The Venus of Willendorf
24,000- 22,000 BCE
The Venus of Willdendorf is a statuette found in 1908 in a paleolithic site, a woman carved from limestone and tinted with red ochre, a mineral believed to be sacred to early cultures. Her large breasts and abdomen, as well as her detailed vulva, have led many to believe that this carving is meant to be a symbol of fertility, the thought echoed again by the fact that the woman has no face, only what appears to be either hair or an elaborate headdress covering her head. Several other statues of the same nature have been found over the years, many discovered to have been created long before the Venus of Willendorf; the formation of these statues signifies many things about this time period. It shows the beginning of religion, the worshipping of woman as “Earth Mother”, or perhaps as a symbol of fertility, and the availability of free time. While this statue is a piece of art, is also shows how far in the evolutionary stage humans were, able to care for themselves to the point where they had time to encourage the arts and early religion.