Since the earliest use of pottery, vessels have been associated with both the general shape and specific parts of the human body. The production of human-shaped pottery might be understood as one element of the spectrum of figural art in prehistoric communities. The idea of studying anthropomorphic pottery and the return of human beings into a body made of clay, which forms the core theme of this collection of 12 papers, stems from work on anthropomorphic features of Neolithic communities between the Near East and Europe. Contributors are engaged in questions about the analysis of human features and characteristics on vessels, their occurrence, function and disposal. Beginning with the European Neolithic and moving on through the Bronze and Iron Ages, papers focus on diachronic archaeological patterns and contexts as well as on the theoretical background of this particular type of container in order to shed light on similarities and differences through the ages and to understand possibilities and limits of interpretation.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• List of contributors
• 1. Water into wine? Carrying vessels in the European Neolithic and Chalcolithic: H. Schwarzberg
• 2. The anthropomorphism of human-like-pots: Circular paths in the archaeological thought: E. Voulgari
• 3. The corporeality of vessels: Neolithic anthropomorphic pottery in the Republic of Macedonia: G. Naumov
• 4. Face vessels and anthropomorphic representations on vessels from Neolithic Italy: V. Becker
• 5. The vase, the body: Between filial relationship and original complex: J. Recchia-Quiniou
• 6. The social role of Neolithic face pots: I. Pavlů and R. Šumberová
• 7. Figurines and other bodies: A matter of scale: D. Hofmann
• 8. Post-LBK anthropomorphic vessels from Poland: J. Pyzel
• 9. Clay anthropomorphous images of the Jomon period, Japan: E. Solovyeva
• 10. Vessels decorated with stylised “pillar-like” anthropomorphic representations from the Precucuteni settlement of Baia–În Muchie (Suceava county, Romania), 2012–2014: C.-E. Ursu, S. Ţerna and C. Aparaschivei
• 11. Human-shaped pottery from the tell settlement of Sultana-Malu Roşu: V. Opriș, T. Ignat and C. Lazăr
• 12. Faces from the past: Face urns of the Pomeranian Culture and an idea of humans in the early Iron Age: K. Ślusarska