According to signage at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, nude female figurines cupping their breasts emphasize fertility. While we may be in no position to question the scholars who assert this, my older daughter and I do wonder if it is possible that the pose might simply emphasize “being a woman.” Certainly, cupping one’s own breasts can be a sexual display (fertility). But sometimes women just hoist ‘em: when wondering when we will need a real bra, for example; when aching during menstruation or before nursing; when lamenting the southerly migration of our once-fine assets; and apparently when seeking to reduce stress.

The plaque for the figure with the incised archer (pictured above) indicates that the piece, dated between 900 and 550 BC, was crafted eight thousand years after the earliest examples of female figures holding their breasts. And now we also wonder how, of all of the possible attributes, gestures, tasks, work, etc., this one pose became the artistic representation of “woman” across millennia.