Explaining the "Venus Figurines" of the Upper Paleolithic: Macronutrients and the Effects of Endocrine Responses

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

For over a century the so-called "Venus Figurines" have inspired a plethora of scientific discourse and speculation regarding their meaning and function in the Upper-Paleolithic. This paper examines a more down-to-earth explanation regarding their forms and features that most likely reflects the food resources utilized by Upper Paleolithic cultures rather than the more popular assertion that they represent fertility figures and/or associated fertility cults per se. There seems to be a continuing and erroneous assumption about prehistoric diet, which is not supported by more recent physiological studies of nutrition, hormonal responses to specific macronutrients and female body fat. This paper proposes that the "Venus Figurines" represent a female body type caused by specific nutrient consumption and not merely an abstract concept of female fertility or art form. The climatic conditions of the Upper Paleolithic, site location, available resources, and the effects of macronutrients on the endocrine system on female body fat will be examined.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26342