Female figurines outnumber representations of males in the Paleolithic era. Describe these figurines and explain what possible function these sculptures served and what this situation suggests about the role that women played in Paleolithic and Neolithic culture.

What will be an ideal response?

The ideal answer should include:
- A description of the figurines: 4 to 5 inches high, exaggerated breast and bellies, and clearly delineated genitals.
- May have served as a form of nonverbal communication of shared values and ideals.
- Femaleness and the woman's body was a symbolic of fertility, and their presence in Paleolithic art was believed to perpetuate life-affirming concepts of womanhood and to signify that women played a key role in the culture.
- The frequent use of female imagery suggests that fertility had religious and spiritual significance.
- Paleolithic and Neolithic culture may have been matrilineal, and the female figures bridged the hunter/gather cultures with later farming practices through fertility and sustaining life.
- Recent findings have also suggested that the Neolithic female figures were more than fertility goddesses, and perhaps symbolized the transition from life to death.