2022/02/28 by Gerhard W. Weber, Alexander Lukeneder, Mathias Harzhauser +7 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-06799-z
openalex publication_date 2022/02/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The origin and key details of the making of the ~ 30,000 year old Venus from Willendorf remained a secret since its discovery for more than a hundred years. Based on new micro-computed tomography scans with a resolution of 11.5 µm, our analyses can explain the origin as well as the choice of material and particular surface features. It allowed the identification of internal structure properties and a chronological assignment of the Venus oolite to the Mesozoic. Sampling numerous oolite occurrences ranging ~ 2500 km from France to the Ukraine, we found a strikingly close match for grain size distribution near Lake Garda in the Southern Alps (Italy). This might indicate considerable mobility of Gravettian people and long-time transport of artefacts from South to North by modern human groups before the Last Glacial Maximum.