(no subject)
Oct. 23rd, 2006 08:24 pmaround 9,500BC, according to Cauvin, we see dawning in the Levant 'in a still unchanged economic context of hunting and gathering', the development of two dominat symbolic figures, the Woman and the Bull. The Woman is the supreme figure, he says, often shown as giving birth to a Bull.
Cauvin sees in this the true origin of religion. His main point is that this is the first time humans have been represented as gods, that the femalie and male principle are both represented, and that this marked achange in mentality before the domestication of plants and animals took place. It is easier to see why the female should be chosen rather than the male. The female form is a symbol of fertility. At a time when child mortality was high, true fertility would have been highly prized. Such worship was designed to ensure the well-being of the tribe or family unit. Ibid. p 60
cf: be fruitful and multiply