As nomadic tribes began to settle into small farming communities, their deities evolved to reflect their changing cultural values. Although many of the same iconography continued well past the Neolithic period, the female forms began to include male images as matriarchal societies coalesced into patriarchies. At first, the male figures were less prominent than the
female, taking the position of the son or consort, and for many Neolithic
centuries, this son/lover of the Great Goddess is the only thing approaching a male god to be found" (Sjoo 71).
As people spread throughout Europe and the Near East, cities emerged and gods grew in significance while still not yet dwarfing the importance of the Goddess in society. 
Goddess worship is as old as humankind. Archetypical
goddesses evolved in the furthest reaches of prehistory, too far back to trace,
and millennia before written documentation (Leeming 7). What we have in lieu of writings are over 200 female figures unearthed at various Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic excavations, all with seemingly common traits, which have been assigned multiple interpretations by many archaeologists. Feminist Archaeologist, Marija Gimbutas is one of several leading scientists who have examined the artifacts available and have drawn the conclusion that our ancient ancestors were matrilineal and goddess worshipping. Gimbutas and others rely heavily on symbolic imagery to support their theses, pointing to figures and cave paintings dating back to the Upper Paleolithic as evidence. The rock engravings of vulvas found at Abri Blanchard in Castlemarle have been dated at approximately 30,000 BCE and the so-called Venuses of Laussel and Willendorf at around 25,000 BCE. Common traits exhibited in prehistoric artifacts include exaggerated female reproductive parts and emphasis on certain aspects of the body, such as breasts or thighs, with detailed attention to the limbs and indescript faces. Later Neolithic findings show less abstract representations of reproduction, perhaps indicating the natural female anatomy
(which) shows up again later in the goddess figurines of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East" (Gadon 15). Goddess symbols, figurines and cave designs extant during the Paleolithic era became even more dominant in the Neolithic Age. The lush, fertile Mother Goddess of the Ice Age evolved into a pregnant (or birthing) vegetation goddess in old Europe (who) in time (progressed) into Demeter, the grain
goddess
in late antiquity" (Gadon 22). 
This type of image was often found in caves and on stone walls, carved or designed around the natural crevices and curves of the surfaces. It can be hypothesized, from the number of these images available to examine, that many ancient cultures revered pregnancy and childbirth as something mystical or inexplicable.
In the 1960s, Archaeologist James Mellaart unearthed an Anatolian city called Çatal Hüyük, which proved to be a center for goddess worship in Neolithic
times.
As civilization flourished, Goddess worship spread, grew and changed. Agricultural societies and cities had different needs than small, nomadic tribes, and by necessity, their deities changed to reflect those requirements. Simple fertility goddesses gave way to complex goddesses with complete histories, specific functions and names. The simple bone and stone images of the Paleolithic and Neolithic worlds were replaced by detailed sculptures made of clay, wood, shell and other materials. Goddesses began to take clear shape and forms to become recognizable by appearance and iconography. As civilization advanced, so too did the objects of worship.
