Development of female figures in the Lakes Region in the Neolithic Age

This study examines female figurines unearthed in Neolithic settlements located in Anatolia's Lakes Region, including Hacılar, Höyücek, Kuruçay, and Bademağacı, within the framework of their structural, regional, and chronological variations. The research also conducts a comparative analysis by considering the similarities between these figurines and those discovered at Çatalhöyük. In the earlier periods, the voluminous and accentuated forms reflecting themes of fertility and abundance gradually evolved into abstract, stylized, and symbolic expressions toward the Chalcolithic Period. This formal transformation reflects not only an aesthetic shift but also a change in the belief systems of the societies. The thesis aims to understand the cultural structure of Neolithic communities through the production purposes of the figurines, the meanings of the symbols they bear, and the transformations of these symbols over time. By analyzing the artistic evolution of female figurines in light of archaeological findings and theoretical approaches, the study offers a comprehensive evaluation of the socio-cultural dynamics of the period.