The Origins of Religion in the Paleolithic The Origins of Religion in the Paleolithic Gregory J. Wightman ROWMAN&LITTLEFIELD Lanham•Boulder•NewYork•London PublishedbyRowman&Littlefield Awhollyownedsubsidiaryof TheRowman&LittlefieldPublishingGroup,Inc. 4501ForbesBoulevard,Suite200,Lanham,Maryland20706 www.rowman.com UnitA,WhitacreMews,26-34StannaryStreet,LondonSE114AB, UnitedKingdom Copyright©2015byRowman&Littlefield Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyany electronicormechanicalmeans,includinginformationstorageandretrievalsystems, withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewerwhomayquote passagesinareview. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationInformationAvailable LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Wightman,G.J. TheoriginsofreligioninthePaleolithic/GregoryJ.Wightman. pagescm Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-1-4422-4289-0(cloth:alk.paper)—ISBN978-1-4422-4290-6(electronic)1.Religion, Prehistoric.2.Prehistoricpeoples—Psychology.3.Materialculture.4.Cognitionandculture.5. Paleolithicperiod.6.Archaeologyandreligion.I.Title. GN799.R4W542015 201'.42—dc23 2014037273 TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica ForBasil,whoopenedmymindtothepossibilities, andElizabeth,whohashelpedmetorealizethem Contents ListofFigures ix Maps xi 1 Introduction 1 PartI:TheEmbodiedBrain:NeuropsychologyandReligiousRitual 15 2 MirroringandEmpathy 17 3 ActinginConcert 25 SynchronyandJointAction 25 Synchrony,Mirroring,andRitual 34 4 TheMalleableBrain 37 5 RitualizingSoundandMovement 49 Notes 60 6 ProjectingtheSelf 61 SensedPresences 61 Anthropomorphism 66 7 ExternalAgents 79 UltimateSourcesofPower 79 Ethics,Morality,andCompliance 84 SupernaturalAgents 87 8 Language,Ritual,andReligion 97 Note 105 9 DynamicFieldsofConsciousness 107 10 PrivateandCorporateRitual 119 PartII:TheEmbeddedBody:FromRoutinestoRitualsthrough MaterialEngagements 131 11 FirstStirrings 133 Antecedents,6.0–3.5mya 133 ArchaicHominins,3.5–1.7mya 139 Notes 147 12 NegotiatingLand 149 MovingthroughLand 149 StoppingPlaces 151 vii viii Contents Fire 155 MonumentalizingtheLandscape 157 13 Tools,Minds,andRituals 159 14 MakingaMark 171 EmergenceofMarking 171 ObjectCurationandAnthropomorphism 172 ManipulationofColoredPigments 174 MarkingtheLivingBody 177 15 DeathandBeyond 181 DeathAwareness 181 NeanderthalBurials 187 AnimalBurialsandBoneCaching 195 Notes 197 16 AfricanSapients,200–50kya 199 MonumentsandLandscapeMarking 201 Materialsas“Symbols” 208 BurialRituals 217 Notes 218 17 TheEmergenceofReligiousRitual 219 BeforethePaleolithic 219 TheLowerPaleolithic 222 TheMiddlePaleolithic 227 LookingForward 232 References 237 Index 279 AbouttheAuthor 293