In a collaborative study conducted by the University of Vienna & Vienna’s Natural History Museum researchers and geologists have suggested that the famous Paleolithic figurine, Venus of Willendorf may have originated in Northern Italy.
The iconic Paleolithic figure discovered by workman during the excavation of a Paleolithic site in Austria in 1908 was carved from oolitic limestone and has been a significant source of both archaeological interest and research ever since.
This recent groundbreaking study of the figures had offered an interesting insight into the origin of the Venus figure by using high resolution tomographic images to examine the material from which the figures were carved. Thousands of grains were examined to match the material of the Venus figures, with no matches being found with a 200 kilometer radius. The grain analysis finally determined that the Venus grains were “statistically indistinguishable”, from samples recovered near Lake Garda in Northern Italy.
The study also offers an insight into the movements on anatomically modern humans North & South of the Alps as it suggests the material travelled many miles before reaching its final resting place.
Read more about this new fascinating study here.
