Written by the foremost scholars in figurine studies, this volume provides the definitive Handbook on prehistoric figurines in relation to their subject matter, form, function, context, chronology, meaning, and interpretation. Global in focus, the figurines from Africa, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific, the Americas, and Europe are all considered. Chronologically, the coverage ranges from the Middle Palaeolithic through to areas and periods where an absence of historical sources renders

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... es 'prehistoric' even though they might have been produced in the mid-2nd millennium AD, as in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Specific themes that are discussed by contributors include, for example, theories of figurine interpretation, meaning in processes and contexts of figurine production, use, destruction and disposal, and the cognitive and social implications of representation.