Germany, circa 40,000 BC

The hypnotic lilt of a flute drifted over the familiar crackling of the fire as the four girls crouched upon the cave floor, their faces having grown tense due to the gravity of the ceremony they'd been made to participate in.

Across from them, the village matriarch raised her arms in reverence to the goddess of fertility. She prayed for the girls to become plump and well-fed as they matured into womanhood, and for them to not only survive the harsh ordeal of childbirth but also beget healthy babies who would carry on the legacy of the tribe.

The smallest of the girls, who had managed to find a convenient position behind the others, rolled her eyes, knowing that very few women in reality could attain the corpulent figure that was possessed by their fertility goddess.

Finally, the matriarch's longwinded prayer came to an end, and she called each girl forward by name before presenting them with an ivory figurine carved in the goddess's likeness. Then, they made their way out of the cave and trudged back to their camp, with the flautist trailing behind and wiping her instrument against her woolly coat.

******

Austria, circa 28,000 BC

In a burst of creativity, the young man became determined to recreate the likeness of the beautiful woman who had danced alongside him during the ceremony a few nights earlier. He wandered the area belonging to his people in search of some stone that matched the woman's tanned skin, but alas, all he could find was green serpentine rock.

He returned home feeling a little disappointed but decided to make the best of the situation by asking one of his friends to mix some brown paint for later.

Afterwards, he got to work carving out an approximation of the woman's right arm mid-dance. He remembered it being extended into the air while her left hand had rested against her hip. As for her legs, he was sure they were on the stocky side, so he shaped them accordingly until he had a near-complete miniature of her form.

The only thing remaining was her head, which required a great deal of precision to get right. Unfortunately, he was far from a master, and he could only manage the general shape at best.

With weary breaths, he turned over the product of his labor and decided he had done a fine enough job. He could not reproduce the curly dark hair that had bounced ever so slightly when she'd bumped against him, but perhaps that was where dreaming came in.

So, he curled up with the carved figurine pressed against his chest while lying on animal skins that night. Sleep overcame him and a vision of the woman's smiling face put his mind at ease, allowing him to rest undisturbed all the way till dawn, when he was roused by his friends so they could set out on another hunt.

******

France, circa 23,000 BC

The chieftain's daughter's excited smile faded as time dragged on and she grew tired and bored of having to pose for her sculpture. She wanted badly to stretch her numb legs, but the sculptor gave a frown that indicated he was far from finished.

And so, she became resigned to her fate as the sound of scraping continued well into the afternoon, until at last, the sculptor set down his knife and showed her the finished product.

Relief washed over her as she recognized her own narrow eyes, robust nose, and the netted hood she wore to display her high status. She thanked the sculptor, then went on her way, eager to flaunt her new treasure to her family and anyone else who was interested.

******

Russia, circa 14,000 BC

When she was a child, her mother had carved a round little doll resembling a swaddled baby and given it to her to play with on long journeys.

As a young woman pregnant for the first time, she'd carved a figure in her own likeness and given it to her lover to remember her by in case she perished like so many before her.

During the birth of her second child, she'd clutched that same figure while screaming in agony, leaving several cracks in the ivory by the time the infant emerged covered in blood and gave their first cry.

In the end, the ravages of time caught up to her and she was buried alongside her most prized belongings, as well as one last figure which her family hoped would provide her with comfort in the afterlife.

They lowered their heads in grief after the final clump of soil was tossed onto her grave and embraced each other before leaving her behind to face the coming seasons with only the memory of her wisdom as guidance.

******

A/N: This story is something quite different that I got the idea to write after reading about the so-called Venus figurines and the various theories about their significance.

Given the fact that they have been found in multiple European locations and their ages span over thousands of years, I came to the conclusion that all of the theories have some merit, and these figurines probably meant different things to different people at different times.

Each section is loosely based on an actual figurine that was discovered, and the country names are just there for convenience since people back then wouldn't have had the same concept of nations that we do.

As for how I described the prehistoric Austrian woman, recent DNA evidence suggests that it took an incredibly long time for light skin to become the norm throughout Europe. Hence, I wrote her as being tanned/light brown.