Episode 49: Fertility Goddesses

Happy February, someone let me off this ride. A lot of smart people have argued that prehistoric human societies were more matrifocal, more cooperative, and less violent. These same smart people also theorize that many (if not most) primitive societies featured a religion based around ideas of fertility and motherhood. While y’all may are not be here for gendered interpretations of what defines fertility, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, and crops, we here at BYWAP can assure you that this is one hell of a goddess roundup.

Join us as we celebrate our queen, The Venus of Willendorf; yell about gender, and gendered language, and the limits of academic creativity for naming; stare in awe and terror at half of these hot girls who do hot shit; and appreciate the line “clearly depicted sexual attributes suggest that they are a direct or indirect expression of fertility” from archeologist Nicholas Conrad, who we dunk on for nearly this whole episode.

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Our music was written and recorded by Elene Kadagidze.

Our cover art was designed by Lindsey Anton-Wood.

List of Public Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fertility_deities

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Willendorf

• https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-prehistoric-venus-figurines-mystify-experts

• https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/fertility-goddesses-0013064

• http://www.catalhoyuk.com/node/736

• https://archaeotravel.eu/image-of-the-goddess-between-matriarchy-and-patriarchy/

• https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/burney-relief-0011860

• https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/burney-relief-0011860

• https://artsandculture.google.com/usergallery/chola-bronze-sculptures/RQLCN9ooNwAsLA

• https://www.livius.org/articles/religion/artemis-of-ephesus/

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpM-pfh-WWo&feature=emb_logo

• https://www.artspace.com/magazine/art_101/book_report/phaidon-goddess-list-53182