ʿAin Ghazal "Monumental" Figures
Excavations in 1983 and 1985 at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of ʿAin Ghazal, Jordan, unearthed two caches of carefully buried plaster statues, separated by two to three centuries. This article analyzes the collection of large anthropomorphic representations, which include 15 full figures about 1...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
The University of Chicago Press
1998
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| In: |
Bulletin of ASOR
Year: 1998, Volume: 310, Pages: 1-17 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Excavations in 1983 and 1985 at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of ʿAin Ghazal, Jordan, unearthed two caches of carefully buried plaster statues, separated by two to three centuries. This article analyzes the collection of large anthropomorphic representations, which include 15 full figures about 1 m tall, 12 one-headed busts, and 3 two-headed busts. The style of the two caches of statues is compared and contrasted to determine the characteristic features of the genre and its evolution. Fragments of similar statues recovered in Jericho and Nahal Hemar are reviewed to present a chronology of the origin of monumental plastic art in the Levant. Finally, the three prevalent interpretations for the statues-ancestors, ghosts, and deities-are evaluated in the light of the ancient Near Eastern iconography and tradition. |
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| ISSN: | 2161-8062 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American Schools of Oriental Research, Bulletin of ASOR
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1357573 |