Archaeologists working on the Greek island of Keros have identified a massive industrial complex dedicated to the production of the world-famous Cycladic marble figurines. The site, dating back to 2500 BCE, contains specialized workshops with thousands of marble offcuts, obsidian blades, and emery polishing tools, suggesting a level of organized apprenticeship previously unknown in the Early Bronze Age.
This 'academy' appears to have served as a centralized training hub where master sculptors taught the rigid geometric canons of the iconic folded-arm figurines. The discovery of unfinished pieces at various stages of completion provides a rare 'instruction manual' in stone, revealing the exact mathematical proportions used to create these enigmatic artifacts that later inspired modern artists like Picasso and Moore.