The initial Venus from Willendorf. Left: lateral view. Right-top: hemispherical cavities on the ideal haunch and leg. Bottom: existing hole bigger to form the navel. Credit: Kern, A. & & Antl-Weiser, W. Venus. (Edition-Lammerhuber, 2008).
New research approach shows that the material most likely originates from northern Italy.
It is made of a rock called “oolite” which is not discovered in or around Willendorf. A research study group led by the anthropologist Gerhard Weber from the University of Vienna and the 2 geologists Alexander Lukeneder and Mathias Harzhauser as well as the prehistorian Walpurga Antl-Weiser from the Natural History Museum Vienna have now found out with the aid of high-resolution tomographic images that the material from which the Venus was carved likely comes from northern Italy.
The Venus von Willendorf is not only special in terms of its style, however also in terms of its product. While other Venus figures are generally made of ivory or bone, in some cases likewise of various stones, oolite was utilized for the Lower Austrian Venus, which is special for such cult items. The first insight gotten is: “Venus does not look uniform at all on the inside.
A research study group led by the anthropologist Gerhard Weber from the University of Vienna and the 2 geologists Alexander Lukeneder and Mathias Harzhauser as well as the prehistorian Walpurga Antl-Weiser from the Natural History Museum Vienna have actually now discovered out with the assistance of high-resolution tomographic images that the product from which the Venus was carved likely comes from northern Italy. The Venus von Willendorf is not only unique in terms of its style, however likewise in terms of its material. While other Venus figures are normally made of ivory or bone, in some cases also of different stones, oolite was used for the Lower Austrian Venus, which is special for such cult things. The latter discusses the previously mystical hemispherical cavities on the surface area of Venus with the exact same diameter: “The difficult limonites probably broke out when the creator of the Venus was carving it,” explains Weber: “In the case of the Venus navel, he then apparently made it a virtue out of necessity.”.
An interesting connection here: Venus figures were discovered in close-by southern Russia, which are somewhat younger, however look extremely similar to the Venus discovered in Austria.
In addition to the two geologists Alexander Lukeneder and Mathias Harzhauser from the Natural History Museum in Vienna, who had actually previously worked with oolites, the group obtained comparative samples from Austria and Europe and evaluated them. A complicated job: Rock samples from France to eastern Ukraine, from Germany to Sicily were acquired, sawn up, and examined under a microscope. The group was supported by the state of Lower Austria, which offered funds for the lengthy analyses.
The within also provides details about the exterior.
The tomographic data from the Venus revealed that the sediments were deposited in the rocks in different densities and sizes. In in between there were also little remnants of shells and six really dense, larger grains, so-called limonites. The latter describes the previously mysterious hemispherical cavities on the surface area of Venus with the same diameter: “The hard limonites probably broke out when the creator of the Venus was sculpting it,” discusses Weber: “In the case of the Venus navel, he then apparently made it a virtue out of requirement.”.
Another finding: The Venus oolite is porous since the cores of the millions of beads (ooides) of which it is consisted of had dissolved. This is an excellent description for why the resourceful sculptor chose this product 30,000 years ago: It is a lot easier to deal with. The researchers also recognized a tiny shell remnant, simply 2.5 millimeters long, and dated it to the Jurassic period. This ruled out all other potential deposits of the rock from the much later Miocene geological period, such as those in the close-by Vienna Basin.
A long way for that time.
The research group also examined the grain sizes of the other samples. Hundreds, often even thousands of grains were significant and measured with image processing programs and even manually. None of the samples within a 200-kilometer radius of Willendorf even remotely matched. The analysis finally showed that the samples from the Venus were statistically indistinguishable from samples from a place in northern Italy near Lake Garda. This is impressive since it implies that the Venus (or at least its material) began a journey from south of the Alps to the Danube north of the Alps.
” People in the Gravettian– the tool culture of the time– searched for and occupied beneficial locations. When the climate or the victim situation changed, they proceeded, ideally along rivers,” explains Gerhard Weber. Such a journey might have taken generations.
Among the 2 possible paths from the south to the north would lead around the Alps and into the Pannonian Plain and was explained in simulations by other scientists a few years earlier. The other method to obtain from Lake Garda to the Wachau would be through the Alps. Whether this was possible more than 30,000 years ago is uncertain due to the environment degeneration that started at that time. If there had actually already been continuous glaciers at that time, this would be a rather improbable variant. Nevertheless, the 730 km long course along the Etsch, the Inn and the Danube had always been listed below 1,000 meters above water level, with the exception of 35 kilometers at Lake Reschen.
Possible, but less likely, connection to eastern Ukraine.
The data plainly point to northern Italy as the origin of the Venus oolite. It is in eastern Ukraine, more than 1,600 kilometers linear range from Willendorf. An interesting connection here: Venus figures were found in nearby southern Russia, which are rather younger, but look very comparable to the Venus discovered in Austria.
The interesting story of the Lower Austrian Venus might be continued. “We desire to utilize these Venus outcomes and our new Vienna research network “Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences”, in cooperation with anthropology, archaeology and other disciplines, to even more clarify early history in the Alpine region,” concludes Weber.
Recommendation: “The microstructure and the origin of the Venus from Willendorf” by Gerhard W. Weber, Alexander Lukeneder, Mathias Harzhauser, Philipp Mitteroecker, Lisa Wurm, Lisa-Maria Hollaus, Sarah Kainz, Fabian Haack, Walpurga Antl-Weiser and Anton Kern, 28 February 2022, Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/ s41598-022-06799-z.