Genealogy of Religion

Exploring the Origins, History and Future of Religion

Entries Tagged as 'Archaeology and Religion'

Viking Gate & Pagan Berserkers

August 28th, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, History of Religions, Pagans and Polytheism

Over at Spiegel, Matthias Schulz reports on a “sensational” archaeological find in Northern Germany.  In 808 CE, King Gottrik of Denmark ordered the construction of the longest earthwork in Europe.  It was approximately 19 miles long and had only a single gate (the “Danevirke”), which archaeologists are now excavating.
This was a turbulent time in Europe, [...]

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Acoustic Archaeology & Spiritual Soundscapes

August 27th, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, Ritual and Religion, Shamans and Shamanism

Over at the New Scientist, Trevor Price has written a splendid article about the relatively new and somewhat controversial field of acoustic archaeology.  Although it is easy to see how acoustical interpretations might run amok, the basic ideas are sound (sorry but I just had to) and thought provoking.  It hardly beggars the imagination to [...]

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Astronomy & Paleolithic Cave Paintings

August 23rd, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, Hunter-Gatherers and Religion, Shamans and Shamanism

Over at Seed, Holly Capelo provides a helpful survey of the various ways in which the famous Upper Paleolithic cave paintings — found primarily in France and Spain — have been interpreted over the last several decades.  The occasion for her survey, which strangely omits mention of David Lewis-Williams’ contention that the paintings were the [...]

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Bourdieu & Symbolic Power: The Archaeology of Proto-Religion

August 22nd, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, Cognition and Religion, History of Religions, Shamans and Shamanism

I just finished reading David Swartz’s superb article, “Bridging the Study of Culture and Religion: Pierre Bourdieu’s Political Economy of Symbolic Power” (open access), and must recommend it not only to cultural theorists but to archaeologists as well.  Several aspects of Bourdieu’s thought lend themselves readily to novel interpretations of what otherwise might appear to [...]

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Gallo-Roman Temple Complex Discovered

August 19th, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, History of Religions, Pagans and Polytheism, Ritual and Religion

Over at The Guardian, Pierre Le Hir reports on the discovery of an “enormous religious site” or temple complex in the French countryside near Le Mans, which during the first through third centuries common era (C.E.) was known as Vindunum.  As viewers of HBO’s spectacular but short-lived series “Rome” and readers of Julius Caesar’s Commentarii [...]

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Stone Age Sharia Execution

August 18th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Archaeology and Religion, Axial Age Religions, Morality and Religion

Over at the NYT, Rob Nordlund chillingly reports on the execution by stoning of a young couple in Afghanistan who had fallen in love and eloped.  The details are disgusting:
Mr. Khan said that as a Taliban mullah prepared to read the judgment of a religious court, the lovers, a 25-year-old man named Khayyam and a [...]

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The Art of Perception

August 15th, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, Cognition and Religion, Hunter-Gatherers and Religion, Shamans and Shamanism

How we perceive the external world is a fascinating subject that has long attracted the attention of great thinkers from Kant to Nietzsche.  Kant knew that we possessed some sort of interior filter that enables us to perceive the world and Nietzsche knew that this filtered perception was always an interpretation of the world.  Modern [...]

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Archaeology of Ritual & Viking Religion

August 13th, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, Classifications of Religion, Definitions of Religion, Hunter-Gatherers and Religion, Magic and Religion, Pagans and Polytheism, Ritual and Religion, Shamans and Shamanism

Archaeologists working in Europe have it good, really good.  Depending on one’s interests, you can research just about anything.  Paleoanthropologists can work on hominid evolution (i.e., Homo heidelbergensis, H. antecessor, H. neanderthalensis), while their colleagues can study a host of fascinating subjects, including the Upper Paleolithic transition, mesolithic hunter-gatherers, incipient agriculturalists, and the usual smattering [...]

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John the Baptist’s Remains Allegedly Found

August 10th, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, History of Religions, Ritual and Religion

The world of biblical archaeology and Christendom is all atwitter over the alleged discovery of John the Baptist’s remains, or at least a few of them.  As reported by Teresa Shipley at Discovery, the sparse remains consist of skull and hand fragments and a tooth.  They were found buried beneath the floor of a 5th [...]

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The Ancient Astronaut Religion

August 4th, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, Daily Devolutions, Recent and New Religions

I have attempted to watch every episode of the History Channel’s series on Ancient Astronauts.  Invariably, a time will come when I have to stop watching an episode because the commentary becomes so bizarre, speculative, and ridiculous that I just cannot take it any longer.
It is truly unfortunate that the so-called “History” Channel chooses to [...]

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