Venus Of Willendorf Analysis

The Venus of Willendorf is one of the best known examples of Paleolithic Art. Found in 1908, by archaeologist Josef Szombathy, it was discovered in an Aurignacian region of what is today Willendorf, Austria. The Aurignacian Culture, which stemed across central Afro-Eurasia around roughly 45,000 BCE to 27,000 BCE, were an Upper Paleolithic culture of hunter gatherers. Standing about four and a quarter inch, she is made out of Oolitic Limestone not indigenous to the area in which she was found. It is clear, however, the figure was important enough for early humans to have migrated with it. As one of the first known depictions of women in Art, she is faceless and the emphasis appears to be on her feminine traits; round protruding breasts, large child bearing hips, with carved detail on the pubis. Many such 'Venus'

Psychologically, this can also be seen by how the Id, or the instinctual reptile complex responsible for the survival structure of the brain, will act on impulse, always taking what it wants and needs. Not only will early man's needs depend upon this primitive functioning, but would have included undoubtedly his divine equal, woman. Their need, drive, and connection as primordial partners. Within the context of human life alone, the idea of man and woman would have completed the cycle of life, and therefore been held as sacred. The worship of the energy of nature and the natural world would have no doubt included the immensely important role of woman as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. This central idea of the cycle of life can be seen throughout history in almost every religious view. We must view the context of these figures with unbiased Pre-Christian eyes. The Divine Feminine encompasses all aspects of womanhood: sexuality, divinity, and completion of the life