A limestone figurine of a woman, 11 cm tall, with exaggerated breasts, belly and hips, and a head covered with rows of curls, was carved about 30,000 years ago and was found in 1908 by a workman in a loess deposit near Willendorf, Austria. It had been coloured with red ochre. Its meaning is unknown: it has been interpreted as a fertility symbol, a goddess or a self-portrait of a woman looking down at her own body. Similar 'Venus figurines' are found from France to Siberia, suggesting a widespread tradition during the Gravettian period.
Before and after
- from about 50,000 years ago to 9,726 years agoUpper Paleolithic
- about 41,000 years agoNeanderthals disappear from Europe
- from about 40,000 years ago to 31,000 years agoAurignacian
- about 36,100 years agoChauvet cave paintings are made
- about 30,100 years agoThe Venus of Willendorf is carved
- about 23,100 years agoPeople are already in North America
- about 21,000 years agoLast Glacial Maximum
- about 20,000 years agoThe earliest known pottery is made in China
- from about 17,000 years ago to 12,000 years agoMagdalenian
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The era
This moment belongs to the Human prehistory (300,000 years ago to 3,200 BCE), the human story before writing.