Civilizations that did not know the use of writing can only be investigated with the methods of archaeologists thanks to the evidence of material culture. The finds that allow a deeper look into their symbolic world are very rare and, among these, anthropomorphic figurines, in a very large percentage female, are particularly interesting. Many of them can be attributed to the first agricultural civilizations of the Near East, of south-eastern Europe and, to a lesser extent, of Italy, so much so that they can be considered a founding element of the ideology of those civilizations.
The period we are talking about has a long duration overall (from the IX/VIII to the IV millennium BC) and the area taken into consideration is extremely large. It is therefore natural that the figurines are stylistically differentiated, becoming, in every place and at every time, emblematic objects of very different cultures. Most of them are made of ceramic, but there are also some in stone, bone, ivory; sometimes the features are generally naturalistic, although often exaggerated, other times instead they are strongly stylised. Among them we can recognise some real works of art, alongside many small objects without artistic value, or which only seem to allude to the anthropomorphic form.
The debate on their meaning, which has been going on since the first findings in the 19th century, is still unresolved, between belief in the universal cult of a “Great Mother” or “Mother Earth” and interpretations such as talismans, representations of the deceased, propitiatory objects.
The reflection, after a mention of the possible -very ancient- Paleolithic ancestors, will focus on the most famous Neolithic figurines of the Near East and Europe, without forgetting the Neolithic findings in our territory.