Venus figurines – representation of women in prehistory: a fascinating range of time, area and diversity.
Examples of Venus figurines dating from 40 thousand to 6 thousand years ago, from a vast area stretching from France to Russia.
Diversity of Venus Figurines
Although I don't think it's widely known, Venus figurines are characterized by great diversity.
What they have in common is that they emphasize typical female features, but they don't capture just one type of figure, and they also differ in the degree of abstraction, ranging from a relatively faithful depiction, in which one can recognize the original, the woman after whom Venus was created, to a considerable stylization, simplification, where only some features are emphasized.
I would like to show the diversity of prehistoric Venus figuriens in this section of my website.
A few remarks to introduce the images.
It is possible, and even probable, that thousands of prehistoric Venuses were created, for example wooden ones, because wood is much easier to work with than mammoth tusk or stone. But they were not preserved due to their easiness to decay.
How to view Venus Figurines
Much has been written about the reason for the creation of Venus figurines, sometimes very bizarre and completely nonsensical. But we can assume that among hunters and gatherers, the material and spiritual aspects of everything that exists is/were always closely connected. Therefore, the meaning of Venuses was probably magical. A Czech author and painter Josef Čapek wrote in his book "The Art of Natural Peoples":
… I am increasingly inclined to believe that the origin of all art is in magic. (…) Intangible and demonic forces can enter a person, but they can also be induced to enter a substitute, a puppet, a statue; they slip into the form that is determined by a person's lively imagination. A person's soul can leave the body and return to it again. Every object can be animated by its own spirit, various, especially striking and astonishing things, forms, and materials have their own magical properties and effects."
I think it is relevant to perceive Venus figurines in this sense, to view them as the embodiment of magical powers in a female form.
It is also worth mentioning that in prehistoric times there were also male figurines. But there were incomparably fewer of them than female ones. One such figurine was found in Brno, in a prehistoric grave of a man, nicknamed the "Brno Shaman". The Brno shaman had his female counterpart in the "female shaman" from Dolní Věstonice, who in turn is connected to a "mask" carved from mammoth ivory, a simplified human face. In addition to this simplified head, a carved head was found at the same site, the oldest portrait in the world.
The fact that there is evidence of both women and men as female and male shamans confirms that everyone back then did what they were talented at, regardless of whether they were a man or a woman.
Venus figurines' nudity: Shame of nudity is learned, not innate
The nudity of Venus figurines reminds us of another, once natural thing. It is a documented fact that shame of nudity is culturally learned. It is evidently related to the historical transition to a patriarchal social order and the associated demands for "chastity".
Venus figurines and the concept of beauty
Similar to the perception of nudity, the concept of beauty is also culturally conditioned.
It's bizarre when an author writes about prehistoric hunters and gatherers, that they were so mentally distant from us that we are unable to understand them at all, and then goes on to write that Venuses certainly couldn't have been the ideal of beauty. So how can they claim this when they themselves do not understand them?
We are certainly able to understand many things about prehistoric hunters and gatherers. Even though we are able to understand animal behaviour in many cases, how could we view humans of the species Homo sapiens, the same species as us, as aliens?
I have also encountered an opinion that the Venus of Věstonice (and some other Venuses from Dolní Věstonice) depicts both a man and a woman. When someone tries hard, they are able to see many things in many things, so, with a certain amount of effort, elements of something completely different can be found in every depiction of anything.
The ratio of female to male figurines in prehistoric Europe is exceptional
In many cases, we compare the life of people in prehistoric times with that of hunters and gatherers, which is documented by travellers and expert studies in our time. In relation to Venus figurines, it is remarkable that nowhere has such a predominance of female figurines over male ones been recorded, as is documented from prehistoric times. Therefore, we can also assume a greater role of women in prehistoric times than was, or is the case, in historically documented cultures.
Visual overview of Venuses
The following is an overview of Venus figurines which is, of course, not exhaustive, but is intended to show their diversity. They are arranged according to the established periodization of prehistoric periods, named after significant archaeological sites in France for the hunter-gatherer period (Palaeolithic), and one site in Hungary for the agricultural period (Neolithic).
The oldest period is the AURIGNACIAN.
The middle period, "the golden age of Venus figurines", is the GRAVETTIAN, which ended with the peak of the Ice Age and the Last Glacial Maximum.
The youngest period of hunter-gatherer Venuses is the MAGDALENIAN, which began after the end of the Last Glacial Maximum.
The last period associated with prehistoric Venus figurines is the agricultural culture, named after the Hungarian locality LENGYEL. Czech (Moravian) form is called the "Moravian Painted Pottery Culture,"
Image sources are listed at the end of this page above the references.
AURIGNACIAN
GRAVETTIAN
MAGDALENIAN
The Magdalenien is characterized by stylized Venuses, with the main emphasis on the side view, as is evident especially from engravings.
NEOLITHIC – MORAVIAN PAINTED POTTERY CULTURE
Venus figurines: Male or female creators?
There is an incomplete fingerprint on the back of the Venus of Věstonice. Based on its analysis, it can be concluded that it almost certainly did not belong to an adult male. If the creator of the Venus of Věstonice had been a boy or a male person in general, he must have been a child. However, we must also take into consideration an adult woman with smaller fingers and denser fine papillary lines. Given that the modelling of the Venus of Věstonice and its subsequent burning required a certain level of skill, it is unlikely that it could have been the work of a child. It turns out, the Venus of Věstonice is the work of female hands.
It is remarkable (or perhaps indicative) that although it is more logical that the creator of the Venus of Věstonice was an adult, or at least a sufficiently intellectually and manually developed person, which points to a woman or a girl, the child imprint is repeatedly emphasized.
The Venus of Věstonice was not the only one of its kind. Fragments of other ceramic Venus figurines were also preserved at the site.
In addition, a number of ceramic fragments with fingerprints from Dolní Věstonice and Pavlov have been preserved. Their analysis showed that these were again female fingerprints, and in some cases perhaps even children's. A possible explanation is that it is the result of magical practices performed by women.
Venus and fire
As for the location of the find, the Venus of Věstonice was found during the exploration of a large (most likely central) hearth measuring 13 x 5 m, under a thick layer of burnt loess, ash and charcoal. This indicates that the Venus figurine related to fire as the centre of community life. A pile of high-quality stone tools was found on the edge of the hearth, which were apparently brought there as a ritual offering.
The burial of a ritually buried woman, known as the grave of a female shaman, was closely adjacent to the site where the Venus of Věstonice was found. The Venus of Vestonice was dated based on the age of the burial.
Since there are indications that the Venus of Věstonice may have been created by a woman or a girl, I wanted to add visual material. Because I can't paint, I tried to create an image of the female creator of the Venus of Věstonice ("creatrix") using artificial intelligence. So here are some results.
( Note: The fact that the creators look modern is not inconsistent with current knowledge. For example, the forensic reconstruction of a young woman from the Mladeč Caves, who was given the name Mlada and who represents a woman from an even older period than the creator of the Venus of Věstonice, looks like an ordinary contemporary person. For the example, visit "https://www.casopis.ochranaprirody.cz/vyzkum-a-dokumentace/forenzni-rekonstrukce-lebky/" or "https://mladecske.caves.cz/aktuality/seznamte-se-mlada-kromanonka-z-mladecskych-jeskyni").
These images are not exact reconstructions, but their purpose is to show a different concept than the one that has been applied so far.
The Venus of Věstonice is associated with fire, and was created from wet clay found locally, probably collected from the local Dyje River or a local puddle. That's why the images show either fire or water.
Here there are two reconstructed images of the woman after whom the Venus of Věstonice was possibly modelled. They were created by the artist Libor Balák.
Similarly to the Venus of Věstonice, the Venus of Galgenberg in Austria (called Fanny), the second oldest known Venus, is associated with fire. Hunters and gatherers of the time created a fireplace lined with stones, with a screen against the wind. And in this hearth, nestled in a thick layer of charcoal, the Venus was discovered.
The Venus of Petřkovice lay in a depression along with a mammoth molar and other artifacts mixed with remains from the hearth.
At the Russian sites of Kostěnky and Gagarino, the Venus figurines were hidden in depressions dug into the floors of dwellings near fireplaces. They were often covered with animal bones or limestone slabs.
The Venus of Willendorf was found at a campsite above the Danube, hidden in a depression and sprinkled with red dye. Interestingly, the material (the so-called oolitic limestone) did not come from anywhere near the site of the find or its immediate surroundings. Most likely, its place of origin may have been in Italy, near Lago di Garda (Sega di Ala), which is about 450 km as the crow flies, but on the other side of the Alps. So the Venus figurine either had to be carried through the passes over the Alps, or around the Alps. The second most likely source could have been near the city of Izyum in eastern Ukraine, which is about 1,600 km from Willendorf.
All of this indicates that prehistoric Venus figurines were not just "figurines", but were significant objects with a story.
Sources of Venus images:
(1) Hannes Wiedmann, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hohle_fels_-_venus%C2%A9urmu_2014_-_foto_hannes_wiedmann.jpg, výřez
(2 - 12) own photo
(13) Dolnověstonické studie, volume 15: PETŘKOVICE On Shouldered Points and Female Figurines. Editor Jiří Svoboda, Archeologický ústav České akademie věd Brno, 2008 (=DVS
15), str. 197
(14) Jan Jelínek: Velký obrazový atlas pravěkého člověka. Artia Praha, 1977 (= Jelínek), str. 316
(15) DVS 15, str. 198
(16) Jelínek, str. 393
(17) autor Vassil, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vénus_de_Lespugue_Gravettien_Musée_de_l%27Homme_04022018_5.jpg
(18) autor Selmoval, zesvětleno oproti originálu, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vénus_de_Lespugue.jpg
(19) autor PHGCOM
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Venus_de_Brassempouy.jpg
(20) autor: FrDr
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Musée_d%27Aquitaine_03.jpg
(21) DVS 15, str. 199
(22) DVS 15, str. 199
(23) Bosinski, G., 1981: Gönnersdorf. Eiszeitjäger am Mittel rhein. Schriftenreihe der Bezirksregierung Koblenz 2 Koblenz : Rhenania-Verlag, 1981.
https://donsmaps.com/gonnersdorf.html#reference
(24) DVS 15, str. 200
(25, 26) own photo
(27) Karel Valoch: An engraved female figure from Býčí skála cave in Moravia. Antropologie, LI/1, str. 29-31, 2013 (https://puvodni.mzm.cz/Anthropologie/downloads/articles/2013/Valoch_2013_p29-31.pdf)
(28-32) own photo
(33 – 40) Obrázky vytvořené pomocí webových stránek s umělou inteligencí na zákadě textových "promptů" a většinou ještě doupraveny pomocí editoru PIXLR remove object tool.
(33, 34, 36, 38) Magic Hour
(35) Dezgo
(37) AI Image
(39,40) Vheer.
(41, 42) autor rekonstrukcí Libor Balák.
Literature
1.
Josef Čapek:
Umění přírodních národů.
(The Art of Indigenous/Native Peoples)
(a book)
Československý spisovatel, Praha, 1949
2.
Martin Oliva:
Dolní Věstonice I (1922-1942) Hans Freising-Karel Absolon-Assien Bohmers.
(a book)
Anthropos, Moravské zemské muzeum Brno, 2014.
Articles:
Sandra Sázelová:
Female figurines of the Northern Eurasia: An ethnological approach.
Chapter III.3 in "Petřkovice. On Shouldered Points and Female Figurines". Dolnověstonické studie, volume 15, str. 224-232.
Archeologický ústav Akademie věd České republiky Brno, 2008.
Articles about the fingerprint on the Venus of Věstonice
Miroslav Králík, Vladimír Novotný, Martin Oliva:
Fingerprint on the Venus of Dolní Věstonice I.
Anthropologie XL/2, str. 107–113, 2002.
https://puvodni.mzm.cz/Anthropologie/downloads/articles/2002/Kralik_2002_p107-113.pdf
Mirslav Králík, Vladimír Novotný:
Epidermal ridge breadth: An indicator of age and sex in paleodermatoglyphics.
Variability and Evolution, 2003, Vol. 11: 5–30
Miroslav Králík, Vladimír Novotný:
Dermatoglyphics of ancient ceramics. Součást sborníku Dolnověstonické studie 14: Pavlov I Southeast. A window into the Gravettian Lifestyles, kapitola IV.5.
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Archaeology, Brno a Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of systematics and Evolution of Animals, Kraków, 2005.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257603379_Dermatoglyphics_of_Ancient_Ceramics
The article about the origin of the Venus of Willendorf:
Weber, G.W., Lukeneder, A., Harzhauser, M. et al.:
The microstructure and the origin of the Venus from Willendorf.
Scientific Reports 12, 2926 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06799-z
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-06799-z
Articles about perception of beauty as culturaly dependent:
Martin J. Tovée, Viren Swami, Adrian Furnham, Roshila Mangalparsad:
Changing perceptions of attractiveness as observers are exposed to a different culture.
Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 27, issue 6, 2006, pages 443-456,
ISSN 1090-5138
Alais David, Stephens Jacqueline and Taubert Jessica
Distortions of lip size bias perceived facial attractiveness
Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 292: 20250202
Published:09 April 2025
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.0202
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2025.0202
Articles about perception of nudity as culturaly dependent:
Paul King:
Can people unlearn their naked shame?
BBC
https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7915369.stm
Keon West:
Naked and Unashamed: Investigations and Applications of the Effects of Naturist Activities on Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Life Satisfaction
Journal of Happiness Studies, 19, 677–697 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9846-1