The sculpture of the Early Bronze Age Cyclades has been systematically studied since the time of Christos Tsountas at the end of the 19th century. But that study has been hampered by the circumstance that so many of the subsequent finds come from unauthorised excavations, where the archaeological context was irretrievably lost. Largely for that reason there are still many problems surrounding the chronology, the function and the meaning of Early Cycladic sculpture. This lavishly illustrated and comprehensive re-assement sets out to rectify that situation by publishing finds which have been recovered in controlled excavations in recent years, as well as earlier finds for which better documentation can now be provided. Using the material from recent excavation projects, and drawing on the papers presented at a symposium held in Athens in 2014, it is possible now to undertake a fresh overview of the entire body of sculpture from the Cycladic islands which has been found in secure archaeological contexts. Beginning with early examples from Neolithic settlement sites and extending into a consideration of material found in later contexts, the 35 chapters are divided into sections which examine sculpture from settlements, cemeteries and the sanctuary at Kavos, concluding with a discussion of material, techniques and aspects of manufacture.

Table of Contents:
Contents List of contributors Abbreviations List of figures List of tables   Preface   1 Colin Renfrew  Early Cycladic sculpture: issues of provenance, terminology and classification 2 Marisa Marthari  Early Cycladic sculptures as archaeological objects   Origins: The Neolithic settlements 3 Colin Renfrew  The sculptures of Neolithic Saliagos 4 Adamantios Sampson & Vagia Mastrogiannopoulou  Figurines from the late Neolithic settlement of Ftelia, Mykonos 5 Christina Televantou  Figurines from Strofilas, Andros   The early phase 6 Christos Doumas  Figurines from Akrotiri, Naxos and Plastiras, Paros 7 Jörg Rambach  Schematic marble figurines from secure Early Cycladic I grave contexts on the islands of Ano Kouphonisi, Antiparos, Dhespotiko, Naxos, Paros and Siphnos 8 Dora Papangelopoulou  A schematic figurine of shell from Mersinia on Kythnos   The Early Cycladic II and III settlements 9 David Wilson  The Cycladic marble figurines from EB II Ayia Irini, Kea: evidence for ritual deposition in domestic contexts 10 Peggy Pantou  A Fragment of an Early Cycladic figurine from the prehistoric settlement at Plakalona on Seriphos 11 Zozi D. Papadopoulou  Sculptures from Akrotiraki, Siphnos and its cemetery 12 Marisa Marthari  Cycladic figurines in settlements: the case of the major EC II settlement at Skarkos on Ios  Yiannis Maniatis  Appendix: non-invasive examination of marble figurines from Skarkos on Ios 13 Colin Renfrew  The figurines from the settlement at Dhaskalio 14 Olga Philaniotou  Figurines from Potamia on Epano Kouphonisi (Pandelis Tsavaris plot)   The Early Cycladic II cemeteries 15 Christos Doumas & Vassilis Lambrinoudakis  The cemetery at Aplomata on Naxos  Olga Philaniotou  Appendix: pottery from the cemetery of Aplomata, Naxos 16 Irini Legaki  Sculptures from Phionda, Naxos 17 Christos Doumas  Sculptures from Aghioi Anargyroi and Avdeli, Naxos 18 Olga Philaniotou  Sculptures from the cemetery of Tsikniades, Naxos 19 Giorgos Gavalas  Marble figurines from sites on Epano and Kato Kouphonisi 20 Marisa Marthari  Figurines in context at the Chalandriani cemetery on Syros  Yiannis Maniatis  Appendix: non-invasive examination of marble objects from Chalandriani, Syros 21 Lena Papazoglou-Manioudaki  The Early Cycladic figurines from the excavations of Clon Stephanos on Syros and a note on his work on Naxos: towards context  Dimitris Tambakopoulos & Yiannis Maniatis  Appendix: optical examination of 14 Cycladic figurines from Syros   The sanctuary (the special deposits) at Kavos, Keros 22 Photeini Zapheiropoulou  The complete canonical sculpture of Spedos variety from Dhaskalio Kavos on Keros 23 Peggy Sotirakopoulou, Colin Renfrew & Michael J. Boyd  Selected sculptural fragments from the Special Deposit North at Kavos on Keros 24 Colin Renfrew  The figurine fragments recovered from the Special Deposit North at Kavos in 1987 25 Giorgos Gavalas  The stone vessels found at Dhaskalio Kavos in 1987 26 Colin Renfrew & Michael Boyd  Selected sculptural fragments from the Special Deposit South at Kavos on Keros 27 Judit Haas-Lebegyev  Marble and other spools from the excavations at Dhaskalio and the Special Deposit South at Kavos, Keros (2006-2008), and related Cycladic finds   Sites with Early Cycladic sculptures in later deposits 28 Stella Katsarou & Demetrius U. Schilardi  Recontextualized Neolithic and Early Cycladic figurines at the acropolis of Koukounaries, Paros 29 Carol R. Hershenson & John C. Overbeck  Early Cycladic figurines in later contexts at Ayia Irini, Kea 30 Colin Renfrew & Michael Boyd  The marble sculptures from Phylakopi on Melos 31 Christos Doumas  Early Cycladic sculptures from the settlement at Akrotiri, Thera 32 Robin Barber  Terracotta figurines from Mikre Vigla, Naxos   Material, technique and manufacture 33 Dimitris Tambakopoulos & Yannis Maniatis  The marble of the Cyclades and its use in the early Βronze Αge 34 Yiannis Papadatos & Epaminondas Venieris  An experimental approach to the manufacture of Cycladic-type figurines with folded arms: preliminary observations 35 Kiki Birtacha  Examining the paint on Cycladic figurines