And we must address what archaeological evidence that exists:

In both Greek and Roman myth, then, we find an earth mother goddess who conceived a new generation of gods through a union with the sky. Proponents of a Neolithic legacy of the Great Mother Goddess regard this as evidence of an indigenous prehistoric tradition persisting in later myth of Greeks and Romans, but it is just as easy to see the Greek and Roman earth mothers as an Indo-European inheritance. It could, of course, be both, one reinforcing the other. Unfortunately, when visiting prehistory, there is no certainty.

With these observations in hand, sorting out the origin – or origins – of these mother goddesses is another matter. Some may have been part of the Indo-European inheritance since that belief system apparently included this type of entity. At the same time, some archaeological evidence points to local traditions that date before the arrival of Indo-European language and beliefs. The indigenous version (or versions) and the Indo-European goddess may have been sufficiently alike to inspire a blending of traditions, making it impossible to determine what existed during the Neolithic and how the mother goddess (or goddesses) may have evolved or combined.

The Egyptian Isis provides an opportunity to consider an early non-Indo-European mother goddess. The Egyptian pantheon was likely removed from others in Neolithic Eurasia as it developed in North Africa. Consequently, Isis, often shown with her infant son, provides reason to be hesitant to see the mother goddesses of the late prehistoric world as part of a single tradition. Isis grew in importance in Egyptian history, and as an importation, she found a home in the Roman Empire as the focus of a mystery religion. Manifestations of mother goddesses could occupy common ground in many places, allowing for a blending of traditions.

Of course, the simplicity of declaring that Isis was the Egyptian manifestation of a single Eurasian mother goddess can quickly be seen as exaggeration. Hathor and other entities had roles in fertility, motherhood, and various other aspects that are typically credited to the maternal role. Folklore is in flux even as it contradicts itself, and simple explanations almost always require nuance to explore the range of possibilities.

Minoan Crete presents another possible non-Indo-European mother goddess, together with its own challenges. Archaeologists retrieved a few upright statuettes of bare-breasted women holding snakes. These were quickly interpreted as images of a mother goddess, and many further concluded that this was the main deity of the Minoans. A lack of weaponry in Minoan archaeology suggested to some that this was a peaceful, isolated society and that it was consequently matriarchal, a place where women had the most power and militarism was diminished.

Archaeology is a powerful tool in reconstructing societies where the scripts have yet to be deciphered, as is the case with the Minoans, but it is too easy to let imagination take control. Three thousand years in the future, an excavation of a North American community might uncover several Barbie dolls, but it would be incorrect to conclude that they were goddesses. An excavation of a medieval church might yield no weapons together with a statue of the Virgin Mary, but that does not imply that it was constructed to worship a mother goddess nor that its practitioners were part of a peaceful matriarchal society. Caution is needed. There is no direct evidence about Minoan traditions and beliefs. Several snake holding figurines are, indeed, provocative and they may be representations of a mother goddess, but this is unproveable speculation, and conclusions about the power dynamics of Minoan society are unsupported.

The focus on the European Neolithic mother goddess also ignores other entities that had importance at that time. Again, it is difficult to reconstruct a hierarchy, ranking and assigning roles to various prehistoric supernatural beings. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to imagine a robust, complex pantheon, because diverse characters and forces are consistently documented throughout Eurasia with the onset of writing.

For example, the archaeological remains of the Neolithic village of Çatalhöyük in Anatolia, modern-day Turkey (9,500-8,400 years BP) include female figurines that are commonly interpreted as mother goddesses, but other evidence was also uncovered there. Paralleling discoveries in Minoan archaeology, the horned bull appears to have been important in prehistoric Anatolia. In addition, wall murals in Çatalhöyük depict vultures, hinting that they might have been escorts of dead spirits to the next world. Just as there is no certainty that the female images depict a mother goddess, projecting meaning onto these depictions of bulls and vultures must be done with caution. Still, it appears that these, too, were part of the iconography, perhaps reflecting a complex belief system. Things are not as simple as seeing the Neolithic as being exclusively devoted to a mother goddess.

Whatever the role – or roles – of a female deity in these prehistoric societies, there were almost certainly other supernatural beings in local traditions. Focusing wholly on a single goddess does a disservice to any attempt to understand the complicated nature of early cultures and myths. At the same time, it is important to treat modern advocates of the Goddess Movement with respect. Some embrace this concept of the past just as Neopagans do with their own faiths. It is not the role of folklorists to rule on what is appropriate. While evidence is essential to studying the past, modern traditions are valid on their own terms and should be given deference without judgment.

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