Subjectivity and Material Culture in Thessaly, Greece: the Case of Neolithic Anthropomorphc Imagery

Abstract

This article considers the role of anthropomorphic imagery in the constitution of subjects in Neolithic Thessaly, Greece. To accomplish that, material culture is seen as discourse, i.e. an articulating practice, which through its reiteration empowers certain positions rather than others. The objective of the study is to identify some aspects of the forms that specific anthropomorphic figures encourage or oblige those positions to take. These aspects pertain mainly to the human body. One conclusion is that there is a shift from an emphasis on the image of movement to an emphasis on the static image of the body and a concomitant interest in the head.