Reevaluarea unor reprezentări antropomorfe și zoomorfe din situl eneolitic de la Petricani (com. Petricani, jud. Neamț)

Abstract

This scientific contribution brings into discussion a batch of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic representations discovered in the excavations carried out in the Eneolithic site of Petricani (Neamț County), in 1973. The results of the mentioned researches are only known to a small extent. The anthropomorphic representations were mentioned in Dan Monah’s synthesis, but without the benefit of a very thorough discussion. In the present situation, 14 artifacts were studied, of which 12 are anthropomorphic statuettes, and two are zoomorphic figurines. Unfortunately, only for a few of these is the archaeological context known. Although most of the artifacts have been fragmented since ancient times, the preserved details allowed their inclusion in the already established typologies, noting the overwhelming proportion of female representations. Based on the features they present, almost all of the anthropomorphic statuettes can be attributed to the Cucuteni A phase, only one belonging to the Precucuteni cultural environment. In addition to discussing the morphological features and the typological categories, we also aimed to carry out a technological study by carefully observing some details that provide clues about how these artifacts related to the prehistoric religious life were made. It is interesting to mention that in the case of three items, the traces of small pieces of wood used to join the legs of the statuettes were identified. Most of the specimens studied were decorated with incised lines and less often with dots, but there are also statuettes without decoration.

Keywords

• eneolithic
• cucuteni a
• anthropomorphic representations
• zoomorphic representations
• petricani