Wheel made terracotta female figure, Tiryns, lower citadel, c.1200 BC. Clay figurines have been found at sites across the Mycenaean Empire dating from the 14th to 12th centuries BCE and are remarkably similar in design. Highly stylized to the point of being almost unrecognisable as human forms, the figures are most commonly female and standing. Often these figures have two arms raised or crossed in front of the chest, a long skirt and a conical headdress. They are simply decorated with bold lines and sometimes jewellery is also painted on the figure using simple dots. There are also several examples of figurines depicting a woman clutching a child. Most probably these clay figures represent a nature goddess of Cretan origin as several have been found in a shrine context but other suggestions as to their function range from votive dedications to children's toys.