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Ancestors, the - Art - Lady of Villers-Carbonnel
Identifier
021699
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Great Mother
In hunter gatherer communities and early farming societies, the one aspect on which survival depended was fertility, the fertility of crops, the fertility of the soil and the seasons themselves as promoters of fertility. Most societies used the concept of the Great Mother – the being from whom all life on earth sprung. There were even some societies which were entirely matriarchal as a result, in essence the female principle was recognised as being the most important, the male principle was needed but of lesser importance and the organisation was matriarchal and matrilineal. And in case one doubts this, there are books describing the Spanish villages not long before the advent of tourism whose organisation [around sardine fishing] was still entirely matriarchal. The men fished, the women organised, healed and ran the group.
The Great Mother is represented in a whole series of what are called ‘venus’ sculptures all of which show large thighs and breasts. The most recent Venus find (December 2011) comes from the left bank of the River Somme in northern France and has been called the Lady of Villers-Carbonnel. Believed to be over 6,000 years old
A description of the experience
Lady of Villers-Carbonel
Venus of Willendorf