Venus Figurine Found in Germany Sheds new Light on Ancient Art

A 40,000 old venus figurine was recently excavated from a cave in southwest Germany. Carved from a mammoth ivory, this figurine is one of the oldest examples of early paleolithic art to be found so far. The radiocarbon dating places the origin of this figurine to shortly after the first humans started arriving in Europe.

The figurine depicts a headless voluptuous woman with exaggerated features and resembles many similar pieces of later age that have been excavated from that area. Instead of a head, the figurine has a carefully polished ring in the neck area suggesting that it was likely worn as a neck ornament.

The finding sheds light on how the modern human behavior and values have evolved over time. Clearly a lot of effort went into carving this figurine implying that it held a great meaning to the humans in that age. It also draws a parallel between behaviours and ways of looking at the world in the early paleolithic era and the modern day world.