Anthropomorpohic Figurines of the Yaz I Period

Two groups of unusual objects from contexts of the Early Iron Age Yaz-I period at the site of Maydatepa, southern Uzbekistan, are presented. The first group is interpreted as abstract anthropomorphic figurines. They are small rod-shaped clay objects (fired and unfired), with plastic noses and impressed eyes, sometimes with sparse additional ornaments. The second group is a collective find (and one separate individual object) from a closed pit context from the same site. The collective find consists of five, partly fragmentary, stele-like roughly hewn limestone objects, some of which have a marked off head. In view of the abstract clay objects, these small stelae can also be interpreted as anthropomorphic representations. The individual stone object is a stalagmite, which was brought intentionally to the site. Because of the natural grooved erosion at the top, which may represent hair, this object is included here. The entire collection contradicts the presumed lack of figurative art in the Early Iron Age Yaz-I communities, but it is also radically different from the preceding art of the Bronze Age.