Venus of Hohle Fels is possibly the earliest depiction of humans in the upper Paleolithic. The figurine is believed to be made 35-45 thousand years ago. It is carved from a mammoth bone. This discovery tends to inspire historians to believe that this example of figurative art along with other items is an indication of not only upper Paleolithic art and culture, but also religion (Conard 250). What is peculiar about it is the fact that it has oversized genitalia, breasts, and hips, which may indicate an emphasis on a reproductive function of a woman in that age. Before the figurine was discovered, many scientists believed that the culture of ancient Swabia was rather concentrated on depicting their fauna as more than a dozen items of figurative art dated approximately the same period depicted only animals.
Unfortunately, it is quite early to speculate on the cultural and religious context of Venus as not much data was discovered apart from cave paintings depicting aspects of daily lives. It could probably be safe to say that art played a mostly documentary role, describing the surroundings and everyday struggles. However, notions of worshipping and early religion can also be suspected. Much of the ongoing debate among historians is concentrated on determining the accurate period of art items from the same place (Garate 288). On the other hand, in Venus’ case, it could be argued that an ancient creator of the piece took artistic thought and idea other than depicting reality as a basis. The intentionally-exaggerated proportions probably symbolized a cult of fertility or some other indication of belief. However, little else is unearthed that could back such a hypothesis. Survival seems to have occupied much of the life of ancient people, which dictates the major topic of their art.
Works Cited
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Conard, Nicholas J. “A Female Figurine from the Basal Aurignacian of Hohle Fels Cave in Southwestern Germany.” Nature, vol. 459, no. 7244, 2009, pp. 248-252.
Garate, Diego et al. “At the Crossroad: A New Approach to the Upper Paleolithic Art in the Western Pyrenees.” Quaternary International, vol. 364, 2015, pp. 283-293.
“Head of Kind David.” Met Museum. n.d., 2018. Web.
Holmes, L., and G. Harbottle. “Old stones, new science.” Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, vol. 248, no. 1, 2001, pp. 75-79.
“Sculptural Group of a Seated Poet and Sirens (2) with unjoined fragmentary curls (304).” Getty.Edu. n.d., Web.