Whatever became of the Goddess?

For O, I know, in the dust, where we have buriedThe silenced races and all their abominations,

We have buried so much of the delicate magic of life.--D.H. Lawrence

The Happy Land

The Primary Experience

conceptsspatial sense

tool usejealousy

parental lovereciprocity

peacemaking sex differences

delousing

“Many of the sex differences are found widely in other primates, indeed, throughout the mammalian

class. The males tend to compete more aggressively and to be more polygamous; the females tend to invest more in parenting. In many mammals a greater territorial range is accompanied by an

enhanced ability to navigate using the geometry of the spatial layout (as opposed to remembering

individual landmarks). More often it is the male who has the greater range, and that is true of the

human hunter-gatherers.” --Steven Pinker, “The Blank Slate”

The most violent age is not adolescence but toddlerhood: in a recent study, almost half the boys

just past the age of two … engaged in hitting, biting, and kicking.

“Babies do not kill each other, because we do not give them

access to guns and knives. The question … we’ve been trying to

answer for the past 30 years is how do children learn to aggress. But that’s the wrong question. The

right question is how do they learn not to aggress?”

--R. Tremblay in the journal “Science.”

“So that in the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel. First, competition; secondly,

diffidence; thirdly, glory. The first maketh men invade for gain; the second, for safety; and the third, for

reputation. The first use violence, to make themselves masters of other men’s persons, wives, children, and cattle; the second, to defend them; the third, for for

trifles, as a word, a smile, a different opinion, and any other sign of undervalue, either direct in their persons

or by reflection in their kindred, their friends, their nation, their profession, or their name.”

-- Hobbes, “Leviathan”

“

Neanderthal

fetal positionpollens

facing East

Ape to man: 5 million yrs.

Ardipithecus Ramidus

Ardipithicus Ramidus

Arose about 5 million years ago

The Australopithecines

Homo Habilis“The Toolmaker”Arose 2.2 million years ago

Homo ErectusArose 1.3 million years ago

“The running leg”

Homo heidelbergensis (500,000-300,000 BCE),Homo neandertalensis (300,000-30,000 BCE)

Homo sapiens (200,000 BCE - present CE)

A male Homo floresiensis returns from the hunt. Found on the island of Flores in Indonesia, these

ancient humans grew no taller than a three-year-old modern-human child. Their small size led scientists to nickname the species "hobbits," after the tiny Lord of the Rings characters. The first such individual found

was female. Since then at least seven individuals have been found, including males.

Homo Sapiens SapiensIn Europe: “Cro-Magnon Man”

(25,000 to 10,000 B.C.)

artritualtrade

violencecooperationtechnology

symbols

“Venus” figurines

30,000 to 10,000 B.C.

Les Trois-Freres(13,000 to 9,000

B.C.)

Lascaux (15,000 B.C.)

Maori

“The story of the human race is war. Except for brief and

precarious interludes there has never been peace in the world, and

long before history began murderous strife was universal and

unending.”--Winston Churchill

Agriculture -- 10,000 to 8,000 years ago

In the Levantine corridor (the West of the Fertile Crescent):wild emmer

einkornbarley

In the Zagros (the East of the Fertile Crescent):sheepgoatscattle pigs

“And the Lord spake unto Moses … saying,Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto

them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan:

“Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all the molten images, and quite pluck

down all their high places;“And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for I have given you the land to

possess it.”--Numbers 33:52-3

“So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people

heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat,

so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

 ”And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and

sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword…

“And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.”

--Joshua 6:20-24

“And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with

the edge of the sword, But the women and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself, and thou shalt eat the spoil of

thine enemies, which the Lord God hath given thee….But of the cities of these people which the Lord God

doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth, but thou shalt utterly destroy

them … as the Lord God hath commanded thee.”--Deuteronomy 20:10-17

In “Culture of Honor,” social psychologists Richard Nisbett and Dov Cohen show that violent cultures arise in societies that are beyond the reach of law

and in which precious assets are easily stolen. Societies that herd animals meet both conditions. Herders tend to live in territories that are unsuitable for growing crops and thus far from the centers of government. And their major asset, livestock, is

easier to steal than the major asset of farmers, land. In herding societies, a man can be stripped of his wealth (and his ability to acquire wealth) in an

eyeblink.”

Cain and Abel

 15Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the

land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,    16As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not

hearken unto thee.    17But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to

burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no

evil.    18But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword

and by the famine.    19And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink

offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

--Jeremiah 44:15-19

12Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the

dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, the LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath

forsaken the earth.    13He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.

   14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

--Ezekiel 8

ENUMA ELISHTHE EPIC OF CREATION

L.W. King Translator

THE FIRST TABLET

When in the height heaven was not named,And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name,

And the primeval Apsu, who begat them,And chaos, Tiamut, the mother of them both

Their waters were mingled together,And no field was formed, no marsh was to be seen;When of the gods none had been called into being,

And none bore a name, and no destinies were ordained; Then were created the gods in the midst of heaven …

But Tiamat and Apsu were still in confusion...They were troubled and ... in disorder...

And Tiamat roared...She smote … Their way was evil...

Then Apsu, the begetter of the great gods,Cried unto Mummu, his minister, and said unto him:

"Come, unto Tiamat let us go!”…So they went and before Tiamat they lay down,

They consulted on a plan with regard to the gods, their sons.Apsu opened his mouth and spake,

And unto Tiamut, the glistening one, he addressed the word:“By day I can not rest, by night I can not lie down in peace.

But I will destroy their way, I will...Let there be lamentation, and let us lie down again in peace."

When Tiamat heard these words,She raged and cried aloud...grievously…

She uttered a curse, and unto Apsu she spake:"What then shall we do?”

And Tiamat harkened unto the word of the bright god, and said:... “Let us wage war!"

(the gods gathered to her)... for the gods did she create.They banded themselves together and at the side of Tiamat they advanced;

They were furious; they devised mischief without resting night and day.They prepared for battle, fuming and raging; They joined their forces and made war,

Tiamat, who formed all things,Made in addition weapons invincible; she spawned monster-serpents,

Sharp of tooth, and merciless of fang;With poison, instead of blood, she filled their bodies.

Fierce monster-vipers she clothed with terror,With splendor she decked them, she made them of lofty stature.

Whoever beheld them, terror overcame him,Their bodies reared up and none could withstand their attack.

She set up vipers and dragons, and the monster Lahamu,And hurricanes, and raging hounds, and scorpion-men,

And mighty tempests, and fish-men, and rams;They bore cruel weapons, without fear of the fight.

Her commands were mighty, none could resist them;After this fashion, huge of stature, she made eleven [kinds of] monsters.

THE SECOND TABLET

Ansar unto his son (Marduk) addressed the word: "... my mighty hero,Whose strength is great and whose onslaught can not be withstood,

Go and stand before Tiamat,That her spirit may be appeased, that her heart may be merciful.

But if she will not harken unto thy word,Our word shalt thou speak unto her, that she may be pacified…

…Thou art my son, who maketh merciful his heart.... to the battle shalt thou draw nigh,he that shall behold thee shall have peace."

And the lord rejoiced at the word of his father, And he drew nigh and stood before Ansar.

Ansar beheld him and his heart was filled with joy,He kissed him on the lips and his fear departed from him.

"O my father, let not the word of thy lips be overcome,Let me go, that I may accomplish all that is in thy heart.“What man is it, who hath brought thee forth to battle?

... Tiamat, who is a woman, is armed and attacketh thee. ... rejoice and be glad;The neck of Tiamat shalt thou swiftly trample under foot.... rejoice and be glad;

The neck of Tiamat shalt thou swiftly trample under foot.”

THE FOURTH TABLET

They made for Marduk a lordly chamber, Before his fathers as prince he took his place."Thou art chiefest among the great gods, Thy fate is unequaled, thy word is Anu!

0 Marduk, thou art chiefest among the great gods … Henceforth not without avail shall be thy command,

In thy power shall it be to exalt and to abase.Established shall be the word of thy mouth, irresistible shall be thy command,

None among the gods shall transgress thy boundary…O Marduk, thou art our avenger! We give thee sovereignty over the whole world.

Sit thou down in might; be exalted in thy command.Thy weapon shall never lose its power; it shall crush thy foe.

O Lord, spare the life of him that putteth his trust in thee,But as for the god who began the rebellion, pour out his life…

May thy fate, O lord, be supreme among the gods,To destroy and to create; speak thou the word, and thy command shall be fulfilled.”

They rejoiced, and they did homage unto him, saying, "Marduk is king!"They bestowed upon him the scepter, and the throne, and the ring,

They give him an invincible weapony which overwhelmeth the foe.“Go, and cut off the life of Tiamat, And let the wind carry her blood into secret places."

After the gods his fathers had decreed for the lord his fate,They caused him to set out on a path of prosperity and success.

He made ready the bow, he chose his weapon,He slung a spear upon him and fastened it...

He raised the club, in his right hand he grasped it, The bow and the quiver he hung at his side.

He set the lightning in front of him, With burning flame he filled his body.He made a net to enclose the inward parts of Tiamat,

The four winds he stationed so that nothing of her might escape;The South wind and the North wind and the East wind and the West wind

He brought near to the net, the gift of his father Anu.He created the evil wind, and the tempest, and the hurricane,

And the fourfold wind, and the sevenfold wind, and the whirlwind, and the wind which had no equal;

Then the lord raised the thunderbolt, his mighty weapon,He mounted the chariot, unequaled for terror, He harnessed and yoked unto it four horses,

Destructive, ferocious, overwhelming, and swift of pace; they were flecked with foam; they had been trained to trample underfoot.

He was clothed with terror, With overpowering brightness his head was crowned.Then he set out, he took his way, And toward the raging Tiamat he set his face.

Then they beheld him, the gods beheld him,The gods his fathers beheld him, the gods beheld him.

And the lord drew nigh, he gazed upon the inward parts of Tiamat,He perceived the muttering of Kingu, her spouse.As Marduk gazed, Kingu was troubled in his gait,

His will was destroyed and his motions ceased.And the gods, his helpers, who marched by his side,

Beheld their leader's (hesitation), and their sight was troubled.But Tiamat... , she turned not her neck,

With lips that failed not she uttered rebellious words:“From their places have they gathered, in thy place are they! "

Then the lord raised the thunderbolt, his mighty weapon,And against Tiamat, who was raging, thus he sent the word:“Thou art become great, thou hast exalted thyself on high,

And thy heart hath prompted thee to call to battle.Thou hast exalted Kingu to be thy spouse,

…thou hast followed after evil,And against the gods my fathers thou hast contrived thy wicked plan.

Let then thy host be equipped, let thy weapons be girded on!Stand! I and thou, let us join battle!”

When Tiamat heard these words,She was like one posessed, .she lost her reason.

Tiamat uttered wild, piercing cries,She trembled and shook to her very foundations.

She recited an incantation, she pronounced her spell,And the gods of the battle cried out for their weapons.

Then advanced Tiamat and Marduk, the counselor of the gods;To the fight they came on, to the battle they drew nigh.

The lord spread out his net and caught her,And the evil wind that was behind him he let loose in her face.

As Tiamat opened her mouth to its full extent,He drove in the evil wind, while as yet she had not shut her lips.

The terrible winds filled her belly,And her courage was taken from her, and her mouth she opened wide.

He seized the spear and burst her belly,He severed her inward parts, he pierced her heart.

He overcame her and cut off her life;He cast down her body and stood upon it.

And the lord stood upon Tiamat's hinder parts,And with his merciless club he smashed her skull.

He cut through the channels of her blood,And he made the North wind bear it away into secret places.

His fathers beheld, and they rejoiced and were glad;Presents and gifts they brought unto him.

Then the lord rested, gazing upon her dead body,While he divided the flesh… , and devised a cunning plan.

He split her up like a flat fish into two halves;One half of her he stablished as a covering for heaven.

He fixed a bolt, he stationed a watchman,And bade them not to let her waters come forth.

He passed through the heavens, he surveyed the regions thereof,And over against the Deep he set the dwelling of Nudimmud.

And the lord measured the structure of the Deep,And he founded E-sara, a mansion like unto it.

The mansion E-sara which he created as heaven,He caused Anu, Bel, and Ea in their districts to inhabit.

THE FIFTH TABLET

He (Marduk) made the stations for the great gods;The stars, their images, as the stars of the Zodiac, he fixed.

He ordained the year and into sections he divided it;For the twelve months he fixed three stars.

He founded the station of Nibir [the planet Jupiter] to determine their bounds;That none might err or go astray, He set the station of Bel and Ea along with him.

He opened great gates on both sides,He made strong the bolt on the left and on the right.

In the midst thereof he fixed the zenith;The Moon-god he caused to shine forth, the night he entrusted to him.

He appointed him, a being of the night, to determine the days;Every month without ceasing with the crown he covered him, saying:

"At the beginning of the month, when thou shinest upon the land,Thou commandest the horns to determine six days,

And on the seventh day to divide the crown.... thou shalt cause to draw nigh, and thou shalt judge the right.

He set a throne...in heaven...

THE SIXTH TABLET

When Marduk beard the word of the gods,His heart prompted him and he devised a cunning plan.

He opened his mouth and unto Ea he spakeThat which he had conceived in his heart he imparted unto him:

"My blood will I take and bone will I fashionI will make man, that man may (serve us).

I will create man who shall inhabit the earth,That the service of the gods may be established, and that their shrines

may be built.

The gods rejoiced...In Upsukkinnaku they set their dwelling.

Of the heroic son, their avenger,They all cried aloud, they exalted him...

THE SEVENTH TABLET

"The Lord of the Pure Incantation," " the Quickener of the Dead,""Who had mercy upon the captive gods,"

"Who removed the yoke from upon the gods his enemies,""For their forgiveness did he create mankind,"

"The Merciful One, with whom it is to bestow life!"May his deeds endure, may they never be forgotten ,

In the mouth of mankind whom his hands have made!

“May he hold the Beginning and the Future, may they pay homage unto him…

For the stars of heaven he upheld the paths,He shepherded all the gods like sheep!

He conquered Tiamat, he troubled and ended her life,"In the future of mankind, when the days grow old,

May this be heard without ceasing; may it hold sway forever!Since he created the realm of heaven and fashioned the firm earth,

The Lord of the World," the father Bel hath called his name.

“Thou didst rule the raging of Tehom,When its waves rise, thou stillest them.Thou didst crush Rahab like a carcass,

Thou didst scatter thy enemies with thy mighty arm.”--Psalms 89:9-10

Thou didst divide the sea by thy might;Thou didst break the heads of the dragons on the waters;

Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan,Thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the

wilderness.”--Psalms 74:13-24

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish hook, or press down its tongue with a

cord? Can you put a rope in its nose, or pierce its jaw with a hook? .... Were not even the gods overwhelmed at the sight of it? No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up. Who can stand before it? Who can confront it and be safe? Under the whole

heaven … who?”--Job

“Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord!

Awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago!

Was it not you who cut Leviathan in pieces, who pierced the dragon? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of

the great deep?”--Psalms

“The shades below tremble, the waters and their inhabitants! Sheol is naked before him … the Lord stretches out Zaphod over the void, and hangs the earth upon

nothing. He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not torn open by them! He covers the face of the full moon, and spreads over it his cloud!”

“He has described a circle on the face of the waters, at the boundary between light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astounded at his rebuke. By his

power he stilled the Sea; by his understanding he struck down Leviathan. By his wind the heavens were made fair; his hand pierces the fleeing serpent!”

“The Lord with his cruel and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea!”

--Isaiah 27:1

“The Lord is from old, working salvation in the earth …You cut openings for springs and torrents; you dried up ever-flowing streams. Yours is the day, yours also is the night; You established luminaries and the sun. You have fixed all the bounds of the

earth!”

The Hebrew “Tehom” = “The Deep.”

Equivalent of Semitic/Babylonian “Tiamat”

“...and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the

waters.”

“Yahweh with one word created the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars. He stretched out the skies like a tent cloth to shroud the Deep, and placed his

secret court above the skies, founding it upon the Higher Waters. In creating, Yahweh rode above the Deep, which rose against him. Tehom,

queen of the Deep, sought to drown Yahweh’s creation, but he rode against her in his chariot of fire, and bombarded her with hail and with

lightning. Yahweh destroyed her vassal Leviathan with one great blow to the monster’s skull, while he ended Rahab by thrusting a sword into her

heart. The waters fled backward, awed by the voice of Yahweh, and Tehom fearfully surrendered. Yahweh shouted his triumph and dried up the floods. He set the Moon to divide the seasons, the Sun to divide day

and night. Observing Yahweh’s victory, the Morning Stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Thus the work of

creation was completed.”

--Reconstruction by Harold Bloom, “The Book of J.”

“...lulled into ... an opium-like listlessness of vacant, unconscious reverie is this absent-minded youth (who) by blending cadence of waves with thoughts, ... at last he

loses his identity; takes the mystic ocean at his feet for the visible image of the deep, blue, bottomless soul, pervading mankind and nature; and every strange, half-seen, gliding, beautiful thing that eludes him; every

dimly-discovered, uprising fin of some undiscernible form, seems to him the embodiment of those elusive thoughts that only people the soul by continually flitting through it. In this enchanted mood, thy spirit ebbs away to whence it

came; becomes diffused through time and space; like Wickliff’s sprinkled Pantheistic ashes, forming at last a

part of every shore the globe over.“There is no life in thee, now, except that rocking

life imparted by a gently rolling ship; by her, borrowed from the sea; by the sea, from the inscrutable tides of

God.”

“But while this sleep, this dream is on ye, move your foot or hand an inch; slip your hold at all; and your identity comes back in horror. Over Descartian vortices you hover. And perhaps, at mid-day, in the fairest weather, with one half-throttled shriek you drop through that transparent air into the summer sea, no more to rise for ever.”

  --Herman Melville, Moby Dick

“Mitochondrial Eve” 200,000 years ago

Chief Seattle

To us the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground. You wander far from the graves of your ancestors and seemingly without regret. Your religion was written upon tablets of stone by the iron finger of your God so that you

could not forget. The Red Man could never comprehend or remember it. Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors -- the dreams of our old men, given them in solemn hours of the night by

the Great Spirit; and the visions of our sachems, and is written in the hearts of our people.

Your dead cease to love you and the land of their nativity as soon as they pass the portals of the tomb and wander away beyond the stars. They are soon forgotten and

never return. Our dead never forget this beautiful world that gave them being. They still love its

verdant valleys, its murmuring rivers, its magnificent mountains, sequestered vales and verdant lined lakes and bays, and ever yearn in tender fond affection over the lonely

hearted living, and often return from the happy hunting ground to visit, guide, console, and comfort them.

--Chief Seattle, 1854 (as opposed to Ted Perry, Southern Baptist Convention, 1978)

“Replenish the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the foul of the air, and over every

living thing that moveth upon the earth.”--Genesis 1:28

“And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all fishes of the sea; unto your

hand are they delivered. “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as

the green herb have I given you all things.”--Genesis 9:2-3

The Berekhat Ram Figurine

(The Acheulian Goddess)

Between 233,000 and 800,000 years old

Southern Syria

This figure is a 35mm high fragment of volcanic rock (basaltic tuff) that was found between two layers of

volcanic flow in the Levantine area of southern Syria. It is thought to be between 233,000 and 800,000 years old, dating from the Acheulian paleolithic era, and has been attributed to either Archaic Homo Sapiens or to

Homo Erectus. The original is housed at the Institute of Archeaology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The artisan is believed to have taken a small stone with existing feminine features, and used a flint tool to incise grooves delineating the head and arms, thus creating

the oldest known human image. The Berekat Ram figurine resembles the Willendorf figurine, great-

breasted with a featureless head and discrete limbs.

Goddess of Willendorf

Between 24,000 and 22,000 BC.

Willendorf, Austria

An 11.1cm Paleolithic figurine of oolitic limestone tinted with red ochre was found in 1908 by archeologist Josef

Szombathy in an Aurignacian loess deposit near Willendorf, Austria. It is believed to have been created between 24,000 and 22,000 BC. The original figure is housed at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Her face is featureless, but her head is covered in seven concentric horizontal bands which have been

notched, suggesting braided hair or a woven hat. Her thin arms have markings on the wrists, and rest on her exaggerated breasts. Her large stomach overhangs but does not hide her vulva , and her buttocks are large and

flat. Her lack of feet seems to indicate she was not meant to stand, but rather to be held in the palm of the

hand.

Laussel Goddess

Between 22,000 and 27,000 years ago

Laussel, in the Dordogne

region of central France

Greek: mene (moon)

Latin: mensis (month)mensura

(measurement)

English: menstruation

lunalunatic

This image is a detail from a low relief featuring several females and a male, found at the

entrance of a limestone rock shelter at Laussel, in the Dordogne region of central France.

Believed to have been created between 22,000 and 27,000 years ago, it was discovered in

1911 by Dr. J.G. Lalanne and is in the collection of the Musee d'Aquitaine, Bordeaux.

Her featureless face is inclined towards the crescent-shaped bison horn in her right hand, and her left hand rests on her prominent belly,

implying pregnancy or fertility. There are thirteen notches carved into the bison horn, possibly representing the number of lunar

cycles in a year.

Lespugue Goddess

About 30,000-20,000 BC

Pyrenees in France

Carved from mammoth ivory during the Aurignacian Period around 30,000-20,000

BC, this figurine was found in 1922 by Saint Perrier in the cave of Les Rideaux at the foothills of the Pyrenees in France.

She is 147mm in height, and currently resides in the Musee des Antiques

Nationales, Paris.Her face is featureless; her buttocks,

stomach and breasts exaggerated. It is said she represents fertility, earth and the

continuation of life.

Goddess of Dolni Vestonice

Found at Dolni Vestonice, the oldest known baked clay figurine in the world was created

in Paleolithic eastern Europe around 24,000BC. Dolni Vestonice is a site in the

Czech Republic, near the town of Brno, and was an encampment for ice-age mammoth

hunters. Her exaggerated female form is similar to to those of the preceding goddess figures, yet

her eyes are prominent. Her creator scratched two slits which run from her eyes and down her breasts, possibly symbolizing the life giving tears of the nurturing mother.

The goddess of Çatalhöyük

Found at Çatalhöyük, a large Neolithic mammoth hunting encampment near Konya,

Turkey; and dates between 6800-5000 BC. Made of terracotta, she

is squatting in the process of giving birth, and is flanked

protectively by two leopards.

Anatolian goddess

Lion and bull