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Terracottas in the Mediterranean Through Time II

2018, Les Carnets de l'ACoSt

Abstract

According to the Macmillan English Dictionary a cautionary tale comprises a series of events during which something bad happens that then can be used as a warning for the prevention of unfortunate events in the future. While my presentation is not intended to label as "unfortunate" some popular directions that have been taken over the course of the last two centuries in the study of Greek figurative terracottas, it is hoped that it will provide some guidance in the avoidance of future misdirection when interpreting coroplastic material. Most important in this regard is an awareness that past scholarship and current interpretations must be used critically, and that the researcher must be willing to look beneath the veneer of an argument to its core to determine its soundness. With each study that contributes to conclusions I would advise asking its author a simple question: "How do you know that?"