Nea Nikomedeia Clay Female Figurine, Early Neolithic, Late 7th Millennium BCE
This hand-sculpted figurine, crafted by Angeliki Dervenioti in autumn 2020, is inspired by a fertility goddess figurine from Nea Nikomedeia, near Veria in Macedonia (northern Greece). The original figurine, made of sun-dried clay, was found in the central “ritual” structure of the earliest building level of the settlement, dating to the late 7th millennium BCE (6180 ± 150 years BCE).
As one of the earliest examples of such female figurines, it impresses with its minimal form and anatomical features.
Dimensions H: 19.5 cm, L: 7.5 cm, W: 5 cm
Note: The excavations at Nea Nikomedeia were conducted from 1960 to 1964 under the direction of J. Rodden, as a research project of the Peabody Museum of Harvard University in collaboration with the Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, and sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The British School of Archaeology at Athens oversaw the project.