Neo-Eneolithic anthropomorphic statuettes and the magical dimension of prehistoric art in the Bucharest Plain
Neo-Eneolithic anthropomorphic statuettes and the magical dimension of prehistoric art in the Bucharest Plain

Summary/Abstract: This study analyzes the role and significance of anthropomorphic figurines from the Neo-Eneolithic period, with a focus on their magical-religious interpretation. Starting from representative examples found in the cultures discovered in the Bucharest Plain, the paper aims to highlight how these artifacts express symbolic thinking and a spiritual conception of the world, in which art, religion, and magic coexist within the same cultural system. The intentional breaking or destruction of the figurines suggests a magical function; they were created or activated through gestures and incantations, then destroyed or buried to release the force they embodied. They thus participated in a ritual of life and death, reflecting the belief that matter carries the spirit, and the destruction of the material does not negate, but rather transforms its energy. Consequently, the figurine becomes a means of communication between the visible and the spiritual worlds. The practical purposes of magic, achieved through rituals, incantations, or symbols, were to defend the community, to ensure the fertility of the land, people, and animals, and to provide protection against diseases, evil spirits, and so on.

• Details
• Contents