BEFORE SEDENTARY SOCIETIES
On five continents, the first sedentary societies with an agricultural economy professed a religion which involved the entire community. Social rules and ideological concepts, sanctuaries and a priestly class were part of the package.
Before this “explosion of sanctuaries” which characterized the beginning of sedentary life based on food production, there were societies of hunters and food collectors which did not have a centralized authoritarian political structure. However, these hunter-gatherers had sanctuaries, produced immense galleries of conceptual rock art which illustrate their myths and beliefs, had initiation rites, and a class of senior wise-men able to understand the secrets of nature and the wishes of the spirits (Anati 1999).Religion implies the presence of rites and cults which are performed collectively. This pattern has been present ever since human groups gathered to perform burial practices, to request the help of ancestors to get water or food, or to stop drought. The younger generation was instructed in initiation by memorizing the myths and traditions of the clan. These practices appear to be at the roots of religion.
More on the topic BEFORE SEDENTARY SOCIETIES:
-
Conflictology -
Ecology -
Economy -
Finance -
History -
Law -
Medicine -
Philosophy -
Religious studies -