Neolithic bird representation
The term Bird goddess was coined by Marija Gimbutas with relation to figurines attributed to the neolithic Vinca culture. These figurines show female bodies combined with a bird's head. The interpretation as "goddess" is part of Gimbutas' program of feminist archaeology depicting the European neolithic as a "gynocentric" culture which would be ousted by the "patriarchal" Indo-European cultures with the onset of the Bronze Age.
Griffen (2005) claims to have discovered a sign for the bird goddess in the Vinča signs.
Gimbutas also identified a "Lady of the Beasts" (the female analogon of Pashupati), a bear goddess and a snake goddess.
See also
Literature
- Gimbutas, Marija and Campbell, Joseph, The Language of the Goddess, Thames & Hudson (2001) ISBN 0-500-28249-8
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