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Description
This 6 inch-high clay figurine dates to the Late Neolithic Age (6,000-5,000 BCE), which is the same time that the earliest baked clay vessels were being made. It is the only complete one of its kind from this period, although fragments have been found elsewhere. Its interpretation is contested - for instance, some scholars think that the figurine is nude; others that the deep lines around the shoulders indicate some kind of garment. Its significance and use are also debated - was it used for religious purposes (and if so, how?), or was it nothing more than a child's toy? Figurines, often depicting naked females, are well known from later periods and have often been understood to be associated with fertility rites, whether for human or agricultural fertility.