“” figurines and other euphemisms: A role for direct anogenital stimulation?

Sandy Ween and Peter Stone University of Smæg L’Ornay-Ouanquées 11.882.57

Upper “Venus” figurines, statuettes depicting women and made from limestone, ivory, bone, clay, and rock, are so visually provocative to modern sensibilities that many of them have achieved iconicity since their discovery. Due to the diversity of the , and the paucity of surviving evidence of the cultures that created them, theories for the functions of the mysterious ladies abound, though no particular theory has much evidence to corroborate it. In the highly condensed material cultures of foragers, it is unlikely that an object would serve only one function. In this paper, we examine the evidence that some of the statuettes were used for direct anogenital stimulation, particularly by men, providing a multi-sensory (visual and touch) autoerotic experience. Ethological evidence of masturbation with rocks by lower primates, as well as ethnography of the erotic practices of contemporary figurine enthusiasts, support a role for direct stimulation. The role of material cultural decoupling in its relation to masturbatory items is explored.

Keywords: material culture, Venus figurines, functional decoupling, Paleolithic fleshlight

n the rich material cultures of the contemporary before the present (BP) and found within a century world, figurines are used for a variety of of each other in the same cave - the Lion Man and I purposes. Small statues representing humans or the Venus of . That is the earliest known anthropomorphic beings, about the right size to be “Venus,” but there are many others, from the curvy held in a human hand, are used as children’s toys, Willendorf Venus, carved from limestone around as tribal tokens for sports teams, as ritual effigies 30,000 years BP (Nelson, 1990), to the more on wedding cakes, and as collectable items attached abstract, less human-looking “Venus” of to narrative universes. Gönnersdorf (Figure 1), carved from tusk only around 12,000 years BP (Neruda & It would be inappropriate to infer, then, that Valoch, 2007). The abstract, stylized trend for figurines from earlier times all had the same use. Venuses in Europe reversed in Mehrgarh, Pakistan, The figurines themselves vary widely. There is the by around 5000 years BP. There, artisans of the man with the head and torso of a cave lion (Kind et Indus civilization produced terracotta figurines with al., 2014), and the tiny woman with enormous large, round breasts and prominent nipples (Jarrige, breasts and hardly any head (Conard, 2009), both 2008). carved from mammoth tusk around 40,000 years ANTHROPOLOGICAL HYPOTHESES JUNE 2020 VOL. 42 ISSUE 1 PP. 23-28 24

MASTURBATING WITH ROCKS

Genital touching is largely a private activity among modern humans, and so it is not known how many modern people use rocks for direct genital stimulation. Certainly, masturbation with stones is not a common cultural idea in the 21st century. However, Cenni et al. (2020) observed a population of male Balinese long-tailed macaques engaging in two forms of genital rock play: tapping rocks on their groins, and rubbing rocks against their groins. The temporal organization of their behavior, as well as their propensity to have penile erections while engaging in it, suggests that the macaques are using stones as a human would use a sex toy, partially confirming Cenni et al.’s “sex toy hypothesis.”

There are two reasons that modern humans may have trouble understanding the use of stones and other hard objects for genital stimulation: low modern levels of material culture condensation, and high levels of modern foreskin amputation in infants (particularly in the United States). FIG. 1. GÖNNERSDORF “VENUS,” 4 CM, ~11,000 YEARS BP. MAMMOTH TUSK. First, the people who produced the figurines at Hohle Fels, Willendorf, and Savignano were foragers, who would have had to carry everything a layer of lubrication on the glans. Rubbing a they owned on their backs (Szabo, 2016). They circumcised, unprotected glans against a were very limited in their volume of cultural terracotta is admittedly not appealing, but artifacts; every object would have served multiple this may not be the case for a well-protected, purposes, many probably lost to us moderns with uncircumcised penis. plenty of space and a different gadget to do every task. Modern tools for direct genital stimulation A rock shares a property with almost every other are usually made from materials that would have object that is not a part of the subject’s body: it is been unavailable to the Paleolithic peoples, such not perceived sensorily during masturbation as as silicone, vinyl, and glass. In Paleolithic times, “self.” This principle is best illustrated by a there would have been no materials that were both culturally significant folkloric practice called the soft and yielding like silicone, but easy to clean. A “stranger technique,” in which the masturbator modern human might possess both a flashlight- sits on his hand to render it numb, so that when he style silicone masturbator and various kinds of then masturbates, his sensation is that of being visual pornography. A stone-age person could masturbated by another person. Unfortunately, it have lumped both functions into one statuette. is difficult to cite this folkloric practice; most references are to people having difficulty tracking Second, while the genital cutting practices of down academically-appropriate citations for this foragers vary widely, it is likely that most bit of human knowledge (e.g., Wikipedia talk Paleolithic men had intact foreskins. A large page, 2006). percentage of modern men, especially Americans, have their penile foreskins amputated at birth. Widespread terms like “Venus” and “fertility This makes the intuitive understanding of the fetish” accept that the Paleolithic Venuses are function of the foreskin unavailable to a large erotic, but mostly consign them to a symbolic or segment of moderns. The penile foreskin shields visual role - even a wholesome one. This may not the glans penis and facilitates the maintenance of be warranted. ANTHROPOLOGICAL HYPOTHESES JUNE 2020 VOL. 42 ISSUE 1 PP. 23-28 25

THE MODERN EROTIC USE OF FIGURINES

Both material wealth and materials science have contributed to the wide availability of objects optimized for direct genital stimulation. Also, modernity has resulted in a proliferation of visual pornography, mostly presented in two dimensions rather than three. However, despite the myriad of such offerings, tiny figurines, especially female figurines, are still used for erotic purposes to this day.

Some enthusiasts of figurines engage in an erotic ritual called the “cum tribute” (van der Nagel, 2020). Participants in the ritual masturbate to ejaculation, and release their ejaculate onto a representation of a desired sex object, whether a photograph or other image, or a figurine. Then the participants post images of the semen-covered figurine, image, or device. Some enthusiasts ejaculate on their electronic devices (phones or tablets) while these are displaying images of celebrities. Others post pictures of tiny anime figurines covered in semen. It is not difficult to imagine many of the Upper Paleolithic Venuses in this role of tiny anime goddess receiving FIG. 2. , 6 CM HIGH, ~40,000 YEARS BP. “tribute.” MAMMOTH TUSK.

THE VENUS FIGURINES IN USE

Since there is no evidence of the manner of possible erotic use of the figurines, theories about their use must come from knowledge of human anatomy and the figures themselves. The Venus of Hohle Fels does not look much like a silicone masturbator (Figure 2). She is just over two inches tall. She has a recessed area around her mons where the head of a penis could be gently placed, and incised carved lines for texture. Her breasts, whose points are about a centimeter apart, could have stimulated either side of the sensitive penile frenulum, held in the hand against the foreskin on the underside of the penis. The Willendorf Venus (Figure 3) is somewhat larger at just over four inches in height. The statuette has smooth, rounded breasts and stomach, suited for rubbing against the genitals, as well as a highly textured head - which, while textured, does not appear spiky or sharp at any point.

FIG. 3. , 11 CM, ~30,000 YEARS BP. LIMESTONE. ANTHROPOLOGICAL HYPOTHESES JUNE 2020 VOL. 42 ISSUE 1 PP. 23-28 26

The later Indus Valley Venuses have round, detailed breasts similar to those seen on contemporary erotic figurines. Some have detailed long hair (Figure 4), and others have textured headdresses reminiscent of the head of

FIG. 5. SEATED MOTHER GODDESS, PAKISTAN, 9.5 CM, ~5,000 YEARS BP, TERRACOTTA

FIG. 4. SEATED MOTHER GODDESS, PAKISTAN, 8.6 CM, ~5,000 YEARS BP. TERRACOTTA.

Hohle Fels. Some have joined feet, like a mermaid’s tail, but ending at a point (Figure 5). One has a distinct decorated conical nub where the feet would be (Figure 6). (Some later models lose their joined feet and get detailed human feet, although they are still depicted as close together.)

These Venuses are about four inches long, often depicted reclining or sitting. Again, the frenulum and glans penis could be stimulated by rubbing against the breasts through the foreskin, and the pointed or stylized “feet” could have served to provide more intense, directed pressure to the perianal region. The conical flared pendant serving for the stylized “feet” of one goddess resembles modern toys designed for anal stimulation. Some have sharply-pointed noses or foreheads, perhaps for stimulation of the urethra. FIG. 6. INDUS VALLEY (MEHRGARH) SEATED WOMAN, ~5,000 YEARS BP, TERRACOTTA

ANTHROPOLOGICAL HYPOTHESES JUNE 2020 VOL. 42 ISSUE 1 PP. 23-28 27

FEATURES OF VENUSES CONCLUSION FACILITATING DIRECT There have been a great number of hypotheses ANOGENITAL STIMULATION produced about the functions of Paleolithic statuettes. While many draw analogies to the Certain features would improve the effectiveness religious behavior of contemporary humans (e.g., of a figurine as a tool for direct erotic stimulation: worship, ritual), few offer analogies to contemporary sexual culture. Anthropology based 1. Size. A figurine should be small enough to fit on such scant evidence is mostly a matter of in one hand, and to be easily carried, but large having the kind of world-building imagination enough for the arousing features to be usually relegated to speculative fiction. perceptible 2. Material. A figurine should be made of To paraphrase Jesus Christ, the horny we will something smooth that will not harm the skin. always have with us. As scientists, we must Note that some statues (e.g., Hohle Fels) may remember that early people were likely just as show evidence that pigment was applied to horny as contemporary humans. There is no them, so the surfaces as we see them now reason to privilege hypotheses that emphasize the may not reflect their original texture. wholesome, pious, non-sexual aspects of human 3. Structure. Composed mostly of smooth (or culture (e.g., religion, art) while ignoring the base, smoothly-textured, for contrast) surfaces that but powerful, horny energies of hundreds of accommodate the multiply-constrained generations of humankind. interaction between the sexually sensitive tissues of the human body and inanimate matter. Possible semen gutters. 4. Visual appeal. Lacking evidence of early human sexual response, scientists must consult their own souls to evaluate the sexual provocativeness of artifacts. Surveys that ask people if ancient statues make them sexually aroused may be of limited utility (Dixson & Dixson, 2011). References

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Conard, N. J. (2009). A female figurine from the basal of Hohle Fels Cave in southwestern . Nature, 459(7244), 248-252.

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INDUS VALLEY (MEHRGARH) SEATED WOMAN, ~5,000 YEARS BP, TERRACOTTA ANTHROPOLOGICAL HYPOTHESES JUNE 2020 VOL. 42 ISSUE 1 PP. 23-28 28

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Image Credits

1. Karel Valoch 2. Ramessos 3. Aiwok 4. Metropolitan Museum of Art 5. Musée Barbier-Mueller 6. Musée Barbier-Mueller