Venus from Berekhat Ram

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Replica of Venus by Berekhat Ram , Museo de la Evolucion Humana, Burgos (Spain)

The Venus of Berekhat Ram is a possible Venus figurine between 250,000 and 280,000 years old , which was discovered in 1981 during excavations on the Golan Heights ( Israel ). It is one of the few objects that is recognized by some of the prehistory as Old Paleolithic small art .

Location

The Venus of Berekhat Ram was found in the summer of 1981 by the Israeli archaeologist Naama Goren-Inbar ( Hebrew University of Jerusalem ) during an excavation in Berekhat Ram on the Golan Heights. The site is a volcanic crater that now contains a lake. The 0.25 m thick find layer in a layer of alluvial sediment was enclosed between two layers of basalt (lower and upper Kramim basalts), of which the upper one with the potassium-argon dating (Ar 40 / Ar 39 ) to an age of approx 233,000 years, the lower one has been dated to around 470,000 years. The accompanying flint finds come from the Acheuléen and contain Levallois cuts . There are also Upper Paleolithic types such as burins and end retouches.

figure

The figure is a 35 mm long, 25 mm wide and 21 mm thick red tuff , which has three depressions that were probably notched with a sharp-edged stone. One indentation goes around the narrower end, and two more run down the sides and are considered the neck and arms, respectively. A detailed SEM analysis of the figure and of natural and experimentally processed pieces of tuff from the same site lead Francesco d'Errico and April Nowell to the conclusion that the incised lines are anthropogenic. The stone is therefore considered to be worked, even if the alleged figure bears little resemblance to later finds. It would be the oldest example of human art, with Homo erectus being the creator in the late Acheulean .

controversy

Some scientists believe they can prove that this stone is a purely natural, geological formation whose similarities with a Venus figurine are purely coincidental. In contrast, the American paleo art expert Alexander Marshack ( Harvard University ), after a microscopic examination, takes the view that in this proto-sculpture a form similarity apparently given by nature has been reinforced through targeted processing and a purely natural development can be ruled out. The archaeologists Angela Close and João Zilhão accept a human treatment, but not the interpretation as a female statuette. Zilhão suggests using it to extract ocher .

literature

  • Robert G. Bednarik: The earliest evidence of paleoart. In: Rock Art Research. Volume 20, No. 2, 2003, pp. 89-135, pp. 93 and 96.
  • Robert G. Bednarik: An overview of Asian palaeoart of the Pleistocene ”Congrès de l'IFRAO, September 2010 - Symposium: L'art pléistocène en Asie (Pré-Actes) IFRAO Congress, September 2010 - Symposium: Pleistocene art of Asia (Pre -Acts). 2010.
  • Francesco d'Errico, April Nowell: A new look at the Berekhat Ram figurine: implications for the origins of symbolism. In: Cambridge Archaeological Journal. Volume 10, No. 1, 2000, pp. 123-167.
  • Francesco d'Errico et al .: Archaeological Evidence for the Emergence of Language, Symbolism, and Music — An Alternative Multidisciplinary Perspective. In: Journal of World Prehistory. Volume 17, 2003, pp. 70ff. (on-line)
  • G. Feraud, D. York, CM Hall, N. Goren-Inbar, HP Schwarcz: 40 ar / 39 ar age limit for an Acheulean site in Israel. In: Nature. Volume 304, 1983, pp. 263-265.
  • P. Goldberg: Soils, sediments and Acheulean artifacts at Berekhat Ram, Golan Heights. In: N. Federof, LM Bresson, MA Courty (Ed.): Micromorphologie des Sols / Soil Micromorphology. Plaisir, Paris 1987, pp. 583-589.
  • Naama Goren-Inbar: The lithic assemblages of Berekhat Ram Acheulian site. In: Golan Heights. Paléorient. Volume 11, 1985, pp. 7-28.
  • Naama Goren-Inbar: A figurine from the Acheulian site of Berekhat Ram. In: Mi'Tekufat Ha'Even. Volume 19, 1986, pp. 7-12.
  • Naama Goren-Inbar, S. Peltz: Additional remarks on the Berekhat Ram figurine. In: Rock Art Journal. Volume 12, 1995, pp. 153-154. Also cited on pp. 131–132 in Chris Scarre (ed.): The Human Past. Thames and Hudson, London 2005, ISBN 0-500-28531-4 .
  • Meir Ronnen: The world's oldest art work. In: The Jerusalem Post. February 28, 2001. kuuf.org; PDF ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  • Alexander Marshack: The Berekhat Ram figurine: a late Acheulian carving from the Middle East. In: Antiquity. Volume 71, No. 272, 1997, pp. 327-337.

See also

Web links

Commons : Venus of Berekhat Ram  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Francesco d'Errico, April Nowell: A new look at the Berekhat Ram figurine: implications for the origins of symbolism. In: Cambridge Archaeological Journal. Volume 10, No. 1, 2000, p. 123.
  2. ↑ a b c Francesco d'Errico, April Nowell: A new look at the Berekhat Ram figurine: implications for the origins of symbolism. In: Cambridge Archaeological Journal. Volume 10, No. 1, 2000, p. 125.
  3. ↑ Andrew Pelcin: A Geological Explanation for the Berekhat Ram Figurine. In: Current Anthropology . Volume 35, No. 5, 1994, pp. 674-675.
  4. ^ W. Noble, I. Davidson: Human Evolution, Language and Mind: A Psychological and Archaeological Inquiry. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1996.
  5. ↑ Alexander Marshack: The Berekhat Ram figurine: a late Acheulian carving from the Middle East. In: Antiquity. Volume 71, No. 272, 1997, p. 327. ( utexas.edu ( Memento of July 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), PDF)
  6. ↑ Francesco d'Errico, April Nowell: A new look at the Berekhat Ram figurine: implications for the origins of symbolism. In: Cambridge Archaeological Journal. Volume 10, No. 1, 2000, p. 148.

Coordinates: 33 ° 13 ′ 56 "  N , 35 ° 45 ′ 59"  E