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Ice Age Figurines and the Sanctity of Prehistoric Obesity
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linking the famous Ice Age Venus figurines with a widespread prehistoric desire for “female obesity.”





Mile-deep ice sheets advanced over what is today Northern Europe, causing winter temperatures to plunge to 10-15 degrees Celsius (50-59 degrees Fahrenheit). This killed off may hunters and forced other groups to retreat southwards to the central European forests. It was during this battle with the ice giants of the north that the Venus figurines were crafted and the researchers think this was no coincidence.
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The team of scientists measured the waist-to-hip and waist-to-shoulder ratios of each Venus figurine and discovered those that were found closest to the glaciers were “the most obese, compared with those located further away.”



Trying to explain this finding, the researchers say the Ice Age Venuses represented “an idealized body type for these difficult living conditions” and they suggest the carved figures conveyed ideals of body size for young women, and especially those who lived in proximity to glaciers, wrote Johnson.

Concluding that the obese figurines conveyed “ideals of body size, for young women,” the researchers claim being what is now deemed overweight was a “desired condition.” This was because obese females could carry a child through pregnancy in times of need more successfully than a woman suffering from malnutrition. Expanding on this, the researchers say many of the figurines are well-worn and they think this means they were heirlooms passed down from mother to daughter through generations.

The paper suggests young women becoming fertile, or pregnant, may have been given a Venus figurine in the hopes that they would achieve a similar body mass to increase the chances of a successful birth. With this magical aspect in mind, it is also suggested that the figurines may have been “imbued with a spiritual meaning - a fetish or magical charm of sorts that could protect a woman through pregnancy, birth and nursing .”

The desire for obesity in prehistoric societies was a key factor in the success of the tribe, and the need for fertile, healthy mothers, able to withstand the challenges of natural disasters and famines, was essential in these times of dramatic climatic upheaval. Johnson concluded that the Ice Age Venus figurines emerged as “an ideological tool to help improve fertility and survival of the mother and newborns,” promoting health and survival.