The Mid Upper Palaeolithic record includes a number of statuettes, anthropomorphic pendants, bas-reliefs, portable and wall engravings, all of them depicting female beings, which are collectively known as “Venuses”. During the last one hundred years, they have attracted considerable attention, with interpretation most often than not relating them to fertility and sexuality. Thirty years ago, in a paper entitled “Interaction and Alliance in Palaeolithic Society” Clive Gamble shifted the attention from any attempt of elucidating the meaning, to the very fact that a message was conveyed, which linked to each other the prehistoric human groups of the time. The capability of encoding and decoding messages was important in allowing a much dispersed population to keep in touch, and to react to the challenges of a shifting environment. Three decades later, new finds, finer dating, and more detailed publications allow a better understanding of the corpus of the MUP Venuses. The archaeological context suggest that the depictions and works of art had different functions. While Leroi-Gourhan stated, in 1964, that “no matter where found… they are practically interchangeable, apart from their proportions”, they can actually be classified among quite distinct groups. Even within closely similar representations, it is now possible to pinpoint subtle differences. It can be demonstrated that formal rules were strictly followed, which included not only the general shape, but also anatomic details, well beyond the so-called “exaggerated sexual attributes”, which characterize a small number of specimens. However, there was some misunderstanding while the model was transmitted, both in space and in time, which resulted in progressively distorting it, to the point that absurd anatomic details were sometimes produced. This down the line process allows some fresh insight into the tempo and mode of transmission of information from one human group to the next, and to better understand the ways of encoding and decoding the message in Mid Upper Paleolithic Eurasia.
The Mid Upper Palaeolithic record includes a number of statuettes, anthropomorphic pendants, bas-reliefs, portable and wall engravings, all of them depicting female beings, which are collectively known as “Venuses”. During the last one hundred years, they have attracted considerable attention, with interpretation most often than not relating them to fertility and sexuality. Thirty years ago, in a paper entitled “Interaction and Alliance in Palaeolithic Society” Clive Gamble shifted the attention from any attempt of elucidating the meaning, to the very fact that a message was conveyed, which linked to each other the prehistoric human groups of the time. The capability of encoding and decoding messages was important in allowing a much dispersed population to keep in touch, and to react to the challenges of a shifting environment. Three decades later, new finds, finer dating, and more detailed publications allow a better understanding of the corpus of the MUP Venuses. The archaeological context suggest that the depictions and works of art had different functions. While Leroi-Gourhan stated, in 1964, that “no matter where found… they are practically interchangeable, apart from their proportions”, they can actually be classified among quite distinct groups. Even within closely similar representations, it is now possible to pinpoint subtle differences. It can be demonstrated that formal rules were strictly followed, which included not only the general shape, but also anatomic details, well beyond the so-called “exaggerated sexual attributes”, which characterize a small number of specimens. However, there was some misunderstanding while the model was transmitted, both in space and in time, which resulted in progressively distorting it, to the point that absurd anatomic details were sometimes produced. This down the line process allows some fresh insight into the tempo and mode of transmission of information from one human group to the next, and to better understand the ways of encoding and decoding the message in Mid Upper Paleolithic Eurasia.
Encoding and decoding the message: the case of the Mid Upper Palaeolithic female imagery / Mussi, Margherita. - STAMPA. - (2015), pp. 275-287.
Encoding and decoding the message: the case of the Mid Upper Palaeolithic female imagery.
MUSSI, Margherita
2015
Abstract
The Mid Upper Palaeolithic record includes a number of statuettes, anthropomorphic pendants, bas-reliefs, portable and wall engravings, all of them depicting female beings, which are collectively known as “Venuses”. During the last one hundred years, they have attracted considerable attention, with interpretation most often than not relating them to fertility and sexuality. Thirty years ago, in a paper entitled “Interaction and Alliance in Palaeolithic Society” Clive Gamble shifted the attention from any attempt of elucidating the meaning, to the very fact that a message was conveyed, which linked to each other the prehistoric human groups of the time. The capability of encoding and decoding messages was important in allowing a much dispersed population to keep in touch, and to react to the challenges of a shifting environment. Three decades later, new finds, finer dating, and more detailed publications allow a better understanding of the corpus of the MUP Venuses. The archaeological context suggest that the depictions and works of art had different functions. While Leroi-Gourhan stated, in 1964, that “no matter where found… they are practically interchangeable, apart from their proportions”, they can actually be classified among quite distinct groups. Even within closely similar representations, it is now possible to pinpoint subtle differences. It can be demonstrated that formal rules were strictly followed, which included not only the general shape, but also anatomic details, well beyond the so-called “exaggerated sexual attributes”, which characterize a small number of specimens. However, there was some misunderstanding while the model was transmitted, both in space and in time, which resulted in progressively distorting it, to the point that absurd anatomic details were sometimes produced. This down the line process allows some fresh insight into the tempo and mode of transmission of information from one human group to the next, and to better understand the ways of encoding and decoding the message in Mid Upper Paleolithic Eurasia.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
