Ancient Symbols of Fertility and Creation

Throughout millennia, caves have been revered as sacred spaces, intimately tied to rituals that honour the themes of fertility, childbirth, and the eternal ebb and flow of life.

The Grimaldi/Cavillon cave system in Liguria, Italy, was home to one of Europe’s richest collections of Palaeolithic art honouring the feminine for thousands of years.

These caves, known locally as the Balzi Rossi, yielded thirteen prehistoric female sculptures that date back to the Gravettian period, around 24,000 to 19,000 years ago.

The figurines, which were carved mostly from soapstone and measure just a few centimetres tall, make up the largest group of prehistoric figurines ever discovered at a single site in Western Europe, highlighting the ancient feminine history rooted in this wild Italian landscape.

Early archaeologists interpreted the figurines as fertility idols, mother goddess statues, or magical talismans, coining the term "Venus figurines." Modern scholars now prefer culturally neutral terms, recognising not only the figurines' ritual and spiritual significance but also their diversity.

Many of the figurines show signs of personal adornment, like headdresses resembling woven shells, or engraved hairnets and bands. This careful attention to female form demonstrates a clear reverence for fertility, reproductive power, and the spiritual power of women.

But because prehistoric societies left no written records, the true significance behind these carvings is shrouded in mystery. We do not know whether men or women crafted them, nor how they were used—were they ritual objects, symbols of luck, or something else entirely?

Most interpretations suggest that the figurines were created to celebrate and honour the extraordinary capacity of women to conceive, give birth, and sustain life, celebrating not just the generative power of women but also the celebration of feminine endurance, strength, and connection to the cycles of life and nature.