German 'Venus' may be oldest yet

BBC ^ | Thursday, May 14, 2009 | Jonathan Amos

[SunkenCiv]

The distorted object, which portrays a woman with huge breasts, big buttocks and exaggerated genitals, is thought to be at least 35,000 years old. The 6cm-tall figurine, reported in the journal Nature, is the latest find to come from Hohle Fels Cave in Germany. Previous discoveries have included exquisite carvings of animals, and an object that could be a stone "sex toy". Professor Nicholas Conard, from the department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, at Tübingen University, said is was understandable that many would also view the new discovery in a pornographic light, but he cautioned against jumping to quickly to a particular interpretation... The Venus of Hohle Fels was found in six fragments in September 2008. It is still missing its left arm and shoulder, but researchers are hopeful these will emerge in future excavations of the cave's sediments. The figurine does not have a head. Rather, it has a carefully carved ring located off-centre above its broad shoulders. The polished nature of the ring suggests the Venus was probably suspended as a pendant... The artefact is presumed to have been made by modern humans (Homo sapiens) even though Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) were still present in Europe at this time.

[SunkenCiv]

The figurine is presumed to have been made by modern humans

[americanophile]

[SunkenCiv]

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[PetroniusMaximus]

You are fast!

[ETL]

Someone remarked on a thread I posted on this earlier that it looks like a chicken with breast implants. Lol!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2250919/posts?page=5#5

[doc1019]

I would suggest a young lad with an ability to carve and an imaginative libido. One not yet experienced in the true body proportions that only experience can give. IMHO ;-)

[garyhope]

Meghan McCain?

[muawiyah]

It's shamistic ~ could have something to do with birthing, fertility, or instruction ~ and given the nature of those times, probably all those things.

Life was hard then ~ far more than we can imagine. That someone invested the time necessary to carve this piece suggests it served far higher purposes than pornography.

[Fred Nerks]

The Hohle Fels object is of an age where radiocarbon dating techniques become somewhat uncertain. Scientists say, however, that it is unquestionably older than previous finds...

Unquestionably? Why?

VENUS FIGURES

This is the "Tan-Tan Venus". It is one of the oldest Venuses ever discovered. It was discovered during an archaeological expedition by Lutz Fiedler on the bank of the River Draa near the Moroccan town of Tan-Tan. It is a little over 2 inches in length and is thought to be about 300,000 to 500,000 years old.

[hellbender]

A similar effigy is the Venus of Willendorf:

Some people have noted a resemblance in the features, such as the protruding buttocks and tightly curled hair, to African Bushmen (Khoisan) and SE Asian Andaman Negritoes, both postulated to be among the most ancient of human races.

[muawiyah]

The figurine is pregnant. The cervix is dilated. The baby's crown is at the right point for birth to begin.

This is the very moment of delivery.

The more I look at this the more I realize it is a set of instructions for everyone involved in the birth of the baby.

This is the correct position for everything. (Having read Beck's Obstetrics a time or two "way back when" we had pregnant ladies in the office and my own kids were on the way).

[GSP.FAN]

[doc1019]

If we had found an abundance of these carvings, I would agree (reflecting a deity?) … having found only one, mayhap my earlier premise might be more in line.

[Finalapproach29er]

lmao!!!!!!!!

[Ciexyz]

It’s a thing of great beauty - a tribute to the female role of giving birth.

[Beowulf9]

I think you’re probably right.

[muawiyah]

There weren't very many people in Europe at that time. Every single individual may have had a comparable carving. I think we'll find more of these.

Kind of reminds me of the question about "Why didn't the Romans invade Ireland", and more and more the answer seems to be that they didn't need to. No one tried to stop them and the place was technologically quite advanced. You could go to Ireland and get a tooth replaced with an implant, and if you needed trepanning, you would survive!

This particular carving has rows across the belly that correspond to significant dates for checking out the crown of the baby's head.

We did that for a lady in the office who'd earlier had a troublesome pregnancy and was very anxious that this one be perfect and that if any problems arose she would know about them in time to get to the hospital.

There's a lot of knowledge wrapped up in that carving.

[Ciexyz]

Reminds me of the African fertility statues in Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum in Orlando, where a sign tells female visitors to touch the statue and you’ll get pregnant. Perhaps these prehistoric figurines had the same function.

[muawiyah]

It’s also a tribute to our San ancestors. They were reaching way out beyond the dark past and if I’m correct concerning the purpose of this carving, right into the lap of what is essentially modern scientific technique.