Qualities of Humanness

Abstract

This article considers the materialization of human representations in Neolithic northern Greece and particularly the materials used in their production. Contending that materialization is contingent upon but not reducible to the materials used, an attempt is made to understand the implications of using different materials to represent humans, especially clay and stone. Thus, it is suggested that in the earlier Neolithic, clay and stone were reserved for different classes of artefacts. Human figures in this period show an interest in action, whereas in the later Neolithic, changes occur that suggest a preoccupation with the substance of the figures. It is suggested that these changes point to the emergence of different subjectivities during the later Neolithic.