© Peter Watson 2017 mammoth bones, how volcanic eruptions may be understood as ‘giant pillars’ of stone, how their eruptions are impressive evidence of an underworld with powerful forces, how storm gods became winged horsed and tsunamis ‘bulls from the sea’. On this basis, we may conclude that ancient people were perfectly aware of the miraculous nature of birth but they were no less aware, too, that it could be a sensitive, even perilous time, and so they recorded on their figurines the elaborate and detailed configurations of the female body which indicated that birth was imminent. Without being aware of the link between sexual union and birth, they could have had no conception of the biological rhythms governing gestation and so the bodily signs that birth was imminent would have been the only practical way they could know when to organize their lives so that the chances of a danger-free birth were minimized, perhaps by secluding the soon-to-be- mother in a favourite or familiar cave where predators could be kept at bay. In addition to everything else, then, these painted caves were sanctuaries, places of safety, not unlike churches in the contemporary world. The discovery of a small Venus statuette, carved from mammoth ivory, was announced in May 2009, having been excavated in the Hohler Fels caves in Germany and dated to 35,000 hears ago. Nicholas Conard, part of the excavating team at the University of Tubingen, noted that the figurine had exaggerated sexual features and a small loop where the head would be. He thought the statuette was ‘hung on a string and worn as a pendant.’ This fits the general picture and tends to confirm the statuettes were carried around, supporting the interpretation offered here. To repeat: the earliest figurines are recorded at 40,000-35,000 years ago, and they die out (the Venus of Monruz, Switzerland) about 11,000 years ago. Why? The dating is suggestive, being close to the time when mammals were first domesticated. Chapter 3: The Domestication of the Dog The domestication of animals has received a great deal of attention, but I am arguing that two important aspects have been generally overlooked.