The most impressive element of the Cycladic figurines is their simplicity, the fact that they lack details and colours. Was this the case? All evidence shows that the citizens of the Cyclades painted the figurines in order to attribute to them facial characteristics such as eyes, mouth and hair. Quite often, they painted details all over the body. Why did they paint the figurines? Since most of the figurines were found in graves, most researchers think that the dead and their relatives who participated in funerary rituals, decorated their bodies with paint. It is possible that the decoration of their bodies depicted the way people of high social standing, such as sailors, merchants and specialized technicians, used to decorate their bodies and face.
