Early Cycladic figurines were almost exclusively made of marble. Deposits of good quality white marble are available on most Cycladic islands. However, isotopic analysis of marble objects show that the main sources of marble in that period were Naxos, Keros, and, to a smaller extent, Paros and Ios.
Apart from marble, Cycladic or Cycladic-type figurines were occasionally made of other materials, such as green and black stone, limestone, pumice, white tuff, schist, green steatite, seashell, bone, ivory, flint, lead, bronze, and clay; wooden figurines may have also existed, although no examples have survived. The use of other materials may have been dictated by the lack of good quality white marble in certain areas like Thera, where figurines were made of local white tuff or whitish clay; alternatively, it may have been due to the familiarity of local craftsmen with other materials, as in the case of Crete, where figurines of ivory, flint and green steatite have been found. We should stress, however, that seashell and clay figurines have been found on Naxos, where fine quality white marble abounds.
One of the major cultural innovations of the Aegean Early Bronze Age was the introduction of metallurgy – bronze working in particular – from the Orient. In the Cyclades, metallurgy spread and developed during the Early Cycladic II period (2800-2300 BC). The Cycladic islands had notable sources of metals for the time: copper on Kythnos and possibly Seriphos, lead and silver on Siphnos. Ores were also supplied by the mines of Lavrion in Attica. The most widespread metal was copper, which was at first mixed with arsenic and later with tin, creating more durable bronze alloys.
These alloys were used to make weapons (spearheads, daggers, etc.), tools (chisels, axes, drills, saws, fishing-hooks, etc.), toilet implements (pins, tweezers, etc.) and jewellery. Artifacts of other metals are rare: silver jewellery and miniature vessels, bronze figurines, lead boat models and clamps for repairs. The only gold object known from this period is a necklace bead.
