Thinking through peak sanctuary rituals: approaching the minds embodied and embedded in anthropomorphic figurines from Cretan peak sanctuaries

Solomou, Anastasia
(2023) European Association for Archaeologists (EAA) Annual Meeting ‘Weaving Narratives’, 2023 — Location: Belfast, United Kingdom (30.August.2023)

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Abstract
Minoan peak sanctuaries were in use from the EMIII/MMI-LMIA/LMII periods in Crete (Peatfield, 1990; 1987). A range of interpretations have been suggested regarding the nature of these sites, with that of spaces for the performance of religious rituals involving drinking (Kyriakidis, 2005), feasting (Haggis, 1999), and deliberate ritual breaking of objects such as figurines or cups (Jones, 1999: 31; Peatfield, 1990) being most widespread. One of the defining characteristics of these sites are the clay anthropomorphic figurines, which are observable in large quantities on nearly all such sites, and which are seldom associated with other contexts (Kyriakidis, 2005). The exclusivity of these artefacts renders them one of the most suitable areas of research with a view to re-examining and re-interpreting peak sanctuaries, providing information regarding the differentiating qualities of these sites in relation to other ritual or domestic ones. This paper explores the clay anthropomorphic figurines which depict an individual standing upright, with raised arms, folded at the elbow. The analysis follows a materialistic and cognitive approach, drawing on concepts of the distributed mind (Malafouris, 2016) with a view to highlighting the role of these objects as part of a larger cognitive network, as a shared exographic memory system (Donald 2010), shared by the participants of the peak sanctuaries throughout Crete. Through this approach the figurines are seen as vital active constituents of the cognitive processes taking place in these sites.
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Solomou, A. (2023). Thinking through peak sanctuary rituals: approaching the minds embodied and embedded in anthropomorphic figurines from Cretan peak sanctuaries. European Association for Archaeologists (EAA) Annual Meeting ‘Weaving Narratives’, 2023, Belfast, United Kingdom. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/271079