Since their discovery, considerable diversity in opinion amongst archaeologists and in palaeoanthropological literature has arisen as to the function and significance of the figures. In the early 20th century, the general belief among scholars was that the figurines represent an ancient ideal of beauty. The Marquis then contrasted the ivory figurine to the Aphrodite Of Knidos, a Greco-Roman sculpture depicting Venus covering her naked body with both her hands. The name was first used in the mid-nineteenth century by the Marquis de Vibraye, who discovered an ivory figurine and named it La Vénus impudique or Venus Impudica ('immodest Venus'). Upper Palaeolithic female figurines are collectively described as 'Venus figurines' in reference to the Roman goddess of beauty Venus. It represents the earliest known sculpture of this type and the earliest known work of figurative art.

This figurine was later called the Venus of Hohle Fels and can be dated to at least 35,000 years ago. In September 2008, archaeologists from the University of Tübingen discovered a 6 cm (2.4 in) figurine carved from a mammoth's tusk. Since then, hundreds of similar figurines have been discovered from the Pyrenees Mountains to the plains of Siberia. The famous Venus of Willendorf was excavated in 1908 from a loess deposit in the Danube valley located in Austria. įour years later, Salomon Reinach published an article about a group of soapstone figurines from the caves of Balzi Rossi. The Magdalenian Venus from Laugerie-Basse is headless, footless, armless, and displays a strongly emphasised vulva. The figurines were mostly discovered in settlement contexts, both in open-air sites and caves. This valley is one of the many important Stone Age sites in and around the commune of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil in Dordogne, southwestern France. It was found in 1864 by Paul Hurault, 8th Marquis de Vibraye at Laugerie-Basse in the Vézère valley. The Vénus impudique, which was the figurine that gave the whole category its name, was the first Palaeolithic sculptural representation of a woman to be discovered in modern times. There are widely varying and speculative interpretations of their use or meaning: they have been seen as religious figures, an expression of health and fertility, grandmother goddesses, or as self-depictions by female artists. It has frequently been suggested that they may have served a ritual or symbolic function. The original cultural meaning and purpose of these artefacts is not known. Depictions of hairstyles can be detailed, and, especially in Siberian examples, clothing or tattoos may be indicated. Various figurines exaggerate the abdomen, hips, breasts, thighs, or vulva, although many found examples do not reflect these typical characteristics. Arms and feet are often absent, and the head is usually small and faceless. Most have wide hips and legs that taper to a point. These figurines are recognised as some of the earliest works of prehistoric art. In total, over 200 such figurines are known virtually all of modest size, between about 3 and 40 cm (1.2 and 15.7 in) in height. The latter are among the oldest ceramics known to historians. Such figurines were carved from soft stone (such as steatite, calcite or limestone), bone or ivory, or formed of clay and fired. However, findings are not limited to this period for example, the Venus of Hohle Fels dates back at least 35,000 years to the Aurignacian era, and the Venus of Monruz dates back about 11,000 years to the Magdalenian. Most date from the Gravettian period (26,000–21,000 years ago). Most have been unearthed in Europe, but others have been found as far away as Siberia, and distributed across much of Eurasia. Venus of Willendorf Venus of Hohle Fels, the earliest Venus figurineĪ Venus figurine is any Upper Palaeolithic statue portraying a woman, usually carved in the round.

Faceless figurines