Prehistoric Poontang

Archeologists have found more than 200 clay figurines, dating from the Ice Age (30,000 to 20,000 years ago) in digs ranging from France to Russia. The icons show large-breasted, faceless, round-bellied women, with prominent vaginas. The more detailed Venus figurines show the labia and the clitoris. There are no comparable figures for post-Neanderthal males. Teaching aids? Fertility charms? Religious icons? Jonathon Margolin, author of O: The Intimate History of the Orgasm, suggests they might be the first porn, something hunters took on the caveman equivalent of business trips.

Credit for the first full frontal in Western art goes to Gustave Courbet, whose 1866 painting "L'Origine du Monde" shows a full-thatched reclining figure, legs spread. It is on permanent display at the Musee D'Orsay in Paris.

In 1890, Auguste Rodin worked on several studies for what became "Iris: Messenger of the Gods." The figure shows the headless torso of a woman, leg raised in a limber, lusty yoga pose, private parts spread like petals. A bronze is on display at Rodin's studio/museum in Paris.