The gravettian ceramic of Moravia. New analysis

The ceramics found at the sites of Dolni Vestonice and Pavlov in Moravia, Czech Republic, are the oldest known worldwide up to date (between 27,000 and 25,000 BP). It is remarkable that these ceramics are all human or animal figurines. The present work is a general study of a series of 316 figurative objects. A formal analysis of these objects allowed underlining the recognised themes of representation with a domination of body extremities (feet, legs, and muzzles), female representations, and feline and mammoth for the animals. Through these representations, a systematic use of synecdoche (a part is put for a whole) becomes visible with mostly legs/feet and isolated heads. A stylistic study of the pieces, combined to their technological study and to the analysis of the fingerprints found on some of the objects gives insights into the human context for their making and use with a rare clarity for such ancient periods. This production is much standardised and appears associated to the children, sub-adults and women of the Pavlovian groups. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.