Late neolithic and early eneolithic figurative sculpture from the northern of the central Balkans

Figurines stand out as one of the most remarkable features of Neolithic material culture, reflecting the image of Neolithic man and his style of life in a very direct and impressive way. Through various forms and stylizations, figurines reveal details about the clothing, adornment, hairstyle or physical appearance of an individual, while their functional and spiritual character remains a burning issue in archaeological debates. In European Neolithic era, the culture of Vinča stands out as the one characterized by superior craftsmenship in clay modeling, its most prominent aspect being figurative sculpture, one of the most outstanding artistic achievements of the Neolithic era. Although figurative sculpture is present in all phases of Vinča culture (5400- 4500 BC), it could be claimed that its diversity, profusion and high artisanship culminated in the centuries around 4800 BC (Тасић 2008: 144). It is assumed that such flourishing of art is connected with the continual existence of the settlements and stable economy, followed by an organized social system with a developed belief system and established ritual practices. The sample chosen for the statistical analysis of the sex or any other detail is limited to the specimens with preserved body parts on which it is possible to notice the existence of the required element. Thus, if we are interested in the sex of the figurine, the analytical sample will only be comprised of the specimens with preserved body parts on which sex attributes could be expected. The procedure is similar if we are interested in the number of bracelets shown on female figurines, in which case the sample will include only the specimens with defined sex and at least one preserved arm. Such sampling procedure was followed consistently in all the statistical analyses of the presence of certain elements on the figurines. The total of Neolithic and early Eneolithic figurines from northern areas of the Central Balkans is 359 specimens of figurative sculpture, collected from fifteen sites from four narrow geographical areas, marked as Župa aleksandrovačka, lower section of Južna Morava, Ponišavlje and Toplica