ESTONIAN ACADEMY
PUBLISHERS
eesti teaduste
akadeemia kirjastus
PUBLISHED
SINCE 1997
 
Archaeology cover
Estonian Journal of Archaeology
ISSN 1736-7484 (Electronic)
ISSN 1406-2933 (Print)
Impact Factor (2022): 1.0
A MESOLITHIC HUMAN FIGURINE FROM RIVER PÄRNU, SOUTH-WEST ESTONIA: A CENTURY-OLD PUZZLE OF IDOLS, GODDESSES AND ANCESTRAL SYMBOLS; pp. 111–127
PDF | doi: 10.3176/arch.2016.2.01

Author
Tõnno Jonuks ORCID Icon
Abstract

More than a century ago, a small human sculpture made of elk antler was recovered as a stray find from the bottom of River Pärnu in south-west Estonia. It was originally widely used and interpreted in connection with Neolithic figurines from south-east Europe and considered a Mother-God. Later on the figurine was almost forgotten and mentioned only randomly in association with the Stone Age art of the eastern Baltic region. By now the sculpture has been dated to the Mesolithic by direct AMS-sample, thus being one of the oldest dated figurines found in the region. A new interpretation has been given that the sculpture represents a wrapped corpse.

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