedphotographs
to expand
designon modernsculptors,
andthus
andcontrastimageinformation.
I also
modernexpectations,
see Sachini1984.
producea detailedsketch(e.g.,Fig.3)
33. See Renfrew1991,pp.168-185,
basedon prolongedobservation
of the
pls.116-119.
object.
34. See Hendrix2003 forfull
35. PreziosiandWeinberg1970;
descriptions
of thesetechniques.
In
Papathanassopoulos
1963,p. 132.
brief,I use (1) rakinglightphotography Differentkindsof paintintegratewith
to enhancetopographic
differences
the marblesubstrate
in differentways,
causedby differential
weathering;
andtheythereforeaffectthe marble's
(2) close-upphotography
to capture
abilityto withstandweatheringagents

differently.
Finelydividedreds,which
canbe suspendedin mediawithlow
viscosities,tendto seepintothe pores
of the stone,whilecoarsepigments,
suchas azurite,stayon the surfaceof
the stone,protectingthatsurfacefrom
the corrosive
effectsof water.Thislattersortof paintpreserves
the surface
whereverit is applied.Overtime,the
unprotected
surface(includingareas
paintedwithlow-viscosity
media)
deteriorates
morethanprotectedsurfaces.The variables
thatcontroltherate
andcharacter
of the weathering,
however,havenotyet beenstudied.I am
gratefulto JerryPodanyat theJ. Paul
GettyMuseumfordiscussingwithme
(March2003)the problemsthatresult
fromassumingwe understand
these
weatheringmechanisms
on EC figures.

4I6

ELI ZA B ET H A . H E N D RIX

Inotherinstances,
enoughpigmentparticles
survive
tobedocumented
by close-upphotography.
This salutary
conditionhasin somecasespermittedelemental
oropticalanalyses
of pigments,
resulting
in theidentificationoftheminerals
usedbytheCycladic
islanders
fortheircolors.These
findingsmayhaveimportant
ramifications
regarding
the significance
of
certainminerals
beyondtheircoloringeffects(seebelow).
Perhapsthe mostimportant
methodforrevealing
tracesof painton
Cycladicfigures,however,
is theproduction
of a carefillsketchof thefigure(e.g.,Fig.3).Thetimerequired
forthisexercise
is timespentlooking,
whicheventually
enablesthe observerto distinguishevidencefor paint
fromfortuitous
burialstains.
PAINT MOTIFS
In the followingpages,I describethe motifsin orderof frequency
of
occurrence,
withthecaveatthatwhatappears
to be mostcommonis simplywhathasbeenmostcommonly
(seenand)preserved;
thismayormay
not reflectwhatwas mostoftenpaintedin the EarlyBronzeAge. For
example,if a yellowrobemadefromsaffronandsalivahadbeenrepresentedon everyfigure,therewouldbelittleorno evidenceforsuchpaintingtoday.
EYES:ANATOMICAL,
BELOWCROWNBAND
Mostof theCycladicfiguresthatpreserve
evidenceof paintbeartracesof
almond-shaped
eyes,placed(usually
notentirelysymmetrically)
oneither
sideof the nose(e.g.,Fig. 1).Theyarethe moststrikingof the painted
motifs,heralding
a dramatic
breakfromtheNeolithictradition
of cursory
sliteyes.36
TheseBronzeAgeeyesareoftenverylarge,extending
fromthe
noseto the edgeof the face,andarefrequently
enlivenedwith pupils,
lashes,andeyebrows.
Accompanying
theseeyes,verticalhair(?)strokesor,
moreusually,a palehorizontal
band("ghost")
maybe seenat the top of
thecrown.Thislatterpatternsuggestssomesortof hairstyle
orheaddress
(theearlier
"Plastiras"-type
figures
wereoftenprovided
withagrooveacross
theforehead
to indicatea polos). Numerous
examples
canbecited.Figures
fromknowncontextsthatpreserve
thismotifinclude
alargeexample
from
Kavos(Keros)in the NaxosArchaeological
Museumat Chora(Fig.4;
no. 4181),andfourNaxianfiguresin the NationalArchaeological
Museum(NAM) in Athens:one fromKarvounolakkoi
(NAM 6140.16),
anotherfromPhyrroges
(Fig.5, NAM 6140.19),andtwo fromSpedos
36.Talalay(1993,p. 12) notesthat
on NeolithicfiguresfromFranchthi
Cave(produced
throughout
the Neolithicperiod),"facialfeaturesarefairly
perfunctory:
mouthsandearsarenever
indicatedon anthropomorphic
images,
thoughtheyaredetailedon zoomor-

phicexamples.
Eyesareinfrequently
marked
andsmall,andmodelednoses
appearcommonly"
(emphasismine).
The figuresfromAchilleion,Sitagroi,
andelsewheregenerallyhavecoffeebeanor sliteyes.Exceptionsto the
canonicallargeopeneyeson Early

Cycladicfiguresexist,andmayhintat
recollections
of earlierfigures.A marble
headfromtomb112of the Krasades
cemeteryon Antiparos(NAM4848)
hastwoincisedslitsforeyes,aswellas
noseandearsin relief.

PAINTED

marblefigFigure5. EarlyCycladic
tomb28.
urefromNaxos,Phyrroges,
H. 19.8cm.Athens,National
Museum6140.19.
Archaeological

EARLY CYCLADIC

FIGURES

4I7

4I8

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

(NAM6140.21,6140.22),to lista few.37

Carefulexamination
of illustrationsin catalogues
of EarlyCycladicfigures,suchas thosepublished
by
Getz-Preziosi/Gentle,
andDoumas,demonstrates
thatthispatternwas
evidently
widespread
andlong-lived.38
HAIR
In additionto a polos, numerous
Cycladicfiguresweregivenanelaborate
coiffure.
Again,symmetry
wasnot alwaysimportant,
althoughit is most
oftenthesymmetrical
examples
thathavebeenpublished
(reflecting
modern
receptiveness
morethanBronzeAgecustom).Hairstyles
madeupof curls
or shortstraight"pigtails"
or sideburns
aregenerallypreserved
as paint
ghosts,suggesting
the paintusedwasthickenoughto actas a barrier
to
weathering
agents(seeFig.5).Thiswouldbeconsistent
withapaintmade
withazurite,
whichrequires
a thickmediuminwhichto suspendandbind
thelargeparticles.
Tentatively,
I wouldsuggestthatmostcapsandmany
hairstyles
wereoriginally
blue,39
withtheexception
of a fringeof redverticalstrokesthatoccasionally
appears
acrosstheforehead(e.g.,on a head
intheMetropolitan
MuseumofArt[MMA],no.69.5.11,whoseredstripes
wereidentifiedas cinnabar
by energydispersive
X-rayspectrometry40).
Sometimes
thisfringeappears
inconjunction
withaghostedbandasthough
representing
short-cropped
hairprotruding
belowthecap.Clearexamples
maybe seenon figuresin the Metropolitan
Museumof Art,theJ. Paul
GettyMuseum,theHonoluluAcademyof Arts,andtheMuseumof Art
andArchaeology,
University
of Missouri-Columbia.41
An excavated
exampleof a figurewithelaborate
coiffure"ghosts"
is
thefolded-arm
figurefromPhyrroges
tomb28 (Fig.5) mentionedabove
in conjunction
witheyeghosts.Althoughmanymoreexamplesaredisplayedin museums,I havenot beenableto tracethoseto documented
excavations.
Someexamples
in disparate
butaccessible
collections
include
figuresin theNaxosArchaeological
Museumin Chora(4695/8927),the
37. ForNaxos4181,see Zapheiropoulou1980,p.534, pl.240;forNAM
6140.16,seePapathanassopoulos
1963,
p. 112,pl. 43;forNAM 6140.19,see
Marangou1990,p. 152,no. 157 (color
pl.) andbibliography.
Thesefiguresare
alsoillustrated,
withdrawingsof
paintedmotifs,in Hendrix2000:
nos.23,28, and41. Largephotographs
of the figuresfromSpedos,tombs13
(6140.21)and10 (6140.22),arepublishedin Zervos1957,pls.114and115,
respectively.
38.The samemotifcanbe discernedon a marbleseatedfigurefrom
LN Sangrion Naxos;anexcellentphotographis publishedin Papathanassopoulos1996(p.321,no.243).The contoursof the Sangrifigureforeshadow
the shapeof the EC I "Violin"
figures.

The topof the head,whichis flattened,

hasa slightlypalerbandat the top of
the crown,andthe righteye,withpupil
andpossiblyeyelashes,is visibleas
darkerlineson the stone.AlthoughI
havenotyet examinedthisfigureoutsideits vitrine,additional
painton the
rightcheekof the figureseemsto be
visiblein the photograph.
As muchas
the motifrecallsearliertraditions,
it
alsoheraldsthe newapproach
to the
humanform(specifically
the openeyes)
thattookholdin the EBACyclades.
39.This possibilityis alsosuggested
by Getz-Preziosi(1987b,p. 169).A
figurein the HonoluluAcademyof
Arts(4386.1)preserves
tracesof blue
on the foreheadandrightsideburncurl,
in additionto reddotson the cheeks
andverticalstrokesacrossthe forehead;

see Getz-Preziosi1987b,p. 204, no.55.

My sincerethanksto PatGetz-Gentle
formakinghernotesfromthe"Cycladic Examination
Project"
(in connection
withthe VirginiaMuseumof Fine
Arts,Richmond,exhibitionandcatalogue)available
to me.See alsoa figure
in the BritishMuseum(no.1971.521.1),discussedbelow.
40. Hendrix1997-1998,pp.7-8
41. SeeHendrix1997-1998,p. 10,
figs.10-12 (MMA34.11.3),andalso
Getz-Preziosi1987b,p. 107,pl. III
(J.PaulGettyMuseum);p. 204, no.55
(HonoluluAcademyof Arts4386.1);
andpp.246-247,no.81,withdrawing
of paintremains(University
of
Missouri-Columbia
76.214).See also
n. 39 above.

PAINTED EARLY CYCLADIC FIGURES

4I9

LandesCollectionin Athens(304),andtheBadisches
N. P.Goulandris
(70/SSO).42
museumin Karlsruhe
DOTS/STRIPESON FACE
Rowsof dots single,double,ormultiple-werepaintedacrossthefaces
of manyfiguresandon occasionextendaroundthe backof the heador
occurelsewhereon the body.Stillevidentis a patternof blue-over-red
onein a private
I haveexamined,
paint,neatlyusedontwolargeexamples
collectionin NewYork,69 cmin height,theother,77 cmin height,in the
The largesizeof
context.43
BritishMuseum,neitherfroma documented
thanthe more
thesefiguresmaysuggestthattheywereuseddifferently
common30- to 50-cm-tallfigures.Doesthelargersizesuggesta greater
audience,eitherin termsof numberor status?Thereis no evidenceto
doessuggestthat
argueonewayortheother.The shiftin color,however,
eitherbytime(theearliergroupseeseparated
thereweretwoaudiences,
thattwocolorswere
ingonlythereddots)orbyaccessto theknowledge
red,thoughonlythebluewas
present(onegroupawareof theunderlying
visible).
roundeddotswerepaintedacrossthe
At leastfiverowsof carefillly
of theNewYorkfigure,andnineormorerowsacrossthecheeks,
forehead
bythemoutharea,where
interrupted
belowthenosebutperhaps
extending
At thebackof thehead,a neatlysquared
preserved.
dotsareonlypartially
The dots,as
dots.44
byblue-on-red
hairmass(nowa ghost)wasbordered
callatteneyesandeyebrows,
wellastheverylarge(slightlyasymmetrical)
areaof focuson thefigure.
tionto theheadastheprimary
Two rowsof dotswerepaintedacrossthe foreheadof the British
onthecheeks.
Museumfigure,andasmanyassevenrowscanbediscerned
Moredifficultto detectareatleasttworowsof dotson thechin.A stripe
downthe nosewasalsopaintedwithblueoverred.Bluepaintis clearly
andontheleftsideof the
visibleattheedgesof thelargeeyes,aseyebrows,
just
pattern);a shortdarkstrokeappears
forehead(in an unidentifiable
withredpaint,
The spineof thisfigurewashighlighted
belowthenose.45
asweretheincisionsbetweenthe neckandthebaseof the skullandthe
jawline(theredon theBritishMuseumfigurewasanalyzedandidentiThefigurewasgivenrednostrils,a detailalsopreserved
fiedascinnabar46).
Museum(Fig.2, above).
on a figurein theMetropolitan
facedotsarein redpaint.Catalogues
of the preserved
The majority
common
thatfacedotswererelatively
of Cycladicfiguresdemonstrate
onbothlargeandsmallfigures,andonfiguresthatspantheEC II period
42. ForNaxos4695/8927,see
1980,pl.235;for
Zapheiropoulou
Museum
Foundation,
N. P.Goulandris
OfCycladicArt,Coll.304,see Renfrew
1991,pls.2, 3, 100:7(detail);for
70/550,see
BadischesLandesmuseum
ThimmeandGetz-Preziosi1977,
p. 271, no. 171.
43. SeeGetz-Preziosi1987a,

pl.Vl:a,forthe figurein NewYork;

Fitton1989,frontandbackcover,
forthe BritishMuseumfigure
(no.1971.5-21.1).
fora de44. Seebelow("Jewelry")
paintedmotifs
scriptionof additional
on thisfigure.Also of interestis the
patternin the surfacesheenof thebelly
textilethatmusthave
of a plain-weave

beenin contactwiththe marblewhile

it wasburied.The patternis visiblein
rakinglight(seebelow,Fig. 13).
45.This lineis describedasblackby
Higgins(1972),butit mayoncehave
beenredif it waspaintedwithcinnabar.
SeeHendrix2001,pp.53-54, on the
colorshiftof cinnabarfromredto black.
46. Higgins1972.

420

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

(the KapsalathroughLateSpedosstyles).47
Unfortunately,
noneto my
knowledgecomefromdocumented
excavations.
Publishedexamplesin
accessiblecollectionsincludeSpedos-typefiguresin Boston,Pasadena,
Karlsruhe,
andMunich.48
Vertical
stripeson thecheeksarestillvisibleon a handfulof figures.49
As mentionedabove,Hoffmanhasrecentlyexplored
themeaningof this
motifin thecontextof mourning.
Herargument
is convincing,
although
otherinterpretations
arealsopossible(e.g.,clanor age-related
cicatrization).Thefiguresthatbearthesemarkings
areunprovenienced
worksdated
onthebasisofformalstyle;thestylesrangefromthoseof theearlier
phases
of production
of folded-arm
figuresto thelater.Thusthemotifappears
to
spanatleastseveralhundred
yearsin theCycladicperiod,andbeyond,if
Hoffmanis correct.
Unfortunately,
heretoowe cannotturnto associated
goodsor findspots.
Therefore
interpretations
relyon theevidenceon the
figuresthemselves.
This evidencemaybe compared
to the ethnographic
andhistorical
records,asHoffmanhasdone,butforidentifying
possible
functions,
themotifmayalsobeusefullyconsidered
inthecontextof other
paintedfigures(seebelow).
PAINTEDGROOVES
Groovesbetweencontiguous
bodyparts(suchasthespine,head/neck;
not
betweenarms/torso
or legs)wereoftenpickedoutwithredpaint,as on
thefigurein theBritishMuseumdescribed
above.Fingersandtoeswere
alsooccasionally
coloredred,withpainteitherfillingincisionsordefining
the digits.The earliestexamplewithwhichI amfamiliaris a "Pre-Canonical"
figurewitharmsmeetingatthecenterof thetorsoin themanner
of Plastiras-variety
figures.Redstrokesdefinethe fingers,andredwas
paintedin the toe incisions.Mercuryandleadweredetectedon the fingers,indicating
thatcinnabar
andperhaps
redleadwereusedforthecolor.50
Redgrooves
canbeobserved
onfigures
ofthePlastiras,
Kapsala,
andSpedos
typesandon figuresfromtransitional
phases,butnotonthe(later)DokathismataorChalandriani
varieties.

JEWELRY
Necklacesandarmbanglescanbe discerned
on a fewEarlyCycladicfigures,althoughthismotifis not as commonas othersortsof embellishments,suchas facedots.One of the mostspectacular
examplesin this
respectis thefigurein a privatecollectionin NewYorkdiscussed
above.5l
Alongwith numerousanatomical
detailsandskinembellishments,
the
figurewasprovided
withbangleson the leftwrist,a "choker"
belowthe
chincomposedof linkedbutterflylike
motifswith a bandof fringedescendingfromit. At thebaseof theneckis anothernecklace,
thisoneof
linkedscallopswithdotsatthecenterof eachscallop.Boththechokerand
the necklaceextendpartway
aroundthebackof the neck.They,andthe
bangles,arepaintedred.Onotherfigures(see,e.g.,Fig.1),redlinesin the
groovesbetweenthe headandbody(whichoccurat the top andat the
baseof the neck)mayrepresent
necklaces,
or maybe relatedto the red-

47. SeeHendrix,2000,fig.18, fora

sketchof fourteenexamples.
48.ThimmeandGetz-Preziosi
1977,nos.139,156,171,190.The
Karlsruhe
andMunichfiguresareprovidedwithtentativeproveniences
in
ThimmeandGetz-Preziosi1977,
basedon old museumnotesassociated
withtheiracquisition.
Forpublished
photographs
of examplesin private
collections,seeThimmeandGetzPreziosi1977,nos.141,209.
49. Hoffman2002,pp.526-530,
withbibliography
andcomparanda.
See
alsoHendrix2000,fig.22.
50. SeeHendrix2000,no.5. The
figureis currently
on loanto
theMetropolitan
Museumof Art,
L.1997.70,fromtheWallachMuseum,
ColumbiaUniversity.
My thanksto
SarahEllistonWeinerforpermission
to examinethisfigure.SeeHendrix
2000,pp.95-97, tablesI:5 andI:6,
whereadditionalfigureswithpainted
groovesarelisted.
51. SeeGetz-Preziosi1987b,pl.I,
no.24;Hendrix2000,no. 17.

PAINTED EARLY CYCLADIC FIGURES

42I

Figure6. EarlyCycladic
marblehead
fromfigurewithpainteddiadem;
noknownfindspot.H. 10.6cm.
Naxos,Archaeological
Museum,
Chora,4182.

Figure7. EarlyCycladic
silver
diademfromAmorgos,Dokathismata,tomb14.Athens,National
Archaeological
Museum4729.
After Zervos

1957, pL 127

52. ThimmeandGetz-Preziosi
1977, p. 259, no. 151;Badisches
Landesmuseum
75/49.

53. Carter,forthcoming.

paintedgroovesthatarefoundwith somefrequency
elsewhereon the
bodyasdescribed
above.Thebangleson thewristsof a largefigurein the
Badisches
Landesmuseum
in Karlsruhe52
anda smaller
figureintheStaatlicheAntikensammlungen
undGlyptothekin
Munich(10.382)survive
as
grooves;
no tracesof paint,if paintwaseverthere,remain.
Thedottedlozengespaintedacrossthecrownof a headin theNaxos
ChoraMuseum(Fig.6) mayrepresent
a diadem,thesignificance
ofwhich
cannotbe precisely
ascertained
fromthearchaeological
record.A similar
headdress
mayhavebeenwornby someEarlyCycladicpeople:a silver
bandwithzigzagmotifwasfoundin a tombonAmorgos(Fig.7;seealso
below,p. 440).Whethersucha headdress
strictlyconveyed
a specificstatusorwasmorefluidin its meaningis uncertain.
Jewelrymotifsseemto
be restricted
to EC II, whichaccordswiththe dramatic
increasein personaladornment
atthistimeobserved
by Carter.53

422

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

Figure8. EarlyCycladicmarblefigure;no knownfindspot.H. 39.0 cm.

Naxos,ArchaeologicalMuseum,
Chora,4675.

ZIGZAGS/STRIPESON BODY
Markings
onthechestsof EarlyCycladic
figuresmostoftentaketheform
of a seriesof vertical,or nearlyvertical,stripesor a zigzag.Thisdeparts
somewhat
fromtheNeolithictendency
to represent
a crossed-strap
motif,
althoughsimilarities
canbe found.54
The incisionson someViolin-type
figuresfromtheverybeginnings
of theBronzeAgemaypreserve
thelast
vestigesof theNeolithicformof thismotif(see,e.g.,Fig.17,below).
A zigzagis visibleacrossthe chestof a figurein the NaxosChora
Museum(Fig.8). In additionto the zigzagandthe commoneyesand
crownband,thisSpedos-type
figurealsoeffiibitsat leastfouradditional
54. See,e.g.,Papathanassopoulos
"nonanatomical"
eyes,a motifdiscussed
in moredetailbelow.The upper
1996,
pp.295,303,304,306,nos.196,
halfofaDokathismata-type
figurein theMetropolitan
Museumof Artis
213,214,220. Fora clayfigurewith
illustrated
herein a photograph
takenundernormallightconditionsas clearverticalstripesacrossthe chest
wellasin anultraviolet
reflectograph
(Fig.9).The latteris characterized andzigzagsacrossthebelly,seep. 293,
bya mottledsurface;
a palezigzagcanbe discerned
acrossthechest.
no. 189.

PAINTED EARLY CYCLADIC FIGURES

Figure9. EarlyCycladicmarblefigure;no knownfindspot.H. 23 cm.

New York,MetropolitanMuseum
of Art 1971.258.1.Gift of Alastair
BradleyMartin,1971. (a)Photographtakenundernormallight;
(b)W-reflectance photograph.

55. Getz-Preziosi1987b,p. 207.

56. SeeHendrix1997-1998,p. 8,
figs.6, 7.
57. SeeHendrix2003,tableI. On
cinnabar,
seebelow,n. 70.

423

b
EarlyCycladicfigureswithverticalstripeson theirckestsmayin
somecasesactually
havebeengivenzigzagsoriginally,
sincethemarksare
generally
poorlypreserved,
andoftennotquitevertical.Stripesacrossthe
chestappearclearlyon at leastfourEarlyCycladicfigures.One figure
comesfromtomb14 at the siteof Dokathismata
on Amorgos.Darkred
stripes,slightlyoff-vertical,
arestilleasilyvisibleacrossthechest(seebelow,pp. 435, 437, for a description
of this figureandits archaeologicalcontext).
The othersareunprovenienced
works.In eachcasethecolor
is red,butit is notcertainthatthesamepigmentwasusedforallof them.
The redpigmenton the stripeson a figurein the VirginiaMuseumof
FineArts,Richmond,
wasidentified
ascinnabar,55
whereas
myattempts
to
analyzeby X-rayfluorescence
spectroscopy
(XRF)the stripeson the
chestof a figurein theMetropolitan
Museumof Art(a"Post-Canonical"
or "Dokathismata"
typehermaphrodite
[possessing
breastsandpenis],
MMA1972.118.10356)
yieldedslightlyelevated
levelsofiron,butnomercury(whichwouldhavebeeneasilydetectedbytheinstrument)
indicative
of cinnabar.
I havethustentatively
identifiedtheredof theMetropolitan
Museumfigure's
cheststripesasironoxide(eitherredocherorhematite).
Both cinnabarand iron havebeen identifiedon EarlyCycladicand
NeolithicGreekfiguresandvessels.57
Unlikesomeof the previously
describedmotifs,thestripesonthechestappear
to bea motiffavored
toward
theendof theEC II period.
A zigzagpatternon the bellyis stillvisibletodayon a figurefrom
tomb14 of the Spedoscemeteryon Naxos,as it wason the photograph

ELIZABETH

424

A. HENDRIX

Figure10 (left).EarlyCycladic
marblefigurefromNaxos,Spedos,
tomb14.H. 33.5cm.Athens,
NationalArchaeological
Museum
6140.20.
Figure11 (below).LateNeolithic
fragment
of claylegsfromThessaly,
Sesklo.P.H.ca.6 cm.Athens,
NationalArchaeological
Museum
12246.

takenbyZervosin 1957beforetheencrustation
wasremoved(Fig.10).58
Centuriesearlier,
a verysimilarzigzagwasscratched
on the surfaceof a
clayfigurefragment
fromLN Sesklo(Fig.11).Thereis no reasonto supposethatthemotifwascarefully
passeddownoverthislongspanof time.
Theideaof abeltwitha simplepattern,
however,
mayhavebeencommon
to bothLNThessalyandEarlyCycladicNaxos.
Vertical
zigzagson the armsorlegswerealsoapplied.
Thesemaybe
opposed,forminga seriesof stackeddiamonds,
as at thejunctureof the
rightupperarmandtorsoof a Plastiras-type
figurefromNaxos,Akrotiri,
tomb20,59 andontherightthighof anunprovenienced
LateSpedos-type
figureillustrated
in theKarlsruhe
catalogue.60
Again,it is likelythathundredsofyearsseparate
thesetwoexamples,
suggesting
thatmuchevidence
forthe motifon intervening
figureshasbeenlost,andthatmotifscould
endure(asmotifs,notnecessarily
asparticular
symbols)overimpressively
longintervals
of time.
58. Zervos 1957, pl. 108.
59. Doumas 1977, p. 93, pl. 32:f-g;
Hendrix 2000, no. 3.
60. Thimme and Getz-Preziosi
1977, p. 267, no. 162 (and p. 467,

wheretracesof redarenoted);Hendrix
2000,no.36. SeeHendrix2000,figs.
23 and24 forsketchesof figureswith
.

vertlca

s zlgzags.

PAINTED EARLY CYCLADIC FIGURES

Figure12.EarlyCycladic
marble
headfromfigure;noknownfindspot.
P.H.10.7cm.Athens,N. P.GoulandrisFoundation,
Museumof
Cycladic
Art,Coll.701.

61. Doumas(2000,p. 146)shows

howanotherlightingsituationreveals
aeyesandeyebrows."
An illustration
in
Renfrew1991(pl.76) alsoshowsaeyes
andeyebrows,"
aswellas an almondshapedmouth.Neitherauthormentionsthe fourpupilsor the archabove
the top set of eyes.

425

EYES:NONANATOMICAL
I concludethis selectedcatalogueof motifswitha patternthatis more
mysterious
thanrare."Eyes"
paintedonthebodyandmultiple(morethan
two)eyesonthefacearevisibleon a surprising
numberof EarlyCycladic
figures.A clearexampleis in theNaxosChoraMuseum,mentionedand
illustrated
above(Fig.8).In additionto the zigzagon thechestandtwo
verylarge
openeyesonthefaceofthatfigure,alargedottedlozengeoreye
is wellpreserved
in greenpigmentat thebaseof theneck.Closerexaminationreveals
thattwomoreeyescanbeseenonthefacebelowthebetterpreserved
eyes.Whetherallfoureyeson thefacewerevisiblesimultaneouslyis difficultto determine,
sincetheeffectsof themediamayresultin
ghostsorothervestigialremainsevenafterthepigmenthadbeenmostly
removedorhadflakedaway.Thegreeneyeat thebaseof theneck,however,wassurelyvisibleat the sametimeas twoor moreeyeson the face
(sincetheyarestillvisibletoday),suggesting
thatthesimultaneous
display
of multipleeyeswasin someinstances
deliberate.
It is possiblethata secondsetof eyeswaspaintedafterthefirsthadwornaway,butsufficiently
soonafterfor the painterto avoidthe (charged?)
spaceof the firstset.
Anotherpossibility
is thattwo setsof eyeswerepaintedto be visibleat
once,twosetsrepresenting
more"eyepower"
thana singleset.
A strikingexample
of thisphenomenon
occurson a headin theN. P.
Goulandris
Collection,
intheMuseumofCycladic
ArtinAthens(Fig.12).
In rakinglight,thetwopupilson the rightsideof thefaceconfirmthat
twosetsof eyeswerepainted not a singleset of eyeswitheyebrows,
as
previously
thought.61
The archspanningthe top set of eyescanalsobe
seenontwootherfiguresin thesamemuseum(Coll.252,280);thelarger
example(Coll.280)is betterknownforits redparallelstripesthatcover

426

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

theface,chest,forearms,
andbelly.62
Including
theheadillustrated
in Figure12,I knowof sevenfiguresthatpreserve
doublesetsof eyespaintedin
thismanner,
thatis,in approximately
thesamelocationbutdistantenough
fromeachotherto implythatonelocationwaschosenin orderto avoid
theother.63
A seriesof relatively
darkopenlozengeshapesarranged
aroundthe
faceappear
in anultraviolet
reflectograph
of alargefigureintheMetropolitanMuseumofArt(MMA68.148).64
Whenthefigurewassubsequently
examinedunderlow magnification
with a stereomicroscope
(x7 to x30
magnification),
particlesof brightredpigmentwerediscerned.
Afterthe
particleshadbeenmapped,it wasapparent
thatmany(althoughnot all)
correlated
withthelozengeshapes.Theseshapesareexceedingly
difficult
to discern,buttheirpresenceis rendered
moreprobable
bothby the remainsof pigmentandbythenumberof figuresthatbearthesefainttraces
in similarplaces.65
MOTIFS: PLACEMENT, STYLE, MATERIALS
Identification
of themostcommonpositionsof themotifson thefigures
provides
another
perspective
onthesignificance
ofthemotifs.These
trends
canbe considered
apartfromthearchaeological
context,givingus anidea
of whatthe appropriate
positionswereaccording
to pan-Cycladic
customs.
Motifssuchashairconfigurations
andjewelryoccurwhereonemight
expect,buttherearetellinglimits.Althoughhaircurlsmayextenddown
thesidesoftheneck,andwelldowntheback,66
theywerenotto myknowledgepainteddownthefrontof thetorso(asonkouroi,forexample)
. Representations
of bangleson the wristsareattested,but not on the upper
armsor aroundthe ankles.We beginto forman ideaof EarlyCycladic
groomingandadornment
for(some)women.Thesemotifsreflectmaterial,three-dimensional
objectsthatwerepartof the worldof the living;
bracelets
andpossiblenecklacecomponents
havebeenfoundin a number
of tombs,andwe canassumethatEarlyCycladichumansgrewhairthat
required
attendance.
Dressis missingfromthe marblefigures,although
textilepseudomorphs
on atleastonelargefigure(Fig.13)hintatthepossibilitythatarticlesof clothingwereprovided
asactualtextiles.67
62. Hoffman2002,p. 533,figs.7, 8.
See Doumas2000,the mostrecent
catalogueof thiscollection,p. 145,
no.252;p. 158,no.280. See Hendrix
2000,no.43, fora "map"
of the paint
remains.

63.The sevenfiguresarepublished
asfollows:1) MunichStaatliche
Antikensammlungen
undGlyptothek
10.382:Fellman1981,pp.14-16,no. 6;
Hendrix2000,no.27;2) Athens,N. P.
Goulandris
Foundation,
Museumof

CycladicArt,Coll.252:Renfrew1991,
p. 117,pl. 77, fig. 10;Hendrix2000,
no. 33;3) Karlsruhe,
BadischesLandesmuseum70/550:Getz-Preziosi1987a,
no.29, fig.42:g;Hendrix2000,no.48;
4) privatecollection:Hendrix2000,
no.53;5) Athens,N. P.Goulandris
Foundation,
Museumof CycladicArt,
Coll.701 (Fig.12 here):Renfrew1991,
p. 121,pl. 76;Hendrix2000,no.55;6)
privatecollection:Getz-Gentle2001,
pl. 71:d("Keros
hoard");
7) Athens,

N. P.Goulandris
Foundation,
Museum
of CycladicArt,Coll.1105:Doumas
2000,p. 138,no. 187.
64. SeeHendrix1997-1998,
pp.12-13, figs.13-15 (fig.14 is the
UV reflectograph).
65. SeeHendrix2000,fig. 19,for
sketchesof ten figureswithnonanatomicaleyes.
66. See Renfrew1991,p. 122,fig. 7.
67. Hendrix2000,p. 47, n.64.

PAINTED

EARLY CYCLADIC

FIGURES

427

Figure13.Detailof textilepseudomorphon thebellyof anEarly

Cycladic
marblefigure;noknown
findspot.P.H.69.4cm.NewYork,
ShelbyWhite
andLeonLevy
Collection.

Motifsthatdo notseemto represent

tangibleobjectsincludevarious
sortsof stripes,zigzags,andthe nonanatomical
eye.Thesemayhavehad
correatlonsln palnt,scarrlng,
ortattoolngon lvlng.wumans,
ort.weymay
havebeenreserved
forthemarblefiguresalone.Theoretically
theycould
be appliedanywhere,
so anyconsistency
in theirpositionson the body
shouldaidin theinterpretation
of theirsignificance.
Vertical
stripesoccuron thecheeksandchestsof thefigures,butnot
acrossthebacksor on thelegs.Rowsof dotswerepaintedon thecheeks
andbrow,andveryoccasionally
aroundthebackof thehead.Thismotif
hasnotbeenobserved
belowthe neck.Zigzags,however,
mayappearon
theface(asonMMA1971.258.1;
seeabove,Fig.9),chest,upperarms,or
legs.Whenalmondshapes,andalmondshapesvfithcentraldots(whichI
interpretas eyes),wereapplied,theyalsoconsistently
appearon certain
partsof the anatomy.
Setsof doubleeyeson thefacemayrepresent
augmentedanatomical
eyes.Otherpartsof thebodywerealsoprovided
vfith
eyes.The bellyandthroatarefavored,but eyesmayalsooccuron the
upperchestandthighs.A figurein theNaxosChoraMuseum(Fig.4) has
a largealmond-shaped
motifon the belly(similarto the patternon the
bellyof a figurein the N. P.Goulandris
Collection,Coll.724).68Several
almond-shaped
motifsvfithoutcentraldotsappearon thefacebelowthe
high-setanatomical
eyes(twointhemouthregion),andseveral
morevfith
68. ForColl.724^see Renfrew1991^
central
dots
appear
on
the
throat.
pls.2^78^96:20^100:8^
103;also
Somemotifsappearto be favoredin the earlierpartof the Early
Hendrix2000^no.24^fora "map"
of
thepaintedpatterns.
Cycladic
period,andsomeinthelater.Earlymotifsincludethered-painted
*

428

ELIZABETH A. HENDRIX

grooves,
andlatemotifsincludethecheststripes(although
thesamplesize
is toosmallto feelconfidentaboutthesedistributions).
Moreimportantly,
mostof themotifsappear
onfiguresof nearlyallvarieties,
suggesting
that
theystayedin usefora longtime.Thepossiblefunctionsandmeanings
of
thesemotifsareconsidered
below,followinga discussion
of the archaeologicalcontextsandethnographic
parallels.
The playbetweensymmetry
andasymmetry
is manifestin the relationshipbetweencontour(exterior)
andinteriordesignsandcannotbe
easilydismissed
asunintentional:
incisions,
breastforms,andpaintmotifs
areasymmetrical
moreoftenthancanbe ascribedto carelessness.
The
finalpolishingof the stonewill haveaffectedthe symmetry
of the contours.Symmetrywas
generally
achieved,
although
itwouldhavebeenquite
easyto abradeone side differently
fromthe other.The interference
of
slurry,
the difficultyof judgingprogress
whileabrading
the surfaces,
and
thetemptation
to finishworkprematurely
wereallovercome
bystopping,
cleaning,andcheckingrepeatedly
duringthe process.Clearly,
symmetry
wasculturally
desirable
whenproducing
thebasicform,whichwouldbe
visiblefromsomedistance.
The interiordetailswereapproached
withquitea differentattitude.
In manywaysthe eyesandhandthatjudgedsymmetry
forthe contours
couldhavefoundit easierto formbreastsat the sameheightandsame
sizeon thechest,yetthisresultis infrequently
observed.
Similarly,
separatingtwoequallysizedfeaturessuchaslegs,arms,andtoesshouldhave
beena simplematter,hadit beendesired.Suchsymmetry,
however,is
alsorare(notethe oddplacementof the nosein Fig.4). We shouldnot
be surprised
to findeyesat differentheights,or in seeminglyoddlocations,orzigzagsswingingacrossincisions,orvariousstrandsof curlyand
straighthaironthesamefigure.Theinteriormarkings
weredirectedto a
moreintimateaudience,
withdifferent
expectations
of symmetry
forthese
details.
The choiceof pigmentsmayalsobe significant.
Red,blue,andless
oftengreenhavebeenfoundon marblefigures,vessels,andin pigment
containers.
Redis by farthe predominant
coloron the figures(asthey
havebeenpreserved).
Bothcinnabar
andironoxidehavebeenidentified
by analytical
methodson the figuresaswellas in vessels.69
The linkbetweenthe colorredandbloodis wellattestedin the ethnographic
literature,andHoffmanappliesthis connectionin herinterpretation
of the
cheekstripes.Butwhyuse cinnabar,
a rareandexoticpigment,70
rather
thanironoxide,whichis asbrilliant
inhueasit is commonintheCyclades?
I havetroubletellingthetwoapartvisuallysincethehueof eachcanvary,
sometimesresembling
eachotherclosely.Colormustnot havebeenthe
onlyvaluable
property
of thepigment.Cinnabar
is mercuric
sulfide,and
69. See above,n. 57.
70. Carter(forthcoming)
discusses
severalpotentialpoor(i.e.,not commercially
viable)sourcesof cinnabar
in
theAegean,includingNaxos,Chios,
Samos,andEuboia.Thusit maynot

havebeenstrictlyexotic.It wascertainlyrare,however,andthe expenditureof knowledgeandtimeto locate

andretrievethispigmenthighlightsits
specialdesirability.

PAINTED EARLY CYCLADIC FIGURES

429

maybe associatedwith elementalmercuryat its source.It is possible

andits exoticoriginaddedto thepotencyof thered
thatthisassociation
material.7l

claypotsor
Bluepigmentis oftenfoundpackedintotinydecorated
It is morerarelyfoundon the figuresthanredpigincisedbonetubes.72
if thepaintghostsvisibletoday
ment,butmayoncehavebeenprevalent,
paintedblue.Severalanalysesof the
indicateareasthatwereoriginally
Azuriteis
themineralazurite.73
haveidentified
bluein pigmentcontainers
a coppermineralandmayalsohavebeenvaluedin partforits association
withthismetal.Copperoresarefoundon Kythnosand,to a lesserextent,
andnearthetipof
on Siphnos(betterknownforitssilverores),Seriphos,
Atticaat Laurion.All wereworkedin the EarlyBronzeAge, andboth
highvaluein
copperandsilverwerefashionedintoarticlesof apparently
The closestsourceof theotherbluepigmentusedin early
theCyclades.74
is
thanazurite),
chemistry
lapislazuli(withanentirelydifferent
antiquity,
or their
mostlikelybeyondthe reachof Cycladicislanders
Afghanistan,
if suchexisted.Todateit hasnotbeenidentifiedin assotradingpartners,
ciationwith EarlyCycladicobjects.In sum,bluepigmentwasselected,
interred,
andusedon marblefigures.
savedin specialpigmentcontainers,
Thesechoicesreflectthevalueof thispigment.
theraregreenpigmentsfoundin pigmentcontainers75
Unfortunately,
butit
andon theonefigureknownto me(Fig.8) havenotbeenanalyzed,
maybe worthrecallingthatonegreenpigment malachite is foundin
thesamegeologicalcontextsas azurite,thatis,withcopperores.Azurite
contactwithwater,leavingopen
afterprolonged
canturnintomalachite
of green
thatonlyblueandredwereused,withoccurrences
thepossibility
of blue.76
testifyingto thehydration
LOOKING AT PAINT MOTIFS
featureswerepaintedin locationsthat
anatomical
When recognizable
makesenseto us (e.g.,thenostrilsin Fig.2, orthehairin Fig.5), we are
tracesof thepaintingin thoseareas,or
morewillingto see(andpreserve)
thatoccurfrequently,
theexistenceof paintghosts.Patterns
acknowledge
discernsuchas a bandacrossthetopof the crown,becomeincreasingly
themoof figuresexhibiting
viewersasgreaternumbers
ibleto individual
tif arenoted.
Evenpatternsthatrecallotherobjectsfromthe sameculturemaybe
at first.As we haveseen,a marbleheadin the
if reluctantly
recognized,
71. SeeHelms1993fora discussion
of travelingand
of the importance
to earlysocietiesforestablishtravelers
tiesamongwideing andmaintaining
andthe associated
spreadcommunities,
broughthome
prestigeof materials
fromafarby suchtravelers.
72. Hendrix2000,appendixII.

73. Hendrix2000,pp.137-138,
tableIII.
2000,pp.79-80,
74. SeeBroodbank
On the culturalimwithbibliography.
portanceof metalsin the EC cultures,
seeNakou1995,withbibliography.
75. Hendrix2000,appendixII.
76. Hendrix2001,p. 53.

43o

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

Figure14 (left). Tattooedmummy

fromThebes,Egypt,latethird
millennium
B.C. Afterphotograph
in
NewYork,Metropolitan
Museumof Art

Figure15 (above).Marblepebble
figurefromDespotiko,Zoumbaria
tomb 137. H. ca. 8 cm.Athens,
NationalArchaeologicalMuseum
4885.6.

NaxosChoraMuseum(Fig.6) hasthe palecrovfnbandthatis so common,butit alsodisplaysa zigzagor lozengemotifacrossit, reminiscent

of an objectof personaladornment
suchas the silverdiademfoundin
tomb14 at Dokathismata
(Fig.7).Thismaybe a cluethatsomepainted
geometric
motifsrepresent
objectsin therealworld.
Similarly,
someofthe
dots,strtpes,
orz1gzags
maym1m1c
s1gnsottattoo1ng,
scar1t1cat1on,
or zocWy
paintingpracticed
by the islanders.
Thereis solidevidencefromthirdmillennium
B.C. Egyptthatthesesortsof bodyalterations
werepracticed
(Fig.14).77
It is a greaterchallengeto acceptsimilarevidenceforasymmetrical
designsorfamiliar
shapesin the"wrong"
locationsoronthe"wrong"
sorts
of objects.The verycleareye,vfithextantredpigmentaroundthe inner
corner,
ona pebblefigure(Fig.15)fromtomb137in theZoumbaria
cemeteryon Despotikoeludedmeforyears,despitemyhavingdravfnit severaltimes.OnlywhenI wasopento thepossibility
andsawthefigurein a
certainlightdidthepaintsuddenly
appear,
andthentheeyewasbreathtakinglyobvious.Likevfise,
a nonanatomical
eyeon whitemarbleCycladic
figures(e.g.,Fig.8) hasbeenverydifficultto accept,despitetheplethora
of ethnographic
examples
fordisassociated
eyes,aswellasisolatedeyeson
nonanthropomorphic
objects(e.g.,Fig. 16) fromthe laterBronzeAge
77. SeealsoBianchi1988;Talalay
Cyclades.
Onemustopenone'smindaswellasone'seyestothepossibilities. 1993,pp.7(F72.

PAINTED

EARLY CYCLADIC

FIGURES

43I

Figure16. Vesselswith eyesdepicted:

(a) EarlyCycladicclayjug with
incisedeye fromNaxos,Panormos.
H. 20.4 cm. Naxos,Archaeological
Museum,Chora357. AfterMarangou
1990,no.108

(b)Middle Cycladicclayboat model

with darkbrownpainteddesigns,
includingeyes,fromMelos, Phylakopi. L. 12.7 cm. Athens, National
ArchaeologicalMuseum.AfterZervos
1957,pl.230

ARCHAEOLOGICAL

CONTEXTS

Howdo the archaeological

contextsanddistribution
of the figurescontributeto ourunderstanding
of theirfunctionor theirmeaning?Early
Cycladic
marble
figureshavebeenexcavated
mainlyincemeteries,
although
occasionally
theyhavebeendiscovered
elsewhere,
suchasatMandrestou
Roussou,a rock-crevice
siteon Amorgos,78
andat thesettlementof KastrakionNaxos(nearMelanes,
theprimesourceofemeryintheCyclades).79
The siteof Daskaleio-Kavos
on thetinyislandof Keros(betweenNaxos
andAmorgos)hasyieldedhundreds
of fragments
of figures,marblevessels,andhumanbone.Thesitemaytestifyto secondary
burialpractices
in
theCyclades
in addition
to theevidence
forapuzzlingly
largesettlement.80
RenfrewandDoumashaveeachexamined
the archaeological
contextsof
78. Marangou1997.
79. Kastraki
waspublishedin very
cursoryfashionby Stephanosin 1904,
1908,and1909.Additionalsettlement
sitesin the EBACycladesthathave
yieldedEC figuresincludePhylakopi
on Melos(in a probablydisturbedcontextbelowMycenaean-period
houses;

seeAtkinsonet al. 1904,pp.194-195,

pls.2-8); AgiaIrinion Kea(alsoin
post-EBAcontexts;see Caskey1971,
1974);andAkrotirionThera(EC I
figuresfoundat the LBAsite,most
from"Cenotaph
Square,"
alsoa secondarycontextthatpointsto knowledge
of theseobjectsbeyondthe EBA;see

Sotirakopoulou
1998).At leasttwenty
otherEC settlementsiteshavebeen
exploredwhereno anthropomorphic
figureshavebeendocumented.
80. SeeBroodbank
2000,pp.223236,withbibliography.
PeggySotirakopoulouis currently
preparing
a fuller
publication
of the findsfromthissite.

ELIZABETH

432

A. HENDRIX

TABLE 1. MINIMUM NUMBER OF EARLY CYCLADIC

FIGURES PER ISLAND
Island
Andros(Northeast)
Tenos(NE)
Syros(NE)
Mykonos(NE)
Naxos(Southeast)
(SE)
GreaterParos
Erimonisia(SE)
Amorgos(SE)
Ios (SE)
Sikinos(SE)
(SE)
Pholegandros
Thera(South)
Kea(West)
Kythnos(W)
Seriphos(W)
Siphnos(W)
GreaterMelos(W)

ECI

ECII

ECIII

37
53
1
6

24
6
(350fromKerosHoard)
20
5

24

?
?

2000,p.225.Forthe KerosHoard,
DatafromHendrix2000,appendixII;Broodbank
figuresmaybelong
seen. 80.A questionmarkindicatesthatsomeof the documented
to the indicatedperiod;a dashindicateslackof data.

site reportshaveaddedto these

figuresin the Cycladesandindividual
syntheses.8l

Despitelacunaein the record the resultof lootingandthe cursory

of manyEarlyCycladiccemeterysites someobservations
publication
formarblefiguresmaybe drawnfrompubpatterns
deposition
regarding
isolatedtombsexist
thethirdmillennium,
Throughout
lishedexcavations.
of twoorthree
clusters
tiny
size
from
range
in
aswellasburialsitesthat
of wellovera hundredtombs.82
gravesto largecemeteries
inpointanalysis(PPA)of theEBACyclades
proximal
Broodbank's
betweenislandsarelikelyto havebeencomplex
dicatesthatconnections
He discernsawesterngroupinwithincertainboundaries.83
andvariable
cludingKea,Kythnos,Seriphos,Siphnos,andtheMeliancluster,and,in
the east,subsetsthatcenteron someof the largerislands,in particular
of findspotsforEarlyCycladicfigNaxos.Whenthe overalldistribution
standsat
thatasourinformation
it becomesapparent
uresis considered,
to Naxoshaveyieldedthegreatest
present,theislandsin closestproximity
miniTable1 provides
thethirdmillennium.
offiguresthroughout
number
of someislands
(thelootingof sitesandlimitedexploration
mumnumbers
Despitethe gapsin ourknowlmustdeflatethe numbersconsiderably).
it seemtohaveserved
surrounding
edge,Naxosandtheislandsimmediately
of figures.
asthefocalpointfortheconsumption
evidencefromParos,Naxos,and
A brieflookat the archaeological
Amorgosgivesa generalideaof the depositionof figuresin this group
I examinethemherein roughlychronologiduringthethirdmillennium.

81. Renfrew1972,esp.pp.135-195;
Doumas1977;Barber1987.Fora list
sites,seeLeekleyand
of excavated
Noyes1975;Hope SimpsonandDickinson1979;Fotou1983(forsiteson
Naxos);Davis1992.Fora chartof most
by
EC objects,arranged
excavated
island,see Hendrix2000,appendixII.
82. See Hendrix2000,appendixII.
2000,pp.183-191,
83. Broodbank
fig.53.

PAINTED

84.Tsountas1898,pp.140,150,
161-162,pls.8:37-43,60-61,9:40,
10:5,11:1,5,8,9,15,19.
85.The southerntip of Greater
Paros(i.e.,DespotikoandAntiparos)is
anticipated
as the firstlinkbetweenthe
Cycladesby
westernandsoutheastern
Broodbank's
PPAfromthe earliest
(leastpopulated)periods.SeeBroodbank2000,p.184, fig.53.
86. ForLivadia,seeTsountas1898,
pp.162-164,pls.9:22,34,10:9,12.For
Zoumbaria,
seeTsountas1898,pp.141,
164-165,pls.8:22-36,11:2,3.
87.Tsountas1898,p.155, pls.8:11,
10:4,16,11:20.
88. Doumas1977,pp.97-100,
pls.34:a-f,35:a-d,ll:h, 12:a.
89.Tsountas1898,pp.149-151,
158-160,pls.8:20,21,44-47, 49-52,
62,63, 9:14,18,27,10:17,11:4,6,7,
10,13, 14,17.

EARLY CYCLADIC

FIGURES

433

on GreaterParos(theisletsto thesouthof
calorder;themaincemeteries
to the
Paroswouldhavebeenconnectedby landbridges)dategenerally
earlierphasesof the EarlyBronzeAge, thoseon Naxosto the earlyto
middlephases,andthoseonAmorgosto themiddlephases.
Excavations
on GreaterParosyieldedmoreschematicthanfoldedandtime,theseECI figureswouldhave
armfigures.Intermsof materials
beenless expensiveto producethanthe marblekandilesalsofound,an
depositedin
therelative
"wealth"
whenassessing
important
consideration
onAntiparos
of Krasades
excavated
theECI cemetery
eachgrave.
Tsountas
publishing
thecontentsof nineof themorethan
in thelatel9th century,
tomb(tomb
provided
The mostgenerously
fiftygravesidentifiedthere.84
117)contained
thirteenViolin-typefiguresdepositednearthefeetofthe
twomarblevessels,oneverysimilarin
skeleton.
The tombalsocontained
a linkto
typeto theFN marblevesselsfromKephalaon Kea,suggesting
Othertombsalsocontainedmarblefiguresandvesthewesternstring.85
sels(includinga kandilaanda phialewithbluecolorantin tomb113),
quantity.
althoughnotin suchanimpressive
extipof Greater
Paros,Tsountas
At Despotiko,atthesouthernmost
atLivadiaand
in a goodstateof preservation
cavatedtwoearlycemeteries
Tomb129at
twentygraves.86
approximately
Zoumbaria,
eachcomprising
thebulkorallof thefigcontained
Livadiaandtomb137at Zoumbaria
ures(Livadia's
tomb129 alsocontainedthe onlykandila,as well as the
marblepalettewith
pigmentcontainer a perforated
onlydocumented
withredpigredcolorantandtwopebbleson topof it, onealsosmeared
ment),but othertombscontainedmarblevesselsor obsidianbladesin
additionto potteryandbeads,andanothertombat Livadiahada marble
tomb137
aremoresegregated,
figureaswell.The findsfromZoumbaria
one
varieties, with a
containingall the figures(six,of variousschematic
largeredeyepaintedon it;seeFig.15).The othertombsforwhichfinds
vessels,andoccasionally
werereportedcontainedone or two terracotta
equipped
withoneundecorated
beads(tomb135wasalsowellprovided,
fiftybeads).
potsandapproximately
andtwodecorated
The smallercemeteryat Glyphaon Paros,witha totalof tengraves,
marblevessels(kandiles)
numerous
containedfourtombsthatproduced
alsoresizedanddatedcemeteryat Plastiras
andfigures.87
The similarly
vealedavarietyof marblefiguresandvessels,butallofthefigures(andone
of thekandiles,
aswellasa marblebowlwithredpigment,smallfragments
were
embellishment?)
of obsidian,anda copperneedle toolsfor"skin"
foundin a singletomb,tomb9.88The largeEC I cemeteryof Pyrgoson
byTsountas,
heldfifty-eighttombs,of whichfourParos,alsoexcavated
vesselsandpiercedstonebeads
described.89
Terracotta
teenwerespecifically
werefoundin manyof thesetombs;marblefiguresand/orvesselswere
documented
in threegraves.One grave,tomb103, containedfourteen
of shell,andapotwitha decoViolin-type
figures,stonebeads,fragments
In additionto two
a marblekandila.
ratedbase,whiletomb104contained
terracotta
pyxides,tomb98 wasoutfittedwitha marblebowlandpestle,
tracesof redpigment.
bothof whichpreserved
wereinterred
The findsfromGreaterParossuggestthatindividuals
not everyburial
withthemspecifically;
withobjectsthatwereassociated

434

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

hadthe samesuiteof offerings.In manycemeteriesone tombseemed

moregenerously
provided
thantherest,butoftenanother
oneortwograves
werealsoprovided
withnumerous
or"expensive"
goods.Theevidence
hints
at a loosecorrelation
betweencertainindividuals
andthe quantityand
qualityof gravegoods,withonlya fewotherindividuals
havingaccessto
similarsetsof objects.The marblefiguresfromParosgenerallyfallinto
thesetwoclassesof gravesduringEC I.
Excavations
on Naxoshaveto dateyieldedthe greatestnumbersof
tombsandfindsin the Cycladicspherebyfar,thanksto thecarefulexcavationsof Doumas,andthe painstaking
reconstructions
of Stephanos's
excavations
by Papathanassopoulos.90
The evidencefromNaxosmaybe
summarized
asfollows.At Aeila,threetombswereexplored
in a cemetery
containing
anunknownnumberof graves.Eachof thethreetombscontaineda distincttypeof offering:
coppertools,terracotta
drinking
vessels,
anda terracotta
box(pyxis)withlid.Butthisis anexceptional
situation.
At AgioiAnargyroi,
wheretheexcavator
reported
theexistence
oftwentytwo graves(sevenof whichwereplundered),
one tomb(tomb21) containeda Spedos-type
marblefigureaswellas skeletalremains(including
atleastninecrania),
a stone"pillow
slab,"
threemarblebowls,nineobsidianbladesorfragments,
a terracotta
cup,anda "frying
pan.''91
At leastone
othergrave(tomb5) hadan equallyimpressive
arrayof goods,but no
marblefigures,andseveralothergraveswerealsorichin finds.Thepresenceof the"frying
pan,"anobjectthatis considered
EC I in date,andthe
Spedos-style
figure,indicative
of theECII period,in onegravewithmultipleinhumations
stronglysuggeststhatthesubgroup
utilizingthisgrave
intendedto assertits longevity;
the marblefigurecontributed
to thisexpression.

A similar-sized
cemetery
onNaxos,Akrotiri,
suffered
lessthanAgioi
Anargyroi
fromplundering.
Fourof the twenty-four
gravesdocumented
containedmarblefigures,andtwo containedboth a Violin-typeanda
Plastiras-variety
figure.92
The figuresin the remaining
two graveswere
alsosimpleschematic
orViolin-type
figures.
Manyofthetombscontained
a richvarietyof goods,includingmarblevessels,so it is unlikelythatthe
tombswiththefigureswereoccupied
byindividuals
considered
"wealthier"
thanothersin thecommunity.
A possibleexception
is tomb5,whichcontainedoneof theViolin/Plastiras
figurepairs,aswellas the onlymarble
kandila,
a marblepalette,stonebeads(andoneof copper),andtwodecoratedterracotta
pyxides.Nevertheless,
tomb21,withonlyoneViolinfigure,alsohada richassortment
of othergoods(seebelow).Thedecisionto
includemarblefiguresin tombsseemsto havebeenbasedon othercon90. Doumas 1977; Papathanassocerns,whichmaybefurtherilluminated
bythepaintedandincisedmark- poulos 1963.
ingson someof thesefigures.
91. "Fryingpans"are discussedby
Of thetentombsatAplomatarecorded
by Kontoleon(totalnumber Coleman 1985.
92. Doumas 1977, esp. pp. 87, 93,
ofgravesunknown),
sixcontained
marblefigures oftenmorethanonepls. 28:i-k, 32:f-i.
aswellasmarblevessels,marbleorterracotta
"frying
pans,"objectsmade
93. Kontoleon 1970, p. 151, pls. 192,
ofmetal(personal
ornaments,
inonecasea sword,inanother
asilverladle), 193, 195; 1971, pp. 178-179, pls. 210obsidianblades,orpigmentcontainers.93
The tombswithoutfiguresalso 215; 1972, pp. 149-151, 154, pls. 133,
contained
marblevessels,terracotta
"frying
pans,"
metalobjects,andbone 134, 136, 138, 139-144.

PAINTED

94. Stephanos1903,pp.56-57;
1906,p.88, n.1; Papathanassopoulos
1963,pp.114,115,120,122-125,
pls.46:a,b,47:a-c,48,49:a-d,50:a-c,
51:a,b,52:a-d,53:a-c,54:a,b,55:a-c,
56:a,b,57:a-d,58:a-c,59:a,b,60:a-c,
61.
95. Doumas1977,pp.122-126,
pls.22:e-g,49:e,h-n,51:b,e.
96. Marblefigureshavebeenfound
in cemeteries
withlessthanten graves
on Amorgos:at Stauros(sixtombs;
Tsountas1898,pp.138,153);Notina
(seventombs;Dummler1886,pp.1718,pl. 1:3-5;Tsountas1898,p.138);
andAigale(a singletomb;Tsountas
1898,p. 138;Renfrew1972,p.523);
andalsoon Syrosat Pydima(twoor
threetombs;Tsountas1899,p.79).
97. Fora figurein anisolatedgrave,
seeTsountas1898,p.138 (Aigale).
Verysmallcemeteriescontainingmarble figuresarepublishedin Tsountas
1898,p. 138 (KatoAkrotiri,two
.
graves),p. 153 (Stauros,sixgraves)
98. SeeHendrix2000,pp.191-194,
fora list of findsfromAmorgos.
1989,p.325, table1.
99. Broodbank
Bent's
100.Forexample,Jeremy
publishedin
excavations
on Antiparos,
the 1884volumeofJHS,arewrittenas
a picturesque
traveldiaryratherthanan
excavation
report.The reportsof Klon
Stephanos(1903,1904,1906,1908,
1909,1910,1911)of his earlyexcavationson Naxos,publishedin Prakt,are
justa fewpagesin length.

EARLY CYCLADIC

FIGURES

435

"economic"
statuson the sole
tubes,so againit is difficultto distinguish
basisof marblefigures.A similarsituationexistsat the siteof Spedoson
Naxos.94
If we turnourattentionto muchsmallerclustersof graves,we
Threetombs,inwhichmultipleburialsevidently
findsimilarassemblages.
at Audelion Naxos.This smallsite
tookplace,comprisethe "cemetery"
blades,
vessels,manyobsidian
figuresaswellasmarble
produced
twomarble
Objectsfroma (contemposilverpin.95
terracotta
vessels,andanelaborate
rary?)housenearbyincludea lumpof redocher(notanalyzedas farasI
anda pieceof emery,suggesting
amaware),anobsidianblade,a grinder,
atthesite
thatstoneworkingaswellaspaintingmayhavebeenpracticed
Otherverysmallcemeteries
despiteits distancefroma largersettlement.
alsoindicatethaton Naxosmarblefigureswerenot the possessionsof
alone.96
members
of largercommunities
morethan
containing
On theislandof Amorgostherearecemeteries
halfthat
andKapros,
cemeteries
twentytombs,suchas at Dokathismata
isolatedburials.A1andAgiosPaulos,andnumerous
size,as at Kapsala
thoughthetombwiththegreatestnumberandvarietyof burialgoodsinwasfoundin oneof the
cludingmarblefigures(tomb14atDokathismata)
on the island,marblefigureswerealsofoundin much
largestcemeteries
Moreover,
gravescontaining
andevensolitary
graves.97
smallercemeteries
(asin
a figuremightcontainnothingelse(asatAigale),ora fewceramics
or a greatvarietyof otherobjectsincluding
tomb13 at Dokathismata),
Most sites
additionalmarblefigures(as in tomb14 at Dokathismata).
contained
someevidenceof marblefigures,butseveraldidnot,including
andPhoinikies
(justtwograves).
AgiosPaulos(withatotalofelevengraves)
on Amorgosof whichI amaware,
(Thetwo EarlyCycladicsettlements
yieldedno
Markiani
andthe settlementneartheAgiosPauloscemetery,
metalartifacts
ormarblefigures.)Althoughthetotalnumberof recorded
numunspecified
goodsfromAmorgosisnotgreat(lessthan200,counting
or "stonerubbers"
as representing
sherds"
bersof itemssuchas "pottery
wholeor partialmarblefigureswererefiveitems),at leasttwenty-five
corded,suggestingthatthesewererelativelycommonburialgoodson
shedlighton thepercentage
do not,however,
Amorgos.98
Thesenumbers
of peoplewhowereburiedwithmarblefigures.
of thepopulation
It is evenmoredifficultto estimatethepercentage
sizefrom
attemptsto inferpopulation
thatpossessed
figures.Broodbank's
butdo not account
numbers
of gravesmayprovideminimumnumbers,99
evenif sometombswithno
fordeathsat seaor outsidethe community,
skeletalremains
wereintendedforthoselostsouls.Thepoorstateof presourattemptsto discernmultiple
alsohampers
ervation
of skeletalmaterial
burialsin singlegraves,forwhichthereis much,althoughnotconsistent,
such
formultiple
inhumations,
evidence
evidence.
Sometombsdopreserve
but no
as tomb10 at Kapsala(whichcontainedcopperandterracotta,
marblegoods),andsomepreservea singlecranium(suchas tomb14 at
Dokathismata,
withtwo marblefiguresandmanyothergoods),butthe
reportsformostgravesrecordno skeletalremainsat all.The ratherbrief
comfromthelatel9th andearly20thcenturies
accountsof excavations
whetherboneswouldhavebeen
as it is uncertain
poundthe difficulty,100

436

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

consistently
documented
evenif theyhadbeenfound.We canconclude
fromthereportsontheexcavations
atAmorgos,
however,
thattwenty-five
marblefigureshavebeenrecovered
thusfarfromabouteighty-sixgraves,
withatleastfourgravescontaining
morethanonefigure.
The burialcontextsfromAmorgossuggestthatmarblefigureswere
notthe exclusive
possessions
of onetypeof individual,
andtheycouldbe
associated
withpersonsburiedeitheralone,orinlargeorsmallcemeteries.
Someof theseindividuals
hadno other(nonperishable)
burialgoods,ora
fewpiecesof pottery,
butothershadimpressive
amountsof burialgoods,
includingitemsmadefromrelatively
rarematerials
suchascopperorsilver,whichalsowouldhaveentailedconsiderable
laborto produce.
This
variability
suggeststhatindividuals
onAmorgospossessed
marblefigures
forreasonsthatcannotbe linkedsimplyto economicstatusorto singular
rolesin theircommunities.
It mayalsobe observedthattheburialswith
themost"special"
objects(metal,marble,
elaborate
pottery)didnotalways
containa marblefigure.
WhenthelargestEarlyCycladiccemeteries
areexamined,
suchasat
Chalandriani
on Syros(withmorethan500 tombs),a similarpattern
emerges:
seventy-five
tombsarerecorded
and,despitesomeplundering,
onlyninehadnofindsbeyondskeletal
material.10l
Tomb307wasequipped
withtwolateEC II marblefigures,marblevessels,threepigmenttubes,a
terracotta
"frying
pan,"anda terracotta
bowl.Tomb354 containeda late
EC II figure,twomarblebowls(onewithgreenpigmentin its interior),
andtwoterracotta
jars.Tombs415 and468 eachincludeda singleschematicfigureof marble.
Tomb447contained
a marblefigureof theDokathismata
variety
(lateECII),terracotta
vessels,andacranium.
Othertombs,
withoutfigures,contained
manyitems,includinggoodsmadeof marble,
copper,andsilver,orspecialized
objectssuchaselaborately
(andsymbolically)decorated
"frying
pans,"pigmenttubes,or obsidianblades.Again,
this evidencedoesnot pointto the equivalence
betweenmarblefigures
and"wealth"
perse.
What conclusions
canbe drawnfromthe archaeological
datathus
far?Mostbroadly,
the varietyof gravegoodsandtheirpresencein both
thesmallestandlargestburialsitesargueagainstthemarblefiguresserving to circumscribe
anysortof expressed
economichierarchy
in Early
Cycladicmortuary
practices.
Let us askinstead,however,
who was interredwiththemarblefigures.Marblefiguresarefoundin themajority
of
cemeteries
throughout
the EBACyclades.Fromthe earlierto the later
phasesof the period,theywereassociated
mostoftenwith one or two
tombs(containing,
it mustbe acknowledged,
anunknownnumberof individuals
whowerenonetheless
buriedasoneentity),withadditional
tombs
containing
markedly
fewerexamples.
Thispatternis mostevidentat the
beginningof the EarlyBronzeAge.Thus,in mostcommunities,
oneentity (individual
or family/occupational
clan)wasmostcloselyassociated
withthefigures.
Ifwecandetermine
thefilnction(s)
ofthefigures,
wemay
beableto saysomething
abouttherolesof thosepeoplewhowereinterred
101.See Hekman1990fortomb
assemblages
at Chalandriani.
withthem.

PAINTED EARLY CYCLADIC FIGURES

437

Figure17. EarlyCycladicViolin-type
figurefromNaxos,Akrotiri,tomb20.
H. 10.5 cm. Naxos,Archaeological
Museum,Chora,1993.

PAINTING: PERFORMANCE AND

PARAPHERNALIA

102.SeeGetz-Gentle1996,p.179;
Hendrix2000,p. 158.
103.Tsountas
1898,pp.154-155;
Hendrix2000,p.192.
104.Getz-Gentle1996,p. 79,
pl.VII(2):DandE (color),NAM 4724
(bowl)and4722(figure).
105.SeeThimmeandGetzPreziosi1977,pp.439-440,no.72
(description
of painton p. 440),foran
unprovenienced
Plastiras-type
figure
withredhorizontalstripespaintedup
theverylongneck.This figureis in a
privatecollectionin Germany.
106.Doumas1977,p.94, pls.32:c,
h, i,33:c,e.

A studyof burialassemblages
revealsthatin additionto the marblefigures,itemsthatrelateto pigmentandpaintwerealsodeposited
in numeroustombs.In somecasestheremaybe a directrelationship
betweenthe
activityof paintingandthemarblefigure(andthedeceased).102
Tomb14
at Dokathismata,
mentionedabove,is wellknown.l03
In thisundeniably
richgrave,one of two marblelug bowlscontaineda lumpof darkred
pigment(unfortunately
notanalyzedasyet);a verysimilarcolorwasappliedasa seriesof slightlyoff-vertical
stripesarranged
acrossthechestof
oneof thetwomarblefiguresfoundin thetomb.104
At Akrotirion Naxos
a Violin-typefigurewitha patternof grooveson the torso(includinga
pubictriangle)
wasfoundin tomb20 (Figs.3, 173.In addition,a seriesof
redhorizontal
stripesor partially
preserved
lozengeswaspaintedup the
neckprong(Fig.3, left).105
AnotherViolinfigure(slightlysmaller)with
similargroovesanda"notch"
atthetopof theprongwasfoundin tomb21
(Fig.3, right).Althoughno tracesof paintwereobservedon thisfigure,
tomb21 alsocontained
two marblepestles,onewithXthe
remainsof red
pigmenton its grindingsurface,
anda whitestonemortarwithredin its
interior.106
Clayvesselswithinciseddecoration
andstonebeads-one in
the shapeof a bird werealsoincludedin tomb21 (itemsof personal

438

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

adornment,
perhapsa necklace?);
a copperbeadanda marblePlastirastypefigurewerefoundin tomb20 alongwiththepaintedViolinfigure.In
otherwords,theseweretombsthatmaybe describedas well provided
(twoothertombs,of twenty-four,
in the cemeterycontainedone marble
figureeach,andanothertwocontainedobjectswithpigment:a bowlin
tomb11, anda pestlein tomb23).The similarity
of the Violinfigures
fromtombs20 and21 andtheremainsof paint- on a figureandaspreparedforuse- suggestthatthesetwotomboccupants
weresomehowconnectedandthatan eventrelatedto the actof paintingwasassociated
at
leastwiththeburialin tomb21.Whilepainteddesignsontheirowncommunicatemoreaboutthe finaleffectthanthe process,thisevidenceand
thatfromtomb14 at Dokathismata
suggestthattheprocessof painting
itselfwasalsoculturally
significant
forsomeindividuals.
Theimportance
of suchprocesses
in othercultures
hasbeendiscussed
in the anthropological
literature.
It is worthreviewing
in somedetailone
example,
theMelvilleislanders
(theTiwi),sincetheprocesses
of carving,
painting,
anddanceaspartof theburialritualallcontribute
to thesuccess
of the event.107
The Tiwi carveandpaintwoodenburialpolesduringa
two-to-four
monthperiodaftera memberof thecommunity
dies.Dueto
taboosof proximity,
thecreators108
of thepolesmustnotbe relatedto the
deceased.The
general
process,
fromselection
ofrawmaterials
tofinalpainting,is culturally
prescribed,
althoughdetailsof outputdependon thecreativityofthemaker,
andonthewishes(andfinances)
ofthedeceased's
kin.
Groupsof pole-makers
gather,eachgroupresponsible
fortheproduction
of onepole.The polemustbe of a certainsizeandtypeof wood,andthe
basicdesignmustconformto tradition,
a mandate
ensured
bytheartisan's
askingfor andreceivingadvicefromthe moreexperienced
individuals
workingnearby.
When the polesarefinishedtheybecomethe focusof
dancingritualsduringthefinalburialcelebration.
Theparticular
qualities
of thiswholedisplayrelateto thedeceased's
statusin lifeaswellasto his
orherancestral
status.Thepointof theritualis to facilitate
thedeceased's
transition
to theworldof the"once-living"
sincetheTiwibelievethatthe
ancestors
arepartaking
in a simultaneous
ritualof dancingin whichthe
newlydeceasedmember
joins.Afterthe dance,despiteallthe effortand
materials
expendedon them,the polesareno longersignificant
andare
leftto decaynaturally.
The taboosanddancingassociated
withthepoles,
ratherthanthe polesthemselves,
areclearlythe focusof the ritual.The
polesareimportant
insofarastheygivetangibleformto themaintenance
of theritual.
We do not knowwhetherthe marblefiguresweremadespecifically
forburialrituals;repairsandmultiplepaintedmotifsmayindicatethat
theyfunctioned
in othercontextsaswell.In somecases,however,
we may
be justifiedin interpreting
the findsas evidencefor mortuary
behavior
(ritualpainting)thatis eitherspecificto burialritesor thatrelatesto activitiescarriedon in life.The depositionof figures,paint,pigmentcontainers,vessels,needles,andobsidianbladesin gravesstronglysuggests
thatburialpractices
werecomplexandoften(butnotalways)required
ata
minimumtheparaphernalia
thathavesurvived
to thepresent.

107.GoodaleandKoss1967.
108.Primarily
male,exceptwhena
femaleshowsspecialaptitudeduring
mockritualsin whichallchildrenpartakein allthe roles;see Goodaleand
Koss1967,p. 188.

PAINTED

EARLY CYCLADIC

FIGURES

439

attestto a shared
similar
burialgoodassemblages
IntheEBACyclades,
(the
communities
possessions
amongwidelydispersed
senseof appropriate
to the pastweremainconnections
horizontalaxis).Justas importantly,
withthedeceasedof goodsthatbearsimilarities
tainedbythedeposition
(theverticalaxis).The presto thosedepositedby previousgenerations
suggeststhatindiburialgoodswithincemeteries
enceof differentiated
subsetsoftheEarlyCycladic
particular
vidualentitieswereassociatedwith
roleswithin
particular
material
culture,
andthatthesesubsetsaccompanied
societieswheredifferentiation
the EC culturalmilieu.In nonindustrial
agreeor material
possessions,
setsof knowledge
is markedbyparticular
to
holdtheresponsibility
thatsomeindividuals
mentamonga population
forexample,
Helmshasobserved,
maintain
groupidentitymaybeattested.
to transmitculcanbe empowered
thatsomemembersof a community
anduseof
ofwhichtheproduction
turalidentitythroughspecialactivities,
Thisis
(anddurable)
role.l09
extra-utilitarian
goodsmayplayanimportant
paintparaphernalia,
intowhichpaintedmarblefigures,
theclassof artifact
clayandmarble"fryingpans,"marblekandiles,andprismaticobsidian
bladescould,amongother(andotherless durable)goods,be ascribed.
Helmsdefinesthe peoplewho possesstheseobjectsandthe knowledge
IntheEBACyclades
''aristocrats.''ll
systemsthatgivethemtheirmeaning
this categoryseemsto haveexistedas well,but gravegoodsandburial
fromothermemweredifferentiated
contextsuggestthatthese"aristocrats"
not in termsof materialwealth,butperhapsin
bersof the community
andpowers.
termsof cultural
responsibilities
SUMMARY AND CONCLUDING

109.Helms1998, p. 7.
110.Helms1998, p. 6.
111.Talalay1993, p. 37.
1996,
112. SeePapathanassopoulos
pp. 312-333, nos.231-233, foreyesin
clayvisages,andfromThessaly,a marble headfroma figurinein the Athens
Museum
NationalArchaeological
(6001).

REMARKS

In attempting
to makesenseof the Cycladicpaintedfigures,andhaving
assessment
of
considered
the physicalevidence,I wouldextendTalalay's
figuresintotheBronzeAge:"figurines
GreekNeolithicanthropomorphic
strategies
of a givencommuwiththeadaptive
wereultimately
associated
nityand[it is likely]thattheirfunctionsvaried.''lll
motifson the faceand
Doublesetsof eyes,multiplelozenge-shaped
eyeson
thewide-open"anatomical"
otherpartsof thebody,andespecially
so manyEarlyCycladicfiguresindicatea possibleshiftin meaningof
figurative
worksfromtheNeolithicto theEarlyBronzeAge.Onlyrarely
of the Neolithic,which
do we continueto seethe slit-eyescharacteristic
Rather,the eyeson
werefashionedon clayas well as marblefigures.ll2
EarlyCycladicfiguresarepaintedin sucha wayasto effecta returngaze.
The figuresappearwideawake,focusingstraightahead,onereasonwhy
thatthefigureswereutilizedin a reclining
I cannotacceptthehypothesis
position,althoughtheymayhavebeenstoredthatway.Rather,the animatedeyescombinedwith the size of the figures(almostall areunder
painted
0.50m),theslightlypointedfeetandbentknees,andtheadditional
featuressuggestthatthe slenderfigures,heldeasilyaroundthe waistby
eduwomenor men,playedan active,uprightrolein ritual,storytelling,
of socialusesoverthecourseof theiruse-life
cating,orsomecombination

44o

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

in thecommunity,
priorto burial.Thattheycouldnotstandon theirown
mayfurtherindicatethattheywereobjectsto behandledratherthanveneratedfromadistance,
although
thelargestfiguresmayhavebeenpropped
againstwallsto increasetheirvisibility.1l3
Applications
of painteddesignsspecificto a giveneventmayexplain
therelatively
poorstateof preservation
of somemotifs(seebelow),while
otherfeatures,
suchasthetwonormaleyesandcrownband,wereintended
to be morepermanent.
The kindsof eventsthatmayhaveinspiredor
required
paintingdesignsorsymbolson figurescannotbe discerned
from
thearchaeological
recordasit existsnow,withtheexceptionof theevent
of death.Wedohavesomeevidencethatthematerials
andactof painting
werepartof theburialprocess.
I havealready
notedtheViolinfiguresand
mortarandpestlewithredpigmentexcavated
fromtombs20 and21 in
the earlyEC I cemeteryat Akrotirion Naxos,andthe bowlwithpestle
andredpigmentandfigurewithredstripespaintedacrossthechestfrom
tomb14in theDokathismata
cemetery
onAmorgos,datingto lateECII.
Tomb14 alsocontained
thesilverdiademillustrated
above(Fig.7),a humancranium,
anothersimilarmarblefigure,a marblefour-lugged
bowl,
severalclayjars,a fragment
of a silverbowl,a silverblade,a copperdagger
withsilverrivets,twocopperbracelets,
anda silverpinwithagoatfinial.1l4
Thiswasanexceptionally
wellstockedtomb,highlysuggestive
of anindividual(if indeedtherewasjust one individualburiedthere)who was
wealthier
thanothersin thecemetery.
Partof thiswealthyperson's
burial
kit includedtoolsandmaterials
thatcouldenablesomeoneto engagein
theactof painting.It is clearthatpaintingasa processwassignificant
in
thiscontext.Pigmentsassociated
withtombselsewhere
in the Cyclades
mayrelateto thispractice.1l5
It is necessary
to speculate
if we wantto suggestwhatsortof events
duringa person's
life wouldhavebeenaccompanied
by the paintingof
marblefigures.Herethepositionof themotifon thebodymaybe revealing.As we haveseen,theheadandneckarefavored.
The headespecially,
withits wide-openeyesandotherpossiblemotifs,wouldhavebeenthe
focusof interest,
commanding
theattentionof theviewerto thefigureand
whatever
messageitwasmeantto communicate.
Thefunctionofthepaint
at this levelwas to expressthe authorityof the particular
messagethe
figurewassetto convey.
The bellyis a frequentlocationfor zigzagmotifsandalsofor the
nonanatomical
eyes(Figs.4, 8, 10).Associations
withpregnancy
maynot
be outof the question,signifyinga temporary
conditionforthe persona
embodiedin the marblefigure.EarlyCycladicfemalefiguresarerarely
represented
asobviously
pregnant.
Belliesthatprotrude
greatlyenoughto
indicatepregnancy
unequivocally
arefarlesscommonthanslightlyswollen abdomensthatseemmoreeharacteristic
of normalfemaleanatomy
(perhapsenhancedby age).l16
Enlargedbreasts,whichmayalsosignify
pregnancy,
arealtogether
absenton EarlyCycladicfigures,as arebroad
hipsorexaggerated
buttocks;
typicalprehistoric
representations
of"fertility"arenotfoundin EarlyCycladicfemalefigures.Nevertheless,
theconditionof pregnancy
musthavebeenfraughtwitha senseof awe,danger,
mystery,
responsibility,
andoptimism,andwouldthereforeseeman ap-

113.SeeN. P.Goulandris
Foundation,Museumof CycladicArt,
Coll.968, a fragmentof handsholding
a miniature
figure,illustrated
in GetzGentle2001,p. 37, fig. 18 (reconstructiondrawing),pl.26. Fora provocative
anddetaileddiscussionof the possible
functionsof anthropomorphic
figures,
seeTalalay1993,pp.37-79. A rich
analysisof ethnographic
parallels
is
alsoprovided.
114.Tsountas1898,pp.154-155,
pls.8:1,2; 9:11,lla, 21; 10:6;12:2,8.
115.Yellowocherwasfounddistributedon the slabfloorof a double
burialin tomb8 at AgioiAnargyroi
on
Naxos(Doumas1977,pp.101,108).
Lumpsof red-brown
"ocher"
were
notedjustoutsidethegravesin the
samecemetery(Doumas1977,p. 119),
andpigmentswerefoundthroughout
tomb23 in theAplomatacemetery,
also
on Naxos(Kontoleon1972,p. 150;
Coleman1985,p.210).Yellowpowder
wasalsofoundspreadbeforetomb8 in
the Plastirascemeteryon Paros(Doumas1977,p. 98), andtwolumpsof red
pigmentwerefoundin tomb356 in the
Chalandriani
cemeteryon Syros
(Tsountas1899,p. 113).
116.This ideawasfirstsuggestedto
me in May1999by PatGetz-Gentle
(pers.comm.).

PAINTED

117.On the "evileye"in othercultures,see Dundes1981andThomsen

1992.
118.Muller1978,p. 93.
119.Forthe intriguingconnections
betweenanatomyandpower,seeWinter1989,1996.
figures
120.Thereareexceptional
suchas shell
madeof othermaterials,
orlead,andon Crete,ivory.See Fitton
1989,p. 58, fig.76, fora leadfigure
1977,
fromAntiparos,andSakellarakis
p. 151,fig. 143,forthe ivoryfigure
fromTholosC at Archanes,Crete.
pottery,
121.ForEC white-slipped
see Doumas1977,pl. 36:c(wherethe
kandilashapeclearlymimicsmarble
andRenfrew1972,pl. 7
examples),
patternsanalogous
(withdark-painted
effectsof painton
to the contrasting
marblefigures).

EARLY CYCLADIC

FIGURES

44I

song,andotherbehaviors
storytelling,
subjectforperformance,
propriate
the actof paintingon thebelly.Butthatwasonlyonecondisupporting
tionworthyof socialattention.
onthefigurealsopresumeyesthatappearelsewhere
Nonanatomical
althoughthe
theyappear,
where
body
of
the
the
part
to
ablycallattention
supgenerally
parallels
Ethnographic
is unknown.
significance
particular
portthisbroadmeaning.Symboliceyesareaddedto imagesorcreatedas
isolateditems(ex-votos)in modernGreece,Turkey,Syria,Mexico,and
in yarnbytheHuichol
eyes"produced
tsikuri,or"God's
elsewhere.ll7The
deityto "keepaneye
aska particular
symbolically
in Mexico,forexample,
who possessesthe tsikuri.ll8Eyesthatappearon paron"the individual
of
ticularbodypartsof marblefiguresmaysimilarlyaskforsafekeeping
heart,andso on.
thevoice,womb,spirit,arm/strength,
Thezigzagspaintedontheupperarmsorlegsof somefiguresarealso
onthoseareasmight
Thefunctionof thesemarkings
difficultto interpret.
their
orweakening
be to callattentionto thelimbs,eitherstrengthening
powersorthepowersthelimbsmayhavecometo symbolizeforaninditheymay
Alternatively,
ornetworkof communities.ll9
vidual,community,
in the
wornbylivingpeople.Clearly,
simplymimicbodyembellishments
the
existto determine
texts,too manyvariables
absenceof contemporary
precisemeaningof thismotif.
veryfew,if any,EarlyCycladicfiguresof the
As alreadymentioned,
of a formof
typesarefoundin clay.Thatis highlysuggestive
developed
At theveryleast,EarlyCycladicislandcontroloverproduction.
cultural
to fashionclayversionsforthemornecessary
ersdidnotfindit desirable
The female(occaeasyto do.l20
selves,whichwouldhavebeenrelatively
sionallymale)humanfigurewasan objectthatforsomereason,andfor
wasstrictlylinkedto whitemarble.Giventhewhiteslipon so
centuries,
manyEarlyCycladicclayvessels,thecolorof thestonewasnottheissue,
of
property
perhapsin the samewaythatcolorwasnottheonlyvaluable
thepigmentsused.l2l
anMarbleworkersof variouslevelsof skillandambitionproduced
world,
theCycladic
thathavebeenfoundthroughout
figures
thropomorphic
At theveryleast,craftinga
evenon islandswheremarbleis notavailable.
norm,anda
to apan-Cycladic
conformity
expressed
figureof thismaterial
timein theeffort.Thosearetwostrong
to investconsiderable
willingness
messagesthat mayhavehelpedestablishand maintainbeneficialand
subsetin everyEarly
friendlyrelationsamongmembersof animportant
of sucha figurein
andhosts.Thepresence
travelers
Cycladiccommunity:
thatthe ownerwas"oneof
mayhavesignifiedto travelers
a community
associmorethanoneburialin a community
us."Thattheregenerallywas
withinthe
atedwithfiguressuggeststhata numberof specialindividuals
couldmaintainthe largergroupidentity.Multiplefiguresin
community
theextent
andmayalsosymbolize
oneburialmayhintatseveralnetworks,
suppliesnuaswellasconfirmthem.The imagination
of thosenetworks
merousavenuesforspeculation.
smallgroupof stylistic
Ourabilityto dividefiguresinto a relatively
At the sametime,thereis
typesatteststo a certainlevelof conformity.
canalsobefoundamong
muchvarietywithinthetypes.Greatdifferences

442

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

the types,fromthe rudimentary

notchedpebblefiguresto the near-lifesizefolded-arm
figures.l22
Nonetheless,
allcanbe easilyidentifiedasCycladic,as opposedto Anatolianor Balkanor Levantine;
theremusthave
beena consensus
amongtheislanders
forformsappropriate
to the Early
Cycladiccultures.
Howdoesthe presenceof paintcontribute
to ourunderstanding
of
thefunctionandmeaningof thefigures?
Certainmotifs,in particular
the
twoanatomical
eyesandthecrownband,areso common,andso broadly
consistent
in form,thattheyseemto havebeenpartof thecanonthatwas
communicated
asintegral
to thepan-Cycladic
norm.Inthiscasethefunction andthe meaningseemto havebeenbroadlythe same:Hereis the
activated
imagethatyou,as a memberof this(pan-Cycladic)
world,will
recognize.

Certainotherpainteddesignsmayhavebeenappliedornot,depending on localcustomsor needs.l23

The formof the figurewasessentially
generic,andseemsto havebeeninitiallydetailedwithtwo openeyesin
orderto renderthe figurealert.The individual
orgroupthatpossesseda
figurecoulduseits genericformin a varietyof waysovertime,sinceits
appearance
wasnottiedto aspecificcondition
suchaspregnancy
ormourning.Its appearance,
andthereforemeaning,couldbe alteredwithpaint,
andperhaps
dress,l24
to workon a symbolic
levelforavarietyof particular
occasions.
In otherwords,anunspecified
humanformcanbe particularizedto suita specificstageof lifeoreventbytheapplication
of significant
paintedfeatures.l25
Thishypothesis
mayalsoaccountforthepoorstateof preservation
of
so manyof thepaintedmotifs.Manyof thesefeatures
maynothavebeen
intendedto lastlongerthantheduration
of theeventforwhichtheywere
applied.l26
The surprising
absenceof themouthon mostCycladic
figures
maysuggesttwoexplanations:
eithermouthsweresomehowinappropriateon theseworks(thehandlerdoingallthetalking),ortheywereindicatedwithmediathatweretemporary.
As apossiblesymbolofvoice,story,
song,channel,orportof nourishment,
themouthmayhavebeenpainted
in a changing
varietyofwaysovertheuse-lifeof thefigure.Otherfeatures,
suchastheanatomical
eyes,mayhavebeenappliedin moredurable
media
122.See,e.g.,platesin the abundantlyillustrated
catalogues
editedby
ThimmeandGetz-Preziosi(1977)and
Getz-Preziosi(1987b).
123.SeeTalalay1993,pp.4S44,
fora discussionof ethnographic
parallelsregarding
the multipleusesof
figuresin modernnonindustrialized
communities.
Songsandpoemscommonlyaccompany
theuseof these
figures;theyarepartof a complex
teachingprogramaimedat passing
downtraditionsthatprovidethe communitywithits worldview.
124.Dressdoesnot necessarily
negatethe inction of paintedmotifs,

whosesignificance
maybe realized
as muchin the actasthe effectsof
palntng.

125.Bynum,Harrel,andRichman
(1986,p. 5) pointoutthata givenmotif
mayhavedifferentmeaningsdepending on the statusof theviewer,a point
alsoobservedbyTalalay(1993,p. 34).
See alsoKelly,Lang,andWalters
1972,p. 62, on the creationanduse
of anthropomorphic
figuresby the
Navahoin orderto helprestorehealth
to peoplewhohavefallenill.Applied
embellishments
suchas dressand
jewelryelementsaidin the task.
126.Talalay(1993,p. 17) suggests

thattheveryfriablebiscuitof some
NeolithicclayfigurinesfromFranchthi
Cavemayindicate"thatthe actof making the figurewasmoreimportantthan
manipulating
the artifact,"
whilehardfiredexamples"mightindicatethatthe
figurewasintendedto havean'active'
life and,consequently,
thatthe maker
intentionally
exposedthe pieceto a
thoroughfiringin orderto ensureits
permanence."
Shepoints(p 127,n. 27)
to additionalstudies,suchasthosecarriedoutby Crowley(1973)andFernandez (1973),thatdemonstrate
thatthe
processof a figure'smanufacture
wasat
leastassignificantas the finalproduct.

PAINTED EARLY CYCLADIC FIGURES

443

or evenreapplied
whennecessary,
havinga morestablefunction.Those
features
willbe morelikelyto survivecorrosive
burialconditions(aswell
asmodern"cleaning"
efforts).
To conclude,I wouldproposethattherewasanimplicithierarchy
of
identitiesexpressed
in EarlyCycladicfigures.First,theformsthemselves
express,withoutdoubt,thatthe manufacturer
andpossessorbelongto
somedegreeto the samebroadgroupof peopleinhabiting
the islandsin
thesouthernAegean.AsJackDavishasobserved:
In the EarlyBronzeAge,thesimilarities
in theformalcharacteristicsof ceramics,
marblevessels,figurines,
andmetalobjectsthat
typifythe EarlyCycladiccultureareindicative
of socialandeconomictiesmaintained
amongthesettlements
of theislands;these
relationships
mayalsobe regarded
asnecessary
adaptations
that
wouldhaveprovided
accessto additional
resources
of foodand
manpower
in timesof crisis.127
Thewhite,marble,
pan-Cycladic,
anthropomorphic
formswerenotcomplete,however,
beforetwolargeopeneyeswereappliedin paint.It is difficultto resistthenotionthattheseeyesweremeantto expressthemarble
body'sconnection
to theworldof humanbeings.
Second,motifssuchas stripesor zigzags,certaincoiffures,
perhaps,
andredlinessegregating
specificbodyparts128
mayhaveassociated
the
figurewithafamilyorothergroupwithinthebroader
culture.
Thefunerary
contextandtheincisionsontheViolin-type
figuresfromtombs20 and21
fromAkrotirion Naxos,for example,suggestsucha relationship.
In a
similarvein,linksmayhavebeenexpressed
throughsimilarmotifsonfigures"belonging"
to a woman's
or man'sparental
familyandsubsequently
theirspousalfamily,tracking
personal
historiesof exogamy.129
Third,somemotifsmayhavebeenappliedin association
withimportantevents:1nltlatons1ntoacu t groups,marr1age,
pregnancy,
an1mportantseaventure,
and,ultimately,
thevoyageto thenextworld.Tattooscan
alsomarkpersonal
eventsorstatus,ascanscarification
andbodypainting,
andevenhairstyles,as hasbeenarguedfortheyoungwomenpaintedin
theTherafrescoes.130
Theconceptof paintingthemarblefiguresmayderivefromthe practiceof paintingactualhumanbodies.Talalay,
among
.

127.Davis1992,p. 704.
128.The relatively
commonred
linesonlyoccurin incisionsthatdelineateintegrated
bodyparts,suchasthe
juncturebetweenthe neckandhead,
orthe spine.It is extremely
rarefor
separatebodyparts,suchas the lower
foldedarmsandthe torso,to be outlinedin red.It is thereforetemptingto
imaginethattheseredlinesmayalso
havebeenpaintedon humanindividuals.Redpaintbetweenfingersandtoes
is the exceptionto thisrule,andmaybe
specificto marblefigures(vs.humans).
129.See Cullen1985,pp.94-97,

fordiscussionof ceramicdesignsimilaritiesin the contextof MiddleNeolithicsettlementexogamy.

130.Fortattoossee Helms1993,
p. 59,withbibliography,
andTalalay
1993,pp.70-72. SeeTalalay1993,
pp.37-79, andRubin1988forbody
markingthroughouttheworld.Forhair
treatments
in theTherafrescoes,see
Davis1986.On the roleof womenas
bodypainters(thebodiesof children
andotherwomen),seeTurner's
(1971)
studyof theTchikrincultureof Brazil.
In thatcommunitypaintedsymbols/
designson thebodyareusedto express

essentialagedivisionsthatareaccompaniedby differentsocialstatus,particularlyin regardto sexualavailability.

Besidesvarioussortsof bodypaintand
modesof application,
theselife stages
aremarkedby specifichairlengths,and
by specificarticlesof dressandjewelry.
Furthermore,
the positionof the ornamentis meantto enhancethe (perceptionof) powerof the anatomyto which
it refers.Men andwomenusedifferent
methodsof applyingthepaint,and
colorsaswellas positionon thebody
addto the meaningof the patterns.

444

ELIZABETH

A. HENDRIX

others,hasnotedthata keydifference
betweenbodypaintingandtattooing or scarification
is permanence."While
[tattooingandscarification]
reflectpermanent
changesin status,bodypaintis usedto symbolize
more
transientstatesor specialoccasions.''l3l
Herethe choiceof materialmay
againcomeintoplay:incisingclayfiguresfeels
morelikepermanent
methodsof bodymodification;
paintingon marble
feelsmorelikepaintingon
flesh.
I proposethatsomeof thepaintedemblems
wereappropriate
forcertainepisodesin the life or deathof the bearer,
whethermarbleor flesh,
addingparticular
dimension
tothehuman oratleastanthropomorphic
bodyunderneath.
Bodyembellishment
wasnotaninnovation
of theEarly
Cycladicperiod,butneitherwasit rejectedthen,despitethemodernappearance
ofsomemarble
figures.The
greatinnovation
intheEarlyCycladic
periodwasto provideanthropomorphic
marblefemalefigureswithopen
eyesin additionto otherbodymarkings,
someof whichhadbeenused
earlier.
Thesemotifs,asappliedto themarblefigures,assistedindividuals
orsmallgroupsin theirendeavor
to transfer
cultural
memories
acrossspace
andthroughtime to participate
in theprocessof"beingCycladic."

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