What do you think is the world's oldest religion ?
I think it's tree worship.
Money and power.
sharePower perhaps yes, power as witnessed in nature for example. Money is a relatively recent invention though.
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800-500 BC - Likely period of origins of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism
Some of these make extravagant claims for much earlier origin, absent archaeological evidence.
sun worshippers
shareSome type of sun worship makes sense as the first.
shareThat almost presupposes a neolithic/agrarian concept. Animism, venerating the prey & predator animals, plants, rocks & streams & seasons, also including the sun & moon - seems more suited to hunter-gatherers - a more general eyes-front concern & veneration and impetus for veneration/supplication.
Also ancestor worship. Which would have been reinforced, the instant humans started fitfully inhabiting locales with any pattern of returning.
And just what constitutes a religion? Is it more than just worship or veneration, but a system of belief?
shareI guess those are important distinctions. The great divide is literacy / writing. We're strongly biased to accord a reality/primacy to what we see recorded - but as Keelai indicated, those cave paintings clearly reflect a cultic practice. All those fat little fertility goddesses do too. I see it all as a continuum, as I do most things, being of the evolutionary bent, in my bones. :)
Among neolithic cultures, I think you have a solid point, since the Egyptians, likely the Sumerians & Americans clearly very early on were formally ritualistically worshipping the sun. I just don't tend to draw the line that late. I see that as a later abstraction, dependent upon a more mature cultural development.
The Secret aka: Law of Attraction aka: Manifestation.
Those cave paintings of humans hunting animals are ancient versions of "vision boards" to manifest successful hunts in real life.
Yes. Going back to the earliest stable human incursions into Europe, likely originating in less known/preserved artifacts/ritual practices in Africa / the Levant / points East & North.
shareI can’t tell if you’re looking for a serious answer or not but I’m about to nerd out on you:
EDIT: I had my reply window open while I was writing my post and didn’t see that Keelai & jriley555 covered most of what I wrote about.
(1) Shamanistic: There’s evidence for Shamanistic practices in both Europe and Africa that date back tens of thousands of years. Some archeologists and anthropologists argue these to be the earliest form of religious practices.
I should note that the claims regarding shamanism have been subjects of significant debate and skepticism within academia.
(2) Gobekli Tepe: Other archaeologists interpret the The Gobekli Tepe site located in modern-day Turkey as one of the earliest known sacred/religious/ceremonial sites, predating the Shamanistic sites I outlined in (1) and argue that the worshippers of the site were practicing an organized religion.
(3) Catalhoyuk Archeological site in Turkey: Another site found in modern day Turkey. This one from the Neolithic period (around 10,000-2,000 BCE) with evidence of early religious practices like shrines and wall paintings depicting animals and hunting scenes.
(4) Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia: There are surviving historical documents for this one. The Sumerians left behind some of the earliest religious texts, including “creation myths” and tales of gods and goddesses, that date back to around 3500-3000 BCE.
(5) Ancient Egyptian and Indus Valley civilizations: These also had their own intricate religious beliefs and practices around the same timeframe of (4) outlined above.
TL;DR There are competing claims among researchers as to what is the world's oldest religion.
My personal opinion: The shamanistic religions of early Africa seem most plausible, as this aligns with the prevailing view that this is where humans first originated.
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If anyone wants to go down the rabbit hole:
Clottes, J. (1996). Recent Studies on Palaeolithic Art. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 6(2), 179-189. doi:10.1017/S0959774300001700 https://bit.ly/3PIEaQj
Mellaart, J. (1967). Çatal Hüyük: A Neolithic Town in Anatolia. McGraw-Hill. https://archive.org/details/Catal-huyuk.ANeolithicTownInAnatolia
Lewis-Williams, J. D., & Dowson, T. A. (1990). Through the Veil: San Rock Paintings and the Rock Face. The South African Archaeological Bulletin, 45(151), 5–16. https://doi.org/10.2307/3887913
Schmidt, Klaus. (2011). Gobekli Tepe - The Stone Age Sanctuaries. New results of ongoing excavations with a special focus on sculptures and high reliefs. Documenta Praehistorica. 37. 239. 10.4312/dp.37.21. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270030960_Gobekli_Tepe_-_The_Stone_Age_Sanctuaries_New_results_of_ongoing_excavations_with_a_special_focus_on_sculptures_and_high_reliefs
Stein, R. L., & Stein, P. L. (2017). The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft (4th ed.). Routledge, Taylor & Francis.
Nice. Thanks.
shareCats
sharean·i·mism
1. the attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena.
You're right. share