VENUS OF WILLENDORF

I first heard about the VENUS OF WILLENDORF in an Nigel Spivey documentary “How are made the world“. Carved 25000 years BP, and not dissimilar to other early carvings, it has been pondered to be a goddess of fertility, or even a fantasy symbol. Since other similar “venus” statues have been found for over thousands of years they must have been very useful in one way or another.

I don’t see why nobody has thought of the obvious, which is that the pronouced genitals make the statue a perfect education tool. To this day society struggles with sex-ed, and it must have had even more importance in prehistoric times when life expectancy was low. Girls could learn about their anatomy and boys could learn about girls anatomy as well. This sex ed too was so effective that it was copied and spread around for ages.

Besides, if there was basically only one human representation in statue form for 10000 years, its not a stretch to think that multiple uses for it would arise over time. It could have been a story prop, passed around the campfire with multiple tales of lust and exaggerated prowess. It could have been a education tool, fantasy tool, or statue of a freak for all we know. In any case its a fascinating mystery.

Buy a VENUS OF WILLENDORF replica!

WIKIPEDIA: VENUS OF WILLENDORF

Tags: VENUS OF WILLENDORF