Venus of Vicofertile
The statue of the Neolithic Venus of Vicofertile ( Italian Venere di Vicofertile ) was found in 2006 in a grave of the Vasi-a-bocca-quadrata culture in the Vicofertile district of the city of Parma in northern Italy . It is dated between 5000 and 4300 BC. Dated.
Most of the depictions of a mother goddess found in various Neolithic tombs and settlements in Italy are fragmentary ( Venus de Macomer ), but the statue of Vicofertile is intact. The statue, which belongs to a women's burial, lay in front of the dead woman's face over her left arm, angled upwards. Their discovery is the result of systematic studies of the Neolithic burial grounds in Emilia-Romagna . Two drinking vessels were also found in the grave. The statue is in the National Archaeological Museum of Parma .
description
The statue is made of black ceramic that was made exclusively for burials. The figure is one of the classic statues of the "Vasi-a-bocca-quadrata culture", as they are already known from smaller fragments that were found in connection with burials or in caves. It is almost 8 inches long and depicts a slender, seated woman with long hair, an oval face, slit eyes and a distinctive, beak-like nose. The mouth is missing, which may indicate that no one spoke in the world of the dead. The arms are detached from the body. Under the triangular, flat breasts she folds her hands above the waist. The lower body is massive, the legs are bent and the feet (as has often been observed) only rudimentary. Details such as the fingers, however, show the extreme care taken in the work. In contrast to most Italian clay figurines, this one was not ritually smashed. The pubic triangle was drawn, using white (i.e. the color of death), while red is interpreted as the color of life, as it often occurs in settlements.
In addition to the burial of the woman, there are four male graves. Although the possible relationship between the five burials remains to be explored, the importance of female burial is undeniable. All deceased are lying on their left side in the typical stool position of the Neolithic Age, with their heads facing east or south.
context
The area between Piacenza and Reggio nell'Emilia , thanks to the discovery of around 150 tombs, is the area in Italy from which, apart from Sardinia, the largest number of Neolithic burials can be found. All graves come from the "Vasi-a-bocca-quadrata culture" and are between 5000 and 4300 BC. Dated. Based on the additions, there is evidence of the social inequality in the settlements of the 5th millennium BC. There is evidence of ritual ceremonies in the context of burial. Some burial grounds are close together and show aligned groups of burials that indicate relationship between them. The existence of settlement burials is so common that it cannot be accidental.
The spirituality of the non-scriptural communities can only be grasped through objects of worship. In the oldest agricultural communities (around 11,000–5,000 BC) there are female idols from the Middle East, through Southeast Europe to Italy (and beyond) who are considered representations of the mother goddess. It belongs to a fertility cult which, despite its remarkable differentiation, is associated with the accentuation of breasts, pelvis and vulva, i.e. the characteristics of women. The worship of a mother goddess seems to run through all rural communities. Less common is the anthropomorphic representation of a male deity, which instead appears to have been represented by the image of the bull and its horns.
literature
- Maria Bernabò Brea, Massimo Cultraro: La statuetta femminile di Vicofertile (PR) nel contesto neolitico italiano e transadriatico: confronti tipologici e significati simbolici , in: Preistoria alpina 46 (2012) 125–145, here p. 130 f.
Web links
- Find report in Italian and picture in find situation ( Memento from April 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- Images from several pages , archive.org, September 23, 2015
Coordinates: 44 ° 47 ′ 6 " N , 10 ° 15 ′ 30.2" E