A MESOLITHIC HUMAN FIGURINE FROM RIVER PÄRNU, SOUTH-WEST ESTONIA: A CENTURY-OLD PUZZLE OF IDOLS, GODDESSES AND ANCESTRAL SYMBOLS

Abstract

Introduction In the early years of the twentieth century, an antler human figurine (PaMu 1 A: 501) was found in River Parnu, south-east Estonia (Fig. 1). It is one of the rare archaeological finds from Estonia that already from the very first publications (Ebert 1913; Gluck 1914) reached several wider studies about European archaeology (Tallgren 1922; Childe 1925; Gimbutas 1956). Due to some reasons, interest in the object was lost during the second part of the century. It was mentioned only passingly in a study about the Stone Age religion in Estonia (Jaanits 1961) and it has not been brought up at all in Eesti esiajalugu (Estonian Prehistory, Jaanits et al. 1982), which was a major study of Estonian archaeology for decades. Most likely, one of the reasons for such a random use was the absence of dating and therefore a speculative relationship any specific archaeological period and culture. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] The figurine The 10 cm tall human sculpture is made of an elk antler and it was created only very simple means. Two different ways of processing can be distinguished: cutting to create sharper edges and smoothing to express softer contours. With three wide grooves, the knees, waist and neck have been marked, and a sharp cut the flat breast and chin are shown. The mouth has been cut in so that the round chin emerges. The face together the hooknose has been designed by polishing. Eyes have not been depicted and this makes the statuette different from all other Stone Age figurines. Although slightly younger, the human figurines from the East European forest zone of the Late Mesolithic-Early Neolithic always have eyes and/or strong and protruding eyebrows (Butrimas 2000, 12). Eyes are marked usually drilled holes, but it seems that the eyebrows alone were also good enough for that purpose (see Fig. 4: 6, 7, 9). The face of the Parnu figurine has only a nose and a mouth, leaving the upper part of the face plane. In addition to the eyes, the sculpture is also missing details of the body. While the rest of the human figurines from the northern part of Eastern Europe have their hands marked lines or carved, then in the case of the Parnu example it had not even been tried. Also legs are missing, and therefore Marija Gimbutas has characterized the figurine as with a single leg (Gimbutas 1956, 189). According to Gimbutas, the absence of legs and hands is common in the art of the Stone Age East European forest zone (ibid.). Still, the claim does not hold true and limbs, either more or less elaborated, have been marked in the majority of human figurines dated to the Stone Age. The figure has been made from the tip of an antler branch. One can only agree the suggestion by Eduard Gluck that the antler branch was longer at the time of carving and it was used as a handle until it was cut (and broken) shorter from the pate after it had been finished (Gluck 1914, 265). Because of that the surface of the pate remained uneven and a groove was formed. Find context It is not known when exactly the figurine was found. It was first mentioned by Max Ebert (1913, 520) as an example from the private collection of Friedrich Rambach, but the proper publication and description was presented by Eduard Gluck a year later (1914, 265 f.). According to them, it can be assumed that the figurine was found either in 1911 or 1912. The antler object was found from the bottom of River Parnu in the town of Parnu, upstream of the one-time brick factory Koksi (Gluck 1914, 266), in the so-called Pauka crook, which is one of the richest find places of Estonian Stone Age bone and antler objects. The finds were collected mainly at the beginning of the 20th century, when sand and gravel was quarried from the bottom of the river. During the shovel-based quarrying, a rich collection of ancient artefacts was found from the Pauka crook. This site, which initiated the creation of many privately held collections, contained both hunting and fishing gear, but also axes, processed and unprocessed bone and antler, etc. …