Early and middle Neolithic figurines – the migration of religious belief

Abstract

In Linear Pottery Culture, two types of anthropomorphic figurines are distinguishable: Type 1 figurines have a columnar body, without legs or hips, while Type 2 figurines show more detail in their body shape. These two types have parallels in the Neolithic of south-east Europe, especially in the Starčevo culture. These parallels become evident not only in the shape of the body, but also in other features such as sexual characteristics, breakage patterns and find circumstances. It is therefore, likely that LPC figurines and Starčevo culture figurines are manifestations of similar sets of religious beliefs.

Miocene shells in Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age burials in Poland

“…Certain types of shells were in demand, as they reflected a shared tradition (cultural pattern). Perforated shells of small gastropods (marine and freshwater) are thought to represent the persistence of a Mesolithic tradition into the Neolithic (Borić & Cristiani, 2019;Lenneis, 2007Lenneis, , 2010Rigaud et al, 2015). However, due to the general scarcity of shell ornaments in Mesolithic burials in Poland, we assume that the shell repertoire known from the Neolithic burials appeared in the discussed area only with the Early Neolithic Danubian societies expansion to the North (Rigaud et al, 2015) and was subsequently adapted to local conditions.…”