The figurines range from relatively naturalistic — with recognizable body proportions and some suggestion of individual character — to highly abstract, reducing the form to its essential volumes.

Some appear to be clothed, the clothing indicated by engraved lines on the ivory surface; others appear unclothed or ambiguously clothed.

Some stand; others are recumbent.

The variations suggest not a rigid formula but a tradition flexible enough to accommodate different purposes or different makers.

Researchers have debated the meaning of these figurines for over a century without reaching consensus, and the honest position is that certainty remains out of reach.

The figurines may represent a female supernatural being or deity.