Ein Terrakotta-Modell aus Çine-Tepecik

Abstract

Çine-Tepecik, located in the plain where one of the southern branches of the Menderes (Maeander), the Çine (Marsyas) stream flows, has provided evidence for a settlement from the Neolithic period to the end of the 2nd millennium B.C. The settlement exhibits a cultural development, as well as interregional contacts throughout these periods. The terracotta model presented in this study is so far unique in the region, both in terms of form and style. It was discovered in an area with a stone paved platform and at least two rooms in Level II 2 of the settlement which is dated to the Middle Bronze Age. The model, besides its iconographic traits, also sheds light on the function of the associated  architectural remains. It is suggested that the model, with six stylised bull protomes (bucrania) rendered both in the round as well as in relief, may have been used as cult equipment in a religious architectural setting where bull representations played a significant role. This idea is supported by the presence of bull representations in the iconography of religious scenes both in the Near East as well as the Aegean. The Tepecik terracotta model, with its archaeological context and style of representation, thus provides new data on the little known religious ideology of the region during the Middle Bronze Age.