Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of a Regional Coroplastic Tradition

Les Carnets de l’ACoSt Association for Coroplastic Studies 19 | 2019 Varia Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of a Regional Coroplastic Tradition FranciscoB.Gomes Electronicversion URL: http://journals.openedition.org/acost/1729 DOI: 10.4000/acost.1729 ISSN: 2431-8574 Publisher ACoSt Electronicreference Francisco B. Gomes, « Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of a Regional Coroplastic Tradition », Les Carnets de l’ACoSt [Online], 19 | 2019, Online since 11 June 2019, connection on 20 March 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/acost/1729 ; DOI : https:// doi.org/10.4000/acost.1729 This text was automatically generated on 20 March 2020. Les Carnets de l'ACoSt est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution - Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale - Pas de Modification 4.0 International. Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of a Regional Coroplastic Tradition Francisco B. Gomes “Religion decays, the icon remains; a narrative is forgotten, yet its representation still magnetizes (the ignorant eye triumphs – how galling for the informed eye).” (J. Barnes, A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters, p. 133. Vintage, 2016 [1989].) 1. Changing times, changing images 1 In southern Portugal, as in the remainder of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age entailed a deep social, political, and cultural transformation. The arrival of the first Phoenician merchants and colonists to the Iberian Far West1 seems to have had an overarching effect on the regional socio-political networks, throwing off the delicate balances on which their workings depended.2 The ensuing restructuration gave rise to a complex and diversified cultural panorama, in which different communities developed specific identity and representation formulas based on changing combinations of local/regional elements with others drawn from the oriental and/or the “Orientalizing” cultural repertoire.3 Those formulas were structured, articulated and deployed to cope with each group’s (real or perceived) position in the new overall geopolitical network.4 2 Within this context of rapid and intense change, the iconographic production of southern Portuguese communities also underwent a clear and rather drastic transformation. The Late Bronze Age iconographic output, in fact, had been very Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 1 limited, consisting mostly of some representations connected to the tradition of the socalled “warrior stelae,” most of which have been found further inland, in an area roughly centered around the Middle Guadiana valley.5 3 The southern Portuguese stelae related to that tradition – those of Figueira (Lagos)6 and Ervidel II (Aljustrel)7 – show an emphasis on anthropomorphic representations, albeit schematic, accompanied by weaponry and other elements pertaining to the Late Bronze Age power and status apparatus, being altogether representative of the more characteristic iconographic features of these “warrior stelae.” 4 The arrival of oriental groups to the Iberian Peninsula and the establishment of close and interdependent relationships between these newcomers and the regional indigenous groups had a profound impact on this general panorama, with the limited Late Bronze Age iconographic models all but disappearing and a new and complex imagery coming into being. In fact, the western Phoenician colonies seem to have acted as hubs from which craftspeople possessing a rich and complex Near Eastern iconographic repertoire began producing prestige goods that – at least in part – fuelled trade relationships with local elites and created the general social and political background for the development of the so-called “Orientalizing” horizon.8 5 In the Atlantic Far West, this oriental and “Orientalizing” imagery was represented and diffused through different media, including bronze casting,9 gold10 and ivory working,11 stone sculpture,12 and pottery painting. 13 Curiously, terracottas, which played a significant role in the iconographic production of other areas of the Mediterranean touched by the Phoenician presence,14 were not a particularly popular medium for the western Phoenician communities, nor, for that matter, for their indigenous counterparts. In fact, even if terracottas are not completely unknown in Phoenician and “Orientalizing” contexts,15 and a probable Late Archaic workshop has tentatively been located in the Phoenician colony of Gadir,16 the coroplastic output remained comparatively limited when compared to that of other media, such as works in bronze, 17 or even ivory.18 6 Southern Portugal, however, constitutes a clear exception to this situation. Coroplasty is, in fact, the most frequent medium for local iconographic production, especially among the communities of the interior of the Lower Alentejo region19 (Fig. 1; Table 1). This trend is further emphasized if we set aside the possible production of Phoenician Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 2 and/or “Orientalizing” workshops located elsewhere20 and consider only those elements that were clearly produced locally/regionally (see below). Fig.1.Distribution of Early Iron Age terracottas in southern Portugal. A. “Beja Group.” 1, Palhais; 2, Cinco Réis 8; 3, Carlota. B. “Ourique-Aljustrel Group.” 4, Fonte Santa; 5, Chada; 6, Cerro do Ouro; 7, Corte Margarida. C. “Neves-Corvo Group.” 8, Corvo 1. D. “Alcácer do Sal Group.” 9, Olival do Senhor dos Mártires Table1.Early Iron Age terracottas from southern Portugal: basic data. Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 3 7 Despite being known for some time now,21 this significant coroplastic production has not been addressed in recent analyses of Iron Age terracottas in the Iberian Peninsula. 22 On the other hand, the available panorama has recently been enriched by new finds23 and the presentation of unpublished material from older excavations.24 Both these facts justify a new integrated analysis of the corpus of southern Portuguese Early Iron Age terracottas and an attempt to systematize it from an iconographic, functional, and cultural point of view. 2. The corpus: groups and materials 8 Although there are valid reasons to consider the terracottas produced by the Early Iron Age communities of southern Portugal as part of a wide, shared iconographic and coroplastic tradition (see below), the study and interpretation of these elements cannot be dissociated from the diversity of the archaeological record of these communities, which has further been emphasized by recent discoveries and research.25 9 As far as our current knowledge goes, it seems clear that despite being closely linked and interdependent, the southern Portuguese communities followed somewhat different socio-political and cultural paths during the Early Iron Age. Material culture, architecture, and especially funerary practices, in fact, seem to indicate the existence of different local/sub-regional entities which, despite many shared features, also show unmistakable specificities reflecting different positions in regional networks as well as different socio-political and identity strategies developed in the framework of those networks.26 10 Despite their shared medium and technical commonalities, the coroplastic materials studied in this contribution also reflect this internal diversity: some distinctive productions can be associated with specific sub-regional archaeological groups, a fact that should be considered when analysing the regional iconographic tradition. Therefore, in the following pages these terracottas will be divided into four distinct groups, the specificities of which will be analyzed before the discussion of those aspects that can be said to unify these materials in a significant regional coroplastic tradition. 2.1. The “Beja Group” (Fig. 1, A) 11 The terracottas attributed to the “Beja Group” are among the most recently discovered and studied Early Iron Age coroplastic finds from southern Portugal, having significantly enlarged the regional repertoire while raising interesting questions regarding its internal diversity and stylistic seriation.27 This material was unearthed from three necropoleis of the sixth century B.C.E., Palhais,28 Carlota, and Cinco Réis 8,29 that were uncovered during construction of the Alqueva irrigation system in the interior of Lower Alentejo, and form part of a larger group of funerary sites also identified during this construction activity. These necropoleis share very similar characteristics, including the nearly exclusive inhumation of the dead in individual (or, more rarely, double) rock-cut tombs, some of which are surrounded by quadrangular enclosures defined by rock-cut ditches, and the richness and diversity of funerary offerings and trappings accompanying the dead.30 Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 4 12 The individuality and discreet nature of this funerary group within the regional Early Iron Age horizon also extends to the associated coroplastic production. This includes distinctive hand-made, high-stemmed cups with plastic decoration in the form of small birds applied along the rim oriented inward (Fig. 2).31 This use of applied coroplastic elements to decorate vessels appears to be exclusive to this area and to this particular archaeological horizon, with no known parallels in the regional Early Iron Age. In fact, the use of coroplastic decorations applied to different types of vessels only becomes somewhat more common in Late Iron Age Iberia,32 but even then, examples strictly comparable to these objects from Beja are rare (see below). Fig.2. “Beja Group.” Cups/burners with coroplastic decoration: nos. 1–3, Palhais (after Santos et al., 2017); n. 4, Cinco Réis 8 (after Salvador Mateos & Pereira, 2017). 13 In the necropolis of Palhais (Beringel, Beja), three such cups have been brought to light. One of these (Fig. 2, n. 1) was found in a primary context in a small niche connecting to the ditch that delimited the only funerary enclosure excavated in the site, which also contained several other offering vessels.33 This cup comprises a hemispherical bowl with a hollow, apparently cylindrical or slightly conical stem, and also appears to have had a set of nine terracotta birds applied over the rim; only one was still attached to the cup at the time of the excavation, but three others that had broken off also were found.34 The surviving examples show a bird with a well-modeled body, a relatively long beak, a thin neck, stylized wings, and a tapering tail, with features that are fairly schematic.35 The cup also had been painted, as its interior is fully coated by a red slip, while the exterior shows a painted radial decoration which leaves the areas underneath the terracotta birds in reserve.36 14 Unfortunately, the remaining two cups from Palhais were not recovered from their primary contexts, although they also may have originally been deposited in the aforementioned niche.37 The better preserved of the two (Fig. 2, n. 2) has a Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 5 hemispherical bowl, a massive stem, and a hollow, hemispherical, bowl-like foot. It preserves a single bird with a more schematic head and body than those of the example described above, although the latter is decorated with incised lines meant to represent the wing feathers; the tail of the bird is missing.38A third example (Fig. 2, n. 3), a cup with a conical bowl whose stem has not been preserved, has an applied coroplastic decoration representing the head and body of a bird, like those of the first cup mentioned above, but this bird also has more detailed features, such as small holes for eyes and incised lines representing feathered wings.39 15 Two additional examples of this type of cup with coroplastic decoration have been found in the necropolis of Cinco Réis 8 (Santiago Maior, Beja) (Fig. 2, n. 4) in the northern and eastern corners of a ditch that delimited the only funerary enclosure excavated in the site.40 Both cups are very similar, comprising roughly conical bowls, massive stems, and flaring bases.41 Each of them was decorated with eight terracotta birds applied over the rim that have well-modeled bodies, but somewhat more schematic heads and features.42 The surfaces of these cups also show traces of red painted decoration.43 16 The necropolis of Carlota (São Brissos, Beja) has also yielded one of these cups, once again retrieved within one of the ditches that delimited the funerary enclosures of that necropolis.44 This cup was decorated with two terracotta birds applied over the rim, although in this case the poor preservation of the vessel and its decoration severely hinders any stylistic considerations.45 Additional coroplastic material also was retrieved within the ditch of the aforementioned enclosure, although its poor state of preservation does not allow for any in-depth analysis; the exception is a single elongated bird figurine, very schematic, that could correspond to a vessel decoration itself.46 17 Finally, mention must be made of yet another high-stemmed cup with conical bowl, massive stem, and flaring base, recovered in the necropolis of Vinha das Caliças 4 (Trigaches, Beja).47 This cup presents the traces of four decorative elements applied over the rim, in all likelihood also terracotta birds; unfortunately, however, none of these has survived and the terracotta elements themselves have not been located during the excavation.48 18 As mentioned earlier, these cups with plastic decorations are a very specific feature of the material culture of the newly-identified necropoleis of the Beja region. This type of vessel does not have any precedents in the pottery repertoire of the regional Late Bronze Age, while close Early Iron Age parallels are also very scarce,49 making these cups a particularly characteristic element of the local pottery repertoire. It already has been pointed out that the application of bird figurines over the rims of different types of vessels is well documented in other Mediterranean contexts, including several Early Cypriot examples.50 Other, more recent, decorated cups are seen in some Late Geometric miniature cauldrons from the Athens 894 Workshop retrieved in Athenian tombs,51 or an equally Late Geometric bowl from Tomb X of the necropolis of Fortetsa in Crete.52 19 That said, it is difficult to trace a direct line between these much older examples and the material from southern Portugal discussed above. Nonetheless, the Mediterranean origin of the concept of applying plastic, figurative elements to the rims of vessels remains a viable hypothesis, and perhaps the missing links in the chain could be found in other media, such as bronze casting.53 On the other hand, this type of cup with Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 6 coroplastic decoration practically disappeared from the southwestern Iberian archaeological record after these enclosure necropoleis of inner Alentejo ceased to be used. Only a few cups/burners comparable to these are known in Late Iron Age contexts, such as a cup from Alhonoz (Seville) with two terracotta birds decorating its stem,54 and a possible perfume burner with ornitomorphic terracotta handles applied to the rim that was found in the votive deposit of Garvão (Ourique) and mentioned in passing in a preliminary report of its excavation.55 20 A final note must be made regarding the function of these cups both in general and in the particular context of these necropoleis. It has been proposed that they may, in fact, have been used as perfume burners/ thymiatheria,56 an interpretation that seems to be confirmed by the presence of burn marks on the interior of the example from Vinha das Caliças 4.57 Their position within the funerary landscape, systematically placed inside the ditches that delimit the funerary enclosures or, in the case of Palhais, in a niche connected to one such ditch,58 seems to suggest that these cups/burners played an essentially ritual role during the consecration of the funerary space and/or during the burial, as duly noted by other researchers.59 The iconography of their coroplastic decoration further emphasizes their religious role, as will be discussed below. 21 Apart from the plastic decorations of these characteristic cups/burners, the assemblage of terracottas of the “Beja Group” also includes an exquisite bull figure brought to light in the necropolis of Cinco Réis 860 (Fig. 3). There are indications that a second bull figure was retrieved from this same necropolis during an earlier excavation conducted by a different team, but nothing is known about that terracotta.61 Fig.3. “Beja Group.” Bull figure from Cinco Réis 8 (n. 1 after Salvador Mateos and Pereira, 2017; n. 2 after Arruda, 2016b, drawing by C. Pereira). 22 This terracotta figure stands out within the Early Iron Age coroplastic assemblage of southern Portugal both by its size and by the quality of its execution. The large, hollow Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 7 figure, some 45cm in length, represents a recumbent bull in an overall linear composition, despite some slight tilting of the animal’s hindquarters resulting in the omission of one of the legs, which would have been hidden beneath the body.62 Both the modeling of the body and the representation of the features are careful and comparatively life-like. Particular attention seems to have been given to the head and muzzle, where the mouth was indicated by a thin, incised line, and the nostrils by two small holes; the eyes were represented through the application of clay pastilles, a common technique in the Iron Age coroplasty of southern Portugal (see below), but in this case they were marked by deep, concentric incisions.63 The area between the horns also has been highlighted by incised lines, representing either hair or, as has been suggested, some kind of harness.64 Apart from the overall muscular volume of the bull, other areas that reflect the attempt made to render a naturalistic representation of the animal are the tail, curled up and ending in a flaring hair tuft represented by a rough palmette incised on the hindquarters of the figure,65 and the bent legs, with welldefined joints and hoofs.66 23 As has been shown,67 and despite some original technical solutions, the stylistic features of this bull are very close to those of other “Orientalizing” bull figures from southwestern Iberia in bronze,68 good examples of which have been found in southern Portugal.69 However, the Cinco Réis 8 terracotta presents some iconographic specificities that set it aside from the model shared by most of those bronze figures. While these generally present the bull with the head turned to the side and with an open, bellowing mouth, in this case the animal is represented in a linear stance, facing forward, with somewhat less forceful facial features. Nevertheless, clear parallels can be drawn between this representational scheme and that found in several other examples pertaining to the “Orientalizing” plastic tradition, such as a bronze bull figure from the collection of the National Library of Portugal,70 a bull figure, also in bronze, from Cerro del Prado (Cádiz),71 and a series of stone sculptures from southern Iberia, previously considered Iberian, but recently reinterpreted as part of an “Orientalizing” sculptural tradition.72 24 In a recent study of Phoenician and “Orientalizing” sculpture in the Iberian Peninsula, M. Almagro Gorbea and M. Torres Ortiz argued that this model of representation stems from a theoretical Phoenician prototype, Prototype A-1, which would make the Cinco Réis 8 terracotta iconographically parallel to their Type B bull sculptures.73 The bull terracotta of Cinco Réis 8 can therefore be directly linked to a distinctive and wellestablished oriental model, locally adapted to an unusual medium and to the available technical and artistic skill set of the local community. 25 Finally, a brief comment must be made here regarding the context of this bull figure. Like the cups/burners from Cinco Réis 8 analyzed above, it was situated within the rock-cut ditch that delimited the only funerary enclosure identified in that necropolis. 74 Once again, this fact strongly suggests that this figure was imbued with a religious significance, having been deployed within the context of burial ritual and having taken part in the consecration of this particular funerary space. It has also been noted that the likely existence of a second bull figure, mirroring the presence of two cups/burners with plastic decorations, seems to point towards the existence of an elaborate symbolic system in which these elements – possibly of a sacrificial nature – were fully articulated as part of a religious and funerary narrative.75 Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 8 53 That said, it should be noted that the Sado river was likely one of the primary routes, together with the Mira, for the penetration of Mediterranean materials and ideas towards the Ourique region, located in the Upper Sado and Upper Mira valleys.133 It therefore is likely that both regions maintained more or less systematic contacts throughout the Early Iron Age. 54 The presence of terracotta figurines in the necropolis of Olival do Senhor dos Mártires (Alcácer do Sal)134 could be interpreted as a result of such contacts, representing an irradiation of the coroplastic tradition of inner Alentejo towards this more coastal region. The chronology of the terracottas of Alcácer do Sal (see below) supports this idea, as these figurines fall on the lower bracket of the time span covered by the “Ourique-Aljustrel Group” discussed above.135 55 The two known examples represent bulls, although they show very different technical characteristics (Fig. 6). Both were excavated in the 1920s by V. Correia from in situ cremation burials,136 where they seem to have been laid directly on the burning pyre, as is indicated by traces of burning. Fig.6.“Alcácer do Sal Group.” Nos. 1–2, Olival do Senhor dos Mártires (after Gomes, 2018, photos by B. Barros). 56 The better preserved of these terracottas (Fig. 6, n. 1) is missing the right hind leg and the top portion of the head, including the horns, but the overall stance and configuration of the animal can easily be grasped: it represents a standing, frontwardgazing bull, roughly modeled, but naturalistic in its proportions. 57 The block-like head has a somewhat schematic representation of the animal’s features, with the eyes indicated by two pastilles, the nostrils by two small holes, and the mouth by a simple incised line. Although equally schematic, the massive body shows approximately naturalistic proportions and even some detailed features, such as the animal’s dewlap, which clearly indicates an attempt at a more life-like rendering of its Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 15 physiognomy. The legs, on the other hand, received less attention, being modeled as simple, arched, cylindrical appendages without joints, and the hoofs indicated by a discoid flattening of the distal extremity of each leg. 58 Unfortunately, the second terracotta figurine retrieved by V. Correia in the Olival do Senhor dos Mártires is very incomplete. Only a fragment, corresponding to the animal’s left front leg and part of its chest has been preserved (Fig. 6, n. 2), severely hindering any iconographic or technical analysis. However, the characteristics of this fragment do suggest that this terracotta also represented a standing or walking bull, although this second example is technically very different from the example already discussed. First of all, the dimensions of the remaining limb suggest that this figurine would have been significantly larger than its better-preserved counterpart. The body of this second figure was hollow, having likely been modeled by fashioning a flat clay plaque into a cylindrical base, the exterior of which was then worked into the desired shape. This technique, more complex than the direct modeling of a solid clay block, is best suited for such a large figure and can be compared to the technique used to produce the bull of Cinco Réis 8.137 The modeling of the preserved leg of this figurine also shows more care and skill. Unlike the rough cylindrical legs of the previous example, the limbs of this larger bull show a clearly articulated knee and carefully rendered hoofs. 59 As mentioned earlier, both these figurines were found in situ in cremation burials lodged in simple, rock-cut ditches, or busta, corresponding to the 3rd Type of the tomb typology established by V. Correia for the Olival do Senhor dos Mártires necropolis.138 They were deposited directly on the funerary pyre and can therefore be said to have had a sacrificial function. Despite the many issues regarding the sequence of this site, these tombs can safely be attributed to the Early Iron Age. A recent reappraisal has indeed shown that this type of tomb is attested in this necropolis from the late 7th century B.C.E., becoming predominant in the second quarter of the 6th century, before being replaced by urn burials at the turn to the Late Iron Age, in the mid-5th century B.C.E.139 60 However, the upright stance of these bull figurines clearly sets them apart from the “Orientalizing” models described above. Even though at least one terracotta possibly representing a standing bull has been uncovered in the Phoenician colony of Morro de Mezquitilla (Málaga),140 the predominant iconographic models during the Early Iron Age of southwestern Iberia show the animal in a recumbent posture. As such, the posture of the bulls from Alcácer do Sal seems more closely aligned with that found in a series of bronze bull figurines documented throughout the southern Portuguese territory and generally attributed to the Late Iron Age, including the examples from Portimão141 and Corte Pereiro (Alcácer do Sal),142 and the votives found in the area of the Castle of Alcácer do Sal itself.143 Since their general context precludes an attribution of the bull terracottas of the Olival do Senhor dos Mártires necropolis to that later period, they tentatively have been dated to a late stage of the local Early Iron Age, in the early 5th century B.C.E., and can be interpreted as a missing link between the iconographic production of that period and that of the Late Iron Age.144 Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 16 3. Diversity and Unity: towards the definition of a regional coroplastic tradition 61 As we have seen, considerable emphasis has been put on the diversity and heterogeneity of the coroplastic production of the southern Portuguese Early Iron Age communities. At this point, however, it is important to review a number of commonalities that strongly suggest that these materials, or at least, the vast majority of them, pertain to a common coroplastic tradition. The most basic feature is, of course, the medium for iconographic expression itself. It has already been mentioned that clay was not, in any sense, the preferred artistic medium of the archaic western Phoenician craftspeople nor, for that matter, of the “Orientalizing” communities of southern Iberian.145 62 In this sense, southern Portugal, and especially the inner Lower Alentejo, appear as an anomaly, since terracottas clearly outnumber other sculptural objects, such as bronze figurines, by nearly three to one, being the clearly preferred iconographic medium. This tendency is even more marked if we consider that several of the aforementioned bronze figurines could have been produced in specialized workshops outside the Portuguese territory, further emphasizing the role of coroplasty as the preferred medium for the local iconographic output. 63 The specific ways that the clay medium was worked also give a certain degree of coherence to this assemblage, as all of the works catalogued above seem to be handmade. Despite showing a certain range of different modeling techniques, from figurines directly sculpted out of solid pieces of clay to others with hollow bodies that were produced using a more sophisticated approach, not to mention specific techniques for the rendering of details, among which the most characteristic is the use of clay pastilles for eyes and other features, there is no evidence whatsoever for the use of moulds for the production of any of the terracottas described above. 64 Apart from the clay medium, however, these terracottas also share a relatively coherent spatial and even chronological setting. From a geographic point of view, all the examples listed above were found in the inner Alentejo region, or in sites directly connected to that region, such as Alcácer do Sal. Meanwhile, no Early Iron Age terracottas have been documented so far in other neighboring regions, such as Algarve, Central Alentejo, or Estremadura, further emphasizing the specificity of this particular coroplastic tradition. 65 As for their chronological setting, the terracottas discussed can all be dated to a time span that ranges from the early to mid-6th century to the 5th century B.C.E. The latter date can perhaps be fine-tuned to a degree, as the data from Corvo I clearly show some changes taking place during the second half of the 5th century, both in the iconographic focus of the coroplastic production and in its context of use and display. The “NevesCorvo Group” therefore could be considered a sui generis offshoot of this coroplastic tradition, incorporating new cultural inputs and iconographic models suited to a changing socio-political landscape. The lower date for the bulk of this coroplastic tradition could therefore be tentatively set around the mid-5th century B.C.E. 66 Yet another aspect that emphasizes the shared background of these terracottas is their use, reflected in their find contexts. Except for the Corvo I material, which, once again, should be considered as part of a connected, but somewhat lateral, tradition, all the Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 17 terracottas discussed above were recovered from funerary contexts. Naturally, this does not mean they all fulfilled the exact same function within the framework of funerary practices. The terracottas from the “Beja Group,” for instance, seem to have a primarily cultic and ritual function related to the consecration of the funerary space, although an associated sacrificial function cannot be excluded. 67 Some of the figurines from the “Ourique-Aljustrel Group,” such as those from Fonte Santa, seem to have played a similar role. It was previously suggested that these could have been used to decorate lost earthen superstructures that were built on top of the stone tumuli of this necropolis,146 but the more recent finds of Palhais, Carlota, and Cinco Réis 8 seem to shed a new light on the function of these figurines and their association with the temenos of Fonte Santa. 68 In the case of Chada, of Corte Margarida, and of Olival do Senhor dos Mártires, the situation seems reversed, as the terracottas from those sites appear to have had a predominantly sacrificial function, although once again a previous use in religious and consecration rituals cannot be entirely excluded. As for the particular case of Corvo I, the coroplastic finds from this site seem to be associated with a religious space, forming part of a larger assemblage that comprised a number of prestigious imports, such as Attic pottery and core-formed glass vessels.147 All these objects could have been part of ritual paraphernalia, but an interpretation as offerings is more consistent with their apparent position outside of the cult building. In this sense, and once again, the terracottas from Corvo I seem to anticipate a usage that will become common for their later, Late Iron Age counterparts, often found in sanctuaries and favissae across the southern and eastern Iberian Peninsula.148 69 Some further comments must be made regarding the iconographic repertoire of this assemblage, in which some clear trends can be identified. First of all, it should be noted that despite some stylistic and technical diversity, the Early Iron Age terracottas of southern Portugal represent a very limited number of iconographic subjects. 70 A comparison with the roughly contemporary iconographic output of Phoenician and “Orientalizing” communities of southwestern Iberia clearly shows that many common motifs, such as cervids, bucks, and rams, and mythical animals, such as griffons, sphinxes, and sirens149are entirely absent. Particularly conspicuous, however, is the absence of anthropomorphic figures, either human or divine, a staple feature of both the Late Bronze Age150 and the Phoenician/”Orientalizing” iconographic traditions.151 71 The local iconographic output, therefore, seems to be based on the very selective adoption of a small number of iconographic motifs borrowed from the Near Eastern repertoire brought to the Peninsula by the Phoenicians. Zoomorphic representations were clearly preferred over anthropomorphic ones, and two broad iconographic motifs seem to have particularly resonated with local groups: birds152 and bulls.153 72 Birds are very well documented in the western Phoenician and “Orientalizing” iconography of southwestern Iberian.154 They are the most common motif among the few known terracottas from those cultural contexts, being represented in two examples from Cabezo de San Pedro (Huelva)155 and El Carambolo (Seville),156 as well as in two others from the Phoenician colony of Morro de Mezquitilla.157 Additional representations can be found in bronze, such as the so-called Carriazo Bronze, found at an unspecified location in the Seville province158 or, further east, in the thymiaterion of La Quéjola (Albacete).159 Both of these objects are particularly expressive, as the birds, ducks in the first case and a possible dove in the second, have been associated with Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 18 female figures, in all likelihood divine representations of the goddess Astarté.160 This association strongly suggests that isolated representations of birds could correspond to iconic, metaphoric representations of the goddess herself. Birds can also be found in carved ivories and in painted pottery,161 as well as in graffiti etched into pottery vessels and sherds,162 clearly showing the relevance of this motif during the period analyzed here. 73 Bulls, on the other hand, have long been associated in Near Eastern mythology and iconography with male divinities, and particularly with celestial gods such as Adad and Ba’al.163 This motif, and, in all likelihood, its divine connotations, also traveled to the Far West, as representations of bulls are often found in the western Phoenician and “Orientalizing” iconography of southern Iberia. In fact, and despite the rarity of terracotta representations of bulls – only two examples from Morro de Mezquitilla are known164 –bulls are often represented in bronze,165 in stone,166 in carved ivories, and in painted pottery.167 74 One carved ivory plaque from the necropolis of Medellín (Badajoz), in particular, represents a fight scene between a divine figure, interpreted as Melqart, and a bull, which clearly can be connected to a very long line of Near Eastern mythical narratives, including Gilgamesh’s fight with the Celestial Bull, showing that those narratives and, by extension, the associated iconic and mythological significance of the bull, were known in the Iberian Far West.168 75 On the other hand, the adoption and adaptation of this motif by local communities may have been facilitated by, or even boosted by, the local economic and symbolic significance of bovines. Although we know very little about the economic structures of most of the communities that produced the coroplastic material discussed above, it is safe to say that most were essentially rural, and cattle must have played a significant practical, but also symbolic, role in their lives, as suggested, for example, by the study of the faunal remains from the necropolis of Alcácer do Sal.169 76 In any case, as has been pointed out in a recent study, the joint deployment of a bull figure (or possibly two) and cups/burners decorated with birds in the ditched enclosure of the necropolis of Cinco Réis 8 suggests that these two motifs may have been appropriated due to their close identification with a divine couple associated with fertility, fecundity, and the regeneration of nature.170 The combined deployment of these representations in these ritual and funerary contexts shows the complementarity of both motifs, and their incorporation into a fully articulated religious narrative that, despite its clear oriental overtones, became embedded in local beliefs and practices. 77 Representations of felines – lions, or, more likely lionesses – such as that of Fonte Santa are much less often encountered in the coroplastic assemblage discussed here, but they are very common in the oriental and “Orientalizing” iconography of southern Iberia.171 Besides examples in bronze from the Portuguese territory and beyond that are discussed above,172 several other examples are known in bronze,173 stone,174 ivory, and painted pottery.175 Terracotta versions, on the other hand, are almost unknown for this period, but for a single paw fragment, possibly from a tripod bowl, from the Phoenician colony of Toscanos (Vélez-Málaga).176 78 In Near Eastern mythology and iconography, felines are often associated with female deities, especially with Inanna/Ishtar/Astarté,177 an association that seems to have traveled to the Far West with the Phoenician colonists and craftspeople.178 As such, it could be suggested that the association between a feline and a bull representation in Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 19 the necropolis of Fonte Santa could be equivalent to that between bull and bird figures in contexts such as Cinco Réis 8,179 standing once again for a male/female, god/goddess dualism deeply imbued with a significance related to fertility, fecundity, and rebirth. 79 For the social, political, and iconographic context of the motif of the horse/horse-rider, this has already been discussed above, and little can be added at this point. 80 In conclusion it can be said that the motifs represented in the Early Iron Age terracottas of southern Portugal can be said to stem from a vast and readily available iconographic repertoire with deep Near Eastern roots introduced in the West by Phoenician colonists and craftspeople. However, those motifs represent only a small part of those available in that repertoire, denoting a clear and conscious selection by local communities. The criteria for such a selection cannot be entirely reconstructed, but it is likely that the few motifs that were locally assimilated and reproduced were the ones that more closely fitted local ritual and cosmological constructs. A process of syncretism and even partial interpretation may have mediated the translation of these symbols into local religious systems, but it is interesting to note that only the symbols, and never the actual representations of the divinities, fairly common in western Phoenician contexts,180 made their way into the iconographic production of these communities, where indirect and iconic symbolism was preferred over the direct display of anthropomorphic divinities.181 81 Once again, it is difficult to fully reconstruct the chain of transmission through which these exogenous iconographic motifs were made available to the local communities of southern Portugal, and particularly of the inner Alentejo region. Apart from direct contact with the Phoenician colonial and commercial interface, other ways of diffusion also can be envisaged, such as through direct contact with other indigenous, “Orientalizing” groups occupying nearby areas. Iconographic motifs, their meanings, and their translation also may have been dependent on, and mediated by, local/ regional sociopolitical networks encompassing not just colonial groups, but also local groups from other areas of southwestern Iberia. 82 These iconographic motifs were locally adapted to an unusual medium (for the time) that was readily available and easy to work with a limited specialized know-how. In fact, the relative ease with which clay could be worked and modeled using the comparatively expedient techniques documented by the figurines presented above must be considered when discussing the polymorphic nature of this coroplastic tradition. 83 The heterogeneous nature of the terracottas discussed in this contribution can, in fact, be explained by the socio-political framework in which their production took place. Except for Alcácer do Sal, which can likely be considered a “secondary center” within the coroplastic tradition discussed here, the communities that produced these terracottas were essentially part of rural, heterarchical settlement networks with no apparent centralized power structures.182 Given this particular socio-political structure, it is likely that the coroplastic production of these communities was equally decentralized, taking place at a local level with the available raw materials, workforce, and technical skillset. Apart from nature itself, inspiration was surely drawn from other iconographic materials circulating at the regional and supra-regional level, but such models seem to have been translated differently depending on local taste and skill, with no discernible degree of standardization. Early Iron Age Terracottas from Southern Portugal: Towards the Definition of ... Les Carnets de l’ACoSt, 19 | 2019 20 84 These terracottas can be said to be not only an effective way to study the impact of foreign, Near Eastern iconography and imagery in the artistic production of local communities, but also can be open windows into the socio-political structure of these communities and the fluid ways in which their artisans adopted and adapted that imagery to their own discourses and practices, in conscious, articulated, and meaningful ways that deserve an ever more meticulous exploration. BIBLIOGRAPHY Almagro-Gorbea, M. 1977. 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