#Exhibit of the Month

March 2022

Female anthropomorphic figurine from Chișinău – Valea Morilor

Traditionally, Neolithic and Eneolithic female figurines are regarded as representations of the "Great Goddess" or "Great Mother". According to other opinions, sculptural female images indicate the presence in the religious and magical ideas of human communities of that period of several female deities, which are depicted in different poses. The predominance of female statuettes in Neo-Eneolithic cultures denotes the importance of these deities in the religious pantheon of that time. Accurately made, with carved or painted ornaments, many female figurines are real masterpieces of prehistoric art.

The Valea Morilor archeological site is located in Chișinău, in the Durlești stream basin (a right tributary of the Bîc River). Currently, part of the area of the settlement is covered by the waters of the lake in the Valea Morilor Park. The artifact was found in a cult pit belonging to the Eneolithic cultural layer (Pre-Cucuteni-Tripolye culture, stage A, 5th millennium BC), which also contained ceramic vessels with grooved and incised ornaments. The figurine made of fine clay has a slender body and protruding buttocks. It is 18 cm high, 3.3 cm wide in the shoulders and 6.6 cm wide in the buttocks. The head and hands are shown schematically. The object is decorated with incised ornament. Apparently, this sculptural anthropomorphic representation depicts a character who is part of a complex system of magical-religious beliefs of the early Pre-Cucuteni-Tripolye communities.

Due to the good preservation, the skill with which it was made by the Eneolithic craftsmen, the anthropomorphic figurine from Chișinău-Valea Morii is one of the most representative works of this kind known in the Pre-Сucuteni culture (the early stage of the Tripolye culture).