Venus of Willendorf

Introduction

You are an art historian.  You have been given the task by an archeologist to find out who the owner or creator was that made the Venus of Willendorf (pictured above).  You know it is one of the oldest figures found. You will need to use clues that the figure gives you (size, material, body shape..etc), to explain the way of life of the original owner. 

The Venus of Willendorf was found in 1908, in Willendorf, Austria (hence its name...it was not called this when it was made).  It was probably made between about 28,000 and 25,000 BCE.  It is made from a type of limestone that is not from the Willendorf region, which means that it was created somewhere else and travelled to this spot thousands of years ago.

The Goal

You are to give an well-educated guess as to who made the Venus of Willendorf and why it was made.  You will use the research questions below and the links below to help you study this small figurine.  By studying this figurine you should be able to guess what life would have been like 30,000 thousand years ago.  It would be like if 30,000 years in the future, somebody look at your belongings like your phone or the objects in your room and they would be able to guess things about who you were and what you were interested in.  

Research Questions

1. How big is the Venus of Willendorf?
2. Why is the figure overweight?
3. Why does she not have any face?
4. What kind of limestone was she made out of and where does it come from?
5. What would women from the Paelolithic Age look like?
6. What are some ideas about who or what the Venus of Willendorf is?

Helpful Links

1. The anthropomorphic figurines from Willendorf
2. Venus of Willendorf: History & Facts
3. The Venus of Willendorf
4. Venus of Willendorf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Assignment

1. Write one paragraph (minimum of 5 sentences) on the lifestyle of the person who made or owned the Venus of Willendorf when it was made.
2. Write one paragraph about why the Venus of Willendorf was made.