Researchers Offer New Theory About ‘Venus’ Figurines

One of the world’s earliest examples of art, the enigmatic “Venus” statuettes sculpted some 30,000 years ago, have intrigued and perplexed scientists for nearly two centuries. Now a researcher at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus believes he has collected enough evidence to solve the mystery behind these curious totem poles.

The manual depictions of obese or pregnant women, which appear in most art history books, have long been seen as symbols of fertility or beauty. But according to Richard Johnson, MD, lead author of the study published today in the journal, Obesity, the key to understanding the statues lies in climate change and diet.

“Some of the world’s first works of art are these mysterious statuettes of overweight women from the days of hunter-gatherers in the Ice Age in Europe, where you wouldn’t expect to see obesity at all,” said Johnson, a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine specializing in kidney disease and hypertension. “We have shown that these figurines are related to periods of extreme nutritional stress.”

The first modern humans entered Europe during a warming period of about 48,000 years ago. Known as Aurignacians, they hunted reindeer, horses and mammoths with bony-tipped spears. In summer they ate with berries, fish, nuts and plants. But then, as now, the climate did not remain static.

As temperatures dropped, the ice sheets advanced and the disaster began. During the colder months, temperatures dropped to 10-15 degrees Celsius. Some bands of hunter-gatherers became extinct, others moved south, others sought refuge in the forests. The big game has been hunted too.

It was during these desperate times that the obese figurines appeared. They ranged from 6 to 16 centimeters in length and were made of stone, ivory, horn, or occasionally clay. Some were strung and worn as amulets.

Johnson and his co-authors, (retired) Professor of Anthropology John Fox, Ph.D., of the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, and Associate Professor of Medicine Miguel Lanaspa-Garcia, Ph.D., of la CU School of Medicine, measured the waist-hip and waist-shoulder ratios of the statues. They found that those found closer to the glaciers were more obese than those found further away. They believe the figurines represented an idealized body type for these difficult living conditions.

“We propose that they convey body ideals for young women, and especially for those who lived near glaciers,” said Johnson, who in addition to being a physician has a degree in anthropology. “We found that body size proportions were higher when glaciers were advancing, while obesity decreased when the climate warmed and glaciers retreated.”

Obesity, according to the researchers, has become a desired condition. An obese female in times of scarcity could carry a baby during pregnancy better than one suffering from malnutrition. So the figurines may have been imbued with a spiritual meaning, some kind of fetish or magical charm that could protect a woman during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.

Many of the figurines are worn, indicating they were heirlooms passed down from mother to daughter from generation to generation. Women entering puberty or early pregnancy may have received them in hopes of imparting the desired body mass to ensure a successful birth.

“The increase in fat would provide a source of energy during gestation through weaning the baby and as well as much needed isolation,” the authors said.

The promotion of obesity, Johnson said, ensured that the band would continue for another generation in these extremely precarious weather conditions.

“The figurines have emerged as an ideological tool to help improve the fertility and survival of mothers and babies,” Johnson said. “The aesthetics of art therefore had a significant function in emphasizing health and survival to adapt to increasingly austere climatic conditions”.

The team’s success in accumulating evidence to support their theory stemmed from the application of measurement and medical science to archaeological data and the behavioral models of anthropology.

“These kinds of interdisciplinary approaches are gaining momentum in the sciences and holding great promise,” Johnson said. “Our team also has other arguments about ice age art and migration in its research goals.”