Neolithic Anatolian 'Venus' Figure, 6000 BCE - 5500 BCE
`Marble
8.8 x 6.6 x 5.2 cm
3 1/2 x 2 5/8 x 2 in
3 1/2 x 2 5/8 x 2 in
CC.645
The artistic gene, whichever particular chemical pairing in the complex human genome it is, appears to have existed for only the last 60,000 or so years. The oldest confirmed sculpture...
The artistic gene, whichever particular chemical pairing in the complex human genome it is, appears to have existed for only the last 60,000 or so years. The oldest confirmed sculpture in human history appeared around 41,000 years ago. This figure, the famous Löwenmensch (lion-man) found in Hohlenstein-Stadel in Germany, is an unusual outlier. Whereas this sculpture, of a lion-headed human, bears the slim, athletic torso of a man, almost all early representations of human beings are female. The oldest of these female figures, the Venus of Hohle Fels, also discovered in Germany, was created perhaps five thousand years after the Lion-Man, and set the pattern for the figures which followed. A buxom woman with exaggerated breasts and hips, a clearly incised pubic region, and with hands clasped under her ample bosom, with a proportionally small head and highly stylised legs and feet. This format was followed for some 30,000 years, the vast majority of human history. The resulting artistic output was remarkably consistent, with the same features eventually replicated in the most famous ‘Venus figures’ of all: the Cycladic and Kilia figures.
The exact purpose of these figures is unknown. Despite a wealth of interest in such figures, archaeological research examining typology, style, and regional development, is sorely lacking. The designation of ‘Venus figurines’ as ‘fertility figures’ or ‘maternity figures’ must be recognised as purely speculative. The designation is based on the exaggeration of the organs of generation and motherhood – the large breast, clearly designated pubis, often rounded stomach, broad hips and large buttocks – whose emphasis is clearly the most significant feature of their design. What is known is that these figures are rarely, if ever, able to stand upright on their own. They were designed not for display, unless such display was laying down, but rather as objects to be handled. Interpretations have varied, but it is probable that such figures were either held in ceremonies, carried as amulets or protective charms, gripped by mothers in the throes of childbirth, or buried as part of ritual depositions. Certainly, these figures are incredibly tactile; the proportions of the majority of such figures are designed so that they could fit in even quite small hands, and so that there are plenty of ergonomic dips to caress the fingers. They are always worked to a very smooth finish, in hard stones of attractive colour such as marble or granite, with very few in less durable stones.
This beautiful figure is a triumph of abstraction and of the extraordinary aesthetic of the Neolithic Anatolians. Representing a woman of significant proportions, a figure who could even be defined as obese. We must realise that in the hunter-gatherer and early agricultural societies of the Neolithic Mediterranean, the chances of becoming obese were very slim; few individuals could obtain the food resources required to put on significant body weight. While the Neolithic economy did not allow for individuals to become ‘rich’, it is certain that particular members of tribal groups were, for social and cultural reasons, offered a more significant portion of the overall food intake of the tribe than other members. Perhaps such women were particularly fertile, or well-respected. Two of the most remarkable figures to come from the early city of Çatalhöyük, in south-central Anatolia, represent very corpulent women. Some archaeologists have suggested that such figures – the famous ‘Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük’ and the standing figure found during the Stanford Expedition in AD 2016 – represent elders who were given significant food resources in an otherwise subsistence economy. This particular figure bears a very striking resemblance to the more refined Çatalhöyük standing figure. The small bald head, the ample breast, the large buttocks, the indication of the pubis, and, importantly, the hands dropped to the sides rather than folded across the abdomen. The proportions are remarkably similar to the Stanford figure, and support the assertion that this particular figure came from Çatalhöyük itself.
The exact purpose of these figures is unknown. Despite a wealth of interest in such figures, archaeological research examining typology, style, and regional development, is sorely lacking. The designation of ‘Venus figurines’ as ‘fertility figures’ or ‘maternity figures’ must be recognised as purely speculative. The designation is based on the exaggeration of the organs of generation and motherhood – the large breast, clearly designated pubis, often rounded stomach, broad hips and large buttocks – whose emphasis is clearly the most significant feature of their design. What is known is that these figures are rarely, if ever, able to stand upright on their own. They were designed not for display, unless such display was laying down, but rather as objects to be handled. Interpretations have varied, but it is probable that such figures were either held in ceremonies, carried as amulets or protective charms, gripped by mothers in the throes of childbirth, or buried as part of ritual depositions. Certainly, these figures are incredibly tactile; the proportions of the majority of such figures are designed so that they could fit in even quite small hands, and so that there are plenty of ergonomic dips to caress the fingers. They are always worked to a very smooth finish, in hard stones of attractive colour such as marble or granite, with very few in less durable stones.
This beautiful figure is a triumph of abstraction and of the extraordinary aesthetic of the Neolithic Anatolians. Representing a woman of significant proportions, a figure who could even be defined as obese. We must realise that in the hunter-gatherer and early agricultural societies of the Neolithic Mediterranean, the chances of becoming obese were very slim; few individuals could obtain the food resources required to put on significant body weight. While the Neolithic economy did not allow for individuals to become ‘rich’, it is certain that particular members of tribal groups were, for social and cultural reasons, offered a more significant portion of the overall food intake of the tribe than other members. Perhaps such women were particularly fertile, or well-respected. Two of the most remarkable figures to come from the early city of Çatalhöyük, in south-central Anatolia, represent very corpulent women. Some archaeologists have suggested that such figures – the famous ‘Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük’ and the standing figure found during the Stanford Expedition in AD 2016 – represent elders who were given significant food resources in an otherwise subsistence economy. This particular figure bears a very striking resemblance to the more refined Çatalhöyük standing figure. The small bald head, the ample breast, the large buttocks, the indication of the pubis, and, importantly, the hands dropped to the sides rather than folded across the abdomen. The proportions are remarkably similar to the Stanford figure, and support the assertion that this particular figure came from Çatalhöyük itself.