The Discovery of Sex j 1919 19
southern France to the Don River in Russia, with scattered occurrences in Siberia. Most
of them were carved in ivory, although other materials such as antlers, clay, limestone, and
steatite (soapstone) were also used. Although some of the best known examples, such as the
Venus of Willendorf (Figure 2.2B), discovered in 1908 in Austria, depict corpulent, possibly
pregnant women with exaggerated breasts, hips, and buttocks, there is, in fact, a great vari-
ety of shapes among the figurines found at different locations. According to one subjective
survey, about 23% represented slim young girls, 38% mature but not pregnant women, 17%
pregnant women, and 22% elderly women.^20 Another study found that “only 39% of these
figurines could possibly represent pregnancy.”^21 Thus, the “Venus figurines” as a whole seem
to depict various stages of female development (Figure 2.2C).
What was the function of these female figurines, and what, if anything, do they tell us
about what the Ice Age people knew about sex? Because we know so little of the cultures
that produced them, there is a wide divergence of opinion about the meaning of the Venus
figurines, as there is for all of Upper Paleolithic art. Indeed, the various interpretations of
the Venus figurines often seem to shed more light on the archaeologist than on the figurines
themselves.
A male bias is apparent in some of the early interpretations of the Venus figurines, begin-
ning with the sexually charged epithet “Vénus impudique.” When the first of the Gravettian
group of obese figurines was discovered at Grimaldi and later at Willendorf, much atten-
tion was focused on their large breasts and buttocks. Many male archeologists of the late
nineteenth and early twentieth century immediately assumed that they represented Stone
Age erotica produced by men.^22 However, this theory ignores the fact that roughly half of
the figurines depict young girls or old women.
Another idea that has been around for a long time is that the figurines represent sympa-
thetic fertility magic or perhaps good luck charms to ward off evil spirits during pregnancy
and childbirth. However, studies have shown that only 17% of the figurines appear to be
pregnant, and none of them is shown in the process of childbirth, so this cannot be the
whole story.
In 2009, a sensational headless Venus figurine, carved from mammoth ivory, was discov-
ered in a deposit at Hohle Fels Cave in Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany.^23 Dating
to 35,000 years ago in the early Aurignacian period, it is the oldest of the known Venus
figurines (Figure 2.3). It is also the most highly sexualized. The extreme exaggeration of the
breasts, belly, and genitals, together with the decorative surface engraving, suggest that’s its
purpose is symbolic rather than erotic. In the words of archaeologist Nicholas J. Conard:There can be no doubt that the depiction of oversized breasts, accentuated buttocks
and genitalia results from the deliberate exaggeration of the sexual features of the fig-
urine. ... Although there is a long history of debate over the meaning of Palaeolithic
Venuses, their clearly depicted sexual attributes suggest that they are a direct or indi-
rect expression of fertility.^24“Fertility” in this context could refer to human fertility, abundance in a general sense, or
both. Thus far, no comparable male figurine has been found, suggesting either that the male
role in reproduction was not yet fully recognized, or it was accorded a lesser symbolic value
in the prevailing belief system.