The term Bird goddess was coined by

Marija Gimbutas Marija Gimbutas ( lt, Marija Gimbutienė, ; January 23, 1921 – February 2, 1994) was a Lithuanian archaeologist and anthropologist known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of " Old Europe" and for her Kurgan hypothesis ...

with relation to figurines attributed to the neolithic

Vinca culture ''Vinca'' (; Latin: ''vincire'' "to bind, fetter") is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, native to Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. The English name periwinkle is shared with the related genus ''Catharanthus'' (an ...

. These figurines show female bodies combined with a bird's head. The interpretation as " goddess" is part of Gimbutas' program of

feminist archaeology Feminist archaeology employs a feminist perspective in interpreting past societies. It often focuses on gender, but also considers gender in tandem with other factors, such as sexuality, race, or class. Feminist archaeology has critiqued the ...

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 The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

. Griffen (2005) claims to have discovered a sign for the bird goddess in the

Vinča signs Vinča ( sr-cyr, Винча, ) is a suburban settlement of Belgrade, Serbia. It is part of the municipality of Grocka. Vinča-Belo Brdo, an important archaeological site that gives its name to the Neolithic Vinča culture, is located in the villa ...

. Gimbutas also identified a " Lady of the Beasts" (the female analogon of

Pashupati Pashupati (Sanskrit ''Paśupati''; devanagari पशुपति ) is a Hindu deity and an incarnation of the Hindu god Shiva as "lord of the animals". Pashupati is mainly worshipped in Nepal and India. Pashupati is also the national deity of Ne ...

), a

bear goddess Bear worship (also known as the bear cult or arctolatry) is the religious practice of the worshipping of bears found in many North Eurasian ethnic religions such as among the Sami, Nivkh, Ainu, Basques, Germanic peoples, Slavs and Finns. The ...

and a

snake goddess A snake goddess is a goddess associated with a snake theme. Examples include: * Meretseger ("She Who Loves Silence"), Egyptian snake goddess * Minoan snake goddess figurines, a type of figurine in Minoan archaeology *Renenutet, Egyptian snake godde ...

Literature

*Gimbutas, Marija and Campbell, Joseph, ''The Language of the Goddess'', Thames & Hudson (2001) Goddesses Legendary birds {{paganism-stub

See also

Literature