Paleolithic
Age

Venus of Çatal Hüyük

The above figure turned up in a grain bin. Her power reflected not only the elaborately decorated throne with two heads of leopard but also her pose and proportions.

In the early 1960s the British archaeologist James Mellaart excavated part of the village of Catal Huyuk (inhabited between 6250-5400 BC) and neighboring Hacilar (5700-5000 BC) in Anatolia. In Mellaart’s view both sites revealed unequivocal evidence of the female principle in religion and society.

The above goddess or priestess crystallizes this people’s belief system. The culture formed around its communally held belief in a female deity or female primacy. One scholar insists that women even took a role as the heads of households.

This culture shared one common feature with that of Crete. Their archaeological findings show no sign of disturbance caused by warfare for over 1500 years.

Different levels exposed by archaeological excavation represent the remains of successive generations of habitation. Remains from some of the levels of Catal Huyuk appear contemporary with those discovered in the Neolithic (new stone age) levels on Crete. Place-names from Crete have similarities with those of Anatolia.

Cretan Snake Goddess

Some scholars believe that the sacred symbols of the Cretan religion derive from there. The pillar (considered sacred and the Cretan Goddess appeared in this form in later artistic representation), the labyris and the horns of consecration all have their antecedents in Anatolia. The serpent, dove and bull (the attributes of the Cretan Goddess) also appear on shrine walls at Catal Huyuk.

Emphasizing many similarities between the two matriarchal societies of neolithic Catal Huyuk and Crete, some archaeologists think that they came from the same cultural root.

Arthur Evans supported this view. Most scholars, however, prefer to leave the field a little more open, saying that the original inhabitants of Crete arrived from the east—possibly western Anatolia, Syria or Palestine. The waistcoat, codpiece and figure-of-eight shields, which prevailed in Cretan artefacts from 1700 BC, had parallels in Lybia and pre-dynastic Egypt.

In crete, as you see the picture above, the venus turned into an elegant, sophisticated form with a more modern taste.

As Arthur Evans joked at the time, the Cretan civilization produced “Parisienne”.

If you’re interested in these elegant, sophisticated women, please visit this page: Parisienne in Crete.

Venus of Malta

As in the case of Crete, the original inhabitants of Malta might have come from Anatolia or the region of the same cultural root. Beginning in 5000 BC and continuing down through almost 6,000 years, the history of Malta has seven distinct ages of man.

The Neolithic, the Copper Age and the Bronze Ages have been identified and described by leading archeologists since the first part of the twentieth century, and in recent years, they have been able to classify them precisely, according to each age.

However, some mysteries remain unsolved—such as the origin of the Middle Bronze Age people and the cart-ruts associated with them. Some archaeologists struggle to solve those problems in the Maltese prehistory.

You can find the most startling traces in some of the great Neolithic Temples on Malta and Gozo. The ancient Maltese built those temples 1,000 years before the Pyramids, and these monuments became the oldest stone buildings in the world.

Hagar Qim, one of the Copper-Age temples, took its place in the Ggantija (some say, Tarxien) Phase around 3500 BC, with the local globigerina limestone, which unfortunately has been subject to severe erosion, especially on the outer southern wall where the stone remains most exposed to corrosive sea salt. The ground of the temple falls away gently on all sides making this temple unique from any other.

Some scholars consider Hagar Qim to be laid out in the shape of a Goddess, though not supported by factual basis.

There existed more than 40 Neolithic stone temples on Malta and Gozo. These temples belong to the period 4500 to 2500 BC, and these people did not possess iron tools. Yet they could manipulate stone blocks as large as seven meter and as heavy as 50 tons.

How could they possibly build these temples, using blocks of stone weighing as much as 50 tons?

For more information on this, please visit this page: High-tech in the Stone Age?

Sculptures and figurines found inside the temple clearly show the importance of the female figure. Among the breaks in the wall at the southern corner is a great step upon which the so-called Venus of Malta takes its place. The temple also hails an external shrine, suggesting that there was a fertility cult prevailing at the time. The temple has the largest building blocks. The biggest streches out seven-meter long and weighs 20 tons.

Venus of Willendorf (in Austria) the famous venus of the Paleolithic Era (Old Stone Age)

If you have seen the Paleolithic venuses, you probably notice that the above venus somewhat resembles the venus of Willendorf in the sense that both have prominent breasts and voluminous buttocks.

The head is missing, but the face might have shown the stylized features as depicted in the following “Dreamer of Malta”.



  “The Sleeping Venus of Malta”

So, what are these Neolithic venuses?

Most of those Neolithic venuses were found in and around the temples—especially, in Malta. This fact clearly shows that these venuses were votive offerings, or idols that were worshipped by the priests or priestesses. Or they represented goddesses or priestesses.

Since no male figurines were found, this fact clearly indicates the female primacy in religion and implies at least the equality, if not superiority, of women in the social life.

In turn, this trend culminated in the theocracy in Crete, with the high priestess in the real throne and the male king, if any, sitting in the nominal throne. For more on the Cretan theocracy, please visit this page: High Priestess in Crete.

In retrospect, the Paleolithic venuses might have paved the road to this feminine primacy in religion, in particular, and society in general.

L I N K S

• Paleolithic Venuses (Part 1 of 2)
  Who are they?   What are they?
  
  
• Paleolithic Venuses (Part 2 of 2)
  Why Faceless?
  
  
• Parisienne in Crete
  Meet fashionable Cretan women
  
  
• High-tech in the Stone Age?
  The ancient Maltese built more than 40 Neolithic stone temples on Malta and Gozo. These temples belong to the period 4500 to 2500 BC, and these people did not possess iron tools. Yet they could manipulate stone blocks as large as seven meter and as heavy as 50 tons.
  
  How could they possibly build these temples, using blocks of stone weighing as much as 50 tons?
  
  
• High Priestess in Crete
  In Crete, the women did not sit back and remained inside the house like their counterparts of the Greeks. How could they achieved the feminine primacy?