The Origin of Religion

Sasha Pena

Edson Ramirez

John McGinness

Christian Mora

Origin of religion

The origin of religion has been an ongoing debate among scholars throughout history. Were humans the first to use religion or was it the Neanderthals? One of the arguments used in the justification of Neanderthal’s having a religion is the burial of their dead. Often times they would bury their dead in a certain position, or with different items. Some argue that the burial of the dead was used to hide smells or keep away from predators. However, many scholars disagree and state burials were done purposely because the Neanderthal’s had a belief in the afterlife, ritual, and practiced some sort of religion.

The specific burial position of some Neanderthal corpses is further evidence suggesting some sort of belief of an afterlife. Numerous excavations have revealed Neanderthal bodies buried intentionally in the fetal position, occasionally lacking a skull. This body placement indicates some type of burial ritual in which the body is returned to the same position as it was at birth. Perhaps the Neanderthals believed in a continuous life cycle in which the deceased would be reborn after death. As for the missing skull in some of the graves, it is possible that the head was a very significant part of the body to the Neanderthals, and was therefore given a separate burial or used for an additional ritual. Skeptics argue that the position of the bodies was simply to save space in the grave, and that the removal of the skull does not necessarily indicate a religious motive. However, those objections do not explain the traces of perfumed oil found on some Neanderthal bodies. This technique of covering the corpse with oils is very similar to embalming procedures of modern day society. With all of these similarities it is difficult to rule out the idea that Neanderthals in fact maintained some type of spiritually, or at least had some awareness regarding the implications of death and life beyond it.

Many believe that Neanderthals had a purpose for burying one another. Through excavation many Neanderthals have been discovered with items. Through research it has been found that many Neanderthals practiced similar burial techniques as individuals today do. This idea is important because it gives us a chance to make inferences through artifacts. Many Neanderthals have been found to have pollen surrounding their bones. This brings up the idea they were purposefully put there.  Many try to debate that burrowing rodents could have put pollen there. If that indeed was true then what explains the medical herbs found buried with the bodies. The evidence of medical herbs shows that there was probably some type of medicine man among them. Some were even found surrounded by pine branches and as many as eight different types of flowers. There has also been evidence of tools such as axes and stones that have been buried with the dead. If indeed there was not a belief in an after life why would they burry tools that they can use in their lives for survival? It is hard to believe that this was not intentional because of the variety of different ways each body was found. There had to be some belief of after life because of the procedures that were taken for burials. They had to have some sort of concept in respecting the dead. They not only buried them, but also buried them in a specific way that is seen through out all the bodies that have been excavated. The ways that they were buried are very similar to the ways we burry one another today. Perhaps, these forms of burial may suggest some sort of religiosity or worship of a higher being or supernatural entity. We may not have sufficient evidence that strongly suggests that Neanderthals believed in these things. Burying the corpses with tools seems to be a logical reason as to why Neanderthals believed in an afterlife, but we are not sure.

 http://www.garvandwane.com/religion/early_religion.html

http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba66/feat1.shtml

http://www.scilogs.eu/en/blog/biology-of-religion/2009-10-17/the-burials-of-neanderthals-religion-evolved-at-least-two-times