First settlements in Southeast Anatolia begun to appear as early as 10000 BC. Among all the unanswered questions about this early period, cult-related activities and cult buildings are widely studied due to their nature, which has strong connections with the social organization and early symbolism. During the last decade, Southeast Anatolia has provided new evidence for this early stage of development in human history. This study aims to examine cult buildings that have common characteristics / how they were treated and distributed. The settlement of Nevali &Ccedil / ori and its cult building is taken as an example and studied in detail. Other cult buildings with the same or similar architectural features are included in this study in order to discuss the roots, the distribution and the continuity of this Aceramic Neolithic tradition.

This thesis discusses the dress code during the Pitted Ware culture on the Swedish island of Gotland. Eight Pitted Ware grave-fields have been analyzed; only 74 skeletons have been identified with some sort of ornament that could have been attached to clothes. The grave-fields are rich in finds and in people nearly every age group is present. The analysis has shown that there are clear differences between the genders. The female always has some sort of seal tooth ornament around her waist and thighs. The man has sometimes tusks from wild boar and tubular bones as an ornament on his clothes. The children have all of the ornaments that the parents have but in smaller numbers. There are also other finds that appear on all of the individuals, but the tusks, seal tooth and tubular bones are the ones that appear on nearly every individual. The North American Indians clothing has been used as a reference to help understand the clothing of the Pitted Ware. So far all of the finds that have been found on the skeletons have shown great diversity in the Pitted Ware clothing.

Although the earliest known literary evidence for a dual-sexed divinity on Cyprus dates to the fifth century BCE, archaeological evidence indicates there was a tradition on the island of sexually ambiguous imagery which predates the literary sources. This information prompted the present research, which traces the tradition back to the earliest known examples on Late Neolithic Cyprus, and tracks its evolution through to the Cypro-Archaic period. Rather than rely upon descriptions, photographs and drawings presented in consulted publications, the various international museums that house the figures were visited by the writer in order to physically examine the images. Controversial aspects of these figures were discussed with senior museum staff and/or curators. If figurines were unavailable for viewing, where possible, photographs were acquired from the relevant museums, and controversial aspects of the figures discussed by email. As a result, the majority of the images discussed in this thesis have been examined and photographed by the author. A catalogue of the sexually ambiguous imagery for Cyprus from the Neolithic to the Cypro-Archaic period has been compiled and is included in this work. It is proposed that the imagery is of Cypriot innovation, and consists of proto-anthropomorphic, anthropomorphic and half-animal, half-human representations. The genre is influenced from its earliest period by the figurative art of the Syro-Anatolian mainland, but from the Late Bronze Age onwards, influences from the western Mediterranean and Aegean are also evident. Despite the periods in which there is little evidence for figurine production, sexually ambivalent imagery re-emerges when figurative evidence is once more apparent in the archaeological records. Furthermore, stylistic continuity of the genre from one period to the next is also apparent. This continuity is regardless of the cultural changes which occur intermittently during the seven millennia period relevant to this study. Although it is not until the Cypro-Geometric period that there is firm evidence to support a religious interpretation of sexually equivocal imagery, it is suggested that the genre from the earliest period was at least associated with fertility, and perhaps religious cult.

Although the earliest known literary evidence for a dual-sexed divinity on Cyprus dates to the fifth century BCE, archaeological evidence indicates there was a tradition on the island of sexually ambiguous imagery which predates the literary sources. This information prompted the present research, which traces the tradition back to the earliest known examples on Late Neolithic Cyprus, and tracks its evolution through to the Cypro-Archaic period. Rather than rely upon descriptions, photographs and drawings presented in consulted publications, the various international museums that house the figures were visited by the writer in order to physically examine the images. Controversial aspects of these figures were discussed with senior museum staff and/or curators. If figurines were unavailable for viewing, where possible, photographs were acquired from the relevant museums, and controversial aspects of the figures discussed by email. As a result, the majority of the images discussed in this thesis have been examined and photographed by the author. A catalogue of the sexually ambiguous imagery for Cyprus from the Neolithic to the Cypro-Archaic period has been compiled and is included in this work. It is proposed that the imagery is of Cypriot innovation, and consists of proto-anthropomorphic, anthropomorphic and half-animal, half-human representations. The genre is influenced from its earliest period by the figurative art of the Syro-Anatolian mainland, but from the Late Bronze Age onwards, influences from the western Mediterranean and Aegean are also evident. Despite the periods in which there is little evidence for figurine production, sexually ambivalent imagery re-emerges when figurative evidence is once more apparent in the archaeological records. Furthermore, stylistic continuity of the genre from one period to the next is also apparent. This continuity is regardless of the cultural changes which occur intermittently during the seven millennia period relevant to this study. Although it is not until the Cypro-Geometric period that there is firm evidence to support a religious interpretation of sexually equivocal imagery, it is suggested that the genre from the earliest period was at least associated with fertility, and perhaps religious cult.

Originally presented as the author's Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oxford, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-186).

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-63). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Originally presented as the author's Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oxford, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-186).

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Anthropology, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral) - Universität, Tübingen, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

<p>The aim of this essay is to see if there are any relationship between the four Megalithic graves, and the newly excavated dwelling site in Resmo socken on Öland. The Megalithic graves on Öland consist of one dolmen and three passage graves. Is the excavated site a settlement? Since there are no signs of housing constructions, I will also explore other possible purposes of the site. What surprised the excavators was the concentration of pits that contained ceramics, flints and burned bones. To find out about Resmo´s relation to megaliths, settlements and the landscape, I will look at the Neolithic settlement sites of the Funnel Beaker Culture and where in the landscape we find these in relation to the Megalithic graves. I will also give an overview of the Megalithic graves in Skåne, and Falbygden in Västergötland.</p><p> </p><p> </p>