Paleolithic Woman Analysis

I think about how the world had betrayed this women. They made this woman plump and empty, she does not even have a face. This statue is nude showing everything to the naked eye, she does not have a desirable body. This sculpture shows how much a woman was respected back in the day, which was very little.

I can only tell by body language that they want to spread heroism between men and women. The use of marble links the sculpture to the glow and smoothness of the male skin. In this sculpture, it appears to be characterized by imagery aimed at the sense of the marble statue. The standing sculpture appears to be relaxed, while the median line makes an angle. While standing upright, the figure’s feet are place in a certain way that brings a shifting effect or movement and a stable poise.

The economic, social, and religious roles of women changed between the Paleolithic and Neolithic time periods. During the Paleolithic Age, women and men had equal position in society. They both helped in the raising of children and the act of obtaining food for their families. The role of women would soon change for the worse in the Neolithic time period. They were left with little social, economic, and religious status, and the large burden of raising children almost singlehandedly.

The paleolithic civilizations the early period of human history from 2,500,00 through 10,000 B.C. Neolithic civilizations begun to

The piece chosen was created by Kara Walker(1969-). The intensely large sculpture created at seventy-five feet long, thirty-five feet tall with the width is unknown sculpture is known as “A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby” This piece was created at closed down Domino Sugar factory. In addition to the usage of space, Walker also used a sugary paste donated by Domino Sugar to create the exterior layer of the sculpture. This piece was created similar to a replica of The Sphinx. While the shape and form of the “Marvelous Sugar Baby” is similar to The Sphinx, resting on its appendages, the sculptures are quite different. Unlike the Sphinx, Walker’s piece was created with the features of an African woman wearing a headband with the over dramatized and example of an over sexualized African woman’s body. She had choose to create this piece at this location because the building was less than standard. The structure was falling apart, molasses running down the walls. It was a horrid, yet an ideal place for the project in her eyes. The way the entire Domino structure was built provided for a cage of sorts, made of the beams holding up the place, surrounding the “Marvelous Sugar Baby”. She created this piece with the intention of speaking out against the difficulties people nowadays have when discussing the several hardships in the past that were brought upon these women: Slave trading for high quality items or services and sexualization of African women.

Göbekli Tepe is a very interesting archaeological site that is located at the top of the mountain limestone ridge in Southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border (Banning 620). It is known as the earliest monumental building, or temple, that mankind has ever created and it was built even before the stage of agriculture, which dates back to some 11,600 years ago (Mann 1st page). Göbekli Tepe belongs to the PPN (Pre-Pottery Neolithic) in terms of its chronological context in world prehistory (Banning 620). In fact, the site can be divided into three different stratigraphic levels that are level 3, level 2A, and level 2B (Banning 620). Level 3 is the oldest level which appears to date back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) (Banning 621). Each of the buildings measured 15 m by 10 m and contained T-shaped monoliths surrounded by a wall made of stone and mortar (Banning 621). Two U-stone shaped entrances could by identified in two of the buildings (Banning 621). However, the most monumental aspect of the Göbekli Tepe can be attributed to the sophisticated carvings of wild animals, such as scorpions and boars, on the pillars which appears in the pillars of level 3 and level 2A (Banning 621). Moreover, Level 2A, which dates to Middle PPNB, has smaller and more rectangular buildings than Level 3 and it contains delicately implemented tiled floors and T pillars without any decorations (Banning 621). Level 2B dates to the time between level 3 and level 2A, however,

With the sculpture straight ahead, the audience sees a profile view of the scene; however, the artist created the sculpture with enough space and depth to be able to view the front of the woman’s face from a side angle. The artist created the seated woman with much detail; her nose, chin, slightly opened mouth, pronounced brow line and inset eyes show this. She reaches for the chest with her right arm in a very delicate manner as her left arm lays on the throne for support.

(Haviland et al 2011: 241) Trade increased and many settlements became wealthy. These wealthy communities could support some people as artists and priests. Catal Hyuk is an example of astounding neolithic art, much of which adorns religion shrines. (Levack et al 2009:5)

It portrayed the woman as being the care giver of life, and it showed her as something everyone looked up to, either for riturals or as a figurine of fertility. She may have been the Goddess of life; a status similar to “Mother Earth.”. However, I believe that the purpose of ti was to show woman what their capabilities were, and it seemed to focus on the strengths that they possessed and what their functions in society were. In this case, the large breasts, stomach, and hips (Selen). It potentially was used to symbolize new life, or maybe even a new beginning. Now if you focus on this statuette you will notice that it’s roughly only about 4 inches long. The statuette is named the “Venus of Willendorf” after Willendorf, Austria, where she was found, and the name “Venus” was named after the ancient Roman Goddess of Love

The marble used to create the sculpture brings out the fine quality of such material. It also adds elegance and sensuous grace to the whole sculpture. The use of marble links the sculpture to the radiance and softness of the female skin. The hips of the

Women's lives, roles, and statuses changed over various early world history eras and culture areas in many ways. Ancient Persia, Paleolithic, Athens, Mesopotamian and Roman eras were all different in very unique ways. The Paleolithic era treated women fairly and were treated equally. During the Neolithic era women were not treated fairly. She was the daughter of her father or the wife of her husband. Women rarely acted as individuals outside the context of their families. Those who did so were usually royalty or the wives of men who had power and status.” (oi.uchicago.edu, 2010) Athenian women were not treated fairly

An overweight female might have conceived more easily tens of thousands of years ago than an undernourished female. Therefore, being fat would be more desirable if trying to reproduce. Another factor that supports Witcombe's belief the sculpture was used for fertility purposes is the attention paid to the pubic area. The genital area is deliberately exposed and when the figurine was discovered, it still had a small trace of a red pigment visible. This detail brings Witcombe to suggest that the figurine's fertility role may have also served in a gynecological fashion as a good luck talisman to aid in conception or childbirth. If this assumption is true, then Witcombe believes that the image was carved by a female, since males would have less concern over such matters.

When examining the statue, there is an old woman bent and weary. Her posture helps clue us in, with her age and the state of her health. The figure is dressed in cloth that drapes off her body as she carries a basket that is filled with what we may think are offerings. On her head, there are vines that create a band around the top of her head used to signify the festival that was going on during that time. The specific detail that is seen on this statue persuades us to want to know the story of this woman. Doing so, the process involves lots of research about the time and art. During the hellenistic period, artists begin to introduce more inner beauty than physical beauty. There is an opportunity to learn more about the structure itself, then settle for what is given and seen.

The sculptures and paint show details how society viewed and interpreted women body, sexuality, and maternity. In addition, revealed that these women were protected from threats around them with ornaments. Civilizations since early times, believed that we were in permanent threat from forces we do not see or cannot explain and because of it, we protected ourselves with artificial elements in a form of jewelry, crowns or caps. This idea has been continue from one generation to the next to the point that in modern societies some of us still use this type of protection in our bodies (e.g., small cross, divine images, tattoos, etc.).These pieces of art also indicate that humans believed in gods with superpowers and they are looking over us constantly. Humanity also believes in dark forces or demons trying to makes us do things that would upset the good gods. Some of the differences between these sculptures and paint are the material in which each one of them were created. The first figure, the Woman of Willendorf was carved in limestone, the second piece, the portrait of Queen Tiye was carved in wood and the last piece, the Virgin and Child Icon was created of tempera on a wood. You can also notice how the details on their faces and bodies changes throughout the time and years. The woman of Willendorf figurine offers details of a voluptuous nude women’s body but there is not face, or feet. Queen Tiye statue shows the face of a woman in detail closed to the gods but without any body parts and lastly The Virgin and Child Icon, is an expression of divinity of the views, reflections and beliefs from the gospel. Because communities started to innovate on the art of carving and painting, populations began to discover and/or create art with the objective of expressing different purposes of our daily lives, such as the beauty of a woman’s body, or to commemorate an ancient

I was drawn to this time period as well as these two sculptures. As I researched both sculptures I was fascinated by how much respect the people of that time had for their women. Not only for what they could do for them, but also for what they looked like. They didn’t see the weight and size as a grotesque thing; but more as a thing of beauty. In