The Beginning of Religion in Prehistory - Art and the Goddess
When I began my BA in Anthropology at the University of Kentucky in 1973, I was both excited and overwhelmed by the vast range of specializations within the department. The faculty's expertise spanned the Indigenous peoples of the North-West Pacific Coast, the Kikuyu community of Kenya, physical anthropology, folklore, linguistics, lithic technology, and included Bill Adams, the department head and excavator of Qasr Ibrahim in Sudan. One of the first lessons I embraced was the renowned quote by Gordon Willey, "Archaeology is Anthropology or it is nothing" (Method and Theory in American Archaeology). This sentiment rings particularly true for the Prehistoric Age, where the absence of written records necessitates a deeper understanding of culture, enriching our exploration of human history both past and present.
After graduating in 1976, I had the privilege of traveling to Les Eyzies in the Perigord region of Southern France with Professor Michael Collins. Renowned as the Prehistoric capital of the world, this area boasts numerous sites nestled among limestone caves and rock shelters, the most famous being Lascaux. We spent our summer in a quaint hotel along the Vézère river, where bats gracefully flew overhead at dusk and the restaurant served an assortment of freshly caught trout for dinner. The after-dinner cognac was nothing short of exceptional, much like the remarkable nature of our archaeological site. Previous excavations had revealed hundreds of Palaeolithic stone tools, all of which required careful analysis, measurement, and cataloging.
As I observed the incredible craftsmanship of flint-knappers from 25,000 BCE, I found myself in awe, imagining the landscape during the Ice Age. How did the inhabitants sustain themselves? What do these remnants reveal about the earliest expressions of human spirituality?
Discover a vibrant polychrome representation of a wild horse from the iconic Lascaux cave, dating back around 17,000 years. In these ancient artworks, horses comprise approximately 30% of the depicted animals, alongside wild cattle, which served as essential food resources for Ice Age hunters. These early artists portrayed not only the animals that nurtured them but also those imbued with deeper spiritual significance—possibly connected to hunting magic intended to ensure successful expeditions.
One of my favorite animal depictions comes from the Chauvet cave site in the Ardèche region of Southern France. The engraving features an owl with its head turned backward, peering over its wings. This remarkable ability likely held some supernatural significance for the people of that time. In European folklore and tribal ethnography, owls are often regarded as ominous symbols. They are frequently seen as harbingers of death, with several African languages referring to the owl as the "witchbird." Among the Ojibwe and Pueblo tribes, owls represent both death and fertility. The Apache community held strong taboos against harming owls, viewing them as the spirits of their ancestors. Culturally, owls are commonly linked to death across Russia, Armenia, Turkey, and throughout Western Europe, with spotting one considered a bad omen. Conversely, in Japanese culture, owls are seen as powerful symbols that ward off evil and avert disasters. Images of owls are often displayed in homes to fend off famine and epidemics. Among the Pawnee and Sioux tribes, the snowy owl is associated with the northern quarter of the earth and its spirit ruler. Warriors would wear owl feathers as a testament to their bravery, believing these feathers would protect against malevolence and safeguard their homes. How were they viewed by Ice Age humans?
Portable Art and the Goddess
Unlike the paintings and engravings on the walls of caves, portable art is an amazing new leap for artistic expression. Humans are tactile beings, loving to handle and feel the texture and markings of the object they are holding. In the developing cognition of prehistoric people of the period, this was a great leap forward to actually mould something out of clay. It is believed that this was the precursor to people creating the first coiled hand-made cooking pottery of the Neolithic in the 6th millennium BCE.
Female images come in many shapes and sizes, materials and form. Some are short and fat with little evidence of arms or legs; others are slender with arms upraised; others are very naturalistic and posed so as to emphasise the sexual function. Of great significance is the fact that to date no equivalent “male” figurines have been found, the earliest turning up in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.
The “Venus” of Willendorf – arguably one of the best known Paleolithic sculptures of the female form. It is about 11 cm tall and carved out of oolitic limestone. It was found near the village of Willendorf in Lower Austria in 1908. Speculation is rife in its interpretation. The consensus is that it has something to do with ensuring fertility among the cave dwellers. Infant mortality was probably high and the exaggerated breasts and pregnant belly ensures the tribes survival. So is this the first representation of the Great Goddess?:
Could there be other explanations? Possibly this figurine is a female shaman or a mythic female figure. In earlier cultures, the role of men in the fertilisation process was unknown. Women held the magic of regeneration and the ability to give birth to a new life. This veneration of the act of birth and pregnancy could go beyond simple fertility to something greater.
Alternative explanation
The Luba people of the Congo have a rich tradition of sculpting female figurines. A very important and typical Luba figure, this regal standing female sculpture expresses profound Luba ideals of beauty and power. These sculptures serve the rulers as emblems of their status and authority, but more importantly as receptacles of spiritual vitality and efficacy.
Women figure prominently in Luba society because they are considered to be the ultimate custodians of royal secrets and the most effective magnets for ancestral spirits.
Although some figures are associated with particularly powerful women in the 19th century and early 20th century, more often these figures are representative of a power that can ensure the blessing of spirits. A Luba proverb states: “Only the body of a woman is strong enough to hold a spirit as powerful as that of a king.”
Downcast eyes are a reference to insight as well as the humility that a person must use to approach the ancestral spirits. Hands on breasts expresses the belief that the secrets of royalty are safely guarded within a woman’s breasts.
This demonstrates the importance of using Anthropology to offer alternative explanations of the interpretation of palaeolithic art. Is the Willendorf Venus a powerful female ruler, the embodiment of powerful feminine energy or a vehicle for summoning ancestral spirits?
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