Bisserka Gaydarska (BG-Swiss Fellowships for Bulgarian Diaspora Scholars, Jan – Mar ‘25) will present her research on:

Miniature People with Lots to Say: Balkan Prehistoric Figurines in Context

on 19 June 2025 (Thursday), at 16:30.

Moderated by Miglena Stamberova.

Abstract: In this presentation, I summarise what archaeologists do, the different paradigms within which they have worked and the ways that small objects such as figurines can play a special role in past lifeways. I examine the numbers of figurines deposited on Bulgarian sites, relating these totals to other important cultural groups. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, there is still an emphasis on complete figurines in publications and museum displays. Using the Identity Triangle, I outline the ways in which figurines connected people and places (enchainment) and discuss two inter-related aspects of their biographies: fragmentation and gender. I show how prehistoric communities used primary and secondary sexual traits in different ways over time In one case study, I demonstrate that breaking a figurine can change their gender while, in another, I pose a challenge to the popular but poorly supported tropes of ‘Mother Goddess’ and fertility.