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Jean-Claude Margueron, Mari, mÉtropole de l’euphrate au iiie et au debut du iie millÉnaire av j.c.

ANCIENT—EVEN 3,000 YEARS AGO. The association of a tree-and-ibex motif with the female pubic triangle dates back thousands of years before it appeared on the Revadim amulet in 1250 B.C.E. A stylized form can be seen here at the bottom of a stone stela from 3000 B.C.E. found in a favissa (cultic repository) of the temple of the mother-goddess Ninhursag at Mari. To the upper left and right of the pubic triangle, one vertical tree stands on each side. Surrounding the trees and the triangle are several simplified depictions of ibexes with zigzagging antlers. The tree and ibex on each upper thigh of the woman on the Revadim plaque were probably intended to invoke the protection of an unidentified goddess during pregnancy and delivery.