Paleolithic Venuses — symbols of a mysterious past! These small statuettes of female figures made of stone or bone, created by ancient people, still capture the imagination. The artifacts hold secrets and hints about the worldview and aesthetic concepts of people who lived tens of thousands of years ago.
The first "Paleolithic Venus" found on the territory of modern Russia was a figurine discovered in the village of Kostenki in the Voronezh region. The important discovery was made by archaeologist Petr Petrovich Efimenko in 1923 during excavations at the Kostenki 1 site. This artifact belongs to the Kostenki–Avdeevo culture, which existed 23–21 thousand years ago and was part of the cultural community of the eastern Gravettian. The figurine, made from a flat flake of mammoth tusk, depicts a female figure with the rounded forms and large breasts characteristic of Paleolithic Venuses. The find inspired archaeologists and historians to study ancient art in greater detail.
Form and features of the figurine
The statuette represents an image of a mature woman with rounded shoulders, a slightly bent back, a large belly and prominent, low-hanging breasts. Its height is 8.8 centimeters.
The shape and details are executed with high precision. The legs and the head of the sculpture are missing, but the preserved portion allows one to suggest that originally it depicted a woman in a recumbent position with her legs bent at the knees.
The greatest width of the statuette falls at the pelvic area, emphasizing the feminine features that were important to prehistoric people. The arms, rendered by two notches, are pressed to the sides and appear to support the protruding belly. The lower parts of the arms with depicted hands rest on the belly, and the fingers are indicated by engraving. The back of the sculpture is slightly inclined backward, giving it a subtle volume. The surface of the figure is carefully smoothed and polished, which testifies to the skill of the ancient carver.
Paleolithic Venus from the Kostenki 1 site (Polyakov site). Excavations by P. P. Efimenko, 1923. The image source is indicated at the bottom of the article.
What did the "Paleolithic Venuses" symbolize?
The meaning of these statuettes remains a mystery for modern scholars. It can be assumed that they played an important role in the life of prehistoric people — for example, they may have been associated with rituals dedicated to female power or protection of the kin. The depiction of a nude woman with emphasis on reproductive features could have symbolized reverence for motherhood and fertility, since for ancient communities these aspects of life likely held special significance.
Where is the statuette kept today?
Today the unique artifact from Kostenki is housed in the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The artifact continues to attract the attention of researchers, as it embodies the essence of humanity's mysterious past.
Paleolithic Venuses remain an invaluable source of knowledge about the life and worldview of our ancestors, inspiring research and a reassessment of the role of art in the life of prehistoric people.
The article was written based on the source: Upper Paleolithic: Images, Symbols, Signs. Catalogue of small-format art objects and unique Upper Paleolithic finds from the archaeological collection of the MAE RAS / Editor-in-chief G. A. Khlopachev. St. Petersburg: Extraprint, 2016. — 384 pp.: color ill.
