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Metadata description

Title of the figurine consists of term "figurine", the abbreviation of the site, ID number of the archaeological context (number of grave or settlement feature or probe) if it is known, and ID number of the figurine. The figurine number is a sequential number in the analysis. For example, TKS_F170A_195 is a figurine no 195 from Těšetice–Kyjovice – Sutny site, from settlement feature No. 170 and its sector A.

Simplified figurine ID (matadata element name is Alternative ID) means abbreviation of site and figurine number, as TK195. Usually, figurines are referenced with these numbers in published papers. The figurine simplified ID is included in tags of all files related to the respective figurine.

Posture of figurines is mostly standing. Nevertheless, few fragments represent sitting torso or even torso applied on ceramic pot lid. In such cases, they are not autonomous figurines, but pottery decoration.

Preserved body parts are listed, because of high fragmentarity of the collection. Fragmentation is a typical feature of Neolithic figurines deposited in settlement context. 

Description is a basic overview of all visible characteristics including shaping details and decoration.

3D specifics of shaping & 3D specifics of traces & MicroCT specifics are related to all identified shaping strategies from general body construction towards details of body part shaping or joining them together. About 20% of collection were analysed using microCT, which is absolutely unique through the world figurine research.

Thermic cracks were described due its filling, which brings important operational-chain information. Because the painting was applied after the firing, thermic cracks produced during firing should be filled in by pigments. If thermic cracks are empty, although pigment residues were detected on the figurine surface, they testify another thermic shock episode after figurine was finalised. Such secondary thermic shock would possibly be a part of some discard behaviour.

Polished sections petrography & Matrix mineralogy data brings all petrographic information available without destructive thin sectioning. Polished section is small area of refreshed surface. Gentle polishing, usually on surface of the fracture which topography was previously documented in 3D, reveal inner structure of ceramic mass. It enables to observe all inclusions, homogeneity of the matrix, presence of chaff, sorting and angularity of individual inclusions. Inclusions were documented both in reflected light (RL) and in polarised light (POL). Inclusions can be photographed on the original surface, if polishing of small area of fracture was not permitted (some of Austrian figurines). In such cases, polarised light was used only, because direct light ray is fully reflected by conservatory coating making details of surface invisible or deformed and all coated inclusions seems rounded.

Use-wear method is based on observation of differences in light reflectivity of the observed surface. It means, if figurine was coated due conservation, this method is invalid, although we tested its validity by several use experiments. Only uncoated and unbrushed figurines can be analysed.

Painting was observed by naked eye, by DStretch and using microscope, the description illustrate, how important are objective visual methods in the research of such vulnerable artefacts. In many cases, painting was damaged by mechanic calk removal or moist brushing, and only submillimetre residues were preserved. Applying DStretch or overview microscopy directly at field, we can save paintings before their damage by cleaning.

In few (due heritage preservation) samples, pigments were determined using Raman spectroscopy. More samples were taken from sherds proceeding from the same archaeological context as figurines.

Fracture preservation & Fracture nature are related to discard and deposition practice. If fractures are rounded, there is high probability of their longer predepositional movements in settlement walking niveau or in waste accumulations. Sharp well preserved fractures testify short cease between fragmentation and final deposition. Using 3D topography of fractures, we can analyse fracture mechanics. Fracture nature means, if figurine was decomposed along its original joining lines, because almost all were manufactured from individually formed body parts, or if such fractures crossed these joining lines.

Recent damage is quiet frequent, unfortunately, due post-excavation processes set in past. Reflecting this undesired damage of archaeological data, we effort to change past practice and stated new processes of post-excavation care.

Browsing and searching the database

Browsing

Select the "Browse" link in the main navigation menu to view the entire contents of the database (option "All") or browse the database according to a specific aspect ("Posture", "Preserved body parts", Recent damage type"). Individual records are represented by a preview of the selected photograph and a heading made up of the artifact's identification code and information about its posture and parts. Using the "Sort by" (and "Order") option, records can be sorted according to the selected parameter.

Searching

The search form available via the "Search" option in the main navigation menu allows you to enter a structured query with several parameters. The search is guided by the following general principles:

  • all strings are automatically expanded to the right (e.g., entering conservat will find conservate, conservator, conservatory, etc.).
  • individual fields are linked by the AND operator (e.g. entering nose in the Description field and standing in the Posture field will find records containing both values)
  • in fields where multiple values can be selected from drop-down menus, these values are concatenated with the OR operator (e.g. selecting the values cleaning and coating in the Recent damage type field will find records that contain at least one of these two values)
  • to increase the relevance of search results, a phrase can be used, i.e. the search term can be enclosed in quotation marks to find the exact string (e.g. "upper leg") 

The meaning of the individual items in the search form is as follows:

  • Any term: searches for any string anywhere in the database.
  • Description: searches for a string in the description fields, which include: Description, Preserved body parts, 3D specifics of shaping, 3D specifics of traces, Painting (all three fields), Fracture preservation, Recent damage type. 
  • Posture: the basic position of the figurine as defined in the metadata description.
  • Preserved body parts: the main parts of figurines (e.g. thorax or leg(s)); specific parts should be searched for using the Description field (e.g. half thorax or upper leg - for more relevant results you can use the phrase, see above). Also, a combination of two or more parts should be searched for using the Description field (e.g. when searching for entries to contain both thorax and leg).
  • 3D specifics of shaping & 3D specifics of traces: structured values of the two parameters described in more detail in the metadata description above.
  • Painting colour: the field collects data about the colours that have been identified by one of the methods used (i.e. by naked eye, DStretch or microscop).
  • Fracture preservation & Recent damage type: structured values of the two parameters described in more detail in the metadata description above.

 

How to cite

How to cite the database

The recommended form of citation, according to the Harvard format, if you are citing the database as a whole (e.g., in acknowledgements):

Kaňáková, L. – Nosek, V. 2025, NEOFIG. A factographic database presenting research data of Neolithic ceramic figurines from selected Czech and Austrian sites. Online database, Digitalia MUNI ARTS, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, viewed 19 March 2025, https://neofig.phil.muni.cz/

How to cite individual figurine

Citations of individual figurines are always provided on the page, according to the Harvard citation style, such as:

Kaňáková, L. – Nosek, V. 2025, TKS_F170A_195, Digitalia MUNI ARTS, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, viewed 19 March 2025, https://neofig.phil.muni.cz/nef/node/98

We recommend reviewing these automatically-generated citations before using them. There is also a Biblatex citation that can be used for formatting into other citation styles.

How to download

It is possible to download image files of individual items as well as metadata of the entire collection. Metadata can be exported in CSV, XML, JSON and JSONLD formats using following links: 

Rest API

The contents of the database (metadata of the whole collection) are accessible via the REST API. The following formats are supported for the GET method: CSV, XML, JSON and JSONLD. Links for node with ID 1065 are bellow (as an example).