Women have been represented in sculptures before humans invented language. The oldest female figures date to the Upper Paleolithic period. Most were carved between 26,000 to 37,000 years ago. Collectively they are called “Venus figurines”, and they are the earliest representations of humans. Here are notable examples of such figurines.

The earliest Venus figurines – dating back to about 37,000 years ago – were carved in a highly abstract form with virile body features but devolved of facial details. Then, about 25,000 years ago, an Upper Paleolithic artist picked up a piece of mammoth ivory and decided to carve a woman in far greater detail than his predecessors. This figurine is known as the Venus of Brassempouy, after the place in France where it was unearthed in 1894 along with eight other figurines. Although small in size (she is only 3.65 cm high), the Venus of Brassempouy is one of the oldest known realistic representation of a human face.

The Venus of Brassempouy has a triangular face and a gracefully curved chin but no mouth. Her facial features are the first thing that catches the eyes. This includes her well-defined noise, intense eyes and deep brows carved in relief. In addition, the artist has decorated her head with a fully coiffed hairdo, which he accomplished by carving a checkboard pattern of shallow incisions at right angles to each other.

Like other Venus figurines, it is unclear why the Venus of Brassempouy was made, though the realistic representation suggests that she may been used as a doll or a representation of female beauty. Whatever the reasons, the sculpture is an artistic breakthrough. She is among the earliest material evidence of the human quest for beauty and the role that ornamentation plays in shaping that ideal.