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Volume 104 No. 1
January 2000
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Abstract |
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Neolithic Statues from `Ain Ghazal: Construction and Form
Carol A. Grissom
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| Statue #5/6, height 88 cm |
Reassembly of five large lime plaster statues from the seventh millennium B.C. following their excavation in 1985 at 'Ain Ghazal, Jordan, provided an opportunity to examine evidence of their construction. For the most part, the statues had lain horizontally during fabrication, and they were made in stages by applying plaster to reed bundles bound with cordage. Full-scale replication of a bust and a figure provided additional information about construction. Plaster probably had to be applied while armatures were horizontal because of the statues' large size; broad, flat, and simple forms were made as a consequence. In order to fashion the complex standing figures, legs were modeled separately and joined to the rest of the statue with plaster. Statues may have been accessorized with wigs, clothing, or other materials to simulate human appearance.
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