Gravettian Anthropomorphic Figurines : Contribution of Raw Materials to Object Form
The form in which raw material was obtained seems to have influenced in some cases at least the size and form of the finished figurines. Octobon describes an unworked serpentine pebble, oval in form and flattened in section like a skipping stone. This shape of support accounts for the flattened shape of the Femme au cou perforé, le buste, la figurine aplatie, le figure and la double figurine. For example, close examination of la double figurine (Figure 10a) reveals that the fissure separating the human and the animal figures was a natural flaw in the stone that conditioned the design of the piece. The minuscule scale of the Grimaldi specimens would be explained if supports for the remaining figurines were as small as the pebble described by Octobon.
