Signed Declaration Student I declare that the work presented in this thesis is the result of my own independent research

for a Bachelor Arts Honours Degree (Archaeology) at the University of Queensland and was completed during 2012-2013, except where otherwise acknowledged. This material has not been submitted either in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other university. Name: Jessica Heidrich Signature: ___________________________________________

Supervisor's Certificate of Approval I certify that I have read the final draft of this thesis and it is ready for submission in accordance with the thesis requirements as set out in the School of Social Science policy documents. Name: Dr. Chris Clarkson Signature: ______________________________________________

Supervisor's Certificate of Approval I certify that I have read the final draft of this thesis and it is ready for submission in accordance with the thesis requirements as set out in the School of Social Science policy documents. Name: Dr. Ceri Shipton Signature: ______________________________________________

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF APPENDICES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION Research Question and Aims Rationale Approach Scope Chapter Outlines CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND The Venus Figurines: Introduction Historiography The Upper Palaeolithic Morphological Approaches Cladistics: The Development of Cladistic Methods Culture History and Archaeology Evolutionary Theory Phylogenetics Archaeological Applications of Cladistics Cultural Transmission Limitations of Phylogenetics Phylogenetics and Venus Figurines Hypothesis Development CHAPTER 3 - METHODS Overview and Objectives Dataset Morphological Analysis Character Selection Out-Group Selection Temporal and Geographic Parameters Hypothetical Trees 24 24 25 25 26 26 27
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v vi vii viii 1 4 4 5 6 6 7 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 17 18 19 21 22

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Cladistic Analysis Interpretative Framework Assumptions and Limitations Expectations CHAPTER 4 - RESULTS Morphology Temporal and Geographic Distribution PAST PAUP Comparison of PAST/PAUP Data MESQUITE Summary CHAPTER 5 - DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Discussion Conclusion Future Recommendations APPENDICES Appendix I Appendix II Appendix III Appendix IV Appendix V Appendix VI Appendix VII Appendix VIII Appendix IX Appendix X Appendix XI Appendix XII Appendix XIII REFERENCES CITED ON-LINE REFERENCES CITED 55 58 62 67 71 72 76 78 86 87 88 90 114 115 132
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27 29 30 31 32 34 36 36 38 42 42 45 51 52

LIST OF FIGURES Page

Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Fig. 8 Fig. 9

Image of Losange el Rombo, Menton, Willendorf and Kostenki Venuses Image of Dolni Vestonice Venus Image of Hohle Fels Venus The approximate geographic distribution of the 24 Venuses in the dataset Table of character-states exhibited by more than 50% of dataset Table showing the geographical location of Venus figurines Table showing the temporal distribution of Venus figurines Maximum parsimony tree generated in PAST Phylogram of maximum parsimony tree generated in PAST

2 8 8 9 33 35 35 37 37 39 39 40 41 42 43 43

Fig. 10 Parsimony tree 1 of 5 generated in PAUP heuristic search Fig. 11 Strict consensus tree of the 6 generated in PAUP heuristic search Fig. 12 Phylogram of the bootstrap heuristic search results generated in PAUP Fig. 13 Approximate phylogenetic distance separating figurines from out-group Fig. 14 Tree of Venuses dated 25-30,000 yrs BP relative to out-group Fig. 15 Tree of Venuses dated 20-25,000 yrs BP relative to out-group Fig. 16 Tree of Venuses dated 15-20,000 yrs BP relative to out-group

LIST OF APPENDICES Page Appendix I Appendix II Appendix III Appendix IV Appendix V Appendix VI Appendix VII Appendix VIII Appendix IX Appendix X Appendix XI Appendix XII Dataset inclusion-exclusion criteria Final dataset of 24 Venus figurines with credited images Testable characters and character-states Character-state data matrix derived from morphological analysis Numerical character statements Maps of the geographic distribution of Venuses over time Hypothetical trees of Venuses' temporal and geographic distribution PAUP command log Table of PAUP cladistic analyses Character-state matrix in PAUP compatible format Heuristic search trees MESQUITE character trees 55 58 62 67 71 72 76 78 86 87 88 90 114

Appendix XIII Consistency (CI) and retention (RI) index scores

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ABSTRACT The form of cultural artefacts reflects a specific history. However, the methodology of inferring that history and of reconstructing relationships between existing and new artefact forms has often been lacking in the archaeological discipline. This is unfortunate given that characterising morphological variation among artefacts is pertinent to developing a comprehensive understanding of the factors that generate and maintain cultural change.

This thesis aimed to address this by re-examining the morphological composition of a set of Upper Palaeolithic Venus figurines from a phylogenetic perspective. Venus figurines are a unique archaeological phenomenon characterised by exaggerated formal characteristics and a discernible temporal and geographic pattern to their occurrence. Yet, current knowledge of the nature and development of their morphology, is far from exhaustive. The intention was to generate new morphological data and to use cladistic methods to test whether the distribution of morphological characters could inform new understandings of the evolution of Venus figurine morphology across time and space.

This study identified that the morphological composition of Venus figurines is variable and a function of their geographic distance/proximity. However, the produced phylogenetic patterns conflicted with the relationships observed among Venus figurines. Although the results are preliminary, it was concluded that that distribution of morphological characteristics among these Venuses, are best explained by a combination of branching and blending processes of cultural transmission, rather than a phylogenetic history based exclusively on common ancestry. This demonstrates that Venus figurines are not necessarily a coherent, homogenous cultural phenomenon, but rather, a variable, yet still historical group of artefacts maintained by the differential innovation and representation of morphological characteristics.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was undertaken with the invaluable assistance of my two supervisors, Dr. Chris Clarkson and Dr. Ceri Shipton of the Archaeology Department, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland. I would like to sincerely thank them for their advice, guidance and continued encouragement throughout the development of this Honours thesis. Thanks must also go to Dr. Mark Collard, who provided repeated guidance in developing the phylogenetic methodology for this research.

I must also acknowledge the following museums and universities for their generous contribution of high-quality images for morphological analysis of the Venus figurines. Specifically, I would like to extend my thanks to Mario Mineo, Chief Archaeologist Coordinator of the National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography "Luigi Pigorini" and Sibylle Wolf of the University of Tbingen, Germany.

National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography "Luigi Pigorini" Naturhistorisches Museum Wien St Petersburg State Hermitage Museum University of Tbingen, Institut fr Ur- und Frhgeschichte und Archologie des Mittelalters

I also acknowledge McCoid and McDermott (1996:320) and Leroi-Gourhan (1968) for the title page image. Lastly, I have a debt of gratitude to the archaeologists, scholars and website producers discussed in this thesis, whose shared interest in Venus figurines and phylogenetic methodology made this research possible.

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