Fertility cults
6.3 Neolithic ‘fertility figurines’
In Neolithic art, figurines generally depict women, while representations of men are extremely rare. With the advent of agriculture, society may have become preoccupied not only with the fertility of humans and animals, but also with that of the soil and its fruits. The Neolithic female figurine may therefore be the prototype of the Mother Goddess, representing fertility in all its aspects – human, animal and vegetal. They may have been used as amulets for fertility, protection against evil and relief in childbearing, and in the cult of the dead. The female figurines are therefore often labelled ‘fertility figurines’ or ‘Mother Goddess’ figurines.
At Sha’ar Hagolan in Israel, hundreds of female figurines were found in houses dating to the sixth millennium BC. They probably belonged to a household cult that was conducted by the nuclear or extended family.
Fertility figurines from Sha’ar Hagolan
excavator: Yosef Garfinkel, photographer: David Harris
Reading
Read Chapter 4 of your textbook and record your thoughts in your personal notes.
Discussion activity: Fertility figurines
Follow these links to find more examples of ‘fertility figurines’ from around the prehistoric world:
Ecuador, 4th millennium BC: ‘Valdivia Figurines’, Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Syria, 7th–6th millennia BC: ‘Mesopotamia, 8000–2000 B.C. (Seated female)’, Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Iraq, 5th millennium BC: ‘Terracotta figure of a woman suckling a child’, The British Museum, London
Israel 5th–4th millennia BC: ‘Figurine of a pregnant woman (the Beersheba Venus)’
Egypt 4th millennium BC: ‘Ivory figure of a woman with incised features’, The British Museum, London
Egypt 4th millennium BC: ‘Bone figure of a woman’, The British Museum, London
Turkey 5th millennium BC: ‘Stone figurine’, The British Museum, London
Greece 5th–4th millennia BC: ‘Limestone female figure’, The British Museum, London
Greece 5th millennium BC: ‘Southern Europe, 8000–2000 B.C. (Steatopygous female figure)’, Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Cyprus 2nd millennium BC: ‘Terracotta figurine of a woman with a child’, The British Museum, London
Cyprus 2nd millennium BC: ‘Red Polished Ware figurine cradling a child’, The British Museum, London
Japan 1st millennium BC: ‘Japan, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D. (Small figurine)’, Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Japan 1st millennium BC: ‘Japan, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D. (Bust of a female figurine)’, Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Can you think of any other interpretations for these figurines, other than as evidence of fertility cults?
Post your thoughts, on the Fertility cults forum.