The Venus of Tan-Tan is a small piece of rock which gets its name from the Tan-Tan town in Morocco, near which it was discovered. The artifact is considered to be 500,000 to 300,000 years old, making it one of only two such objects of similar age which resemble a human figure. Though its shape is mostly a result of natural processes, some parts of it have been artificially modified. This has led to some calling it the oldest known human sculpture.
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The Key Questions
The Tan-Tan Venus is considered to belong to the Middle Acheulian period. The Acheulian is an archaeological period characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped “hand axes”. It is part of the Paleolithic era. Acheulian tools are older than Neanderthals and were used by Homo erectus, an extinct species of humans which was last known to be active 108,000 years ago.
The word Paleolithic is a combination of two Greek words palaios (old) and lithos (stone). Also known as the Old Stone Age, Paleolithic era covers almost the entire existence of humans from 2.58 million years ago till around 11,700 years ago. The Lower Paleolithic is the oldest Paleolithic period from c. 3,300,000 – c. 100,000 BCE. The Tan-Tan Venus belongs to the Lower Paleolithic era.
S1 – Discovery
Tan-Tan is a town in the Tan-Tan Province in south-western Morocco. The Tan-Tan Venus was discovered in 1999 in an archaeological expedition near the town along the banks of the Daraa River. The expedition was led by Lutz Fiedler, state archaeologist of Hessen in Germany. The object was discovered by Fiedler himself, only centimeters from the nearest hand-axes. Despite the small size of the object, the discovery of the Venus of Tan-Tan was considered groundbreaking due to the age of the object.
S2 – Description
The Tan-Tan Venus consists of moderately metamorphosed quartzite. It is a small object with the following dimensions: length – 58.2 mm; max width – 26.4 mm; thickness – 12 mm; and weighs around 10 grams. Analysis of the object indicates that its arms and legs were formed as a result of natural weathering. It is thought that it was first collected by hominids due to its appearance and then some part of it was modified artificially by percussion using a stone tool.
S3 – Age
The Tan-Tan Venus has not been dated accurately. It is thought to be of Middle Acheulian, which occurs between 500,000 and 300,000 BP in the region it was found. Along with the Venus of Berekhat Ram, the object is one of only two artifacts from the Lower Paleolithic period which resemble a human figure. As analysis suggests some artificial modification, the two small pebbles may be considered the world’s oldest human sculptures.
S4 – The Name Venus?
S5 – Paleolithic Art Overview
Main Sources
S1:-
(Apr 7, 2024). “Tan Tan’s oldest human sculpture in the world”. Maghreb Magazine.
S2,S3:-
Museums as Therapy. (Jun 2, 2021). “Before Art: Lower Paleolithic”. Medium.