At Mezin, craftspeople deliberately thinned the ends of ivory blanks while keeping middles broad, exaggerating buttocks nearly to ivory's breaking limits. Several figurines snapped; F18 broke during production and was reworked. This differs from older Gravettian Venus figurines (30,000-23,000 years ago), but both traditions emphasize female reproduction. Some researchers argue the swastika is a type of meander, with Mezin among the oldest examples.
Deliberate buttock exaggeration pushed to mechanical limits of ivory
UkraineArtifact
Site mentioned
Key facts
- Researchers reconstructed a repeated manufacturing sequence for the figurines
- Craftspeople deliberately narrowed the upper and lower portions of the ivory blank while leaving the middle broader
- This profile created a strongly projecting buttocks region, emphasizing enlarged buttocks
- The buttock convention was pushed to nearly the mechanical breaking limits of mammoth ivory
- Several figurines snapped in the thinned areas; F18 broke during manufacturing and was reworked
- The style differs from earlier Gravettian Venus figurines (approximately 30,000-23,000 years ago), which emphasized breasts, abdomen, hips, thighs, and buttocks
- Both traditions emphasize female reproduction and abundant adipose tissue
- Swastika is argued to be a type of meander, with the Mezin example as one of the oldest, influenced by mammoth ivory's natural structure
Sources
nature.com
Linked in video description
Mizyn, Мізин - Wolf Campdonsmaps.com
They were made originally in Mammoth ivory. Photo: Don Hitchcock 2008. Source: Facsimiles in the Vienna Natural History Museum. Mezin sculpture.
Stylized female figurine from Mezin (Photo A. Marshack)researchgate.net
This paper presents the results of digital and microscopic analysis of 18 ivory figurines from Mizyn, Ukraine. Digital preservation has enabled the first ...
Zigzags on 18000-Year-Old Venus Figurines Copy Tusk ...anthropology.net
How the Mizyn Venus figurines were carved from mammoth ivory. The figurines belong to the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in Kyiv ...
Technological Data on Mammoth Ivory Engraving in the ...journals.openedition.org
This article presents the procedure of engraving used to realize the geometric decoration on ivory pieces from the site of Mezin in Ukraine.
Mezineen.wikipedia.org
It was described (see references for illustrations) as an object carved from ivory mammoth tusks to resemble a bird. The bird is understood as an inherently ...
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