Venus of Tan-Tan
Characteristics, Photograph of Moroccan Quartzite Stone Age Figurine.
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Venus of Tan-Tan
(200,000-500,000 BCE)
One of the oldest known
works of prehistoric art.

EARLIEST FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE
For the oldest non-controversial
sculpture of a female figure, see:
Venus of Hohle Fels.
For the oldest male figure, see:
Lion Man of Hohlenstein Stadel.

The Venus of Tan-Tan (200-500,000 BCE)

Contents

• Introduction
• Discovery
• Date
• Characteristics and Description
• Controversy

Introduction

The early Stone Age figurine of Tan-Tan, discovered by the River Draa near the Moroccan town of Tan-Tan, is considered to be one of the oldest items of prehistoric sculpture known to archeology. Its discovery, some 18 years after that of another figurine of similar antiquity and morphology on the Golan Heights (the Venus of Berekhat Ram) is supportive of the idea that both objects are genuine works of art from the pre-Homo sapiens era, particularly in view of microscopic research by Alexander Marshack confirming that the Golan venus was incised by human hand, rather than nature. (For more about the earliest art, and to see how the Venus of Tan-Tan fits into the evolution of mobiliary art during the Stone Age, see: Prehistoric Art Timeline.)

Discovery

The Venus of Tan-Tan was found during an excavation on the north bank of the River Draa by Lutz Fiedler, state archeologist of Hessen, Germany. It was sandwiched between two undisturbed layers: a lower layer comprising sediments, fossils and artifacts from the Early Acheulian period (at least 500,000 BCE), and an upper one dating from the Middle Acheulian (approx 200,000 BCE).

Date

Consistent with its archeological siting, the Venus of Tan-Tan has been dated to the period 200,000-500,000 BCE, making it a contemporary of the Golan Venus of Berekhat Ram and the oldest art in Africa. This means that it was made not by Homo sapiens neanderthalensis but by the more primitive Homo erectus. However, one should note that the Acheulian peoples of north-western Africa who inhabited part of the main migratory route from Asia to western Europe via Gibraltar (the northern central-European route being severely affected by glacial conditions) would have included enterprising and technically advanced races from south-east Asia, thus giving extra credence to the notion of Acheulian fine art.

Note: the Venus of Tan-Tan is not one of the much later Venus Figurines, created during the Aurignacian and Gravettian periods of the Upper Paleolithic era. These miniature carvings include the Austrian Venus of Willendorf, the French Venus of Brassempouy, the bas-relief Venus of Laussel, and the Russian Venus of Kostenky, among many others.

Characteristics and Description

Made from moderately metamorphosed quartzite, the Venus of Tan-Tan is roughly 6 centimetres in length, roughly 2.6 centimetres in width, and 1.2 centimetres thick. It weighs about 10 grams. On its surface there are some 20 minute specks of a brilliant waxy red material, identified as iron and manganese, although whether it is a form of manually applied ochre paint is not clear. Like the Venus of Berekhat Ram, its humanoid shape is suggested by specific grooves incised in the figurine. Some of these definitional markings are attributable to nature, others are the result of it being struck by tool or stone.

Controversy

Possibly, were it not for the supportive existence of its Golan sister, the Venus of Tan-Tan would be classified as a purely natural phenomenon. However, as stated above, the two figurines are mutually supportive of their status as genuine works of early Stone Age art.

Moreover, recent archeological investigations in India have discovered examples of rock art (the petrogyphs of Bhimbetka) from an even earlier Stone Age culture, which lends additional credence to the idea that human fine art originated in the Lower or early Middle Paleolithic, rather than the Upper Paleolithic as once thought.

One issue which remains unresolved however, is the "gap" which now exists between the Acheulian period which spawned the Tan-Tan and Berekhat Ram venuses (200,000 BCE) and the Upper Paleolithic period (c.30,000 BCE) which spawned most of the known prehistoric fine art. What happened during the interval between these periods? The only fine art known to have been created during these intervening years is the abstract Blombos Cave Engravings, and the Diepkloof Eggshell Engravings, discovered in South Africa. Why haven't more artworks been found?

• For more about Stone Age art, see: Cave Painting
• For the 100 most ancient artworks, see: Oldest Stone Age Art.
• For the origins of sculpture, see: Homepage.