Archaeologica.org

In my opinion, the comments are far more interesting & entertaining.


Engravings of Female Genitalia May Be World's Oldest Cave Art

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2 ... talia.html



Robert Karl Stonjek
It looks more like a tree

Today, 3:07:41 AM

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Rod Willem
I think it is a rendition of an early model... Volvo.

Yesterday, 7:36:01 AM

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kpat
All very interesting...until I saw the photo. All I see is a circle and line. A vulva? Come on! Given the sophistication and detail of other cave art in France, I have to think that paleolithic artists had the ability to draw something more lifelike than this lollipop. Georgia O'Keefe is rolling in her grave laughing. These guys should apply a little more skepticism to their own claims. Absurd.

2 days ago, 11:45:50 AM

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4u2bemind
Archaeologists from more advanced civilizations and culture might examine this same evidence and report that cave dwellers in France had developed electron microscope technology 35,000 years ago in order to represent the moment of conception, when the head of the sperm penetrates the ovum and have represented this moment in stone for posterity to ponder! I am a part of such a culture and I am left pondering why do modern archaeologists ( AFFLICTED WITH MYOPIC EUROCENTRIC VISION ) insist on seeing vulvas , in isolation, or rather apart from the full female figure. Such deeply rooted sensibilities are at the root of many sexual pathologies, that descends to deprive the female anatomy and personality of dignity by dissection into parts. Apparently some of our cave dwelling European ancestors had the sense to celebrate the fertility of the whole woman as in the Venus of Willendorf statuette where the labia are prominently carved for tactile representation much more explicitly than such an amorphous carving that is presented.

3 days ago, 5:57:10 PM

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Liam
If John M. Allegro was right, it's probably a volva.

3 days ago, 8:15:40 AM

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David Fallon
Aboriginal people were well established in Australia before this date. Were they artistic slouches? I doubt it. When will the Euro-centric view subside?These images are very open to interpretation. I agree they are not unambiguously genital descriptions. They may be symbolic, tokenism, or unconsciously sexual, the way the folds and bumps of Victorian ceiling and wall mouldings, and wallpaper are highly suggestive. If they are sexual, their ambiguity may suggest taboos about accurate depictions, although why that would be must be explored without jumping to modern conclusions.

3 days ago, 3:42:02 AM

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rev. dave
Since the cave-dwellers were able to make recognizable and accurate depictions of animals, I'd suggest that the guys could have likely carved a woman's genitals in a way that wouldn't be so vague and open to interpretations. Their deer look like deer, their spears look like spears, bears like bears - and I suspect their women's girl-parts would look just like girl parts too had they drawn any. That picture above looks to me like a cherry with a stem. Or maybe it's some sort of local geological feature or animal trap. It's certainly not any part of a woman in my eye.

4 days ago, 1:14:40 PM

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Azrael

mukk rakker
in this game crazed society you'd think even an archaeologist would be able spot pacman

4 days ago, 9:04:13 AM

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Mike
This can look like female genitalia only to a very horny scientist.

4 days ago, 8:28:34 AM

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Mykeljonmgoble
Vulva? You are kidding! All I see is a lollipop!

5 days ago, 9:35:05 PM

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Laurette
That is a sperm fertilizing an egg. I took biology 101, so I'm an expert.


5 days ago, 5:31:18 PM

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That Guy
Archaeologists know what female genitalia looks like??? This news is definetly "breaking news".


5 days ago, 4:06:17 PM

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Jim Hurley
Looks more like a sperm to me...

5 days ago, 3:50:28 PM

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ellenjhunt
I'm with Dibble. I think that deciding that's a vulva shows a lack of looking at vulvae very often.
Sigh. Improving archeologists ability to recognize a vulva when they see one will have to wait for our society to develop vulva display as fashion statement.

I nominate Lady Gaga. Or Britney Spears maybe - she's done it twice.


5 days ago, 3:13:59 PM

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An engraving of what might be female genitalia (inset) from France's Abri Castanet

Um...it might be a tulip, too.

I am reminded of this joke for some reason.

A man goes to a Psychologist and says, "Doc I got a real problem, I can't stop thinking about sex."

The Psychologist says, "Well let's see what we can find out", and pulls out his ink blots. "What is this a picture of?" he asks.

The man turns the picture upside down then turns it around and states, "That's a man and a woman on a bed making love."

The Psychologist says, "very interesting," and shows the next picture. "And what is this a picture of?"

The man looks and turns it in different directions and says, "That's a man and a woman on a bed making love."

The Psychologists tries again with the third ink blot, and asks the same question, "What is this a picture of?"

The patient again turns it in all directions and replies, "That's a man and a woman on a bed making love."

The Psychologist states, "Well, yes, you do seem to be obsessed with sex."

"Me!?" demands the patient. "You're the one who keeps showing me the dirty pictures!"

There was a song by the folk singer Melanie called Psychotherapy... One of the verses was: "It's a phallic symbol if it's longer than it's wide"...

Absolutely solid evidence of a vivid imagination methinks.

Roy.

Yeah...but who's doing the imagining? The cavemen or the scholars?

The scholars I reckon Min. You get one group that sees flying saucers in every circular object, another group sees phallic symbols in anything upright and another group that sees warfare in any edged tool.

Roy.