Late Halaf female figurines of clay/pottery from northeastern Syria (Type LH.1A; 6th millennium BCE) have close parallels in Predynastic Egyptian figurines (4th millennium BCE) in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. The lack of provenance for the Egyptian statuettes—all of which were purchased—has long inhibited any comparison with their Mesopotamian counterparts. A further parallel from Lower Nubia with secure provenance (A-Group, 4th millennium BCE), which was published in 1972, speaks for the authenticity of some or all of the Egyptian pieces. However, the figurines’ discovery in three different countries (Syria, Egypt and Sudan) and their origins in three different cultures (Mesopotamian Halaf, Egyptian Naqada, and Nubian A-Group) from different time periods (6th and 4th millennia BCE) seems to have precluded the collective consideration of these Late Halaf-style figurines, such that their impact as an ensemble has been overlooked. This communication presents a brief intercultural study of the figurine family as a whole.
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