Venus of Willendorf

Venus of Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf, is an 11.1 cm (4 3/8 inches) high statuette of a female figure. It was discovered in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria near the city of Krems. It is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and tinted with red ochre. Venus of Willendorf File links The following pages link to this file: Obesity Venus of Willendorf Categories: Sculptures containing nudity | Images with unknown source ... Venus of Willendorf File links The following pages link to this file: Obesity Venus of Willendorf Categories: Sculptures containing nudity | Images with unknown source ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 319 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1428 × 2684 pixel, file size: 591 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Venus of Willendorf Venus figurines Metadata... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 319 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1428 × 2684 pixel, file size: 591 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Venus of Willendorf Venus figurines Metadata... Rodins The Thinker is a man leaning onto the top of his penis. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Josef Szombathy (1853-1943), was an Austrian archaeologist, who found the Venus of Willendorf in 1908[1]. The Venus of Willendorf is an 11. ... // The Paleolithic is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of stone tools. ... Willendorf an der Schneebergbahn is a town in the district of Neunkirchen in Lower Austria, Austria. ... Map of Lower Austria showing districts and the four quarters (Waldviertel in green, Weinviertel in red, Mostviertel in yellow and Industrieviertel in blue) Lower Austria (de: Niederösterreich) is one of the nine states or Bundesländer in Austria. ... Krems an der Donau is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, at the end of Wachau valley. ... For other uses, see Oolite (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ... Red ochre and yellow ochre (pronounced //, from the Greek ochros, yellow) are pigments made from naturally tinted clay. ...

Since this figure's discovery and naming, several similar statuettes and other forms of art have been discovered. They are collectively referred to as Venus figurines. Venus of Willendorf Venus figurines is an umbrella term for a number of prehistoric items, mostly in statuette form, of obese or pregnant women (which is disputed) from the Aurignacian or Gravettian period of the upper Palaeolithic, found in Europe. ...

History

As of 1990, upon a revised analysis of the stratigraphy of its site, it is estimated to have been carved 24,000–22,000 BCE. Very little is known about its origin, method of creation, or cultural significance. Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... BCE is a TLA that may stand for: Before the Common Era, date notation equivalent to BC (e. ...

The Venus is not a realistic portrait but rather an idealization of the female figure. Her vulva, breasts, and swollen belly are very pronounced, suggesting a strong connection to fertility. Her tiny arms are folded over her breasts, and she has no visible face, her head being covered with what might be coils of braids, eyes, or a kind of headdress. The lack of a face has prompted some archaeologists and philosophers to view the Venus as a "universal mother." The external genital organs of the female are collectively known as the vulva (plural vulvae or vulvas)[1]. In common speech, the term vagina is often used improperly to refer to the vulva or female genitals generally, even though, strictly speaking, the vagina is a specific internal structure, whereas the... A pregnant womans breasts. ... Fertility is the natural capability of giving life. ... A braid Step by step creation of a basic braid using three strings To braid is to interweave or twine three or more separate strands of one or more materials in a diagonally overlapping pattern. ...

The nickname, urging a comparison of this rather rotund figurine to the classical image of "Venus", causes resistance in some modern analysis. "The ironic identification of these figurines as 'Venus' pleasantly satisfied certain assumptions at the time about the primitive, about women, and about taste," Christopher Witcombe has noted^[1]. At the same time, there is professional reluctance to identify her as an Earth Mother goddess of paleolithic Old Europe.^{[citation needed]} Some suggest that if the statuette was intended to appear obese rather than pregnant, it would represent high status in a hunter-gatherer society, and that besides or instead of fertility she could be an emblem of security and success.^{[citation needed]} The Earth Mother is a motif that appears in many mythologies. ... Some archaeologists and ethnographers use the term Old Europe to characterize the autochthonous (aboriginal) peoples who were living in Neolithic southeastern Europe before the immigration of Indo-European peoples (for this reason also called Pre-Indo-European). ... Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and other mammals, is increased to a point where it is associated with certain health conditions or increased mortality. ... In anthropology, the hunter-gatherer way of life is that led by certain societies of the Neolithic Era based on the exploitation of wild plants and animals. ...

The statue's feet don't allow it to stand on its own. Due to this it has been speculated that it was meant to be held, rather than simply looked at. Rather than an icon of a Mother Goddess some archaeologists have called it merely a good-luck charm.^{[citation needed]} Others have raised the possibility that it was designed to be inserted vaginally,^{[citation needed]} perhaps as a fertility charm, to become pregnant. Yet others have suggested that the object could have been a male masturbatory aid.^{[citation needed]} The purpose of the carving is subject to much speculation. A Cucuteni culture statuette, 4th millennium BC. A mother goddess is a goddess, often portrayed as the Earth Mother, who serves as a general fertility deity, the bountiful embodiment of the earth. ...

Catherine McCoid and LeRoy McDermott hypothesize^{[citation needed]} that the figurines were created as self-portraits. Most theorists^{[weasel words]} agree that the head, seen from a profile view, while having no distinct facial features, appears to be looking down. The common physical characteristics of the Venus figures are: a thin upper torso, greatly exaggerated breasts, large buttocks and thighs, a large stomach (possibly due to pregnancy), and oddly bent, short legs, that end with disproportionately small feet. Yet when thought of as a woman looking down at her own body, the physical features, in perspective, seem correct. There are striking similarities between such figurines and a pregnant woman when perceived from above. A cube in two-point perspective. ...

Venus of Willendorf is part of the collection of the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna[1]. Naturhistorisches Museum at Maria-Theresien-Platz, Vienna Naturhistorisches Museum Wien The Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History) is a large museum located in Vienna, Austria. ... “Wien” redirects here. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Venus von Willendorf

• Christopher L. C. E. Witcombe, "Women in Prehistory:Venus of Willendorf".
• Venus figures from the Stone Age - The Venus of Willendorf
• The Invisible Sex: Uncovering the True Roles of Women in Prehistory by J.M. Adovasio, Olga Soffer and Jake Page, ISBN 9780061170911, gives a new 'view' of headdress as possible model for weaving a basket; Laura Miller review at Salon.com: [2]

23446766 {[www.bigblackhoes.com}]] Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...