26 i Flora Unveiled
in Europe, beginning around 18,000 years ago, the mystery was solved. No longer was the
male perceived as a mere facilitator of childbirth, but as an equal partner. This is pure specu-
lation, but it provides a reasonable upper limit for the time of discovery of the role of the
male in childbirth. A more conservative estimate of when the discovery actually took place
would be anytime between 100,000 and 18,000 years ago!
The Vulva and the PlantUpper Paleolithic artists rarely depicted plants, and when they did so the results were
barely recognizable as botanical in origin, especially when compared with the meticu-
lous renderings of animals.^36 Alexander Marshack was the first to point out that plant
images were mainly employed as seasonal indicators, which may explain their simplified,
pictographic style.
Marshack noted that images of plant- like symbols on cave walls are occasionally jux-
taposed with symbols of vulvas. Figure 2.9 shows a striking association of three possible
vulva signs with what could be a flower. The three bell- shaped symbols were painted in
red, while the “plant” was painted black. This panel was originally interpreted by French
archaeologist André Leroi- Gourhan as a combination of three female symbols and one
male symbol. However, if the interpretation of the tufted object as a flower is correct, it
would provide a striking illustration of the association of plants and women during the
Upper Paleolithic.
Figure 2.9 Painting possibly representing three vulvas and a flower, from the early Magdalenian
site of El Castillo cave, northwestern Spain.
From Bahn, P. G., and J. Vertut (1997), Journey Through the Ice Age. University of California Press.