Value Judgements

Question 1

What is the history of Rhodesia

Answer 1

• established by Cecil Rhodes in the 1890s
• English interest in African resources
• discovered great Zimbabwe - theorized it was created by Mediterranean explorer

Question 2

Who challenged Rhodes theory on Great Zimbabwe

Answer 2

• Gertrude Caton-Thompson 1929
• discovered earliest levels date to the 14th century CE - more recent than previously thought
• construction is consistent with local villages

Question 3

Why was Caton-Thompsons findings not well received

Answer 3

• Was accepted that the previous timeline was off
• White colonists had to insist they were superior
• Caton-Thompsons team was entirely women, she was threatened and had to leave Rhodesia

Question 4

When were Caton-Thompsons findings accepted

Answer 4

• 1970s
• 1980 - Gb ceded territory, became the Republic of Zimbabwe

Question 5

What is a Venus Figurine

Answer 5

• figurine of a woman with ample proportions
• represents abundance and stability
• made from clay, bone and stone
• Willendorf Venus (Austria), Catalhyouk Venus

Question 6

What was the previous thought regarding Venus Figurines

Answer 6

• worship of a single goddess
• then male dominated societies arose and eliminated the matriarchal societies
• this spread into pop-culture - led to mother goddess cults

Question 7

What are the problems with Venus Figurines in academia

Answer 7

• no evidence of matriarchal societies
• most ancient cultures were polytheistic
• no proof figurines are of a divine being
• ignores the existence of male and animal figurines from the same cultures
• risky to assume a similar function of artifacts from geographically and chronologically distant cultures

Question 8

Why is Venus a poor name and what is their new name, and why is that also poor

Answer 8

• every figurine greatly predates the existence of Roman culture
• assumed the figures were for fertility, Venus was the patron of prostitutes
• Renamed Steatopygous - meaning fat-ass

Question 9

What is the fear of the phallus

Answer 9

• society uncomfortable with nudity and sexuality

Question 10

What is the Secret Cabinet and where is it

Answer 10

• Naples Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy 1750s
• designed to store finds from the Bay of Naples of a pornographic nature

Question 11

What was the previous issue with the secret cabinet

Answer 11

• limited access to those of a certain mental fortitude - men
• room was walled over and occasionally reopened with government permission
• separation from context alters meaning
• phallus was a symbol of luck and fertility, lessons about gods and morality, often found in private spaces (homes and brothels)

Question 12

What is the state of the secret cabinet

Answer 12

has been opened to the public since 2000