Plant-Female Iconography in Neolithic Europe

“Plant-Female Iconography in Neolithic Europe” covers the Neolithic transition to agriculture in the Aegean and Europe, which was accompanied by the production of a large corpus of anthropomorphic figurines, a genre dominated by images of women. Figurines with cereal grain eyes reminiscent of those at Sha’ar Hagolan, have been found in Greece, and this symbolic association between plants and women tracked the spread of agriculture into Europe. There female figurines appear bearing grain impressions, or incised with plant imagery. The dot and lozenge motif found on some figurines has been interpreted as symbolizing the planted field. Female images from the megalithic era of Malta, including engravings on the base of the monumental statue of a woman at the Tarxian temple, reveal symbols evidencing strong plant-female associations. This association shows continuity throughout the secondary products revolution and the Chalcolithic period and continues into the stratified patriarchal societies of the Bronze Age.