First Female Self-Portraits: Venus, Valdivia, and Harappa Figurines
<p>While Venus figurines are typically associated with European sites, they actually show up throughout Eurasia (i.e., all of Europe and Asia — including Siberia and the Middle East). The oldest known figurine is the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature07995" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong><em>Venus of Hohle Fens</em></strong></a>, found in Germany and dating to between 35,000 to 40,000 years ago. Made of mammoth ivory and named for the Hohle Fens Cave (in which it was found in 2008), it is <strong>one of the oldest known examples of human figurative art in the world</strong>. Interestingly, this region has also yielded the oldest known zoomorphic figure (of a lion), an ivory flute dated to 42,000 years ago, flint-knapping debris, worked bone, and carved ivory, suggesting a culture or settlement producing both art and music at least 40,000 years ago. (Woah!!)</p>
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