Female Figurines Analysis

Clive Gamble’s theory revolves around communication, which was most likely difficult considering during the Paleolithic era people had nomadic lifestyles.Most female figurines had small size making them compatible with the nomadic lifestyle. The nomads used these figurines to establish communication, and once established made it easier. Through this form of communications, it is possible that the people in this era used the Venus figurines as a symbol of female interaction and mating. Although the fertility theory is understandable it does not fully apply to all Venus figurines. Some of the figurines have big chests, hips, and abdomen, while others like the Venus of Eggendorf am Walde has a smaller chest, waist, and a bigger hip area, leaving it to be missing the pregnant like abdomen. There are many figurines with many different body types and characteristics. Others have detailed headpieces or what appears to be clothing, leaving out again the pregnant belly. In conclusion, it appears that the Venus figurines focus on depicting all types of female bodies, and using them to communicate.
The type of art that stood out the most at least for me was the female figurines. Although the figurines are scandalous since they were crafted with largely emphasized breast, hips, and abdomen, what was most interesting was the theories for the unknown significance. Theories differ, some theories mention the figurines were fetishes, others give significance to them by concluding that back then they believed there was some fertility magic tied to them, but most recently Clive Gamble theorized that the figurines were symbols used as