"Venus" of Willendorf 25000 -20000 BC Fertility Goddess from Cernadova Romania 5000 BC Fertility Figure from Catal Huyuk, Turkey 6000 BC

Most of the sculptures that we have today from the Neolithic age are in the form of "votives" or aids in worshipping. These are usually figurines made out of clay. The most famous of these are female fertility figures . These figurines are found all over the ancient world and are identified by the typical roundness and bulging forms of fat. The Neolithic sculptors placed a very heavy emphasis on the childbearing hips and sexual parts sometimes entirely dropping away the feet and hands.

They seem unconcerned with the faces as well, or maybe these have just rubbed off over time. They are usually small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and with this evidence we can believe they were used by nomadic people. We can also imagine the idea of these figurines traveling perhaps outside of the communities where they were made in easily.


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