The Venus in Lithic Literature: Archaeological observations comparing the Venus figures in Maine, Spain and the Azores.
I was looking for a stone formation to best announce the arrival of my granddaughter . For those who are following this blog you know it will not be hard to find the subject of a new baby. Lithic literature is pictorial communication developed by early humans to communicate and store information. It has endured through the ages and can still be found distilled into the Asian character writing of today. With that said I was thrilled to find this picture offered by Greta Delirio from Aragon. Lithic literature is a highly organized design that allows for multiple layers on a single surface. Although you will see many subjects in the image below, the subject I am interested in is welcoming the new baby. On the megalith presented by Delírio, the artist renders the father, on the left of the image, beaming down at his offspring. With a little exploring, you can pick up on some fashion statements in the father’s head gear. He appears to be wearing the bird headdress with the wings pinned up rather than the wings falling to sides of his head. The lovely young mother appears to be wearing the headdress with ears like a fox as she breast feeds the tiny new baby. With a second look at the design, you can pick up the grandparents too. They appear in bigger stature. If you are good you can see the infants hand reach up and squeeze old grampa’s nose. Thank you, Miss Greta, it is perfect.
It was not long before I started to pick up that Delirio was really on to something. As I scrolled through her images I realized she too was picking up the same design that we are finding here in Maine and on Terceira in her photography. There are many stories on the stones. If you can imagine the story of Moses coming down from Mount Sinai with one thousand commandments, instead of just ten, then you can start grasping what I mean as layered. This layering is consistent and placed in logical sequence as in the Asian character writing of today. I feel comfortable saying it is a precursor to the Asian character. This consistency in design can be seen in the following three locations. We will be focusing on a particular subject and following it through the design and see what it offers. The Venus, also known as the scorpion goddess, Isis, Ishtar, Lilith, and more, is the one and the same and the subject of this exploration. This is our archeological dig. We have three sites, all with tons of information. Many of us are familiar with the Venus figures of the ice age, so we begin our exploration by really looking. Observations are super important in most scientific explorations. In Archaeology it is obviously the same. Lithic literature has many layers and we are trying to tease and separate and document the layers.
We can all ready find common ground; they are all rock. They are all of different rock and if it was not for the insight of Lithic literature described in this blog most would keep on walking, but there is a pattern on all three of these megalithic monuments. We can track that pattern and document and compare. You can too by highlighting subjects on your own download of the image. Do not be afraid to go back on your own and make your own discoveries. There is so much information here, there is enough for everyone. Below, I have highlighted the large birds nesting. I find the bird forms consistent allowing the birds to be used as a standard template to line-up the images. With our three locations lined up for analysis. you will pick up many birds, but we are just using them to center ourselves in the design. Our real goal is to highlight the Venus mother goddess.
Most of us are familiar with the Venus figures. I have included my favorite movie below to get us in the mood for our archaeological dig. 😏
Below is a parade of Venuses. There are many to choose from. Please take note of the dates.
We have had the mother goddess on the mind a long time. There are many versions of Venus. Using Lithic literature, a pattern has emerged where the lifecycle of the subject is provided with the design presented in the stone. I am suggesting that this great mother also had a lifecycle. This pattern has been covered in previous publications on this blog, and please feel free to follow up. A nice thing about using the Venus is that we have a consensus that they were created by humans for humans. Some of the material we are discussing is still up for grabs for some, so I am giving some of these folks something to relate to. The Venus presented below already presents the multilayered material that we call Lithic literature.
We can all agree that the Grimaldi Goddess clay figurine is humanmade for humans. The artist hands push and pull the clay effortlessly into a familiar form. For some she may be known as the Scorpion Goddess.
I am not trying to be pushy, I am just nudging you a bit more back into ancient human history. A time when humans had a closer relationship with the insect world. The mother goddess imbodies all life forms. The scorpion appears to be a focal point and is also found on the T-pillars of Gobekli Tepe, but the scorpion is only one of many insects in the book of Lithic Literature. The Praying Mantis can be found embedded in the design as well.
The praying mantis and the scorpion are fun to follow in the design, but they can get overwhelming with all those little legs. I found the butterfly to be the best. Its simple symmetric design stands out and is easily spotted. Although we started with the birds to line things up, the butterfly is a better match.
Below I have included the Hohle Fels Venus doing her butterfly thing below. These figurines are picture books. They carry information about the subject embedded into their design. The monuments we are looking at are working with the same format.
Now that our butterflies are lined up the Venus can be mapped out on the three sites all at once. We are going to leave the Grimaldi Goddess for now. I have no problem continuing on with confidence these megalithic monuments are decked out in Lithic literature; a manmade design used to communicate and store information, the internet of the stone age. The granite bedrock of Maine has its own website on the ice age internet. The image below has the blue butterflies mapped out on the Maine granite monument.
I was looking for the Venus of Hohle Fels type. I was happy to find her. she has a broad kind face. She is giving birth as we speak as she grasp the newborn front and center. The infant can be followed throw the flutter of the butterfly wings as it latches and grows to become the mature goddess. The topic of the Venus figure as it matures from newborn through adulthood including pregnancy is covered below. Please feel free to explore. The increase in grith of the Venus may also have to do with engorging for the lean winter ahead. Like the bear putting on weight preparing to hibernate, humans may have to done the same.
https://medium.com/@karolabryant/the-information-on-the-t-pillars-is-layered-2c26b718c28d
Surviving the Maine winter is difficult. If you look at the very top of the highlighted images below, you can make out a bear head topping off the design. The bear head is part of a bear cloak worn by the ancient folks to survive. You can see the rest of the bear cloak as it flows behind the very tall human.
A quick review for those who are new to the Maine stones. The bear cloak was super important here in Maine. It was the survival suit, especially if you were about to give birth. These ancient folks were good working with stone, but they were also the bone and hide people. A properly tanned bear suit was necessary to survive. The bear cub can make a fine snow suit for the new baby, too. All this information can be found recorded intentionally by our predecessors in the stones for you to find. The Maine stones provide guidance on how to survive the ice age. The image below highlights the bear family. The artist renders the big papa bear and the mother bear cuddling the cutest cub. Notice that the bear cloak at the top of the monument reminds of a polar bear. There are different species of bear represented.
No matter what Venus you choose to follow, she will be warm and cozy in her bear cloak. The butterfly design has worked so far in guiding us to the Venus birth. We have been able to tie the butterfly image with the Venus as she presents her new offspring. Lets see if the pattern continues across the Atlantic to the volcanic stone cropping on the Azores.
On the Azores the topic of the butterfly is presented in the same pattern fluttering up the megalith. The form of the mature pregnant female is al so presented. The design also offers a hint of the favorite food source for the human. The female presented as the goddess is often presented eating eggs. The egg could point to the bird and egg epoch.
The next image highlights the Venus seated on a throne very much like the the Grimaldi Goddess. Her body leans back as she grasps the arm rest to the throne. This may be a hint to a possible reference to preeclampsia. The female is relieving the pressure on the aorta from the weight of the pregnancy by leaning back.
Below the image shows the the Venus with newborn on display.
The rim of the caldera is draped with the body of the Venus as she moves through her pregnancy.
The volcanic Venus of the Azores fits in nicely between the Hohle Fels Venus and the Maine Venus. Now that we have mapped out the mother goddess in Maine and The Acores, we can move on to Delirio’s conglomerate megalith. It is amazing . The quality of stone is very different. The ancient sculptors welcomed any surface area that could be adapted to their design. To the ancient folks surface area was the game, and the more the merrier. Look below using your insight into lithic literature and see what you can find. Thank you again Delírio.
Once your brain adjust to the different textures and colors of the conglomerate stone it starts to feed you the patterns. They are surprisingly clear. The Hohle Fels Venus is dated at 35,000 BC. I find the egg connection interesting. Could this be part of the Egg/Bird culture that once entranced the Easter Island folks? The egg is front and center in the design with the Venus. It was her food of choice.
The Aragon Venus is fantastic. She too has style as she postures through her pregnancy. There are many renditions of the Venus as she moves through the design. The scorpion goddess of Aragon has a wonderful red scorpion hairdo, not a hair out of place as she shares her newborn with the world. How in the world did she do it? I was thinking it was bee’s wax that gave her hairdo some staying power. The eggs are also popular with the Venus of Aragon.
I hope you are enjoying this as much as I am. Lithic Literature has so much to offer. It stands alone as Art to fill the heart, But it is also a complex language. No simple quote could cover the millions of words that are needed to confirm the information present. Thank you so much for looking.
In Lithic Literature one thing leads to another. The Venus of Galgenberg is the next topic. I am so looking forward to it .
