Paleolithic Religion The Genesis Of Belief Essay

Anthropology is the study of humanity. One of the questions the discipline has striven to answer from its very conception is the question of what it is that ultimately makes us human. Where is that unique distinction that takes us from being just another creature populating the world and the fossil record and pushes us that next step to something more? According to Donald Johanson in his book From Lucy To Language, A human is any of the species Homo sapiens (â€Å"wise man†), the only modern living member of the family Hominidae. The Hominidae, or hominids, are a group of upright-walking primates with relatively large brains. So all humans are hominids, though not all hominids could be called human. (1) Under this definition, we are in†¦show more content†¦We â€Å"...can draw on neither inscriptions nor texts; nor can [we] question prehistoric people about their beliefs† (Hinnells 4). But these first religious practitioners did not leave us totally without record of their beliefs and their lives. Perhaps one of the best sources of information on Paleolithic belief comes as close to straight from the mouths of these ancient peoples as possible – or, rather, from their fingers. These records are the art they left behind, decorating stone walls all across the globe with incredibly consistent images of running animals and spear-carrying hunters. Pictures of people seemingly crossed with those animals, and of surprisingly anatomically accurate depictions of all creatures great and small. We cannot â€Å"read† these images and marks. Nevertheless, an extraordinarily complex composition has begun to seem organized, purposeful, notational, and part of a tradition that composed storied sequences or sums with a repertoire of images. This way of thinking is one we can understand. (Marshack 212) By this assumption, the images are not simply pictures. They are part of a deeper symbolism that seems to have ranged all across the globe;Show MoreRelatedScience Of Biology And The Greatest Conflict1316 Words   |  6 PagesReligion has been a source of conflict in this world since the Bible proclaimed â€Å"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. There would be other conflicts that would arise because of religion and thousands if not millions would die because Sara sent her handmaiden, Hagar, to Abraham’s bed and conceived Ishmael. Conflict has defined humankind since the dawn of time and the greatest conflict has been: how did it all begin? Intelligent Design is yet another challenger to creationism andRead MoreA True Religion1479 Words   |  6 PagesA True Religion â€Å"A true religion makes hope possible rather than despair convincing† Religions come in all forms but essentially serve the same purpose in human’s lives. By definition, religion is â€Å"human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine† (Webster 1). It is commonly associated with a person’s relation to God or gods or spirits. Worshiping and following religious doctrines is a main cause for followers’ behaviors and a societies socialRead MoreAgrarian Magic: 20 Theories on the Origin of Religion8239 Words   |  33 PagesAgrarian Magic: 20 Theories on the Origin of Religion Religion is a species-specific human universal phenomenon, complex, full of paradoxes, and found in all cultures. Social scientists and anthropologists since the late 17th century have attempted to rationally answer questions about religion, and while we cant evaluate the veracity of religion’s claims, we can attempt to understand its functions. The methods of comparative religion, comparative mythology, with interdisciplinary analysisRead MoreEssay about Summary of History of Graphic Design by Meggs14945 Words   |  60 PagesChapter 1: The Invention of Writing - From the early Paleolithic to the Neolithic period (35,000 BC to 4,000 BC), early Africans and Europeans left paintings in caves, including the Lascaux caves in Southern France. - Early pictures were made for survival and for utilitarian and ritualistic purposes. - Petroglyphs are carved or scratched signs on rock. - These images became symbols for what would be the first spokenlanguage. - Cuneiform – Wedged shaped writing, created in 3000BC. Started