Fertility of Paleolith - Attempt to Specify the Sign Meaning

Somatic symbolism as a paradigmal vector of Paliolithic isotexts interpretation is well-known in West-European paleoart criticism but is almost unknown in Russian practice. Its full potential hasn’t been realized yet and due to it there is a change of semantic accents in the contents of separate Paleolithic isotexts and in a definite case - in the portrayal of “stout” Venuses. According to the native historiographic inertia, the semantic specific features of the texts are defined by hypothetic feminine charge of Paleolithic culture, a woman’s peculiar visual leadership in realization of the theme of fertility, universal for every epoch. But the characteristic of the portrayals connected with the theme either doesn’t support the existing conception or needs the connotation correction of the pithiness of the main image. As a result of its new interpretation and in conformity with its full presentation of male and female symbolic spestra, there is a chance to consider pictorial symbolism of male fertility of Paleolith.

Keywords: “fertility triad” of Paleolithic culture, symbolism of “male fertility”, signs and symbols of Paleolithic culture, portrayal interpretation of Paleolith.

Fertility of Paleolith - Attempt to Specify the Sign Meaning