Ancient fertility ritual artifacts as culture-oriented product designs in global digital business: the venus of Willendorf in an eBay case study

Abstract

Fertility ritual artifacts have been embedded in human history since the early Stone Age, associated with wishes for human, animal, and agricultural fertility. In the modern context, these artifacts extend beyond their historical and academic value, transforming into culture-oriented product designs disseminated through today’s global digital e-commerce platforms. This transformation intersects multiple disciplines, including archaeology, anthropology, business studies, integrated design, digital technology etc. The aim of this study is to investigate how ancient fertility ritual artifacts are transformed into culture-oriented product designs within today’s global digital business. The research pursues two objectives: (1) to identify the tangible and intangible aspects of ancient fertility ritual artifacts, and (2) to examine how these aspects are integrated into culture-oriented product designs through a multidisciplinary approach within contemporary business practices. A qualitative visual ethnographic method was adopted, using the eBay ecommerce platform as a case study and the Venus of Willendorf as the sample artifact for data collection. Findings indicate that ancient fertility artifacts have been transformed into diverse product categories that preserve key conceptual features while incorporating modern design adaptations linked to tangible aspects of the digitized marketplace. At the same time, intangible concepts such as fertility, femininity, motherhood, protection, prosperity, and goddess symbolism remain central in these reinterpretations. Collectively, this study demonstrates how prehistoric symbolism continues to inspire design innovation within global consumer culture.