Contextual Clay Bodies: Figurine Use and Meaning in Late Bronze Age CyprusdissertationsBooker, Emily JeancreatorBestock, LaurelAdvisorCherry, JohnAdvisorvan Dommelen, PeterReaderFisher, KevinReaderBrown University. Department of Archaeology and the Ancient Worldsponsor2024xvi, 402 p.born digitalThesis (Ph. D.)--Brown University, 2024thesesThis dissertation examines the contextual use and meaning of clay figurines on the island of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age, ca. 1500-1100 BCE through a theoretical lens focused on materiality, identity, and community formation. An analysis of excavated figurine material, which examines patterns in decorative elements, archaeological context, and archaeological assemblage, demonstrates that many figurines were closely related to the consumption of imported goods and, by extension, elite communities who controlled local economies and trade. The most popular figurine forms were bovines, and it is suggested that cows played a pivotal role in domestic cult through the use of clay bull figurines in the home. Additionally, figurine use in Cyprus reflects the socio-economic structure of the island during the Late Bronze Age, with high levels of local, site-specific agency in the types of figurines produced and how they are used. Above all, this dissertation argues that a single figurine could have multiple uses and meanings that are context-dependent; archaeological context must be at the center of figurine analysis.FigurinesCyprusLate Bronze AgeClay figurinesEnglishRPB20240501