Knowra Paleolithic religion Paleolithic religion Paleolithic religion comprises beliefs and practices attributed to people of the Paleolithic, inferred from evidence such as burials, figurines, and cave art. Its meanings remain uncertain because material traces rarely reveal beliefs directly.
Qafzeh 11 : A Middle Paleolithic human burial at Qafzeh Cave in Israel, associated with red ochre and deer antlers. Its grave goods are among the evidence used to argue that Neanderthals and early humans practiced ritual burial.
Archaeology of religion : The study of religious beliefs and practices through material remains and their archaeological contexts. It provides methods for assessing religious interpretations without treating them as directly observable.
Paleolithic : The prehistoric era characterized by stone tools, extending from the earliest human toolmaking to the adoption of farming. Its long timespan and varied societies caution against treating Paleolithic religion as a single tradition.
Animism : A broad category for beliefs that attribute personhood or spiritual agency to animals, plants, places, or other entities. It is often proposed as an interpretation of Paleolithic imagery, but cannot be assumed from animal depictions alone.
Shanidar 4 : A Neanderthal burial at Shanidar Cave in Iraq, once interpreted as containing deliberately placed flowers. The disputed flower-burial interpretation shows how uncertain ritual claims can be.
Ritual : A patterned action distinguished by symbolic or customary significance, often performed in a socially recognized setting. Repetition and deliberate deposition may suggest ritual, but archaeological traces rarely prove it.
Mortuary practice : The customs and actions through which a society treats the dead. Burial patterns provide some of the strongest material clues to beliefs about death.
Shamanism : A diverse set of religious practices involving specialists who engage with spirits or altered states of consciousness. Shamanic readings of cave art are influential but rely on analogies that archaeological evidence cannot confirm.
Venus of Willendorf : An Upper Paleolithic limestone figurine of a female figure, found in Austria and dated to about 29,000 years ago. Its purpose is unknown, making it a prominent test case for claims about prehistoric religion.
Taphonomy : The study of the processes that affect remains between deposition and archaeological discovery. Natural processes can imitate deliberate arrangements in graves and other deposits.
Show all 21