Can the materialist turn shed new light on Judean Pillar Figurines? Using the ritual associations of clay in the ancient Near East to explore the pote

My research project takes a materialist approach to Judean Pillar figurines [JPFs]. These are clay, humanoid figurines in the shape of women which have been recovered from ancient Judah, dated to the 8th-6th centuries BCE. By looking at the material associations of clay within the Hebrew Bible and wider ancient Near Eastern literature, we can gain a fresh perspective on how JPFs might have been used. A survey of the scholarship on JPFs at present exposes how there is little reasoning behind the conclusions drawn on their significance. Scholars observe the large breasts found on a small sample of JPFs and conclude from this alone that they were associated with fertility, lactation, or a goddess. Yet this is a fallacious jump and is ultimately a biologically reductionist approach, fixating on the sexual organs of the figurines. More recent work has been undertaken by Erin Darby who exposes this fallacious reasoning. My research will therefore apply a new approach that does not fall victim to the assumptions made in past scholarship, providing fresh light on the question of the figurines' significance. My main research questions are: how does current scholarship on the JPFs hinder our understandings of the figurines; what ritual associations does clay have in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near East; how might this shed new light on the JPFs' significance and how they might have been viewed in the ancient world? These questions will highlight the lack of reasoning made in scholarship and therefore offer the reasoning that is missing. To answer my research questions, I will begin by conducting a literature review of the scholarship, focussing on each of the main classifications of JPFs. As I do this reading, I will then write up the respective chapters, to ensure that I am writing as I go along. At the start of my DPhil, I compiled an extensive bibliography to cover each of these sections, but my initial bibliography will expand based on what I read. This approach is the most suitable for my project as it utilises textual analysis to ascertain how clay as a medium was understood in the ancient world. I can then apply my findings to the JPFs and draw conclusions about how the materiality of clay might have shaped the ritual landscape of the JPFs. So far this year I have conducted a literature review of the main interpretations of JPFs as teraphim and as fertility or lactation devices. This research intersects with a broad range of fields. It draws on Middle Eastern Studies; Theology, Jewish Studies and the Hebrew Bible; Archaeology; and Ancient History. Additionally, my research aids comprehension of household and women's religion in the world which shaped the Hebrew Bible. The JPFs are on display in museums around the world, and my research therefore has the potential to engage with the public by aiding our understanding of these mysterious and evocative objects.