Stylistic traditions and conjunctural constraints. The Palaeolithic female figurine from Piatra Neamț

Abstract

The first Palaeolithic female figurine in Romania was discovered in 2019. It was found near a hearth, in a level assigned to the Early Epigravettian, in the Piatra Neamț 1 settlement. 14 C dates have provided the age of 17,200 BP. The figurine was carved on a sandstone pebble collected from the alluviums of the Bistrița River near the settlement. The flat shape of the pebble required certain stylistic restrictions specific to figurines of this age. In particular, those anatomical parts suggesting obesity, such as breasts and buttocks, could not be volumetrically represented at revealing dimensions

Keywords

• figurine
• venus
• raw material
• symbolism
• palaeolithic
• epigravettian