According to the author, the vocabulary and concepts of Amharic and Tigrigna are concealed in the hieroglyphs. A person who can read hieroglyphs and knows Amharic and Tigrigna can decipher the mystery hidden behind the hieroglyphs. While it will be a great surprise to the world at large if Mr. Legesse Allyn’s discovery proves to be valid, it might not be that big of a surprise to Ethiopians and Eritreans in particular.
As such, if his discovery is real, it is phenomenal and revolutionary. Its impact on the study of hieroglyphs, Amharic and Tigrigna languages, as well as on the history of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, is tremendous. Moreover, open-minded Egyptologists, as well as those who study the regions of today’s Ethiopia and Eritrea, can benefit a lot from his work. Even the skeptics will have to examine it before they decide to reject or accept it.
Legesse’s most recent subject relates to addressing women’s rights through an ancient women’s rights perspective:
Legesse Allyn Is Available To Speak At Your Meeting or Event
Legesse Allyn is available to speak at your school, university, group, or meeting. His latest speaking series is entitled, “When A Dead Language Is Discovered Alive: The Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Language.”
Legesse Allyn will be writing part of his next book at a bookstore near you. Come and watch live as he meticulously matches words to the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic language, English and other languages around the world for his next book. You’ll see that when people began leaving Africa fifty thousand years ago to populate the rest of the world, they took African language with them.
Come and bring the whole family to have your names written in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and learn the original Ethiopian meaning of your names. Watch him as he writes his next book and he’ll even autograph one of his current books for you. While you’re there you can even sign up to support his Kickstarter campaign to produce his upcoming documentary, “The Ethiopian Roots of English Language.” To find out which bookstore he’ll be at next near you, send an e-mail with your city and state to events@ancientgebts.org.
Amarigna & Tigrigna Qal Hieroglyphs 14-Word Sample Page (book contains over 600 words)
Setting up messages for Doing the recorded video:
Hi Legesse,
I am available next week to do a recorded video from Tuesday to Friday. I have done like 80 interview chats so it will not be my first time. I prefer educational than debate but I am good at debating too, I just prefer knowledge sharing to educate others. I like a multi-modality approach to Religion origins mainly use thinking from archaeology, anthropology, ethnography, prehistoric-art/architecture, linguistics, and generics. I look forward to chatting with you.
Kind Regards, Damien
Hello, Damien:
I agree with you, I also prefer educational interviews and sharing knowledge.
You can see my debate “style” (if you can call it that) at an online Egyptology forum I participated in for two weeks immediately following the publishing of my first book, which is to answer questions with questions when attacked (haha)…
So, again, yes, like you I prefer providing information to educate. In fact, I’ve published school curriculum in the past, the Africa-In-Our-Schools National School Program, which was endorsed by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest school district in the US. And one of my recent book series, “The Ethiopian Culture of Ancient Egypt,” was actually developed at the suggestion and guidance of an editor, Will Slattery, at middle school textbook publisher, Social Studies School Service (www.socialstudies.com). While most of my books are purchased by PhDs, this unique book series is popular with regular readers. Many people who’ve purchased copies of this book series have posted photos of themselves with the books online.
For my “Roots of Languages” book series, I published the 8-volume book series in cooperation with Doug Harper of the Online Etymology Dictionary (www.etymonline.com), with each volume reprinting by permission etymologies from Etymonline.com. The unique book series shows 8 languages (English, Spanish, German, Russian, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese and Hebrew) all rooted in what ancient historian Diodorus Siculus and I identified as the language of the hieroglyphs, as well as the language the ancient Greeks translated the Greek message into, written in hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone.
Each volume of the “Roots of Languages” book series utilizes the same basic set of 100 words to show all languages are related. More than that, though, it seeks show that when people left Africa 50,000 years ago, they took language with them, which coincidentally turns out to also be the language of the hieroglyphs. An upcoming series “Roots of Religion” will show the same for religion, showing the world’s traditional religions being all related, and that when people left Africa, they also took religion with them. I have done interviews online and by phone, but I’ve also spoken to groups, including participating in talks about cosmopolitan African culture at universities such as Loyola Marymount and UCLA. But I’m not a professional speaker, though I do enjoy speaking to groups about the topics I write about.
In terms of religion origins, I primarily focus on language, utilizing DNA research, anthropology, archaeology, and other sciences for supporting and comparative data. If you’d like us to have a discussion by phone prior to the recorded chat, I would be open to that, as it could help provide you some familiarization about my work that you could reference in the recorded chat. Also, all my books are available for free online reading and downloading, including my recent retranslations of the underlying text of the Bible, at… https://www.slideshare.net/LegesseAllyn/documents
In this blog, I will mostly address the evidence of writing, as it is what we can prove. However, to me, language or shared speech, in a general way, is likely pre-modern human.
Noam Chomsky, a prominent proponent of discontinuity theory, argues that a single chance mutation occurred in one individual in the order of 100,000 years ago, installing the language faculty (a component of the mid-brain) in “perfect” or “near-perfect” form. ref
Now for my thoughts on the “Roots of Languages” start around 100,000 years ago with the emergence of meaningful symbolism in Africa with Animism. Which then becomes more developed after 50,000 years ago with Totemism.
Which took it to a few different areas but defiantly is seen in a new way as it moved north to the step lands of Eastern Europe and the Proto-Indo-European language as well as south into Jordan and Israel by 6,500 to 6,000 years ago at which time it then moves to Egypt becoming more advanced with the emergence of an emerging nation of Egypt around 5,000 years ago as well as Mesopotamia with Progressed organized religion.
Great. I am happy to follow your lead and contribute to the conversation what I understand from my research.
Thanks. Lagesse
Hello Legesse,
Yes, great, I have done a few interview chats with the other person audio, with only myself on video. I will make an accompanying blog with all the info on you with books and links like a promotional blog. Here are a few examples so you understand:
Let’s do it Wednesday I am on Pacific time, so whenever it is good for you is cool to me.
Kind regards, Damien
Hi Lagesse,
That sounds great thank you, I look forward to it. I enjoy talking to informed thoughtful people. We rise by helping each other.
Hello Damien:
Attached are my recent retranslations of the underlying text of the Bible, which in reality are 3400 year-old Middle East Egypt farm reports the ancient Roman military intentionally mistranslated into into religion, in their effort to plunder the Middle East Egyptian grain.
The narrative of the “special” religion for the Middle East Egyptians as “God’s chosen people” was intentionally designed to cause the Middle East Egyptians to break away from the Africa Nile Valley/Delta Egyptians, who were written in as cursed and to be enslaved.
Since the Nile Valley/Delta was the administrative region of ancient Egypt where the troops were sent from to guard the Middle East Yafo/Dead Sea region of Egypt, the Middle East Egyptians becoming independent meant all the Egyptian troops would leave the Yafo/Dead Sea Egypt region and the ancient Romans were then free to plunder the Middle East Egypt grain.
Also attached is a paper by UCLA Professor Aaron Burke about the Middle East Egypt granaries and Egyptian fortress at Yafo, Tel Aviv Harbor (see page 14), which support my retranslations of the underlying text of the Bible.
And below are links to some of my current videos related to the Bible retranslations…
I am looking forward to our talk. Can you send me any info you want me to add to my blog as I am starting it today? I also need a picture you want me to use if you don’t send it, that is fine but then I will choose what I want.
Hello Damien:
Let me provide you some documents, claimed here in the second paragraph…
Hello, Dan: So I’m moving along with a research grant. Therefore I wanted to ask you about which specific grants you might recommend I apply for. For the effort, I’ve hired both a PhD linguist as well as a research grant writer who has been successful in writing research grant proposals that have been funded. The difficulty in figuring out which grant to apply for is the fact that my research takes all kinds of twists and turns. Following are two typical examples.
Example #1 – for example, if I focus on ancient written text to support archaeological finds such as Jaffa, there are a wide range of references I have to check out, including… 1. Egyptian texts – The Harris Papyrus supposedly has a reference to Jaffa being “captured,” which it doesn’t actually say 2. Hebrew texts – There are references to Jaffa and the region in the underlying text of the Bible 3. Greek and Latin texts – There are references to Jaffa and the region written in Greek and Latin, including the Rosetta Stone So in what should be a simple case, the above calls for me to retranslate texts in a multitude of languages, including Egyptian hieroglyphics, Hebrew, Aramaic/Syriac, Greek and Latin.
Example #2 – “smear” or “exit” Even if I wanted the focus of a grant to be simply retranslating or creating a dictionary for ancient written Greek, for example, I also have to cross reference words across the entire ancient world, including Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, Hebrew texts, Aramaic/Syriac texts, Latin texts and even possibly ancient Chinese texts. As an example of cross-checking words, metse “come, arrive” is in the underlying text of the Bible as “come, arrive” but mistranslated as “annoint, smear” in the New Testament translations (“smear is actually lemetse). And when you cross-reference the word in both Greek and Latin, Greek has the word metse as “smear” and Latin has it as “exit”… moutzoúra (μουτζούρα) smudge, smear, blot, smut, blotch, smirch (v) (Greek) [Google] https://translate.google.com/#el/en/%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%85%CF%84%CE%B6%CE%BF%CF%8D%CF%81%CE%B1 μουτζούρα (Greek) = exit (Latin) https://translate.google.com/#el/la/%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%85%CF%84%CE%B6%CE%BF%CF%8D%CF%81%CE%B1
So I can see the confusion scholars have with properly translating ancient written languages. But I see all ancient written languages as a single set of words as well as a single set of written characters. For these and other reasons, I am asking if you can suggest any specific grants I should apply for, which do not overly restrict my research to a single ancient written language. And if you can provide me links to the pages on the NEH website.
So here again, we have the same type of mistranslation to try to justify human trafficking in history where there was none… at least not here with this word, “The most common word for slaves” So in Greek it is not the word “slave”
I saw this kind of thing all the time with the retranslation of the underlying text of what has become the Bible The Greek was dawla /”donkey pack” Placing the Y in the proper place in ancient written Latin… bE’ray (ብዕራይ) ox, bull (n.) (Amarigna) E’ is explosive pronunciation But that’s not all… baE’lu ባዕሉ) oneself (Tigrigna) baEla (ባዕላ) herself (Tigrigna) We still have a problem, though The E’ can serve as U/W But the is no ending vowel in puer We also have two vowels next to each other This is also in the underlying text of what has become the Bible… bal (ባል) owner (n.) (Amarigna) http://amharicdictionary.com/Home/Index/%E1%89%A3%E1%88%8D
In Tigrigna, biA’l (ብዓል) What follows the word, though, defines the context… bA’l E’da (ብዓል ዕዳ) (debtor) bA’lgenzeb (ብዓል ገንዘብ) (proprietor) bA’lzna (ብዓል ዝና) (renowned, hero) bA’lgrma (ብዓል ግርማ) (imposing) bA’ldlay (ብዓል ድላይ) (willing) bA’l T’rit (ብዓል ጥሪት) (owner) bA’l dKH’ʷan (ብዓል ድዃን) (shopkeeper) bA’lt’beb (ብዓል ጥበብ) (artist) bA’l fereQ’a (ብዓል ፈረቓ) (partner) http://memhr.org/dic/index.php?a=srch&d=3&id_srch=e0ac809f3f1ca09673be4b4f5cfd9091&il=en&p=1 0 – Search results – – Memhr.org Dictionaries, So puer is bA’l Not a slave
Again, mistranslation of ancient Latin for the purpose of normalizing the idea of slavery, to make it more acceptable in the eyes of human beings.
So in neither ancient Greek nor ancient Latin are the supposed words for “slave” actually that meaning.
Hi Legesse,
I mainly research 1 million to 5,000 years ago as I wanted to investigate prehistory.
Hello Damien:
“Discovering” slavering in ancient times helps them to justify slavery today. I do the same as you but with language, Damien. I try to go back as far as possible.
Hi Legesse,
I am an anarchist-socialist so I hate masters and wish to free all slaves.
Hello Damien:
Primarily showing the relationship of words up to 120,000 years ago. Showing the same words spoken all around the world as the same words and meanings… and related linguistics-related pronunciations.
“house” Tigrigna geza
Old English hus
Old Norse hus
German haus
Spanish casa
Old Frisian hus
Dutch huis
Swedish hysa
Slovenian hisa
Serbian kucha
Romanian casa
Japanese kaoku
Italian casa
Hungarian haz
Croatian kucha
Chinese jizu
Bulgarian kushta
Hi Legesse,
Now, that Interests me to hear about ancient language and of course, I like anything after 5,000 years or older. Interests me greatly when real old, the eearlier, the more I am intersted.
Hello Damien:
…All the same linguistically-related pronunciations. So, DNA research shows the migration out of Ethiopia of modern man, beginning 120,000 years.
So I check the pronunciations of words of the separate groups
1. From Ethiopia to southern Africa regions 120,000 years ago
And I check languages such as Zulu compared to Ethiopian language
2. Migration out of Ethiopia to western Africa 80,000 years ago
Hi Legesse,
Well, they all die off all modern humans are linked to southern Africa 75,000 years ago through DNA.
Our origins originate from Southern African (NOT THE FIRST ANCESTORS EVER AS THAT WOULD BE NORTH AFRICA AROUND 300,000 YEARS AGO TO EAST AFRICA AROUND 200,000 YEARS AGO OR SO BUT RATHER OUR LAST MAIN COMMON ANCESTORS AROUND 100,000 YEARS AGO), with a population divergence around 120,000 to 110,000 years ago and this is after the two other main areas of North and East Africa either migrated south or largely went extinct around 100,000 years ago. This is the most recent glacial era that consisted of a larger pattern of glacial and interglacial periods beginning around 115,000 which may have influenced both the migrating south and possibly could connect to some of the influences relating to the extinctions as well. Moreover, as these Ancient Southern African peoples developed over time, they also expanded out from there to populate the globe and the DNA of us all points to a southern African origin. Furthermore, it seems as they expanded back out, they either replaced the other populations in central and east Africa that may have been left or absorbed any remaining individuals. ref
Africa’s Middle Stone Age is best known for innovations that appearing various times after about 200,000 years ago. Such innovations might have been linked to new types of social behavior as well as pulses in movements within and out of the continent of Africa. Population shifts likely occurred repeatedly during the 200,000 to 50,000 years ago. Southern African sites seem concentrated in the interior of the subcontinent before 130,000 years ago seemingly coinciding with the dispersal after 130,000 years ago of populations from the interior to mountainous areas, but, more particularly, to the coastal stretches of the southern and western Cape. Then by around 58,000 years ago occupations tended once more to shift away from the southern coast and back into the interior, or to the eastern seaboard. Regional and even local variability is characteristic of stone artifacts of the time, while sites seem to have fewer ornaments or decorated items than was formerly the case. ref
Hello Damien:
So, I check the pronunciations of words from Ibo and Yoruba compared to Ethiopian language. And of course 50,000 years ago out of Ethiopia into Europe. Then I check the pronunciations of European and Asian words compared to Ethiopian language. So it turns out that all the languages come back to Ethiopian roots.
Hi Legesse,
Hello Damien:
Yes, your charts are accurate. I show the relationships in pronunciation of words too. Yes, that chart is Nice.
So most of the world’s languages are related because of the out-of-Africa migration. But then there are words transmitted to societies through writing. In other words, because of the invention of writing, words entered societies. And, yes, those are good charts.
Hi Legesse,
I agree they transferred knowledge first.
Hello Damien:
Right!
Hi Legesse,
Yes, to me, it’s all connected in one way or another.
Hello Damien:
The most interesting thing though, is that the two Ethiopian
languages, Amarigna and Tigrigna, were already separate languages in Ethiopia
120,000 years ago. Amarigna is descended from Tigrigna. So since they were
already separate 120,000 years ago, based on DNA research, that means there was
some time that passed for their separation prior to 120,000 years ago.
Hi Legesse,
Are you concluding that linguistically or with archaeology finds, I am interested? I would agree language comes from Africa.
Hello Damien:
Also, only in Tigrigna can you consistently break down multi-syllable words into single syllable words. Linguistically, supported by other types of research and I look to other disciplines to come to any conclusions. So we can divide “house” into single syllable words
geza = “house”
G/gaye = “living place”
gezat = “houses” and in Amarigna “country”
Z – wetse “arrive”
TS and Z are linguistically related
Z = wezete/”residence”
And T is plural suffix
G living place
Z residence = house
gezat/”country” adds the T plural suffix
Hi Legesse,
This is the best chat I have had in a long time. Thanks, I enjoy this. And, I am even more excited about tomorrow. I have lots of thoughtful followers, I hope it gets you book sales.
Hello Damien:
Haha, Thanks, but most people should read or download my books for free at Slideshare… At this Link
Hi Legesse,
I see you laughing but I have at least 100,00 people exposure on all my social networks and around 30,000 who follow my blog alone.
Hello Damien:
All 21 of my books are there so people can read or download for free. No, I wasn’t laughing about that, I want people to first read or download my books for free — that’s most important. For me, knowledge sharing is important. So, it’s not necessary for them to buy my books.
Hi Legesse,
Which makes me like the humanity you express even more and thus I, even more, want to see you financially successful as I enjoy supporting truly good thoughtful people.
Hello Damien:
Success for me will be for as many people as possible to
read or download my books for free. And, thanks, I appreciate it.
Hi Legesse,
I know I will buy them as I appreciate you and all you do. We rise by helping each other.
Hello Damien:
True, if more university libraries around the world buy the
books and add them to their collections, that would be great. Yes, you’re right.
Nice, well, when I first saw the retranslations, I was very
angry. That was when I was just on Genesis 1:2. I could see the mistranslators
could read the underlying words.
Hi Legesse,
Yes, I can imagine.
Hello Damien:
…And intentionally mistranslated them. I didn’t want to get
caught up in politics… Ancient politics. A lot of friends encouraged me to
continue.
Hi Legesse,
Yes, it is wrong and what you do is so right and needed.
Hello Damien:
Because I quickly decided I would have no part of it. Yes, SO after a few weeks I calmed down and continued the retranslations. But I only decided to do 4 chapters. But as I looked around other verses and saw how the underlying text was mistranslated to vilify women, I had to do more. I couldn’t do nothing. I’ve turned down grant opportunities, such as the $300,000 NEH grant opportunity. I don’t want anyone, any agency or any organization to fund me in a effort to limit my research or to try to keep the truth from coming out.
Hi Legesse,
I understand. I have done the same, I only follow the truth.
Here is some interesting info. In the hieroglyphic language, the word metse is “come, arrive” while “lemetse” is smear. Notice the confusion of scholars’ translation of the word between ancient Greek and ancient Latin. In ancient Greek, they mistranslate “come, arrive” as the opposite meaning… “exit.” And matching the Greek word to Latin, they mistranslate metse/”come, arrive” as lemetse/”smear.” Great, so my point will be that ancient written texts need to be re-evaluated and retranslated, to ensure the accuracy of the translations. I have examples of accurate ancient translations and inaccurate ones. Although, truly, my current campaign is approaching women’s rights from an ancient women’s rights perspective.
Hi Legesse,
Interesting I enjoy hearing about this. I am a feminist so that sounds cool to me. I am basically an Atheist-Humanist Philosopher & Pre-Historical Writer/Researcher and I plan on learning such languages to see for myself in the future. I like to learn to read many ancient languages as prehistory and early history interest me greatly. Do you know about the oldest women’s rights document in the world around 4,000 years old from Turkey?
Hello Damien:
Damien. I’m looking forward to our talk also. Do you have the transcription and transliteration of the Turkish document? I also need to see the actual written text. I’d like to retranslate the document.
The underlying text of Genesis 1 through 4… Farming, grain sales, law enforcement, and more. And here is the supporting archaeological research that supports my retranslations, from UCLA Professor Aaron Burke, lead archaeologist of the Yafo, Tel Aviv ancient Egyptian fortress… Look on page 14 about the “Pharonic granaries.” You’ll find the mention of the fortress and it’s known rebuilding in my Genesis 4 retranslations.
The actual text underlying 1st Timothy 2:9-14, which set the stage for the vilification of women by the ancient Roman military.
Hi Legesse,
Very interesting. Here is some info I know:
I think the pre-sexism starts 12,000 years ago in Turkey with the agriculture revolution religion of paganism. This early shamanistic paganism spit from the hunter-gather shamanism before it, which seemingly emerged around 30,000 years ago in siberia. And, it also likely, motivated a gender dualism in this new early shamanistic paganism expression of religion. Although, to a much lesser extent gender dualism had already loosely existed and likely this was accruing since totemism’s emergence around 50,000 years ago in europe.
So, now, early shamanistic paganism became more defined surrounding “gender” and was split into the invention of the clan male cult (hunter cult that after male gods added or became the warrior “EGO” cult) and goddesses cult (gather “agriculture” fertility cult with a sexist division of women relatively to good “mother/protector” and bad “sexual/violence” woman or something like that). Then the sexism becomes more developed after wars or constant threat in a sedentary lifestyle, which culminates with the emergence of the male gods around 7,000 years ago in the Balkans.
Then a more complete sexism was formalized in the birth of nation-states around 5,000 years ago, such as in Egypt. And, by 4,000 years ago we see the first call for women’s rights or at least an acknowledgment of not hurting them as they where another property or something inventive. Sexism next became relatively universal by around 2,000 years ago with the final death of all goddess controlled faiths and the rise of monotheism (which I see as man-o-theism do to all of them being male gods and generally male-centric) we get full sexism. Here is some info on that:
Then the bible God oddly said, Genesis 1:26 “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
*I Would like to start in this part of the statement: “in our likeness, so that they may rule”
I see it as maybe relating to the how, at the agriculture revolution there was, to me, the birth of paganism an offshoot from shamanism-totemism seen in hunter-gathers before the Neolithic. I see this early paganism with male animal-familiar/consorts deities and female-human goddesses. To me, this early paganistic-shamanism theology evolved out of the shamanism thinking they originated from.
According to Norse Mythology for Smart People, Odin, the father of the gods, who possesses numerous shamanic traits. Odin, the chief of the gods, is often portrayed as a consummate shamanic figure in the oldest primary sources that contain information about the pre-Christian ways of the Germanic peoples. His very name suggests this: “Odin” (Old NorseÓðinn) is a compound word comprised of óðr, “ecstasy, fury, inspiration,” and the suffix -inn, the masculine definite article, which, when added to the end of another word like this, means something like “the master of” or “a perfect example of.” The name “Odin” can therefore be most aptly translated as “The Master of Ecstasy.” The Germanic peoples, like other Indo-European peoples, originally had a three-tiered social/political hierarchy: the first tier consisted of rulers, the second of warriors, and the third of farmers and others occupied with production and fecundity. The gods and goddesses can be profitably mapped onto this schema, and Odin a war-god, along with Tyr, corresponds to the first tier, the rulers. ref, ref
Many of the greatest Germanic heroes, such as Starkaðr and the Volsung family, have enjoyed Odin’s patronage. He maintains particularly close affiliations with the berserkers and other “warrior-shamans” whose fighting techniques and associated spiritual practices center around achieving a state of ecstatic unification with certain ferocious totem animals, usually wolves or bears, and, by extension, with Odin himself, the master of such beasts. ref, ref
The eleventh-century historian Adam of Bremen confirms this when he translates “Odin” as “The Furious.” This establishes a link between Odin and the ecstatic trance states that comprise one of the defining characteristics of shamanism. And Odin’s shamanic spirit-journeys are well-documented. The Ynglinga Sagarecords that he would “travel to distant lands on his own errands or those of others” while he appeared to others to be asleep or dead. Another instance is recorded in the Eddic poem “Baldur’s Dreams,” where Odin rides Sleipnir, an eight-legged horse typical of northern Eurasian shamanism, to the underworld to consult a dead seeress on behalf of his son. Odin, like shamans all over the world, is accompanied by many familiar spirits, most notably the two ravens Hugin and Munin. ref, ref, ref
In shamanistic practices, the animal familiar is not a physical being at all, but a thought-form or spiritual entity. It often travels astrally (relating to, emanating from, or resembling the stars), or serves as a magical guardian against those who might try to psychically attack the shaman. In some Scandinavian countries, familiars were associated with spirits of the land and nature (later becoming earth and sky gods?). Fairies, dwarves, and other elemental beings were believed to inhabit the physical bodies of animals. ref
The shaman must typically undergo a ritual death and rebirth in order to acquire his or her powers, Shamanism in Seidr shows us that goddess Freya, one of the preeminent goddesses in Norse mythology was also a divine archetype of the völva, a practitioner of the Germanic magical tradition known as seidr mainly preformed by women (to me, Household Female Ancestor Cults relate to Household Mother Goddess Cults). A man who practiced seidr could expect to be labeled argr (Old Norse for “unmanly;” the noun form is ergi) by his peers – one of the gravest insults that could be hurled at a Germanic man. There were other forms of shamanism that were much more socially acceptable for men to practice. One of the central institutions of traditional Germanic society was the band of elite, ecstatic, totemistic warriors. ref
These were no ordinary soldiers; the initiation rituals, fighting techniques, and other spiritual practices of these bands were such that their members could be aptly characterized as “warrior-shamans.” The divine guide and inspiration of such men were the same as for the seidr-workers: Odin. The Ynglinga Saga has this to say about them: “Odin’s men went armor-less into battle and were as crazed as dogs or wolves and as strong as bears or bulls.” ref
*Bible-God oddly said, Genesis 1:26 “Let us make mankind in OUR image,
The Book of Psalms (Psalm 82:1), states “God (elohim) stands in the divine assembly; He judges among the gods (elohim)”. The meaning of the two occurrences of “elohim” has been debated by scholars, with some suggesting both words refer to Yahweh, while others propose that the God of Israel rules over a divine assembly of other Gods or angels. In the Hebrew Bible, there are multiple descriptions of Yahweh presiding over a great assembly of Heavenly Hosts. ref
The Old Testament description of the “divine assembly” all suggest that this metaphor for the organization of the divine world was consistent with that of Mesopotamia and Canaan. One difference, however, should be noted. In the Old Testament, the identities of the members of the assembly are far more obscure than those found in other descriptions of these groups, as in their polytheistic environment. Israelite writers sought to express both the uniqueness and the superiority of their God Yahweh, the Hebrew deity, Elohim (“gods”) and Adonai (“my lords”). ref
Archaic Sumerian, One of the first records of a divine council appears in the Lament for Ur, where the pantheon of Annunaki is led by An with Ninhursag and Enlil also appearing as prominent members. In the Old Babylonian pantheon, Samas (or Shamash) and Adad chair the meetings of the divine council. Akkadian, divine council was led by Anu, Ninlil, and Enlil. Marduk appears in the BabylonianEnûma Eliš as presiding over a divine council, deciding fates and dispensing divine justice. Canaanite, texts from Ugarit give a detailed description of the Divine Council’s structure of which El and Ba’al are presiding gods. ref
“Religion is an Evolved Product” and Yes, Religion is Like Fear Given Wings…
Atheists talk about gods and religions for the same reason doctors talk about cancer, they are looking for a cure or a firefighter talking about fires because they burn people and they care to stop them. We atheists too often feel a need to help the victim’s of mental slavery, held in the bondage that is the false beliefs of gods and the conspiracy theories of reality found in religions.
It seems ancient peoples had to survived amazing threats in a “dangerous universe (by superstition perceived as good and evil),” and human “immorality or imperfection of the soul” which was thought to affect the still living, leading to ancestor worship. This ancestor worship presumably led to the belief in supernatural beings, and then some of these were turned into the belief in gods. This feeble myth called gods were just a human conceived “made from nothing into something over and over, changing, again and again, taking on more as they evolve, all the while they are thought to be special,” but it is just supernatural animistic spirit-belief perceived as sacred.
Historically, in large city-state societies (such as Egypt or Iraq) starting around 5,000 years ago culminated to make religion something kind of new, a sociocultural-governmental-religious monarchy, where all or at least many of the people of such large city-state societies seem familiar with and committed to the existence of “religion” as the integrated life identity package of control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine, but this juggernaut integrated religion identity package of Dogmatic-Propaganda certainly did not exist or if developed to an extent it was highly limited in most smaller prehistoric societies as they seem to lack most of the strong control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine (magical beliefs could be at times be added or removed). Many people just want to see developed religious dynamics everywhere even if it is not. Instead, all that is found is largely fragments until the domestication of religion.
Religions, as we think of them today, are a new fad, even if they go back to around 6,000 years in the timeline of human existence, this amounts to almost nothing when seen in the long slow evolution of religion at least around 70,000 years ago with one of the oldest ritual worship. Stone Snake of South Africa: “first human worship” 70,000 years ago. This message of how religion and gods among them are clearly a man-made thing that was developed slowly as it was invented and then implemented peace by peace discrediting them all. Which seems to be a simple point some are just not grasping how devastating to any claims of truth when we can see the lie clearly in the archeological sites.
Hello Damien:
There are similarities in some context between the Bible’s underlying text and that of the Rosetta Stone… And, Damien, that is interesting. Of course, it is important that the ancient “Turkish” text is accurately translated. For example, Jaffa (Yafo)… It is said the Harris Papyrus has a story of the “Capture of Jaffa.” But when retranslated, there is no such “capture.”
But in the actual translation… There is no mention of capturing anything. So, while some scholars try to support their ideas of the world today, they intentionally mistranslate ancient texts to fit their ideology today. Like to say, “There was slavery in ancient times, so it’s not so bad today.”
Hi Legesse,
Exactly, cool, I am having fun already.
Hello Damien:
When the reality is, it doesn’t say that…. the words for “slave,” for instance, doesn’t actually say that in either ancient Latin of ancient Greek. So, I would have to retranslate the ancient Turkish text to see if it really says that, which it likely doesn’t. Women have always been in charge. There is this one retranslation as an example of accurate translations… You will see in my wrtings a word-for-word the ancient Greeks translated the Greek message on the Rosetta Stone into the hieroglyphic language 99.9% accurately. Or another…
Hi Legesse,
I think an expression of slavery in the second to the last figure in the picture below, that if I remember right could be 22,000 years old as well as possible evidence of sexual slavery from Kostenki, Russia.
Interesting, as for my work, the ancient explanation for storing papyrus fragments in jars stored inside caves (Dead Sea scrolls). 100% accurately translation and a 100% accurate translation 2000 years ago. So the words for “slavery” are not so in ancient Greek and ancient Latin. I have the retranslations of the words somewhere.
Hi Legesse,
Great, I will add all this to the blog.
Hello Damien:
Female Mystery ICONS “goddesses”, Genesis 1:26 doesn’t actually say this. “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” “Still, most of the 23,500 cuneiform tablets unearthed at Kültepe were about commerce.” Actually, Damien, it is all about commerce back then. Let me show you a Cuneiform retranslation… Commerce… Therefore, it is impossible any discussion of “women’s rights.” This is a rancher selling meat. Notice the Yafo fortress was a meeting place for merchants. Those mistranslations, like I said, are men’s attempts to justify their dirty deeds of today. Pretending these were always issues, in order to make today’s issues okay. Very interesting stuff. You’ve done quite a bit of research!
Amazing…
Hi Legesse,
Yes, I get it was an afterthought and not any main theme.
Hello Damien:
I have read a lot on your blog and began watching your “Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, Paganism & Progressed organized religion” video last night…
Hi Legesse,
I feel honored. I have been researching for over 10 years on all this. It has been my only job (well with a little truck driving in between until my foot gave out like 7 years ago) and my wife has worked so I could devote all my time to this.
Wow Cool drawings. That’s a lot of work, Damien. Wow
Hi Legesse,
All address actual archaeology facts. Like I said I will have like 150 in my book.
Hello Damien:
Wow That’s impressive. I found the “slave” analysis. So I can check the validity of the supposed word for “slave” in ancient Greek. Is the translation of the word accurate or not? Then I can check the validity of the supposed word for “slave” in ancient Greek. Is the translation of the word accurate or not? “The most common word for slaves is δοῦλος (doulos), used in opposition to ‘free man’ (ἐλεύθερος, eleútheros); an earlier form of the former appears in Mycenaean inscriptions as do-e-ro, ‘male slave’ (or ‘servant’, ‘bondman’; Linear B: 𐀈𐀁𐀫), or do-e-ra, ‘female slave’ (or “maid-servant’, ‘bondwoman’).” D W R = do-e-ro, D W L = δοῦλος (doulos). “The verb δουλεὐω (which survives in Modern Greek, meaning “work”) can be used metaphorically for other forms of dominion, as of one city over another or parents over their children.” D W L = δουλεὐω. Ancient written Greek and Latin languages descended from the hieroglyphic language. Including the written characters, which are simply ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_ancient_Greece
Strong’s Greek Lexicon #1398. douleuodool–yoo‘-o from 1401; to be a slave to (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntary):–be in bondage, (do) serve(-ice). http://www.eliyah.com/cgi-bin/strongs.cgi?file=greeklexicon&isindex=1398 All ancient texts have been mistranslated This goes back to the mistranslations that became the Bible… to normalize the very idea of slavery So what is this word, D W L in reality?
Hi Legesse,
Great I will add this as well. I appreciate your thoughtful research.
He was fellow anarchist, like me. we fight for everyone.
We as humanity must work together as one people and one human race. We can no longer sit back and watch the world burn. We are accountable for the world staying the same thus leading to extended suffering, or change the world to start alleviating suffering. For too long we have gotten comfortable with eyes of hate, which only seem to find victims, instead of eyes of love, helping us find friends.
I am not calling for fighting for a political party; I am trying to inspire humanitarian flourishing not limited to even a country. As I wish to look to the big picture, that we are all global citizens, and I say it’s time we start acting like it. I, as others, promise to strive to help be the change so needed in this world. Will you join us?
“An Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother-goddess Asherah, consort of El. The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate. The asherim were also cult objects related to the worship of the fertility goddess Asherah, the consort of either Ba’al or, as inscriptions from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom attest, Yahweh, and thus objects of contention among competing cults. The Hebrew Bible suggests that the poles were made of wood. In the sixth chapter of the Book of Judges, God is recorded as instructing the Israelite judge Gideon to cut down an Asherah pole that was next to an altar to Baal. The wood was to be used for a burnt offering.” ref
“In translations that render the Hebrew asherim into English as “Asherah poles,” the insertion of “pole” begs the question by setting up unwarranted expectations for such a wooden object: “we are never told exactly what it was”, observes John Day. Though there was certainly a movement against goddess-worship at the Jerusalem Temple in the time of King Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:3), it did not long survive his reign, as the following four kings “did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh” (2 Kings 23:32, 37; 24:9, 19)[citation needed]. Further exhortations came from Jeremiah. The traditional interpretation of the Biblical text is that the Israelites imported pagan elements such as the Asherah poles from the surrounding Canaanites. In light of archeological finds, however, modern scholars now theorize that the Israelite folk religion was Canaanite in its inception and always polytheistic, and it was the prophets and priests who denounced the Asherah poles who were the innovators; such theories inspire ongoing debate.” ref
“Asherim are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Judges, the Books of Kings, the second Book of Chronicles, and the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah. The term often appears as merely אשרה, (Asherah) referred to as “groves” in the King James Version, which follows the Septuagint rendering as ἄλσος, pl. ἄλση, and the Vulgatelucus,[7] and “poles” in the New Revised Standard Version; no word that may be translated as “poles” appears in the text. Scholars have indicated, however, that the plural use of the term (English “Asherahs”, translating Hebrew Asherim or Asherot) provides ample evidence that reference is being made to objects of worship rather than a transcendent figure. Some biblical archaeologists have suggested that until the 6th century BC the Israelite peoples had household shrines, or at least figurines, of Asherah, which are strikingly common in the archaeological remains. Raphael Patai identified the pillar figurines with Asherah in The Hebrew Goddess.” ref
“Deuteronomy 16:21 states that YHWH (rendered as “the Lord”) hated Asherim whether rendered as poles: “Do not set up any [wooden] Asherah [pole] beside the altar you build to the Lord your God” or as living trees: “You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God which you shall make”. That Asherahs were not always living trees is shown in 1 Kings 14:23: “their asherim, beside every luxuriant tree”. However, the record indicates that the Jewish people often departed from this ideal. For example, King Manassehplaced an Asherah pole in the Holy Temple (2 Kings 21:7). King Josiah’s reforms in the late 7th century BC included the destruction of many Asherah poles (2 Kings 23:14). Exodus 34:13 states: “Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherim [Asherah poles].” ref
Ain Ghazal: Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site in the Levant
“The site of ‘Ain Ghazal is an early Neolithic village site located along the banks of the Zarqa River near Amman, Jordan. The name means “Spring of the Gazelles”, and the site has major occupations during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period, about 7200 and 6000 BC; the PPNC period (ca. 6000-5500 BC) and during the early pottery Neolithic, between ca 5500-5000 BC. ‘Ain Ghazal covers some 30 acres, three times the size of the similarly dated levels at Jericho. The PPNB occupation has several multiroomed rectangular dwellings which were built and rebuilt at least five times. Nearly 100 burials have been recovered from this period. Ritual behavior seen at ‘Ain Ghazal include the presence of numerous human and animal figurines, some large human statues with distinctive eyes, and some plastered skulls. Five large lime plaster statues were recovered, of quasi-human forms made of reed bundles covered with plaster. The forms have square torsos and two or three heads.” https://lnkd.in/eYsk2f2
“Excavations at ‘Ain Ghazal have aided considerably in the understanding about the knowledge of several aspects of the Neolithic. Of particular interest has been the documentation of a continuous, or near continuous, occupation from early through late Neolithic components, and a concomitant dramatic economic shift. This shift was from a broad subsistence base relying on a variety of both wild and domestic plants and animals, to an economic strategy reflecting an apparent emphasis on pastoralism. Domesticated wheat, barley, peas and lentils have been identified at ‘Ain Ghazal, as well as a wide variety of wild forms of these plants and animals such as gazelle, goats, cattle and pigs. No domesticated animals were identified in the PPNB levels, although by the PPNC period, domestic sheep, goats, pigs, and probably cattle were identified.” https://lnkd.in/eYsk2f2
Roots of a changing early society 7200-6700 years ago Jordan and Israel?
Settlement at Tel Tsaf, near the Jordan River and the modern state of Jordan, dates to circa 5200-4700 BCE. According to the international team of researchers, the site offers “ideal conditions to study changes in household economies and emerging social complexity during the formative stages of the Late Chalcolithic period.”. https://lnkd.in/eifx2Cm
The vessel was found in pieces two years ago in a room which appears to be connected to a burial complex filled with an unprecedented number of the bases of large wheat and barley storage silos upon which were found thousands of millennia-old seeds. The vessel was recently reassembled, and is believed to be a model for the construction of the larger containers, as well as a ritual object. https://lnkd.in/eifx2Cm
Also found with the vessel pieces were ritual figurines and items of evident worth, including the earliest copper item found in the Levant and pieces made from obsidian. And due to the context in which the vessel was found and its uniqueness — clearly not a pot for everyday use — the archaeologists believe it was used for ritual purposes. In fact, the entire space was used for more than a domestic structure. Therefore, the findings at Tel Tsaf are first evidence for the connection between food storage at a large-scale, and between the existence of a ritual related to the successful storage and preservation of the agricultural products being stored. https://lnkd.in/eifx2Cm
The combined discoveries of the model and large grain silos may force archaeologists to rethink the organization of prehistorical society. Moreover, evidence of other grain-storage rituals have been discovered in other ancient Near East societies, for example, in ancient Egypt or in Mesopotamia, however, this find at Tel Tsaf predates them by several thousand years, according to the archaeologists. https://lnkd.in/eifx2Cm
Stone houses and artifacts dating back 7,000 years have been discovered in Jerusalem, demonstrating that the settlement existed even longer than had been supposed. It includes earliest-known houses in Jerusalem, gemstone beads and stone tools. https://lnkd.in/eM2dWQr
The remains of an ancient settlement from the Chalcolithic period roughly 7,000 years ago (5th millennium BCE) were unearthed in a significant archaeological find. Back in the Chalcolithic period, people first began using tools made of copper, known as chalcos in Greek, while continuing to use tools made of stone, which is lithos in Greek – hence the name of the period. But the Chalcolithic period is also known in the Negev, the coastal plain, the Galilee and the Golan, but is almost completely absent in the Judean Hills and Jerusalem. Although there have been a few traces of Chalcolithic settlements, such as those at Abu Gosh, Motza Junction, and Jerusalem, they have been extremely sparse. But there has been more evidence such as Two houses were unearthed with significant remains from 7,000 years ago. https://lnkd.in/eHDFdjv
Two houses revealed well-preserved remains and floors as well as pottery vessels, flint tools, and a basalt bowl. All of which are typical of the Chalcolithic period and by the signs of maintenance and stages of construction in the buildings show they were used for a significant stretch of time. On completion of the excavations at Shuafat, it is quite evident that there was a thriving settlement in the Jerusalem area in ancient times. https://lnkd.in/eHDFdjv
Apart from the pottery, the fascinating flint finds attest to the livelihood of the local population in prehistoric times: small sickle blades for harvesting cereal crops, chisels and polished axes for building, borers and awls, and even a bead made of carnelian (a gemstone), indicating that jewelry was either made or imported. There were grinding tools, mortars and pestles, like the basalt bowl, attest to technological skills as well as to the kinds of crafts practiced in the local community. There was a 7,000-year-old bead. Also recovered a few bones of sheep/goat and possibly cattle, permitting us to recreate the dietary habits of the people who lived here 7,000 years ago and enhancing our understanding of the settlement’s economy. https://lnkd.in/eHDFdjv
(livescience.com) – “A lead and wood artifact discovered in a roughly 6,000-year-old grave in a desert cave is the oldest evidence of smelted lead on record in the Levant, a new study finds. The artifact, which looks like something between an ancient wand and a tiny sword, suggests that people in Israel’s northern Negev desert learned how to smelt lead during the Late Chalcolithic, a period known for copper work but not lead work, said Naama Yahalom-Mack, the study’s lead researcher and a postdoctoral student of archaeology with a specialty in metallurgy at the Institute of Earth Sciences and the Institute of Archaeology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Moreover, an analysis of the lead suggests that it came from Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), which is part of the Levant, or the area encompassing the eastern Mediterranean. The artifact was likely a valuable tool, given that it shows signs of wear and was placed in a grave alongside the remains of an individual in the cave, she said. [See Photos of Another Ancient Burial in the Southern Levant] “This is an incredible find,” Yahalom-Mack told Live Science. “It’s a uniquely preserved object from the late fifth millennium, which includes metal that was brought all the way from Anatolia. It probably had very high significance for the people who were buried with it.” Researchers discovered the artifact in Ashalim Cave, a sprawling underground cavern that’s been on archaeologists’ radar since the 1970s.” ref
(livescience.com) – “In 2012, the Israel Cave Research Center remapped the cave, and called in a team of archaeologists when they discovered artifacts. Archaeologists Mika Ullman and Uri Davidovich led the archaeological survey and studied the mazelike rooms, including one used for a burial chamber. The chamber was so small and low that they had to get down on their stomachs and wiggle forward to see the secluded space, Yahalom-Mack said. It was there that they found the lead artifact. “It was just lying there,” Yahalom-Mack said. “All they needed to do was pick it up from the surface of the cave.” The artifact is small — a stick of wood attached to a sculpted lead piece. The wood measures 8.8 inches (22.4 centimeters) long, and is made of tamarisk (a group of plants common in the Negev desert, from the genus Tamarix). The lead piece is 1.4 inches (3.7 cm) long and weighs about 5.5 ounces (155 grams), according to the study. Radiocarbon dating suggests the wood was created between 4300 B.C. and 4000 B.C., “which is extremely early,” Yahalom-Mack said. “For a wooden artifact to be preserved [that long] is incredible.” ref
“Burial 69 (dorsal decubitus inhumation in the ‘butterfly’ position). Left: the burial with its original covering of stones. Right: after removal of the stones. Photos: Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade.” ref
“Contrary to what you might believe, the oldest evidence of the “lotus pose” does not come from Asia, but from the Mesolithic burials of Lepenski vir culture, modern-day Serbia (9,500 BC). The oldest evidence of Swastika comes from Mezine, Ukraine. It dates to more-less the same period as these burials (10,000 BC).” ref
“Lepenski Vir (Serbian Cyrillic: Лепенски Вир, “Lepena Whirlpool”), located in Serbia, is an important archaeological site of the MesolithicIron Gates culture of the Balkans. There is some disagreement about the early start of the settlement and culture of Lepenski Vir. But the latest data suggest 11,500–9,200 to be the start. The late Lepenski Vir 8,300–8,000 years ago architectural development was the development of the Trapezoidal buildings and monumental sculpture. The Lepenski Vir site consists of one large settlement with around ten satellite villages. Numerous piscine sculptures and peculiar architecture have been found at the site. The sculptures of this size so early in human history and original architectural solutions, define Lepenski Vir as the specific and very early phase in the development of the prehistoric culture in Europe. The site is noted for its level of preservation and the overall exceptional quality of the artifacts. Due to the fact that the settlement was a permanent and planned one, with organized human life, architect Hristivoje Pavlović labeled Lepenski Vir as “the first city in Europe”. ref
Trypilian temple – observatory at Nebelivka
“The Nebelivka village, Kirovograd region, Ukraine at the territory of one of the largest settlements of Cucuteni-Trypillia civilization dating from 4000 BC archaeologists excavated a building that was unique for its time. According to experts, the building is a Trypillian temple and has no equals in Europe. It had two levels and the area of 20 x 60 meters, that is 1200 m2. The researchers found seven altars made of clay, which had a crosslike shape. The altars had circles painted on them that formed a composition. Also, many fragments of pottery ware and animal bones, statuettes and other household items were found.” ref
“The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan; to me is likely a Proto-Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna or Star of Venus
I believe they may be, and to me, thus possibly could have some connections to the central Asain deity Tianwhich may also be related to Tengri.Goddesses Ishtar/Inanna were worshipped in Sumer at least as early as the Uruk period (6000 – 5,100 years ago). ref
“The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan. “The Ghassulian Star” was made before people could write, back when everyone either hunted and gathered or lived in small farming villages. The figures were painted with black, brown, red, white and yellow natural mineral paints; mud and lime walls were the canvas. The painting features a giant star, animals and masked figures sporting what look a lot like googly eyes. ref
“The Ghassulian stage was characterized by small hamlet settlements of mixed farming peoples, who had immigrated from the north and settled in the southern Levant – today’s Jordan, Israel and Palestine. People of the Beersheba Culture (a Ghassulian subculture) lived in underground dwellings – a unique phenomenon in the archaeological history of the region – or in houses that were trapezoid-shaped and built of mud-brick. Those were often built partially underground (on top of collapsed underground dwellings) and were covered with remarkable polychrome wall paintings.” ref
“Their pottery was highly elaborate, including footed bowls and horn-shaped drinking goblets, indicating the cultivation of wine. Several samples display the use of sculptural decoration or of a reserved slip (a clay and water coating partially wiped away while still wet). The Ghassulians were a Chalcolithic culture as they used stone tools but also smelted copper. Funerary customs show evidence that they buried their dead in stone dolmens and also practiced Secondary burial.” ref
“Settlements belonging to the Ghassulian culture have been identified at numerous other sites in what is today southern Israel, especially in the region of Beersheba, where elaborate underground dwellings have been excavated. The Ghassulian culture correlates closely with the Amratian of Egypt and also seems to have affinities (e.g., the distinctive churns, or “bird vases”) with early Minoan culture in Crete.” ref
“Between 5,800 – 5,350 years ago, the Ghassulian culture emerged based on an economy specializing in smelting the copper that Sumerian (Uruk) cities imported from the Southern Levant and the Upper Euphrates. The Ghassulians also erected dolmen monuments, similar to megalithic burial structures found not only in Western Europe, but also in the Western Caucasus. An unexpected link with the Uruk dispersions of the Caucasus has been suggested for the Nahal Mishmar “Cave of the Treasure” discovered in the Judean Desert.” ref
“The fine metalwork discovered in this desert cache includes pieces crafted in a long period 7,000 – 5,500 years ago, as if this cache was buried to protect valuable cultural artifacts (possibly from temple sites) from robbers during the Ubaid-Uruk transition period. Adding to the archaeological mystery, the only comparable metalwork from this period has been discovered far away in the Maykop burial north of the Black Sea. Archaeologists have also suggested Ghassulian contacts with the Aegean and Upper Egypt (Amratian culture), suggesting that these East Mediterranean copper smelters played a dynamic role connecting far-flung cultures.” ref
“Notably, the Ghassulian culture flourished at the time and location some linguists have suggested the Proto-Semitic languages first emerged (approximately 5,750 years ago, probably in the East Mediterranean).5 These later developed to become the Ugaritic, Phoenician, and Hebrew languages spoken not only in Canaan, but also throughout the Mediterranean, Arabian Peninsula, and the Horn of Africa. In Europe, this period was less favorable. The “Old European” civilization of the CBMP dissolved between 5,500 – 5,200 years ago, partly regrouping near the Aegean Sea (preserving the foundations for the seagoing Minoan-Mycenaean civilizations), and some adapting to new pastoral lifeways near the Black Sea (such as the Usatovo culture.” ref
“Despite the centrality of ancient Sumer, early Mesopotamia has rarely been discussed in the context of human genetic structure, and the effects of Sumerian expansions in reshaping the world genetic landscape remain to be discovered. However, the potential of urban centers using new technological toolkits (fueling population growth and giving an early demographic advantage over neighboring Mesolithic societies) suggests that Sumer might have played a formative role in West Eurasian demographic history.” ref
“To help establish a historical foundation for examining the multi-layered genetic structure of the Middle East, this article will outline three phases of Sumerian civilization: (1) Founding of urban settlements during the Ubaid period; (2) Dispersion of Sumerian populations to the Caucasus Mountains and Asia during the Uruk period (including related Kura-Araxes migrations, possibly related to the spread of satem IE languages); and (3) Back-migrations to the Fertile Crescent (in response to events at the periphery of the Sumerian world) during the Middle Bronze Age. Ubaid Period Foundations (8,500 – 5,800 years ago). The foundations of Sumerian civilization were laid during the Ubaid Period (8,500 – 5,800 years ago). In this period, the first Mesopotamian cities were founded, starting with the world’s first capital, Eridu.” ref
“Probably under the guidance of a priestly bureaucratic elite, these settlements were organized in a tripartite hereditary social structure: integrating farm laborers, nomadic pastoralists (animal herders), and hunting-fishing peoples as urban citizens. This urban culture spread outwards to establish a vast “Ubaid horizon” (2,000 km across) between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. The flow of Ubaid material culture stimulated developments in more distant regions. In the Northern Levant, the Ubaid civilization absorbed neighboring Halaf dry farming (non-irrigation) settlements (perhaps Afroasiatic speaking predecessors of the Akkadians and Assyrians).” ref
“Reaching even further beyond these rivers, Ubaid related (Hassuna-Samarra) pottery types and clay artwork have been found throughout the Aegean, Anatolia, and East Mediterranean. According to the archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, these shared craft forms appeared simultaneously in Southeastern Europe and West Asia around 8,700 – 8,500 years ago. Map of West Eurasian cultures during the Ubaid period. Sumer (the Ubaid heartland) is highlighted in red. Possible language families in neighboring areas are listed in italics. In Europe, this Ubaid related material culture was the basis of what Gimbutas dubbed the “Old European” civilization of the Balkan Peninsula and Central Europe, later splitting into local variant traditions around 7,000 years ago.” ref
“More recently, Evgeny Chernykh has documented evidence for a large Carpatho-Balkan Metallurgical Province composed of densely settled communities (of up to 15,000 people each) connected by shared copper technology. This network of settlements flourished between 7,500 – 5,500 years ago, before dissolving around 5,200 years ago. In the later part of the Ubaid period, another peripheral Copper Age culture emerged in South Asia: the Mehrgarh III or Togau Phase (6,300 – 5,800 years ago) that brought an influx of new collective burial customs, ceramic styles, and copper technology (possibly from West Asia).” ref
“Other cultural centers that emerged during the Ubaid period included Nabta Playa in Africa, possibly constructed by early populations of the “Green Sahara” (Neolithic Subpluvial; 9,000 – 5,500 years ago), when the landscape of Northern Africa resembled the ecologically rich savannahs of present-day Kenya, and the Badarian and Amratian (Predynastic Upper Egyptian) cultures emerged along the Nile River. Because of their “early adopter” status, these dense Ubaid period settlements in Mesopotamia, Southeastern Europe, and South Asia potentially played a key role in shaping later demographic history.” ref
“The Kurgan Culture and the Indo-Europeanization of Europe considered the Chalcolithic “Old European” civilization pre-IE and suggested that the Proto-Indo-European (IE) languages emerged only later with “Kurgan” culture of the Eurasian steppe. However, this article suggests instead that the Proto-Indo-European language emerged in Ubaid period Southeastern Europe (possibly derived from older West Asian Indo-Hittite languages), later diverging into Eurasian satem and Mediterranean centum IE varieties after the collapse of the CBMP around 5,200 years ago.” ref
“This would be consistent with linguistic evidence for PIE origins around 6,000 years ago and early contacts with the Uralic (North Eurasian), Caucasian (West Asian), and Afroasiatic (East Mediterranean) languages in West Eurasia. However, it is probable that no modern culture fully represents these ancestral founding populations. Nevertheless, traces of this ancestral population structure might to some extent be preserved in West Asian populations with a tradition of endogamy (such as Assyrian Christians, Druze, etc.). However, ancient DNA would be needed to examine these relationships in more detail.” ref
DNA evidence expresses waves of migration from Anatolia and the Zagros mountains (today’s Turkey and Iran) to the Levant helped develop the Chalcolithic culture that existed in Israel’s Upper Galilee region some 6,500 years ago. ref
“After 10 years of research, we understand that Anatolia/Turkey, especially from the west, is part of the basis of all European peoples. Matching how all European cattle are all descended from Iranian cattle dispersed by farmer herders leaving Anatolia/Turkey.” – Joachim Burger – Anthropologist & Population Geneticist Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2vYr6gx56o&t=651s
“A bit more than 8000 years ago, the world suddenly cooled, leading to much drier summers for much of the Northern Hemisphere. Massive glacial lakes in North America emptied into the Atlantic Ocean, scientists believe, altering sea currents and weather patterns and triggering what’s known simply as the 8.2 kiloyear event (referring to its occurrence 8200 years ago). The impact on early farmers must have been extreme, yet archaeologists know little about how they endured. Now, the remains of animal fat on broken pottery from one of the world’s oldest and most unusual protocities—known as Çatalhöyük—is finally giving scientists a window into these ancient peoples’ close call with catastrophe. Extreme drought brought on by the 8.2-kiloyear event would have frizzled feed crops and grazing lands, and cooler winters would have increased animals’ food requirements. The combined effect would have been leaner, thirstier livestock, and their fat may have recorded chemical echoes of that dietary stress.” ref
“Çatalhöyük’s farmers left behind any trace of the climate shift. Over the past few years, Marciniak had been digging up fragments of clay pottery (or potsherds) left buried in ancient trash piles, and clay pots were used to store meat, and researchers found relatively well-preserved animal fat residue soaked into the porous, unglazed sherds. dating from about 8300 to 7,900 years ago. Additional finds from Çatalhöyük reveal how the farmers adapted to the cooler, drier conditions. Animal bones from that time have a relatively high number of cut marks, suggesting they were butchering for every last edible bit. Cattle herds shrunk while goat herds rose, the authors note, perhaps because goats could better handle drought. Çatalhöyük’s architecture changed, as well, with the site’s iconic, large, communal dwellings giving way to smaller houses for individual families, reflecting a shift toward independent, self-sufficient households. It seems that Çatalhöyük was already in a period of fairly rapid change well before the 8.2-kiloyear event, as Çatalhöyük’s architecture had been gradually evolving for hundreds of years before.” ref
Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” “involves a 34-acre site in central Turkey, at one time inhabited by as many as 8,000 to 10,000 people, began some 9,500 years ago, and continuing for nearly two millennia, people came together at Çatalhöyük to build hundreds of tightly clustered mud-brick houses, burying their dead beneath the floors and adorning the walls with paintings, livestock skulls and plaster reliefs. More than 8,000 years ago, Çatalhöyük was already a city of one-room homes, accessed from the roof. Places of worship often featured bucrania (displaying sacrificial bulls, and the ritual/decorative use of bull’s horns. People in Çatalhöyük were quite equal, but it might not have been the nicest society as residents had to submit to a lot of social control and that such a society only works with strong homogeneity.” ref
“For many generations, it was very unacceptable for individual households to accumulate [wealth]. Once they started to do so, there is evidence that more problems started to arise. Some of the new evidence expresses something odd about one of the hundreds of skulls dozens of them with similar wounds, all showing a consistent pattern of injury to the top back of the skull. It is believed that the pattern of the wounds suggests that most of them were inflicted by thrown projectiles, but all of them were healed, meaning they were not fatal.” They speculate that the attacks that caused the injuries were meant only to stun, perhaps to control wayward members of the group, or to abduct outsiders as wives or slaves. Moreover, the skulls with this characteristic were found primarily in later levels of the site, when more independence and differentiation between households started to emerge. Presumably, it is with these new inequalities could have potentially created new tensions among the community’s members, non-fatal violence to diffuse full-fledged conflicts that could break the settlement apart, in a way, confirm the idea of an emerging controlled society.” ref
1.(Yumuktepe had 23 archaeological levels of occupation dating from ca 6300 BC. In his book, Prehistoric Mersin, Garstang lists the tools unearthed in the excavations. The earliest tools are made of either stone or ceramic. Both agriculture and animal husbandry (sheep, cattle, goats, and pigs) were among the economic activities in Yumuktepe. In the layer which corresponds to roughly 4500 BC, one of the earliest fortifications in human history exists. According to Isabella Caneva, during the chalcolithic age, an early copper blast furnace was in use in Yumuktepe. ref)
2. (Gözlükule Höyüğü is located to the south of the Gülek Bosphorus, which passes through the Taurus Mountains in Çukurova (ancient Cilicia), located on the northeastern shore of the Mediterranean. The site Gözlü Kule is the ancient city of Tarsus, the Hittite Terussa or Tarsadating to around 5,000 years ago, the with monumental buildings, houses, and Northern Syria characteristic potteries. Towards 4,500 years ago, aligned houses and streets intersecting at right angles resemble those of the Minoans. Some destructions are observed from 4,400 years ago culminating in the construction of a fortified wall and the potteries and jewelry are similar to what has been found to Troy. During 4,100 years ago, further destruction are observed. The characteristics of the occupants of the houses appear, again, be those of Syria. Under the Hittites (dated to around 3,600 – 3,178 years ago), Tarsus is a major town or even the regional capital. 65 seals or seals footprints, Hittite hieroglyphics, were found. Fragments of alabaster and lapis lazuli, gold work molds and a statuette attest of the prosperity of the city. Many specialists think, on the base of these excavations, that Tarsus was a local capital. ref, ref)
“The earliest representations of culture in Anatolia were Stone Age artifacts. The remnants of Bronze Age civilizations such as the Hattian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Hittite peoples provide us with many examples of the daily lives of its citizens and their trade. After the fall of the Hittites, the new states of Phrygia and Lydia stood strong on the western coast as Greek civilization began to flourish. They, and all the rest of Anatolia were relatively soon after incorporated into the Achaemenid Persian Empire.” ref
If you are a religious believer,may I remind you thatfaithin the acquisition of knowledgeis not a valid method worth believing in. Because, what proof is“faith”,of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
Religions continuing in our modern world, full of science and facts, should be seen as little more than a set of irrational conspiracy theories of reality. Nothing more than a confused reality made up of unscientific echoes from man’s ancient past. Rational thinkers must ask themselves why continue to believe in religions’ stories. Religion myths which are nothing more than childlike stories and obsolete tales once used to explain how the world works, acting like magic was needed when it was always only nature. These childlike religious stories should not even be taken seriously, but sadly too often they are.
Often without realizing it, we accumulate beliefs that we allow to negatively influence our lives. In order to bring about awareness, we need to be willing to alter skewed beliefs. Rational thinkers must examine the facts instead of blindly following beliefs or faith. Below is a collection of researched information such as archaeology, history, linguistics, genetics, art, science, sociology, geography, psychology, philosophy, theology, biology, and zoology. It will make you question your beliefs with information, inquiries, and ideas to ponder and expand on. The two main goals are to expose the evolution of religion starting by around 100,000 years ago and to offer challenges to remove the rationale of faith. It is like an intervention for belief in myths that have plagued humankind for way too long. We often think we know what truth is nevertheless this can be but a vantage point away from losing credibility if we are not willing to follow valid and reliable reason and evidence.
Exodus 3:12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Exodus 13:21 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light so that they could travel by day or night. Exodus 15:7 In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble. Exodus 19:18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
Exodus 24:17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
Exodus: 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Exodus 40:38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.
Leviticus 9:24 Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.
Leviticus 10:2 So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.
Leviticus 10:6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become unkempt and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the LORD will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the Israelites, may mourn for those the LORD has destroyed by fire.
Numbers 11:1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
Numbers 11:3 So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them.
Numbers 14:14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, LORD, are with these people and that you, LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
Numbers 16:35 And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
Numbers 26:10 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire devoured the 250 men. And they served as a warning sign.
Deuteronomy 1:33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.
Deuteronomy 4:11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
Deuteronomy 4:12 Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.
Deuteronomy 4:15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully.
Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Deuteronomy 4:33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?
Deuteronomy 4:36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire.
Deuteronomy 5:4 The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.
Deuteronomy 5:5 At that time I stood between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.
Deuteronomy 5:22 These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
Deuteronomy 5:23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders came to me.
Deuteronomy 5:24 And you said, “The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.
Deuteronomy 5:25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer.
Deuteronomy 5:26 For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?
Deuteronomy 9:3 But be assured today that the LORD your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the LORD has promised you.
Deuteronomy 9:10 The LORD gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments the LORD proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.
Deuteronomy 9:15 So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.
Deuteronomy 10:4 The LORD wrote on these tablets what he had written before, the Ten Commandments he had proclaimed to you on the mountain, out of the fire, on the day of the assembly. And the LORD gave them to me.
Deuteronomy 18:16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”
Deuteronomy 33:2 He said: “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes.
2 Samuel 22:9 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
Golan Heights dormant volcano
“Avital Volcanic Park is located on the site of a dormant volcano that last exploded between 100,000 to 700,000 years ago.
The explosion that rocked the site at the time is what formed the black basaltic rocks that now exist on the Golan Heights.” – Read the full story ›
Mount Bental, Golan Heights, Israel
“Mount Bental is part of a chain of volcanoes spanning along the eastern edge of Israel’s Golan Heights, you can witness spectacular views of the Hula Valley, Mount Hermon and the Golan. Its last eruption is said to have occurred more than 50,000 years ago.” Mount Bental, Golan Heights, Israel
“So myths about volcano gods had to come from somewhere than Israel. As rge DNAof Some Jews traces 4,000 years ago from the Lake Van Region, the largest lake in Turkey, lies in the far east of that country in the provinces of Van and Bitlis, Eastern Anatolia. It receives water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world’s largest endorheic lakes (having no outlet) – a volcanic eruption blocked the original outlet from the basin in ancient times. A test drilling in the lake detected evidence of 15 volcanic eruptions in the past 20,000 years. The lake was the center of the Armenian kingdom of Araratfrom about 3,000 years ago, afterwards of the Satrapy of Armina, Kingdom of Greater Armenia, and the Armenian Kingdom of Vaspurakan. Along with Lake Sevan in today’s Armeniaand Lake Urmia in today’s Iran, Van was one of the three great lakes of the Armenian Kingdom, referred to as the seas of Armenia ” – Lake Van – Wikipedia
Ararat volcano?
The 5165-m-high, double-peaked stratovolcano Mount Ararat, also known as Agri Dagi, is Turkey’s highest, largest volume, and easternmost volcano. Background:
Glacier-clad Ararat, along with its twin volcano, 3925-m-high Kucuk Ararat (or Lesser Ararat), covers an area of 1000 sq km at the eastern end of a SSW-ESE line of volcanoes extending from Nemrut Dagi. Construction of the Greater and Lesser Ararat volcanoes was followed by a period of extensive flank eruptions, many erupted along N-S-trending fissures. The initial stage of flank eruptions produced a cluster of cinder cones and dacitic-rhyolitic lava domes surrounding Greater Ararat and a series of pyroclastic cones and domes on the western flank of Lesser Ararat. Late-stage activity formed large pyroclastic cones lower on the flanks of the two volcanoes. Ararat appears to have been active during the 3rd millennium BC; pyroclastic-flow deposits overlie early Bronze Age artifacts and human remains.” Ararat
“Despite the scholarly consensus that the “mountains of Ararat” of the Book of Genesis do not refer specifically to Mt. Ararat, it has been widely accepted in Christianity as the resting place of Noah’s Ark. It is the principal national symbol of Armenia and has been considered a sacred mountain by Armenians. It is featured prominently in Armenian literature and art and is an icon for Armenian irredentism. Mount Ararat forms a near-quadripoint between Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Ararat (sometimes Ararad) is the Greek version of the Hebrew spelling of the name Urartu, a kingdom that existed in the Armenian plateau in the 9th–6th centuries BC. German orientalist and Bible critic Wilhelm Gesenius speculated that the word “Ararat” came from the Sanskrit word Arjanwartah, meaning “holy ground. Mount Ararat consists of two distinct volcanic cones, Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat (Little Ararat). The western volcanic cone, Greater Ararat, is a steep-sided volcanic cone that is larger and higher than the eastern volcanic cone. The chronology of Holocene volcanic activity associated with Mount Ararat is documented by either archaeological excavations, oral history, historical records, or a combination of these data, which provide evidence that volcanic eruptions of Mount Ararat occurred in 2500–2400 BC, 550 BC, possibly in 1450 AD and 1783 AD, and definitely in 1840 AD. Archaeological evidence demonstrates that explosive eruptions and pyroclastic flows from the northwest flank of Mount Ararat destroyed and buried at least one Kura–Araxes culturesettlement and caused numerous fatalities in 2500–2400 BC. Oral histories indicated that a significant eruption of uncertain magnitude occurred in 550 BC.” Mount Ararat – Wikipedia
Mt. Ararat
“A mountainous plateau in western Asia from which flow in different directions the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Aras and the Choruk rivers. Its general elevation is 6,000 feet above the sea. Lake Van, which like the Dead Sea has no outlet, is nearly in its center. The Babylonian name was Urartu, the consonants being the same in both words. In 2 Kings 19:37 and Isaiah 37:38 the word is translated in the King James Version Armenia, which correctly represents the region designated. It was to Armenia that the sons of Sennacherib fled. In Jeremiah 51:27 Ararat is associated with Minni and Ashkenaz, which according to the Assyrian monuments lay just to the east of Armenia. In Genesis 8:4 the ark is said to have rested “upon the mountains of Ararat,” i.e. in the mountainous region of Armenia, the plural showing that the mountain peak known as Ararat was not referred to. This peak is of volcanic origin and lies outside the general region, rising from the lowlands of the Araxes (Aras) River to a height of 17,000 feet, supported by another peak seven miles distant, 13,000 feet high. It is only in comparatively modern times that the present name has been given to it. The Armenians still call it Massis, but believe, however, that Noah was buried at Nachitchevan near its base.” Bible Map: Ararat
“The original name of the kingdom occupying Armenia was Bianias, which Ptolemy transliterated Byana. Later the “B” was modified into “V” and we have the modern Van, the present capital of the province. The “mountains of Ararat” on which the ark rested were probably those of the Kurdish range which separates Armenia from Mesopotamia and Kurdistan. In the Babylonian account the place is called “the mountain of Nizir” which is east of Assyria. Likewise Berosus locates the place “in the mountain of the Kordyaeans” or Kurds (Ant., I, iii, 6), while the Syriac version has Hardu in Gen. 8:4 instead of Ararat. The Kurds still regard Jebel Judi, a mountain on the boundary between Armenia and Kurdistan, as the place where the ark rested.” Bible Map: Ararat
“This elevated plateau of Armenia has still many attractions, and is eminently suited to have been the center from which the human race spread in all directions. Notwithstanding its high elevation the region is fertile, furnishing abundant pasture, and producing good crops of wheat and barley, while the vine is indigenous. Moreover there are unmistakable indications that in early historic times there was a much more abundant rainfall in all that region than there is now, so that the climate was then better adapted to the wants of primitive man. This is shown by the elevated beaches surrounding lakes Van, Urumiah, and, indeed, all the lakes of central Asia. Great quantities of mammoth bones have been found in these bordering lacustrine deposits corresponding to those found in the glacial and postglacial deposits of Europe and America. It should, also, be remembered that the drying up of the waters of the flood is represented to have been very gradual-it being 170 days from the time the waters began to subside before Noah could disembark. It may have been many centuries before the present conditions were established, the climate, meanwhile, being modified to a corresponding degree by the proximity of vast surrounding bodies of water.” Bible Map: Ararat
“Armenia abounds in inscriptions carved on the rocks, altar stones and columns, but they have been only imperfectly translated. The script is cuneiform and each letter has only a single phonetic character attached to it. But there are introduced a good many borrowed ideographs which have assisted in the decipherment. According to Sayce this cuneiform syllabary was introduced from Assyria after the conquest of Shalmaneser II in the 9th century B.C. AR’ARAT, the Scriptures no where speak of a Mt. Ararat, but of the mountains of Ararat. The name Ararat is found in the English bible only in Gen. 8:4, Jer. 51:27, but in the Hebrew it occurs in Isaiah 37:38 although translated Armenia and so also in 2 Kings 19:37. In the latter passage the event described took place in Armenia as we know from other history. Ararat is only another name for Armenia which was one of three ancient associated kingdoms as Jer. 51:27 shows. No particular mountain was specified in Scripture, and that mountain now pointed out in Armenia, 500 ms. n. of Babylon, and called Mt. Massis by the Armenians, and Mt. Ararat by travelers, seems first to have been announced as the mount Ararat by one Rubruquis, a traveler, in about Asher Dan 1250, as Bochart says. This opinion seems to have been derived from St. Jerome. But more ancient writers, as Berosus and the Chaldee paraphrast Jonathan with other historians and early commentators, think that the high range, 50 ms. n. of Nineveh, is the true resting place of the Ark, in Armenia. Mt. Massis is 17,750 ft. above the sea and rises from a plain at the e. end of a range of many miles in length. The older claimant, of which we have just spoken, is called Mt. Kudur, the meaning of this word being “the great ship.“ Bible Map: Ararat
“ARME’NIA, see Ararat. Anciently it was associated with Ararat; the Assyrian monuments show that the country into which the sons of Sennacherib escaped, see 2 Kings 19:37, was Armenia, but called Ararat in the Hebrew. It is a high mountainous land beginning 50 ms. n. of Nineveh with several high mountain ranges, w. of the Caspian. In very ancient times, Jer. 51:27, there were three kingdoms and the entire district was, probably, called Togarmah. It was, as a whole, bounded w. by the upper Euphrates; e. by the lower part of the Caspian; s. by lat. 36 50′ and n. by lat. 41 40’.” Bible Map: Ararat
Harrat ar Rahah volcano has been thought before to relate to the bible as well?
The age of the last eruptions is unknown, but probably less than 10,000 years. Neumann van Padang (1963) in the Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World speculated that the Israelite account in Exodus 19:16-18 might refer to an eruption from Harrat ar Rahah.” ref
Exodus 19:16-18:
16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
First infertility diagnosis made 4,000 years ago discovered in cuneiform tablet in Turkey.
This reminds me of the Abraham story Genesis 12: 1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.“4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.
“Harran was a major ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia whose site is near the modern village of Altınbaşak, Turkey, 28 miles southeast of Şanlıurfa. The location is in a district of ŞanlıurfaProvince that is also named “Harran”. A few kilometers from the village of Altınbaşak are the archaeological remains of ancient Harran, a major commercial, cultural, and religious center first inhabited in the Early Bronze Age III (3rd millennium BCE) period. The earliest records of Harran come from Ebla tablets (late 3rd millennium BCE). In its prime Harran was a major Assyrian city which controlled the point where the road from Damascus joins the highway between Ninevehand Carchemish. This location gave Harran strategic value from an early date. Because Harran had an abundance of goods that passed through its region, it became a target for raids. In the 18th century, Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad I (1813–1781 BCE) launched an expedition to secure the Harranian trade route.” https://lnkd.in/eUiyFUf
“The Abraham story cannot be definitively related to any specific time, and it is widely agreed that the patriarchal age, along with the exodus and the period of the judges, is a late literary construct that does not relate to any period in actual history.”
“Abraham, originally Abram, is the common patriarch of the three Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the Covenant, the special relationship between the Jewish people and God; in Christianity, he is the prototype of all believers, Jewish or Gentile; and in Islam he is seen as a link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad.[2]
The narrative in Genesis revolves around the themes of posterity and land. Abraham is called by God to leave the house of his father Terah and settle in the land originally given to Canaan but which God now promises to Abraham and his progeny. Various candidates are put forward who might inherit the land after Abraham; and, while promises are made to Ishmael about founding a great nation, Isaac, Abraham’s son by his half-sister Sarah, inherits God’s promises to Abraham. Abraham purchases a tomb (the Cave of the Patriarchs) at Hebron to be Sarah’s grave, thus establishing his right to the land; and, in the second generation, his heir Isaac is married to a woman from his own kin, thus ruling the Canaanites out of any inheritance. Abraham later marries Keturah and has six more sons; but, on his death, when he is buried beside Sarah, it is Isaac who receives “all Abraham’s goods”, while the other sons receive only “gifts” (Genesis 25:5–8).” https://lnkd.in/enKmTMX
Abram married Sarah (Sarai), who was barren. Terah, with Abram, Sarai, and Lot, then departed for Canaan, but settled in Haran/Harran
“Haran is a place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. almost universally identified with Harran, a city whose ruins lie within present-day Turkey. Haran first appears in the Book of Genesis as the home of Terah and his descendants, and as Abraham‘s temporary home. Later biblical passages list Haran among some cities and lands subjugated by Assyrian rulers and among Tyre‘s trading partners.
where Terah died at the age of 205.[Genesis 11:27–32] God had told Abram to leave his country and kindred and go to a land that he would show him, and promised to make of him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, bless them that bless him, and curse them who may curse him.[Genesis 12:1–3] Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and the substance and souls that they had acquired, and traveled to Shechem in Canaan.[Genesis 12:4–6]” https://lnkd.in/ev2dzwR)
4000-Year-Old Mysterious Megalithic Tomb Discovered in the Golan Heights
“A monumental megalithic tomb with unique rock carvings in its ceiling has been discovered in the Golan Heights. The mysterious multi-chambered tomb is the sign of early farmers that left their mark all over the fertile region, archaeologists say. In fact, the Bronze Age tomb, built some 4000 years ago, is one of the largest discovered in the Middle East and the basalt capstone covering it, which has rock art engraved on it, weighs about 50 tons. The engraved shapes depict a straight line going to the center of an arc. About fifteen such engravings were documented on the ceiling of the dolmen, spread out in a kind of arc along the ceiling. No parallels exist for these shapes in the engraved rock drawings of the Middle East, and their significance remains a mystery,” says Uri Berger of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The engravings that were exposed on the inside of the built chamber. The tomb was covered with an imposing heap of stones and earth, a so-called tumulus, some 20 meters in diameter. One of the interior chambers of the tomb, where the rock art was discovered, was two by three meters in area and investigation of the single chambered tomb, revealed a secondary multi-burial of both adults and children (the practice of allowing bodies to decompose in one place, then collecting the bones and interring them in another place). Inside the tomb the excavators discovered colored beads and other personal items of the deceased.” – 4000-Year-Old Mysterious Megalithic Tomb
“The imposing monumental tomb with giant basalt slabs that the ancient builders used to construct this memorial to their “special dead” is evidence of a sophisticated society that had a complex governmental and economic system that executed monumental engineering projects but did not leave behind any other archaeological evidence the archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority explained. The gigantic dolmen at Kibbutz Shamir is without doubt an indication of public construction”, says Professor Sharon, “that required a significant amount of manpower over a considerable period of time. During that time, all of those people had to be housed and fed. The building of such a huge construction necessitated knowledge of engineering and architecture that small nomadic groups did not usually possess. And even more importantly, a strong system of government was required here that could assemble a large amount of manpower, provide for the personnel and above all direct the implementation and control of a large and lengthy project.” – 4000-Year-Old Mysterious Megalithic Tomb
“2000 BC—Seima-Turbino Phenomenon refers to a pattern of burial sites with similar bronze artifacts dated from 2100 BCE to 1900 BCE found across northern Eurasia, from Finland to Mongolia, which has suggested a common point of cultural origin, advanced metal working technology, and unexplained rapid migration. The buried were nomadic warriors and metal-workers, travelling on horseback or two-wheeled chariots. The name derives from the Seima (Sejma) cemetery at the confluence of the Oka River and Volga River, and the Turbino cemetery in Perm. The Altai Mountains in what is now southern Russia and central Mongolia have been identified as the point of origin of the cultural enigma of Seima-Turbino phenomenon. The culture spread from these mountains to the west and to the east. Artefact types such as spearheads with hooks, single-bladed knives and socketed axes with geometric designs traveled west and east. Although they were the precursor to the much later Mongol invasions, these groups were not yet strong enough to attack the important social sites of the Bronze Age.” —Seima-TurbinoPhenomenon
“It has been conjectured that changes in climate in this region around 2000 BC and the ensuing ecological, economic and political changes triggered a rapid and massive migration westward into northeast Europe, eastward into China and southward into Vietnam and Thailand across a frontier of some 4,000 miles – supposedly this migration took place in just five to six generations and led to peoples from Finland in the west to Thailand in the east employing the same metal working technology and, in some areas, horse breeding and riding.[11] However, further excavations and research in Ban Chiang and Ban Non Wat, Thailand argue the idea that Seima-Turbino brought metal workings into southeast Asia is based on inaccurate and unreliable radiocarbon dating at the site of Ban Chiang. It is now agreed by virtually every specialist in Southeast Asian prehistory, that the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia is too late to relate to Seima-Turbino, and the cast bronzes are quite different.[12]
The same authors conjectured that the same migrations spread the Uralic languages across Europe and Asia.[11]However, recent genetic testings of sites in south Siberia and Kazakhstan(Andronovo horizon) would rather support a spreading of the bronze technology together with Indo-European language migrations eastwards, as this technology was well-known for quite a while in western regions.” —Seima-Turbino Phenomenon
The Birth and Evolution of Judaism: The Pre-Mosaic Stage (around 1950-1300 BCE/3,950-3,300 years ago)
Info from “The Hebrews: A Learning Module from Washington State University, by Richard Hooker”
“Little or nothing can be known for certain about the nature of Hebrew worship before the migration from Egypt. In Hebrew history, Abraham is already worshipping a figure called “Elohim,” which is the plural for “lord.” This figure is also called “El Shaddai” (“God the Mountaineer (?),” translated as “God Almighty”), and a couple other variants. The name of God, Yahweh, isn’t learned by the Hebrews until Moses hears the name spoken by God on Mount Sinai. This god requires animal sacrifices and regular expiation. He intrudes on human life with astonishing suddenness, and often demands absurd acts from humans. The proper human relationship to this god is obedience, and the early history of humanity is a history of humans oscillating between obedience to this god and autonomy. This god is anthropomorphic: he has human qualities. He is frequently angered and seems to have some sort of human body. In addition, the god worshipped by Abraham and his descendants is the creator god, that is, the god solely responsible for the creation of the universe. The god of Genesis is bisexual: he/she is often referred to in female as well as male terms. For instance, this god is represented frequently as “mothering” or “giving birth through labor pains” to the world and humans (these passages are universally mistranslated in English as “fathering”—this god is only referred to as a “father” twice in Genesis ).” Ref
“In Genesis , Elohim or El Shaddai functions as a primitive law-giver; after the Flood, this god gives to Noah those primitive laws which apply to all human beings, the so-called Noahide Laws. Nothing of the sophistication and comprehensive of the Mosaic laws is evident in the early history of the human relationship to Yahweh as outlined in Genesis. Scholars have wracked their brains trying to figure out what conclusions might be drawn about this human history. In general, they believe that the portrait of Hebrew religion in Genesis is an inaccurate one. They conclude instead that Hebrew monolatry and monotheism began with the Yahweh cult introduced, according to Exodus, in the migration from Egypt between 1300 and 1200 BC. The text of Genesis in their view is an attempt to legitimate the occupation of Palestine by asserting a covenantal relationship between Yahweh and the Hebrews that had been established far in the distant past. All these conclusions are brilliant but tentative, for we’ll never know for sure much of anything substantial about Hebrew history and religion during the age of the patriarchs or the sojourn in Egypt.” Ref
“Nevertheless, scholars draw on the text of Genesis to conclude the following controversial ideas about early Hebrew religion: Early Hebrew religion was polytheistic; the curious plural form of the name of God, Elohim rather than El, leads them to believe that the original Hebrew religion involved several gods. This plural form, however, can be explained as a “royal” plural. Several other aspects of the account of Hebrew religion in Genesis also imply a polytheistic faith. The earliest Hebrew religion was animistic, that is, the Hebrews seemed worship forces of nature that dwelled in natural objects. As a result, much of early Hebrew religion had a number of practices that fall into the category of magic: scapegoat sacrifice and various forms of imitative magic, all of which are preserved in the text of Genesis. Early Hebrew religion eventually became anthropomorphic, that is, god or the gods took human forms; in later Hebrew religion, Yahweh becomes a figure that transcends the human and material worlds. Individual tribes probably worshipped different gods; there is no evidence in Genesis that anything like a national God existed in the time of the patriarchs. The most profound revolution in Hebrew thought, though, occurred in the migration from Egypt, and its great innovator was Moses. In the epic events surrounding the flight from Egypt and the settling of the promised land, Hebrew religion became permanently and irrevocably, the Mosaic religion.” Ref
Ten Commandments and the Hittite treaties (3,259 years ago)?
Ten Commandments: Ethics, Justice, or Laws?
So let’s sum up and recap the ten commandments for those of you who may have missed church last Sunday, like I always do… They, also known as the ritual decalogue, are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and Christianity.
The 10 Commandments List, Short Form:
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the lord your god in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
“In a series of insightful and provocative essays dealing with the relationship between academic biblical study and Orthodoxy, which appeared on Torah Musings, my colleague Professor Joshua Berman has shown how the late second millennium BCE (the second millennium BCE: 4,000 to 3,000 years ago) Hittite vassal treaties can deepen our understanding of the biblical notion of covenant (ברית). Moreover, he argues for the possibility that these ancient documents can be used to prove the antiquity and coherence of the Torah. Building on the ground-breaking analysis of the historian of law Victor Korošec, Mendenhall used the similarities between the Hittite treaties and covenantal passages in the Bible as empirical evidence for the antiquity of the latter. Particular attention was given to the structure of the Hittite treaties, which featured the following sections (even though not all are present in any given document):
“In comparison with treaty forms found in other parts of the Near East, the inclusion of a historical prologue and blessings alongside the curses can be viewed as distinctive. Strikingly, several covenantal texts in the Bible also feature these two sections, especially the Book of Deuteronomy – taken in its entirety as a treaty form – and Joshua 24. On the other hand, these two sections are absent from the Neo-Assyrian treaties, from the eighth and seventh centuries, which others believe were the main influence on Deuteronomy. These observations served as the basis for Mendenhall’s argument that the biblical sources reflect a late 2nd millennium BCE date of composition, not the much later dates that were accepted by most biblical scholars.” ref
There is an important distinction between the Decalogue and the “book of the covenant” (Exodus 21-23 and 34:10–24). The decalogue, it can be hypothesized was modeled on the suzerainty treaties of the Hittites (and other Mesopotamian Empires), that is, represents the relationship between god and Israel as a relationship between king and vassal, and enacts that bond. “The prologue of the Hittite treaty reminds his vassals of his benevolent acts (compare with Exodus 20:2 “I am the lord your god, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”) The Hittite treaty also stipulated the obligations imposed by the ruler on his vassals, which included a prohibition of relations with peoples outside the empire, or enmity between those within.” (Exodus 20:3 “you shall have no other gods before me.”) Viewed as a treaty rather than a law code, its purpose is not so much to regulate human affairs as to define the scope of the king’s power. Thus Exodus 34 is distinct from the Jahwist document, identifying it with king Asa’s reforms around 2,913 years ago. The book of the covenant, bears a greater similarity to Mesopotamian law codes (e.g. the Code of Hammurabi which was inscribed on a stone stele). ref, ref
So the function of this “book” is to move from the realm of treaty to the realm of law: (Exodus 21 to 23; and 34), which is no official state law, but a description of normative Israelite judicial procedure in the days of the Judges, is the best example of this process” then, this body of law too predates the monarchy. The phrasing in the decalogue`s instructions suggests that it was conceived in a mainly polytheistic milieu, evident especially in the formulation of “no-other-gods-before-me” commandment. If the ten commandments are based on Hittite forms that would date it somewhere between the 2,140-2,120 years ago. The ten commandments believed to be written by god, the first thing that comes to mind is why is god so bad at writing things on stone. Why did he use two large stone tablets? When he, if god, more reasonably could have done it on one small manageable tablet. You would only think a stone craftsman of that time would need two large stone tablets to engrave on with crude tools stolen from Egypt right? Not a god!!! ref, ref
The second rational thought is, if this “ten commandments” was to be taken seriously as a rule of law, why is it not organized with some resemblance to rational forethought such as murder before honoring your father and mother, right? So then onto the “first commandment,” two things come to mind. How god acknowledges the existence of other gods, he did not simply state there is no god but to stop worshiping other gods. As well the wording seems to imply you don’t have to remove other gods, you are just to put yahweh the god of Moses first. Believers cannot simply say I am interpreting it wrong. Because would not that say god did not know how to communicate or did not mean what he said the way he said it. So now to the” second commandment,” then the part about graven images is not really that simple as one verse as often reported. It could literally be any ART. People act as if it is just no god idols which it is not! Then, if jealousy is a sin, why is god allowed to sin and be jealous? Those who practice jealousy will not inherit the kingdom of god; Galatians 5:20-21. Then god’s sinful jealousy is likewise unjust by punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the fourth generation. ref, ref
But hey, if you get to make the rules, you at least get to break them right? Exodus 20:4 you shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. Exodus 20:5 you shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the lord your god, am a jealous god, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. So to recap, the ten commandments are the rules of conduct given by Yahweh to Moses in Exodus 20:1-17, prescribing worship of Yahweh and honor for parents while prohibiting killing, adultery, theft, false witness, and covetousness. Of the ten commandments, the first four indicate an insecure god afraid of losing his authority. Only three commandments 6,8,9 can be related to sensible legal prohibitions (against murder, theft, and perjury/fraud). The remaining three commandments 5,7,10 in a rational secular America would only be seen as good advice. ref, ref
Hittitetreaties?
“The treaty was signed to end a long war between the Hittite Empire and the Egyptians, who had fought for over two centuries to gain mastery over the lands of the eastern Mediterranean. The conflict culminated with an attempted Egyptian invasion in 1274 BC that was stopped by the Hittites at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes Riverin what is now Syria. The Battle of Kadeshresulted in both sides suffering heavy casualties, but neither was able to prevail decisively in either the battle or the war. The conflict continued inconclusively for about fifteen more years before the treaty was signed. Although it is often referred to as the “Treaty of Kadesh”, it was actually signed long after the battle, and Kadesh is not mentioned in the text. The treaty is thought to have been negotiated by intermediaries without the two monarchs ever meeting in person. Both sides had common interests in making peace; Egypt faced a growing threat from the “Sea Peoples“, while the Hittites were concerned about the rising power of Assyria to the east. The treaty was ratified in the 21st year of Ramesses II’s reign (1258 BC) and continued in force until the Hittite Empire collapsed eighty years later.” ref
“The Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, also known as the Eternal Treaty or the Silver Treaty, is the only ancient Near Eastern treaty for which both sides’ versions have survived. It is sometimes called the Treaty of Kadesh after the well-documentedBattle of Kadeshfought some sixteen years earlier, although Kadesh is not mentioned in the text. Both sides of the treaty have been the subject of intensive scholarly study. The treaty itself did not bring about a peace; in fact “an atmosphere of enmity between Hatti and Egypt lasted many years,” until the eventual treaty of alliance was signed. Translation of the texts revealed that this engraving was originally translated from silver tablets given to each side, which have since been lost to contemporary historians. The Egyptian version of the peace treaty was engraved in hieroglyphics on the walls of two temples belonging to Pharaoh Ramesses II in Thebes: the Ramesseum and the Precinct of Amun-Re at the Temple of Karnak. The scribes who engraved the Egyptian version of the treaty included descriptions of the figures and seals that were on the tablet that the Hittites delivered. The Hittite version was found in the Hittite capital of Hattusa (in present day Turkey), preserved on baked clay tablets uncovered among the Hittite royal palace’s sizable archives. Two of the Hittite tablets are today displayed at the Museum of the Ancient Orient, part of the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. The third is on display in the Berlin State Museums in Germany. A copy of this treaty is prominently displayed on a wall in the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.” ref
“The ancient Hebrew alephbet has very little resemblence to the modern Hebrew alephbet, though the modern did evolve out of the ancient. The ancient twenty-two Hebrew letters were originally pictures of animals, tools or parts of the body.” ref
Traces of Totemism In Judaism
Totemism (theoretical belief in a mythical relationship with powers/spirits through a totem item). Believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects (you are a hidden totemist/Totemism: an approximately 50,000-year-old belief system)
“A totem is any species of plants or animals thought to possess supernatural powers. Each group within the society may have its own totem, including associated ceremonies. Totemic beliefs may not be as foreign to the Western mind as first expected; many Westerners have totems. School mascots, symbols, and emblems all constitute totems.” Ref
“The investigation of totemism is strictly the work of the anthropologist. Its mention in a study of this kind is necessitated by the fact that some maintain that the idea of a god was evolved from the idea of a totem and that honors to a god were but a form of magnification of honors to a totem. The eating of a sacrifice offered to a god was accordingly explained upon the basis of eating the god and thus incorporating his qualities. It is maintained by some and contested by others that every tribe of people has retained vestiges of original totemism and that therefore totemism is a true ancestor of religion. Scholars differ upon the thesis of the universality of early totemism. Totemistic practices are widely variant and totemism itself is a social philosophy rather than a religious tenet. Moreover, it is not necessary to suppose that the social and religious development of every people has been mechanically identical. After the entrance of human intellect and will upon the scene, it is impossible to make an accurate prediction of the succession of stages of progress, unless one is in possession of all the factors of choice. All that we can say is that totemism is a social state in which many peoples have once probably lived and some have surely lived. It is certainly one form which the eating of the sacred meal may have taken. It seems, however, to have been a sort of social excursion rather than a definite step in religious development. Since it was preceded by earlier social forms of life, it cannot be regarded as the origin of religion or of anything else.” Ref
“The Hebrews abstain from killing or eating animals such as the pig, whose ancestors (wild boars) had been the totems of their forefathers. These animals are designated either as sacred or unclean, two over-precise terms, which, if traced back to their origins, will be reduced to the idea of taboo, or prohibition. At a much later period it is suggested that the flesh of these animals was unwholesome, or that those ‘-who Rte it might contract vices of character. The Mosaic law merely formulates prohibitions which were already ancient; the Jews themselves believed these prohibitions to have been anterior to the Flood, for when Noah is about to take refuge in the Ark, the Eternal orders him to take with him two couples of every unclean beast and seven couples of every clean beast, without explaining what these words meant (Gen. vii. !!). Another evidence of the sacred character of the animals described 88 unclean was the clandestine custom reprobated by Isaiah (\xvi. 17): “They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves in the garden … eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord.” Here we have evidently the survival of one of these periodic sacrifices of totems, in which men sought to sanctify themselves by eating some sacred meat, the general use of which was forbidden. I will not insist on those names of men and tribes which are compounded of the names of animals, for it may always be objected to that these were merely nicknames; but the worship of that these were merely nicknames; but the worship of the bull and of the serpent among the Hebrews is an indubitable survival of totemism.” Ref
“It seems very probable that Jehovah was long represented by a bull. Portable gilded images of bulls were consecrated by Jeroboam (1 Kings, xii. !e8); the prophet Hosea inveighed against the worship of the bull in the kingdom of Israel (Hos. viii. 5; x. 5). The famous golden calf of the Israelites, the object of Moses’ anger, had nothing to do with the bull Apis, which was a live animal; it was a totemic idol of are compounded of the names of animals, for it may always be objected that these were merely nicknames; but the worship of the ‘bull and of the serpent among the Hebrews is an indubitable survival of totemism. It seems very probable that Jehovah was long by a bull. Portable gilded images of bulls were consecrated by Jeroboam (1 Kings, xii. !e8); the prophet Hosea inveighed against the worship of the bull in the kingdom of Israel (Hos. viii. 5; x. 5). The famous golden calf of the Israelites, the object of Moses’ anger, had nothing to do with the bull Apis, which was a live animal; it was a totemic idol of Isrealites, the object of Moses’ anger, had nothing to do with the bull Apis, which was a live animal; it was a totemic idol of a kind commonly found in the land of Canaan, where the bull “as the symbol, that is to say, the incarnation of a Baal. Although the law of Moses was hostile to every kind of idolatry, the worship of the serpent was practiced by Moses himself, who transformed his magic wand into a serpent (Ex. vii. 9-U) and made a brazen serpent to heal the people of the bites of serpents (Numbers xxi. 9). A brazen serpent, perhaps a totem of David’s family, was worshipped in the temple of Jerusalem and was only destroyed by He7.ekiah about 700 B.C. (2 Kings, xviii. 4).” Ref
“The prophetess Deborah, whose name means a bee, was no doubt like those priestesses of Diana of Ephesus who were called (melimii), the ministrant of a totemic worship of this insect. Samson, the lion.slayer, was probably a lion, whose strength.. lay in his luxuriant tawny mane. This lion was strength lay in his luxuriant tawny mane. This lion was identified with the SUD, as in Babylonia, hence the analogy of Samson’s name with that of the Babylonian solar god, Slumuuh. I might multiply these examples, and speak of Balaam’s eloquent ass, which may be compared with the Greek tradition of an ass- I headed god worshipped by the Israelites possibly those of Samaria-and the >part played by the ass in Zechariah ix. 9, and in the account of Christ’s entry into Jenlsalem. The dove which descended from Heaven upon Jesus at his baptism was also an ancient Syrian totem. I have already mentioned the fish, a Syrian totem adopted by the Jews, and the early Christians (p. iO). Of course, the Jews were unconscious totemists. Like all other peoples, they must have ceased to be totemists, in the strict sense of the word, as soon they owned domestic animals. Totemic worship is generally incompatible with the possession of cattle. SO. In opposition to the heathen races who surrounded Israel and whose practices were constantly alluring them, the Jewish priesthood, the authors of the Old Testament, were Jewish priesthood, the authors of the Old Testament, were hostile to all magic, and also to the popular belief in a future life, which was likely to result in the evocation of the dead or necromancy. But this strategy of animism is so natural to man that the Bible nevertheless contains numerous instances of it. Moses and Aaron were magicilUls who rivalled Pharaoh’. magicians (Ex. vii. 11-00). Balaam was a magician who pronounced incantations against Israel, and afterwards passed over to the service of Jehovah (Numbers xxii. et 8eq.; Micah vi. 5.” Ref
“Jacob resorted to a kind of sympathetic magic to procure the birth of speckled sheep (Gen. xxx. 89). Divination, which is the use of magic to discover the will of spiritual beings, was practiced by means Urim and Thummim , a kind of dice enclosed in a sacred receptacle called an ephod. “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live it is written in Exodus xxii. Fatal words which the Christian Churches have obeyed only too faithfully! They offered at once an affirmation of the reality of witchcraft, and a tendency which still survives even in these days to look upon witchcraft as an appanage of the weaker sex. Both churches and secular tribunals have burnt favorite witches than wizards. The herem, or vow of destruction, tabooed everything; hence the sin of preserving anything in Jericho (Joshua vii). Some think that the notion of unclean animals was brought from Egypt with the rite of circumcision. This rite was probably part of a tribal initiation-ceremony, afterwards performed at an earlier time of life, but it was not a Semitic heritage, as it is unknown to the Eastern Semites and to the Philistines.’ The worship of stones, trees, wells, and serpents may have been agricultural or nomadic.· So too of such traits as fasting (Neh. ix. I); absence of the lex talionis (Gen. iv. 23); the practice of the Rechabites (Jer. xxxv.); the use of bitter water as an oracle; the scape-goat, etc. These are primitive, but whether nomadic or not is uncertain.’ The ark may well have been a survival of nomadic life. It’ served as an oracle and was taboo to the touch (I Sam. ivviL). It is said to have contained (meteoric?) stones. The ark of Shiloh may have been the home of the Lord of the practice of the Rechabites (Jer. xxxv.); the use of bitter water as an oracle; the scape-goat, etc. These are primitive, but whether nomadic or not is uncertain.’ The ark may well have been a survival of nomadic life. It served as an oracle and was taboo to the touch (I Sam. ivvii.). It is said to have contained (meteoric?) stones. The ark of Shiloh may have been the home of the Lord of Shechem, Baal-Berith, afterward identified with Yahweh.” Ref
A primitive social system in which members of a clan reckoned kinship through their mothers, and worshiped some animal or plant which they regarded as their ancestor and the image of which they bore tattooed on their persons. The following are the chief arguments in favor of the existence of totem clans among the ancient Israelites:
I. Animal and Plant Names: Arguments in Favor of Totemism.
“A considerable number of persons and places in the Old Testament have names derived from animals or plants. Jacobs (“Studies in Biblical Archæology,” pp. 94-103) has given a list of over 160 such names, including Oreb (the raven) and Zeeb (the wolf), princes of the Midianites; Caleb (the dog), Tola (the worm), Shual (the fox), Zimri (the chamois), Jonah (the dove), Huldah (the weasel), Jael (the ibex), Nahash (the serpent), Kezia (the cassia), Shaphan (the rock-badger), Ajalon (the great stag), and Zeboim (the hyena). Many of these, however, are personal names; but among the Israelitish tribes mentioned in Num. xxvi. are the Shualites, or fox clan of Asher; the Shuphamites, or serpent clan of Benjamin; the Bachrites, or camel clan; and the Arelites, or lion clan of Gad. Other tribes having similar names are the Zimrites, or hornet clan, and the Calebites, or dog tribe. In the genealogy of the Horites (Gen. xxxvi.) several animal names occur, such as Shobal (the young lion), Zibeon (the hyena), Anah (the wild ass), Dishan (the gazel), Akan (the roe), Aiah (the kite), Aran (the ass), and Cheran (the lamb). The occurrence of such a large number of animal names in one set of clan names suggests the possibility that the Horites, who were nomads, were organized on the totem-clan system.” Ref
II. Exogamy
“is the system under which any member of a clan may not marry within his own clan, but must marry a member of a kindred clan. Smith deduces the existence of such clans among the Horites from the mention of Anah clans and Dishan clans in the list. He also draws attention to Shimeis among the Levites, Reubenites, and Benjamites. Female descent is the only means of tracing kinship in exogamous clans; and Smith sees a survival of this in the case of the marriage of Abraham and Sarah, who were not of the same mother, while Abimelech appealed to his mother’s clan as being of his flesh (Judges viii. 19), and Naomi told Ruth to return to her mother’s house (Ruth i. 8) .” Ref
III. Ancestor and Animal Worship:
“Smith attributes the friendship between David and Nahash, King of the Ammonites, to the fact that they were both members of a serpent clan spread throughout Canaan. That animals were worshiped among the Hebrews is well known, as is shown by the legends of the golden calf and the brazen serpent. The second commandment prohibits this. Smith draws attention to the case of animal worship in Ezek. viii. 7-11, where Ezekiel sees “every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about,” and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah ben Shaphan (the rock-badger), “with every man his censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up.” Here there is animal worship connected with the name of a person who appears to be connected with an unclean beast, the “shaphan.” See also Ancestor Worship.” Ref
IV. Forbidden Food:
Members of a totem clan did not eat the totem animal. As such totems gradually spread throughout the nation, a list of forbidden animals would arise which might be analogous to the list of forbidden animals given in Lev. xi. and Deut. xv. Jacobs, however, has shown that in the list of animal names given by him forty-three are clean as against forty-two unclean.” Ref
V. Tattooing and Clan Crests: Absence of Historic Connection.
“A totem is tattooed on the skin of the totem worshiper; and there is evidence in Lev. xix. 28 that the Israelites were forbidden to make tattoo-marks, while an allusion to this practise may be contained in Isa. xliv. 5 and in Ezek. ix. 4. The mark of Cain may perhaps have been a tattoo-mark. In none of these instances, however, are there indications that the tattoo-marks were in an animal form or connected with animal worship. The tribes of Israel when on the marchhad standards (Num. i. 52, ii. 2 et seq.); and rabbinic literature gives details of the crests (see Flag), which were derived from the blessings of Jacob (Gen. xlix.) and Moses (Deut. xxxiii.). In these most of the tribes are compared to an animal: Judah to a lion; Issachar to an ass; Dan to a serpent; etc. In Moses’ blessing, however, Dan is compared to a lion’s whelp, which seems to show that the tribes were not arranged on a totemic system.” Ref
VI. Blood Feud:
“The practical side of the totem system insured the existence of relatives scattered throughout a tribe, who would guarantee the taking up of the blood feud in case one of the members of the totem clan was injured or killed. The existence of the blood feud can be recognized in Israel (see Go’el), but there is no evidence of a connection with totemism. Altogether, while traces and survivals are found of institutions similar to those of the totem clan, there is not sufficient evidence to show that it existed in Israel during historic times, though it is possible that some such system was found among the Edomites.” Ref
Anthropomorphic cult statues were a major focus of religious practice in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Levant. These images provided a focal point for worshippers to experience the deity ‘face-to-face’ in the context of religious festivals and temple service. Deities were thought to be manifest in their cult statues, where they could taste and smell votive offerings and hear worshipper’s prayers. There was no one biblical understanding of divine images. The various law codes, for example, prohibit different things:
Decalogue Exod 20:4 = Deut 5:8 “You will not make a hewn image (pesel) whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above or on earth below or in the waters below the earth.” [Only hewn images are prohibited.]
Covenant Code Exod 20:23 “You will not make gods of silver alongside me (ˀittî) nor will you make gods of gold for yourselves.” [This verse seems to suggest that Yahweh had the exclusive right to be represented in cult statues]
Holiness Code Lev 19:4 “Do not turn to idols (hā-ˀĕlîlîm) nor make cast images of gods (ˀĕlōhê massēkâ) for yourselves!”
Holiness Code Lev 26:1 “You will not make idols (ˀĕlîlîm) or a hewn image (pesel) for yourselves. And you will not erect a standing stone (maṣṣēbâ) for yourselves or put a figured stone (ˀaben maśkît) to worship it.”
Covenant Curses Deut 27:15 “Cursed be the man who makes a hewn image (pesel) or cast image (massēkâ), abhorrent to the lord, the work of the hands of the artisan and sets it up in secret.”
‘Ritual’ Decalogue Exod 34:17 “You will not make cast images of gods (ˀĕlōhê massēkâ) for yourself.”
These laws are normative. The proliferation of prohibitions suggests that images continued to be made, which fits archaeological and biblical data.
Excavators found a bronze bull figurine dated to ca. 1200 b.c.e. at Dothan near Samaria in what is believed to be a cult site. It is unclear, however, whether this site was Israelite at this time period. Nevertheless, the figurine recalls the bull statues that Jereboam installed in Dan and Bethel (1 Kgs 12:28-29). Ref
Atenism (around 3,344 – 3,342 years ago) with mentions of the sun disk Aten dating back to around 4,000 years ago in Egypt. ref, ref
Zoroastrianism (around 2,600 – 2,500 years ago) possibly dating back to around 4,000 years ago. Relates to, the worship of Mithra, the Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre-Zoroastrian Iran. ref, ref
Atenism
“Aten, the god of Atenism, first appears in texts dating to the 12th dynasty, in the Story of Sinuhe. During the Middle Kingdom, Aten “as the sun disk…was merely one aspect of the sun god Re.” It was a relatively obscure sun god; without the Atenist period, it would barely have figured in Egyptian history. Although there are indications that it was becoming slightly more important during the eighteenth dynasty, notably Amenhotep III‘s naming of his royal barge as Spirit of the Aten, it was Amenhotep IV who introduced the Atenist revolution in a series of steps culminating in the official installment of the Aten as Egypt’s sole god. Although each line of kings prior to the reign of Akhenaten had previously adopted one deity as the royal patron and supreme state god, there had never been an attempt to exclude other deities, and the multitude of gods had always been tolerated and worshipped. And because of the monolatristic or monotheistic character of Atenism, a link to Judaism (or other monotheistic religions) has been suggested by various writers.” ref
“Akhenaten carried out a radical program of religious reform. For about twenty years, he largely supplanted the age-old beliefs and practices of the Egyptian state religion, and deposed its religious hierarchy, headed by the powerful priesthood of Amun at Thebes. For fifteen centuries, the Egyptians had worshiped an extended family of gods and goddesses, each of which had its own elaborate system of priests, temples, shrines and rituals. A key feature of the cults was the veneration of images and statues of the gods, which were worshipped in the dark confines of the temples. Initially, Akhenaten presented Aten to the Egyptian people as a variant of the familiar supreme deity Amun-Ra (itself the result of an earlier rise to prominence of the cult of Amun, resulting in Amun becoming merged with the sun god Ra), in an attempt to put his ideas in a familiar religious context. Aten is the name given to the solar disc, and the full title of Akhenaten’s god was Ra-Horus, who rejoices in the horizon in his name of the light which is in the sun disc. The pinnacle of the religious hierarchy was the Pharaoh, both king and living god.” ref
“During the reign of Thutmosis IV, it was identified as a distinct solar god, and his son Amenhotep III established and promoted a separate cult for the Aten. There is no evidence that Amenhotep III neglected the other gods or attempted to promote the Aten as an exclusive deity. The fifth year is believed to mark the beginning of Amenhotep IV’s construction of a new capital, Akhetaten (Horizon of the Aten), at the site known today as Amarna. Evidence appears on three of the boundary stelae used to mark the boundaries of this new capital. Then, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten (Spirit of the Aten) as evidence of his new worship.” ref, ref
“The date given for the event has been estimated to fall around January 2 of that year. In the seventh year of his reign (1346/1344 BC), the capital was moved from Thebes to Akhetaten, but the construction of the city seems to have continued for two more years. In shifting his court from the traditional ceremonial centers, he was signaling a dramatic transformation in the focus of religious and political power. The move separated the Pharaoh and his court from the influence of the priesthood and from the traditional centers of worship, but his decree had deeper religious significance too. Taken in conjunction with his name change, it is possible that the move to Amarna was also meant as a signal of Akhenaten’s symbolic death and rebirth. It may also have coincided with the death of his father and the end of the coregency. In addition to constructing a new capital in honor of Aten, Akhenaten also oversaw the construction of some of the most massive temple complexes in ancient Egypt, including one at Karnak and one at Thebes, close to the old temple of Amun. Detail of funerary stela of Amenemhat.” ref, ref
“The name of God Amun was erased by Akhenaten’s agents. In the ninth year of his reign (1344/1342 BC), Akhenaten declared a more radical version of his new religion, declaring Aten not merely the supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon but the only God of Egypt, with himself as the sole intermediary between the Aten and the Egyptian people. Key features of Atenism included a ban on idols and other images of the Aten, with the exception of a rayed solar disc in which the rays (commonly depicted ending in hands) appear to represent the unseen spirit of Aten. Aten was addressed by Akhenaten in prayers, such as the Great Hymn to the Aten: “O Sole God beside whom there is none”. Aten’s name is also written differently after the ninth year of the Pharaoh’s rule to emphasize the radicalism of the new regime. Aten, instead of being written with the symbol of a rayed solar disc, now became spelled phonetically. The details of Atenist theology are still unclear.” ref, ref
“The exclusion of all but one god and the prohibition of idols was a radical departure from Egyptian tradition, but most scholars see Akhenaten as a practitioner of monolatry rather than monotheism, as he did not actively deny the existence of other gods. He simply refrained from worshiping any but Aten. It is known that Atenism did not attribute divinity only to Aten. Akhenaten continued the cult of the Pharaoh, proclaiming himself the son of Aten and encouraging the Egyptian people to worship him. The Egyptian people were to worship Akhenaten, and only Akhenaten and Nefertiti could worship Aten directly. Because of the Monolatristc or monotheistic character of Atenism, a link to Judaism (or other monotheistic religions) has been suggested by various writers.” ref, ref
“For example, psychoanalystSigmund Freud assumed Akhenaten to be the pioneer of monotheistic religion and Moses as Akhenaten’s follower in his book Moses and Monotheism (see also Osarseph). The Egyptian author Ahmed Osman went as far as to claim that Moses and Akhenaten were the same person. Monolatrism or monolatry is to some a form of monotheism which places exclusive devotion on one latrine God alone, with recognition of the existence of other Gods, worshipped by other people. Monolatry is similar thus sometimes confused with henotheism, but they are different concepts of religious belief. Examples of Monolatrism or monolatry, Judaism was originally a monolatry, but El (who later merged with Yahweh) and Asherah (the consort of El and later of Yahweh) disappeared from the pantheon, leaving only Yahweh, however, this is a highly disputed claim. Mormonism is also monolatrist, as though they see only one god as worthy of praise in this universe, they also recognize the existence of other gods in different universes.” ref, ref
Zoroastrianism
“Zoroastrianism enters recorded history in the 5th century BCE, with possible roots dating back to the second millennium BCE. Besides the Zoroastrian diaspora, the older Mithraic faith Yazdânismis still practiced among the Kurds. Zoroastrianism contains both monotheistic and dualistic features. Although a fairly small religion today, numbering about 200,000 adherents largely in India, it shares many central concepts with the major world religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Zoroastrianism in India has significant history within the country. Zoroastrians have lived in India since 224 to 651 the Sasanian period. The Zoroastrians also moved to India in successive migrations during the Islamic period.” ref, ref, ref
“The Zoroastrian name of the religion is Mazdayasna, which combines Mazda-with the Avestan language word yasna, meaning “worship, devotion”. The contesting force to Ahura Mazda was called Angra Mainyu, or angry spirit. Post-Zoroastrian scripture introduced the concept of Ahriman, the Devil, which was effectively a personification of Angra Mainyu. Zoroastrianism’s creatorAhura Mazda, through the Spenta Mainyu (Good Spirit, “Bounteous Immortals”) is an all-good “father” of Asha (Truth, “order, justice”), in opposition to Druj (“falsehood, deceit”) and no evil originates from “him”. Zoroastrianism’s creatorAhura Mazda, and his works are evident to humanity through the six primary Amesha Spentasand the host of other Yazatas, through whom worship of Mazda is ultimately directed. Spenta Mainyu adjoined unto “truth”, oppose the Spirit’s opposite, Angra Mainyu and its forces born of Akəm Manah (“evil thinking”).” ref
“Major features of Zoroastrianism, such as messianism, judgment after death, heaven and hell, and free will have influenced other religious systems, including Second Temple Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity, and Islam. Following the Iranian Revolution and the arrival of the Islamic theocracy in Iran, Zoroastrianism is having a strong revival amongst many Iranians who want to express discontent towards the dictatorial theocratic regime. With possible roots dating back to the second millennium BCE, Zoroastrianism enters recorded history in the 5th-century BCE.” ref
“Along with a MithraicMedian prototype and a ZurvanistSassanid successor, it served as the state religion of the pre-Islamic Iranian empires for more than a millennium, from around 600 BCE to 650 CE. Zoroastrianism was suppressed from the 7th century onwards following the Muslim conquest of Persia of 633–654. Recent estimates place the current number of Zoroastrians at around 190,000, with most living in India and in Iran; their number is declining. In 2015, there were reports of up to 100,000 converts in Iraqi Kurdistan. Besides the Zoroastrian diaspora, the older Mithraic faith Yazdânism is still practiced amongst Kurds who have around a 4,000-year-old genetic link with the Jews more than any other people. Study finds a close genetic connection between Jews, Kurds – Haaretz Kurds are traditionally regarded as Iranians and of Iranian origin, and therefore as Indo-Europeans, mainly, because they speak Iranian.” ref
“This hypothesis is largely based on linguistic considerations and was predominantly developed by linguists. In contrast to such believes, newest DNA-research of advanced Human Anthropology indicates, that in earliest traceable origins, forefathers of Kurds were obviously descendants of indigenous (first) Neolithic Northern Fertile Crescent aborigines, geographically mainly from outside and northwest of what is Iran of today in Near East and Eurasia. Oldest ancestral forefathers of Kurds were millennia later linguistically Iranianized in several waves by militarily organized elites of (R1a1) immigrants from Central Asia.” ref
“These new findings lead to the understanding, that neither was aborigine Northern Fertile Crescent Eurasian Kurds and ancient Old-Iranian speaker (R1a1) immigrants from Asia one and the same people, nor represent the later, R1a1 dominated migrating early Old-Iranian speaker elites from Asia, oldest traceable ancestors of Kurds. Rather, constitute both historically completely different populations and layers of Kurdish forefathers, each with own distinct genetic, ethnical, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The most important texts of the religion are those of the Avesta, which includes the writings of Zoroaster known as the Gathas, enigmatic poems that define the religion’s precepts, and the Yasna, the scripture. The religion of Zoroastrianism is closest to the Vedic religion. Some historians believe that Zoroastrianism, along with similar philosophical revolutions in South Asia were interconnected strings of reformation against a common Indo-Aryan thread.” ref
“Many traits of Zoroastrianism can be traced back to the culture and beliefs of the prehistorical Indo-Iranian period, that is, to the time before the migrations that led to the Indo-Aryans and Iranics becoming distinct peoples. Zoroastrianism consequently shares elements with the historical Vedic religion that also has its origins in that era. An example is a relation of the Avestan word Ahura (“Ahura Mazda“) and the Vedic Sanskrit word Asura (“demon; evil demigod”), and Daeva (“demon”) and Deva (“god”). They are descended from a common Proto-Indo-Iranian religion. Vedic religious texts are replete with people from far-flung countries practising or leaving Aryan teachings. The full name by which Zoroaster addressed the deity is: Ahura, The Lord Creator, and Mazda, Supremely Wise. The religious philosophy of Zoroaster divided the early Iranian gods of Proto-Indo-Iranian tradition, but focused on responsibility, and did not create a devil per-se. Zoroaster proclaimed that there is only one God, the singularly creative and sustaining force of the Universe, and that human beings are given a right of choice. Because of cause and effect, they are responsible for the consequences of their choices. The contesting force to Ahura Mazda was called Angra Mainyu, or angry spirit.” ref
“Post-Zoroastrian scripture introduced the concept of Ahriman, the Devil, which was effectively a personification of Angra Mainyu. Zoroastrianism’s creatorAhura Mazda, through the Spenta Mainyu (Good Spirit, “Bounteous Immortals”) is an all-good “father” of Asha (Truth, “order, justice”), in opposition to Druj (“falsehood, deceit”) and no evil originates from “him”. “He” and his works are evident to humanity through the six primary Amesha Spentas and the host of other Yazatas, through whom worship of Mazda is ultimately directed. Spenta Mainyu adjoined unto “truth”, oppose the Spirit’s opposite, Angra Mainyu and its forces born of Akəm Manah (“evil thinking”). Zoroastrianism has no major theological divisions, though it is not uniform; modern-era influences having a significant impact on individual and local beliefs, practices, values and vocabulary, sometimes merging with tradition and in other cases displacing it. In Zoroastrianism, the purpose in life is to “be among those who renew the world…to make the world progress towards perfection”. Its basic maxims include:
Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta, which mean: Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds.
There is only one path and that is the path of Truth.
Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, and then all beneficial rewards will come to you also.” ref
“Monolatry is distinguished from monotheism, which asserts the existence of only one god, and henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one god without denying that others may worship different gods with equal validity. Some historians have argued that ancient Israel originally practiced a form of monolatry or henotheism. Both Frank Eakin, Jr. and John Scullion believe Moses was a monolatrist rather than a monotheist, and John Day suggests that angels are what became of the other gods once monotheism took over Israel. John McKenzie has stated: “In the ancient Near East the existence of divine beings was universally accepted without questions.” ref
“The question was not whether there is only one elohim, but whether there is any elohim like Yahweh.” Some scholars claim the Torah (Pentateuch) shows evidence of monolatry in some passages. The argument is normally based on references to other gods, such as the “gods of the Egyptians” in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 12:12). The Egyptians have also attributed powers that suggest the existence of their gods; in Exodus 7:11-13, after Aaron transforms his staff into a snake, Pharaoh’s sorcerers do likewise. In the ancient Near East, magic was generally believed to exist, though the Israelites viewed magic as being malign in origin and were forbidden from it. With regard to miracle and prophecy, the Bible commands the Israelites not to follow false prophets (those who compromise the law) and not to refrain from putting them to death. The miracles of false prophets are, like those of the Egyptian sorcerers, regarded by the Israelites as a divine test to see if the Israelites “love the LORD [their] God with all [their] heart and with all [their] soul.” ref
“The Ten Commandments have been interpreted by some as evidence that the Israelites originally practiced monolatry. Exodus 20:3 reads “Thou shalt have no other gods before me“, and they argue that the addition of “before me” at the end of the commandment indicates that not only other gods may exist but that they may be respected and worshiped so long as less than Yahweh. There is evidence that the Israelite people as a whole did not strictly adhere to monotheism before the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE. Much of this evidence comes from the Bible itself, which records that many Israelites chose to worship foreign gods and idols rather than Yahweh.” ref
“During the 8th century BCE, the monotheistic worship of Yahweh in Israel was in competition with many other cults, described by the Yahwist faction collectively as Baals. The oldest books of the Hebrew Bible reflect this competition, as in the books of Hosea and Nahum, whose authors lament the “apostasy” of the people of Israel and threaten them with the wrath of God if they do not give up their polytheistic cults. On the other hand, medieval scholars often interpreted ancient texts to argue that the ancient Israelites were monotheistic. The Shema Yisrael is often cited as proof that the Israelites practiced monotheism. It was recognized by Rashi in his 11th-century commentary to Deuteronomy 6:4 that the declaration of the Shema accepts belief in one god as being only a part of Jewish faith at the time of Moses but would eventually be accepted by all humanity. A similar statement occurs in Maimonides‘ Thirteen Principles of Faith‘s second principle:
God, the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of a pair, nor one like a species (which encompasses many individuals), nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity. This is referred to in the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4): “Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.” ref
“Paul the Apostle, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, writes that “we know that an idol is nothing” and “that there is none other God but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). He argues in verse 5 that “for though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth”, “but to us there is but one God”. Paul distinguishes between gods that have no authority or have a lesser authority, “as there be gods many, and lords many”, and the one God who has universal authority, “one God, the Father, of whom are all things” and “one Lord, Jesus Christ, of whom are all things”. Some translators of verse 5, put the words “gods” and “lords” in quotes to indicate that they are gods or lords only so-called. In his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul refers to “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), which the eighteenth-century theologian John Gill interpreted as a reference to Satan or the material things put before God, such as money, rather than acknowledging any separate deity from God.” ref
God Mithras and Mithraism
“Mithraism, the worship of Mithra, the Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre-Zoroastrian Iran. Before ancient religious reformer Zoroaster/Zarathustra (Zoroastrianism) gained influence in the region during the 6th century BCE, the Iranians had a polytheistic religion, and Mithra was the most important of their gods. The form mi-it-ra-, found in an inscribed peace treaty between the Hittites and the kingdom of Mitanni, from about 3,400 years ago. Iranian “Mithra” and Sanskrit “Mitra” are believed to come from an Indo-Iranian word mitra meaning contract / agreement / covenant. Besides the Zoroastrian diaspora, the older Mithraic faith Yazdânism is still practised amongst Kurds. Yarsani believe sun and fire are holy things and follow the principles of equalization, purity, righteousness, and oneness, which leads some researchers to find Mithraic roots in this religion. Many of these features are found in Yazidism, and they also have many things in common with Zoroastrians and Christians. Unlike other indigenous Persian faiths, the Yarsanism explicitly reject class, caste and rank, which sets them apart from the Yezidis and Zoroastrians. Mithras-worship in the Roman Empire was characterized by images of the god slaughtering a bull.” ref, ref, ref
“Moreover, the Phrygian cap or liberty cap is a soft conical cap with the apex bent over, associated in antiquity with several peoples in Eastern Europe and Turkey/Anatolia, including Phrygia, Dacia, and the Balkans. In early modern Europe it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty through a confusion with the pileus, the felt cap of manumitted (emancipated) slaves of ancient Rome. By the 4th century BC (early Hellenistic period) the Phrygian cap was associated with Phrygian Attis, the consort of Cybele, the cult of which had by then become graecified. At around the same time, the cap appears in depictions of the legendary king Midas and other Phrygians in Greek vase-paintings and sculpture. Such images predate the earliest surviving literary references to the cap. While the Phrygian cap was of wool or soft leather, in pre-Hellenistic times the Greeks had already developed a military helmet that had a similarly characteristic flipped-over tip. These so-called “Phrygian helmets” (named in modern times after the cap) were usually of bronze and in prominent use in Thrace, Dacia, Magna Graecia and the rest of the Hellenistic world from the 5th century BC up to Roman times.” ref
Humans seem to have a need to mythicized?
It is interesting how many people act like there is only one god myth in the world. They must not realize the concept is more varied then races or types of people on the earth. Throughout history and prehistory, humans have ascribed various powers to supernatural beings. Such creatures include the immortal gods and goddesses. Humans seem to have a need to mythicized the world around them as such have worshiped over 3,700 Supreme Beings. Some are given credit for the creation of the world and mankind, or food, warfare, love, and all the other good and bad elements of life. Yet even mythicizing believers can be pretty sure most of these were simply invented. However, such believers are generally sure that their specific cozen mythicizing god and religion is real whilst the gods or religions others believe in are false. What evidence do they have for this belief? Once it is challenged mythicizing believers have no evidence to offer either. Though it seem not to faze them at all that they too have just as evidenceless and reality contrary a faith in their immortal gods, goddesses or supernatural beings as real then that their fellow yet different cozen mythicizing believers whom they see god and religion are false. So why do they believe this need to mythicized with such passion and such blind abandon? Possibly the inculcation of mythicizing belief is a function of familial or culture capital—not of evidence. We can all see that religions follow families and the communities they live in because they not only purpose such beliefs they normalize them and require them to mythicized. Inculcation: to fix something firmly in somebody’s mind through frequent, forceful repetition. For more on different goddesses or gods check out: http://www.godchecker.com/
Confucianism’s Tiān (Shangdi god 4,000 years old): Supernaturalism, Pantheism or Theism?
As seen in the picture above it looks like the Venus symbol on top of a headless human figure. Just my thoughts.
However, the sinologist Herrlee Creel, who wrote a comprehensive study on “The Origin of the Deity T’ien” (1970:493–506), gives this overview. For three thousand years it has been believed that from time immemorial all Chinese revered T’ien 天, “Heaven,” as the highest deity, and that this same deity was also known as Ti 帝 or Shang Ti 上帝. But the new materials that have become available in the present century, and especially the Shang inscriptions, make it evident that this was not the case. It appears rather that T’ien is not named at all in the Shang inscriptions, which instead refer with great frequency to Ti or Shang Ti. T’ien appears only with the Chou, and was apparently a Chou deity. After the conquest the Chou considered T’ien to be identical with the Shang deity Ti (or Shang Ti), much as the Romans identified the Greek Zeus with their Jupiter. Ref
Tian (天), a Chinese religious concept, often translated as “Heaven”
“Having established that Tian was not a deity of the Shang people, Creel (1970:501–6) proposes a hypothesis for how it originated. Both the Shang and Zhou peoples pictographically represented da大 as “a large or great man”. The Zhou subsequently added a head on him to denote tian 天 meaning “king, kings” (cf. wang王 “king; ruler”, which had oracle graphs picturing a line under a “great person” and bronze graphs that added the top line). From “kings”, tian was semantically extended to mean “dead kings; ancestral kings”, who controlled “fate; providence”, and ultimately a single omnipotent deity Tian “Heaven”. In addition, tian named both “the heavens” (where ancestral kings and gods supposedly lived) and the visible “sky”. Another possibility is that Tian may be related to Tengri and possibly was a loan word from a prehistoric Central Asian language.” Ref
So, to me, it could be that the first monotheism god was from Aisa, not the middle east around 4,000 years ago?
“The modern Chinese character天 and early seal script both combine dà大 “great; large” and yī一“one”, but some of the original characters in Shāng oracle bone script and Zhōu bronzeware script anthropomorphically portray a large head on a great person. The ancient oracle and bronze ideograms for dà 大 depict a stick figure person with arms stretched out denoting “great; large”. The oracle and bronze characters for tiān 天 emphasize the cranium of this “great (person)”, either with a square or round head, or head marked with one or two lines. Schuessler (2007:495) notes the bronze graphs for tiān, showing a person with a round head, resemble those for dīng丁 “4th Celestial stem“, and suggests “The anthropomorphic graph may or may not indicate that the original meaning was ‘deity’, rather than ‘sky’.” Two variant Chinese characters for tiān 天 “heaven” are 兲 (written with 王wáng “king” and 八bā “8”) and the Daoist coinage 靝(with 青qīng“blue” and 氣 “qì“, i.e., “blue sky”) .” ref, ref
“Tengri was the national god of the Göktürks, described as the “god of the Turks” (TürükTängrisi). The Göktürk khans based their power on a mandate from Tengri. These rulers were generally accepted as the sons of Tengri who represented him on Earth. They wore titles such as tengrikut, kutluġ or kutalmysh, based on the belief that they attained the kut, the mighty spirit granted to these rulers by Tengri. Tengri was the chief deity worshipped by the ruling class of the Central Asian steppe peoples in 6th to 9th centuries (Turkic peoples, Mongols and Hungarians). It lost its importance when the Uighuric kagans proclaimed Manichaeism the state religion in the 8th century. The worship of Tengri was brought into Eastern Europe by the Huns and early Bulgars. Tengri is considered to be the chief god who created all things. In addition to this celestial god, they also had minor divinities (Alps) that served the purposes of Tengri. As Gök Tanrı, he was the father of the sun (Koyash) and moon (Ay Tanrı) and also Umay, Erlik, and sometimes Ülgen.” ref, ref
Confucianism revolves around the pursuit of the unity of the self and Tiān (Heaven, or the traditional high god of the Zhou), and the relationship of humankind to the Heaven.
“Although Confucianism is often followed in a religious manner by the Chinese, many argue that its values are secular and that it is, therefore, less a religion than a secular morality. Proponents argue, however, that despite the secular nature of Confucianism’s teachings, it is based on a worldview that is religious. Confucianism discusses elements of the afterlife and views concerning Heaven, but it is relatively unconcerned with some spiritual matters often considered essential to religious thought, such as the nature of souls. However, Confucius is said to have believed in astrology, saying: “Heaven sends down its good or evil symbols and wise men act accordingly”. n the Analects, Confucius presents himself as a “transmitter who invented nothing”. .” ref, ref
“The principle of Heaven (Tiān lǐ 天理 or Dào 道), is the order of the creation and divine authority, monistic in its structure. Tiān (天), a key concept in Chinese thought, refers to the sky, or the heavens, nature, “heaven and earth” (that is, “all things”), and to the awe-inspiring forces beyond human control. Confucius used the term in a religious way. He wrote in the Analects (7.23) that Tian gave him life, and that Tian watched and judged. (6.28; 9.12). A person can know the movement of the Tiān, giving the sense of having a special place in the universe. (9.5) Confucius wrote that Tian spoke to him, though not in words (17.19), but the scholar Ronnie Littlejohn warns that Tian was not a personal God comparable to the God of the Abrahamic faiths in the sense of an independent creator or transcendent Being. When Confucians spoke of Tian they often meant something like what the Taoists meant by Tao (Dào): “the way things are” or “the regularities of the world.” Tiān can also be compared to the Brahman of Hindu and Vedic traditions. Zǐgòng, a disciple of Confucius, said that Tiān had set the master on the path to become a wise man (Analects 9.6). In Analects 7.23 Confucius says that he has no doubt left that the Tiān gave him life, and from it he had developed the virtue (Dé, 德). In Analects 8.19 he says that the lives of the sages and their communion with Tian are interwoven. Regarding personal gods (shén, energies who emanate from and reproduce the Tiān) enliving nature, in Analects 6.22 Confucius says that it is appropriate (義/义, yì) for people to worship (敬, jìng) them, though through proper rites (禮/礼, lǐ), implying respect of positions and discretion.” ref, ref
“The concept of Heaven (Tian, 天) is pervasive in Confucianism. Confucius had a deep trust in Heaven and believed that Heaven overruled human efforts. He also believed that he was carrying out the will of Heaven, and that Heaven would not allow its servant, Confucius, to be killed until his work was done. Many attributes of Heaven were delineated in his Analects.” ref
“Confucius honored Heaven as the supreme source of goodness: The Master said, “Great indeed was Yao as a sovereign! How majestic was he! It is only Heaven that is grand, and only Yao corresponded to it. How vast was his virtue! The people could find no name for it. How majestic was he in the works which he accomplished! How glorious in the elegant regulations which he instituted!” (VIII, xix, tr. Legge 1893:214). Confucius felt himself personally dependent upon Heaven (VI, xxviii, tr. Legge 1893:193): “Wherein I have done improperly, may Heaven reject me! may Heaven reject me!” Confucius believed that Heaven cannot be deceived: The Master being very ill, Zi Lu wished the disciples to act as ministers to him. During a remission of his illness, he said, “Long has the conduct of You been deceitful! By pretending to have ministers when I have them not, whom should I impose upon? Should I impose upon Heaven? Moreover, than that I should die in the hands of ministers, is it not better that I should die in the hands of you, my disciples? And though I may not get a great burial, shall I die upon the road?” (IX, xi, tr. Legge 1893:220-221). Confucius believed that Heaven gives people tasks to perform to teach them of virtues and morality: The Master said, “At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right.” (II, iv, tr. Legge 1893:146). He believed that Heaven knew what he was doing and approved of him, even though none of the rulers on earth might want him as a guide: The Master said, “Alas! there is no one that knows me.” Zi Gong said, “What do you mean by thus saying – that no one knows you?” The Master replied, “I do not murmur against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there is Heaven – that knows me!” (XIV, xxxv, tr. Legge 1893:288-9) Perhaps the most remarkable saying, recorded twice, is one in which Confucius expresses complete trust in the overruling providence of Heaven: The Master was put in fear in Kuang. He said, “After the death of King Wen, was not the cause of truth lodged here in me? If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such a relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the people of Kuang do to me?” (IX, v and VII, xxii, tr. Legge 1893:217-8)” ref
“Confucius himself was a ritual and sacrificial master. In Analects 3.12 he explains that religious rituals produce meaningful experiences. Rites and sacrifices to the gods have an ethical importance: they generate good life, because taking part in them leads to the overcoming of the self. Analects 10.11 tells that Confucius always took a small part of his food and placed it on the sacrificial bowls as an offering to his ancestors.” ref, ref, ref
“In original Confucianism the concept of Tiān expresses a form of pantheism. Other philosophical currents, like Mohism, developed a more theistic idea of the Tiān. In Taoism and Confucianism, Tiān (the celestial aspect of the cosmos, often translated as “Heaven”) is mentioned in relationship to its complementary aspect of Dì (地, often translated as “Earth”). These two aspects of Daoist cosmology are representative of the dualistic nature of Taoism. They are thought to maintain the two poles of the Three Realms (三界) of reality, with the middle realm occupied by Humanity (人, Rén),[2] and the lower world occupied by Demons (魔, Mó) and Ghosts (鬼, Guǐ). Tiān (天) is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion.” ref, ref, ref
“During the Shang Dynasty (17–11th centuries BCE), the Chinese referred to their supreme god as Shàngdì (上帝, “Lord on High”) or Dì (帝,”Lord”). During the following Zhou Dynasty, Tiān became synonymous with this figure. Heaven worship was, before the 20th century, an orthodox state religion of China. The modern Chinese character 天 and early seal script both combine dà 大 “great; large” and yī 一 “one”, but some of the original characters in Shāng oracle bone script and Zhōu bronzeware script anthropomorphically portray a large head on a great person. The ancient oracle and bronze ideograms for dà 大 depict a stick figure person with arms stretched out denoting “great; large”. The oracle and bronze characters for tiān 天 emphasize the cranium of this “great (person)”, either with a square or round head, or head marked with one or two lines. Schuessler (2007:495) notes the bronze graphs for tiān, showing a person with a round head, resemble those for dīng 丁 “4th Celestial stem”, and suggests “The anthropomorphic graph may or may not indicate that the original meaning was ‘deity’, rather than ‘sky’.” Two variant Chinese characters for tiān 天 “heaven” are 兲 (written with 王 wáng “king” and 八 bā “8”) and the Daoist coinage 靝 (with 青 qīng “blue” and 氣 “qì”, i.e., “blue sky”). The sinologist Herrlee Creel, who wrote a comprehensive study on “The Origin of the Deity T’ien” (1970:493–506), gives this overview.” ref, ref, ref
“For three thousand years it has been believed that from time immemorial all Chinese revered T’ien 天, “Heaven,” as the highest deity, and that this same deity was also known as Ti 帝 or Shang Ti 上帝. But the new materials that have become available in the present century, and especially the Shang inscriptions, make it evident that this was not the case. It appears rather that T’ien is not named at all in the Shang inscriptions, which instead refer with great frequency to Ti or Shang Ti. T’ien appears only with the Chou, and was apparently a Chou deity. After the conquest the Chou considered T’ien to be identical with the Shang deity Ti (or Shang Ti), much as the Romans identified the Greek Zeus with their Jupiter. (1970:493). Creel refers to the historical shift in ancient Chinese names for “god”; from Shang oracles that frequently used di and shangdi and rarely used tian to Zhou bronzes and texts that used tian more frequently than its synonym shangdi.” ref, ref, ref
“First, Creel analyzes all the tian and di occurrences meaning “god; gods” in Western Zhou era Chinese classic texts and bronze inscriptions. The Yi Jing “Classic of Changes” has 2 tian and 1 di; the Shi Jing “Classic of Poetry” has 140 tian and 43 di or shangdi; and the authentic portions of the Shu Jing “Classic of Documents” have 116 tian and 25 di or shangdi. His corpus of authenticated Western Zhou bronzes (1970:464–75) mention tian 91 times and di or shangdi only 4 times. Second, Creel contrasts the disparity between 175 occurrences of di or shangdi on Shang era oracle inscriptions with “at least” 26 occurrences of tian. Upon examining these 26 oracle scripts that scholars (like Guo Moruo) have identified as tian 天 “heaven; god” (1970:494–5), he rules out 8 cases in fragments where the contextual meaning is unclear. Of the remaining 18, Creel interprets 11 cases as graphic variants for da “great; large; big” (e.g., tian i shang 天邑商 for da i shang 大邑商 “great settlement Shang”), 3 as a place name, and 4 cases of oracles recording sacrifices yu tian 于天 “to/at Tian” (which could mean “to Heaven/God” or “at a place called Tian”.) The Shu Jing chapter “Tang Shi” (湯誓 “Tang’s Speech”) illustrates how early Zhou texts used tian “heaven; god” in contexts with shangdi “god”. According to tradition, Tang of Shang assembled his subjects to overthrow King Jie of Xia, the infamous last ruler of the Xia Dynasty, but they were reluctant to attack.” ref, ref, ref
“The king said, “Come, ye multitudes of the people, listen all to my words. It is not I, the little child [a humble name used by kings], who dare to undertake what may seem to be a rebellious enterprise; but for the many crimes of the sovereign of Hsiâ [Xia] Heaven has given the charge [tianming, see Compounds below] to destroy him. Now, ye multitudes, you are saying, ‘Our prince does not compassionate us, but (is calling us) away from our husbandry to attack and punish the ruler of Hsiâ.’ I have indeed heard these words of you all; but the sovereign of Hsiâ is an offender, and, as I fear God [shangdi], I dare not but punish him. Now you are saying, ‘What are the crimes of Hsiâ to us?’ The king of Hsiâ does nothing but exhaust the strength of his people, and exercise oppression in the cities of Hsiâ. His people have all become idle in his service, and will not assist him. They are saying, ‘When will this sun expire? We will all perish with thee.’ Such is the course of the sovereign of Hsiâ, and now I must go and punish him. Assist, I pray you, me, the one man, to carry out the punishment appointed by Heaven [tian]. I will greatly reward you. On no account disbelieve me; — I will not eat my words. If you do not obey the words which I have spoken to you, I will put your children with you to death; — you shall find no forgiveness.” (tr. James Legge 1865:173–5).” ref, ref, ref
“Having established that Tian was not a deity of the Shang people, Creel (1970:501–6) proposes a hypothesis for how it originated. Both the Shang and Zhou peoples pictographically represented da 大 as “a large or great man”. The Zhou subsequently added a head on him to denote tian 天 meaning “king, kings” (cf. wang 王 “king; ruler”, which had oracle graphs picturing a line under a “great person” and bronze graphs that added the top line). From “kings”, tian was semantically extended to mean “dead kings; ancestral kings”, who controlled “fate; providence”, and ultimately a single omnipotent deity Tian “Heaven”. In addition, tian named both “the heavens” (where ancestral kings and gods supposedly lived) and the visible “sky.” ref, ref, ref
“Another possibility is that Tian may be related to Tengri and possibly was a loan word from a prehistoric Central Asian language (Müller 1870).
The Chinese philosopher Feng Youlan differentiates five different meanings of tian in early Chinese writings:
(1) A material or physical T’ien or sky, that is, the T’ien often spoken of in apposition to earth, as in the common phrase which refers to the physical universe as ‘Heaven and Earth’ (T’ienTi 天地).
(2) A ruling or presiding T’ien, that is, one such as is meant in the phrase, ‘Imperial Heaven Supreme Emperor’ (Huang T’ien Shang Ti), in which anthropomorphic T’ien and Ti are signified.
(3) A fatalistic T’ien, equivalent to the concept of Fate (ming 命), a term applied to all those events in human life over which man himself has no control. This is the T’ien Mencius refers to when he says: “As to the accomplishment of a great deed, that is with T’ien” ([Mencius], Ib, 14).
(4) A naturalistic T’ien, that is, one equivalent to the English word Nature. This is the sort of T’iendescribed in the ‘Discussion on T’ien’ in the [HsünTzǔ] (ch. 17).
(5) An ethical T’ien, that is, one having a moral principle and which is the highest primordial principle of the universe. This is the sort of T’ien which the [Chung Yung] (Doctrine of the Mean) refers to in its opening sentence when it says: “What T’ien confers (on man) is called his nature.” (1952:31).” ref, ref, ref
“The Oxford English Dictionary enters the English loanwordt’ien (also tayn, tyen, tien, and tiān) “Chinese thought: Heaven; the Deity.” The earliest recorded usages for these spelling variants are: 1613 Tayn, 1710 Tien, 1747 Tyen, and 1878 T’ien. For the etymology of tiān, Schuessler (2007:495) links it with the Mongolian word tengri “sky, heaven, heavenly deity” or the Tibeto-Burman words taleŋ (Adi) and tǎ-lyaŋ (Lepcha), both meaning “sky”. Schuessler (2007:211) also suggests a likely connection between Chinese tiān 天, diān 巔 “summit, mountaintop”, and diān 顛 “summit, top of the head, forehead”, which have cognates such as Nagatiŋ “sky.” ref, ref, ref
“Confucianism went through a number of phases of being repressed or unpopular, as in the earlier part of the Han dynasty, or being tolerated, even accepted, with the later Han years being an example of this. It is not until the 12th century AD, though, that it has become such an accepted part of the state that the Analects themselves are integrated into civil service tests. This success came via Neo-Confucianism, an attempt to reform the philosophy, which had been influenced by Taoismand Buddhism and was seen as moving toward mysticism and superstition.” ref, ref, ref
“Neo-Confucianism was an attempt to create a more rationalist and secular form of Confucianismby rejecting superstitious and mystical elements of Taoism and Buddhism that had influenced “Confucianism during and after the Han Dynasty. Although the Neo-Confucianists were critical of Taoism and Buddhism, the two did have an influence on the philosophy, and the Neo-Confucianists borrowed terms and concepts from both. However, unlike the Buddhists and Taoists, who saw metaphysics as a catalyst for spiritual development, religious enlightenment, and immortality, the Neo-Confucianists used metaphysics as a guide for developing a rationalist ethical philosophy. Neo-Confucianism has its origins in the Tang Dynasty; the Confucianist scholars Han Yu and Li Aoare seen as forebears of the Neo-Confucianists of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty philosopher Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073) is seen as the first true “pioneer” of Neo-Confucianism, using Daoist metaphysics as a framework for his ethical philosophy. Neo-Confucianism developed both as a renaissance of traditional Confucian ideas, and as a reaction to the ideas of Buddhism and religious Daoism. Although the Neo-Confucianists denounced Buddhist metaphysics, Neo-Confucianism did borrow Daoist and Buddhist terminology and concepts.” ref, ref, ref
In Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the godlike characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, much happier than humans, although the same level of veneration is not paid to them as to buddhas. The concept of devas was adopted in Japan partly because of the similarity to the Shinto‘s concept of kami. Other words used in Buddhist texts to refer to similar supernatural beings are devatā (“divinity”) and devaputta(“son of god”). While the former is a synonym for deva (“deity”), the latter refers specifically to one of these beings who is young and has newly arisen in its heavenly world. Ref
Taoism: The number of vertical heaven layers in Taoism is different, the most common saying is the 36 Tian developed from Durenjing (度人經). Ref
I-Kuan Tao: In I-Kuan Tao, Tian are divided into 3 vertical worlds. Li Tian (理天) “heaven of truth”, Qi Tian (氣天) “heaven of spirit” and Xiang Tian (象天) “heaven of matter”. Ref
“Quasi-monotheistic claims of the existence of a universal deity date to the Late Bronze Age, with Akhenaten‘s Great Hymn to the Aten. A possible inclination towards monotheism emerged during the Vedic period in Iron-Age South Asia. The Rigveda exhibits notions of monism of the Brahman, particularly in the comparatively late tenth book, which is dated to the early Iron Age, e.g. in the Nasadiya sukta. Since the 2,600 years ago, Zoroastrians have believed in the supremacy of one God above all: Ahura Mazda as the “Maker of All” and the first being before all others. Nonetheless, Zoroastrianism was not strictly monotheistic because it venerated other yazatas alongside Ahura Mazda. Ancient Hindu theology, meanwhile, was monist, but was not strictly monotheistic in worship because it still maintained the existence of many gods, who were envisioned as aspects of one supreme God, Brahman.” ref, ref
“Numerous ancient Greek philosophers, including Xenophanes of Colophon and Antisthenes believed in a similar polytheistic monism that came close to monotheism, but fell short. Judaism was the first religion to conceive the notion of a personal monotheistic God within a monist context. The concept of ethical monotheism, which holds that morality stems from God alone and that its laws are unchanging, first occurred in Judaism, but is now a core tenet of most modern monotheistic religions, including Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Bahá’í Faith. Around 2,800 years ago, the worship of YHWH in Israel was in competition with many other cults, described by the Yahwist faction collectively as Baals. The oldest books of the Hebrew Bible reflect this competition, as in the books of Hosea and Nahum, whose authors lament the “apostasy” of the people of Israel, threatening them with the wrath of God if they do not give up their polytheistic cults. Ancient Israelite religion was originally polytheistic; the Israelites worshipped many deities, including El, Baal, Asherah, and Astarte. YHWH was originally the national god of the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah.” ref, ref
“As time progressed, the henotheistic cult of Yahweh grew increasingly militant in its opposition to the worship of other gods. Later, the reforms of King Josiah imposed a form of strict monolatrism. After the fall of Judah to Babylon, a small circle of priests and scribes gathered around the exiled royal court, where they first developed the concept of YHWH as the sole God of the world. Amenhotep IV initially introduced Atenism in Year 5 of his reign (3,348/3346 years ago) during the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom. He raised Aten, once a relatively obscure Egyptian Solar deity representing the disk of the sun, to the status of Supreme God in the Egyptian pantheon. The orthodox faith system held by most dynasties of China since at least the Shang Dynasty (3,766 years ago) until the modern period centered on the worship of Shangdi (literally “Above Sovereign”, generally translated as “God”) or Heaven as an omnipotent force. This faith system pre-dated the development of Confucianism and Taoism and the introduction of Buddhism and Christianity. It has features of monotheism in that Heaven is seen as an omnipotent entity, a noncorporeal force with a personalitytranscending the world.” ref, ref
“From the writings of Confucius in the Analects, it is known Confucius believed that Heaven cannot be deceived, Heaven guides people’s lives and maintains a personal relationship with them, and that Heaven gives tasks for people to fulfill in order to teach them of virtues and morality. However, this faith system was not truly monotheistic since other lesser gods and spirits, which varied with locality, were also worshiped along with Shangdi. Still, later variants such as Mohism (2,470 – 2,391 years ago) approached true monotheism, teaching that the function of lesser gods and ancestral spirits is merely to carry out the will of Shangdi, akin to angels in Abrahamic religions. The first – 上, Shàng – means “high”, “highest”, “first”, “primordial”; the second – 帝, Dì – is typically considered as a short hand for huangdi （皇帝）in modern Chinese, the title of the emperors of China first employed by Qin Shi Huang, and is usually translated as “emperor”. The word itself is derived from Three “Huang” and Five “Di”, including Yellow Emperor (Huangdi 黃帝), the mythological originator of the Chinese civilizationand the ancestor of the Chinese race.” ref, ref
“However, 帝 refers to the High God of Shang, thus means “deity” (manifested god). Thus, the name Shangdi should be translated as “Highest Deity”, but also have the implied meaning of “Primordial Deity” or “First Deity” in Classical Chinese. The deity preceded the title and the emperors of China were named after him in their role as Tianzi, the sons of Heaven. In the classical texts the highest conception of the heavens is frequently identified with Shang Di, who is described somewhat anthropomorphically. He is also associated with the pole star. The conceptions of the Supreme Ruler (Shang Di) and of the Sublime Heavens (Huang-t’ien)afterward coalesce or absorb each other. The earliest references to Shangdi are found in oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty in the around 4,000 years ago, although the later work Classic of History claims yearly sacrifices were made to him by Emperor Shun, even before the Xia Dynasty. “Shang Di” is the pinyinromanization of two Chinese characters that in modern Chinese, the title of the emperors of China first employed by Qin Shi Huang, and is usually translated as “emperor”, the mythological originator of the Chinese civilization and the ancestor of the Chinese race.” ref, ref
“However, 帝 refers to the High God of Shang, thus means “deity” (manifested god). Thus, the name Shangdi should be translated as “Highest Deity”, but also have the implied meaning of “Primordial Deity” or “First Deity” in Classical Chinese. In the classical texts, the highest conception of the heavens is frequently identified with Shang Di, who is described somewhat anthropomorphically. He is also associated with the pole star. The conceptions of the Supreme Ruler (Shang Di) and of the Sublime Heavens (Huang-t’ien)afterward coalesce or absorb each other. Under Shangdi or his later names, the deity received sacrifices from the ruler of China in every Chinese dynasty annually at a great Temple of Heaven in the imperial capital. Following the principles of Chinese geomancy, this would always be located in the southern quarter of the city. During the ritual, a completely healthy bull would be slaughtered and presented as an animal sacrifice to Shangdi. It is important to note that Shangdi is never represented with either images or idols.” ref, ref
“Instead, in the center building of the Temple of Heaven, in a structure called the “Imperial Vault of Heaven”, a “spirit tablet” (神位, shénwèi) inscribed with the name of Shangdi is stored on the throne, HuangtianShangdi (皇天上帝). During an annual sacrifice, the emperor would carry these tablets to the north part of the Temple of Heaven, a place called the “Prayer Hall For Good Harvests”, and place them on that throne. It was during Ming and Qing dynasty, when Roman Catholicism was introduced by Jesuit Priest Matteo Ricci, that the idea of “Shangdi” started to be applied to the Christian conception of God. While initially, he utilized the term Tianzhu, Ricci gradually changed the translation into “Shangdi” instead. His usage of Shangdi was contested by Confucians, as they believed that the concept of Tian and “Shangdi” is different from that of Christian’s God: Zhōng Shǐ-shēng, through his books, stated that Shangdi only governs, while Christian’s God is a creator, and thus differ. Ricci’s translation also invited the displeasure of Dominicans and that of the Roman Curia; On March 19, 1715, Pope Clement XI released the Edict Ex Illa Die, stating that Catholics must use “Tianzhu” instead of “Shangdi” for Christianity’s God.” ref, ref
Could almost be called “Man-o-theism,” as it is a ‘male-god’ centric, which is a general practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing a masculine is supreme point with a male god leader and men over women as the general view at the center of one’s world view, culture, and history understanding, thereby culturally marginalizing femininity and rejecting woman as a deity and commonly women’s freedom and rights as well as a general lowering of women’s worth seen in all the sexism and supported abuse found in them all. Rape, Sexism and Religion?
Sexism is that evil weed that can sadly grow even in the well tended garden of the individual with an otherwise developed mind. Which is why it particularly needs to be attacked and exposed; and is why I support feminism.
Could it be that the first monotheism god was from Aisa, the Great Sky Spirit/God Tiān, not the middle east around 4,000 years ago?
Monotheism is distinguished from henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one god without denying that others may worship different gods with equal validity, and monolatrism, the recognition of the existence of many gods but with the consistent worship of only one deity. Monotheism has been defined as the belief in the existence of only one god that created the world, is all-powerful and intervenes in the world. A broader definition of monotheism is the belief in one god. ref,ref
Quasi-monotheistic claims of the existence of a universal deity date to the Late Bronze Age, with Akhenaten‘s Great Hymn to the Aten. A possible inclination towards monotheism emerged during the Vedic period in Iron-Age South Asia. The Rigveda exhibits notions of monism of the Brahman, particularly in the comparatively late tenth book, which is dated to the early Iron Age, e.g. in the Nasadiya sukta. Since the 2,600 years ago, Zoroastrians have believed in the supremacy of one God above all: Ahura Mazda as the “Maker of All” and the first being before all others. Nonetheless, Zoroastrianism was not strictly monotheistic because it venerated other yazatas alongside Ahura Mazda. Ancient Hindu theology, meanwhile, was monist, but was not strictly monotheistic in worship because it still maintained the existence of many gods, who were envisioned as aspects of one supreme God, Brahman. ref,ref
Numerous ancient Greek philosophers, including Xenophanes of Colophon and Antisthenes believed in a similar polytheistic monism that came close to monotheism, but fell short. Judaism was the first religion to conceive the notion of a personal monotheistic God within a monist context. The concept of ethical monotheism, which holds that morality stems from God alone and that its laws are unchanging, first occurred in Judaism, but is now a core tenet of most modern monotheistic religions, including Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Bahá’í Faith. Around 2,800 years ago, the worship of YHWH in Israel was in competition with many other cults, described by the Yahwist faction collectively as Baals. ref,ref
The oldest books of the Hebrew Bible reflect this competition, as in the books of Hosea and Nahum, whose authors lament the “apostasy” of the people of Israel, threatening them with the wrath of God if they do not give up their polytheistic cults. Ancient Israelite religion was originally polytheistic; the Israelites worshipped many deities, including El, Baal, Asherah, and Astarte. YHWH was originally the national god of the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. As time progressed, the henotheistic cult of Yahweh grew increasingly militant in its opposition to the worship of other gods. Later, the reforms of King Josiah imposed a form of strict monolatrism. After the fall of Judah to Babylon, a small circle of priests and scribes gathered around the exiled royal court, where they first developed the concept of YHWH as the sole God of the world. Amenhotep IV initially introduced Atenism in Year 5 of his reign (3,348/3346 years ago) during the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom. He raised Aten, once a relatively obscure Egyptian Solar deity representing the disk of the sun, to the status of Supreme God in the Egyptian pantheon. The orthodox faith system held by most dynasties of China since at least the Shang Dynasty (3,766 years ago) until the modern period centered on the worship of Shangdi (literally “Above Sovereign”, generally translated as “God”) or Heaven as an omnipotent force. This faith system pre-dated the development of Confucianism and Taoism and the introduction of Buddhism and Christianity. ref,ref
It has features of monotheism in that Heaven is seen as an omnipotent entity, a noncorporeal force with a personalitytranscending the world. From the writings of Confucius in the Analects, it is known Confucius believed that Heaven cannot be deceived, Heaven guides people’s lives and maintains a personal relationship with them, and that Heaven gives tasks for people to fulfill in order to teach them of virtues and morality. However, this faith system was not truly monotheistic since other lesser gods and spirits, which varied with locality, were also worshiped along with Shangdi. Still, later variants such as Mohism (2,470 – 2,391 years ago) approached true monotheism, teaching that the function of lesser gods and ancestral spirits is merely to carry out the will of Shangdi, akin to angels in Abrahamic religions. ref, ref
“During the Shang Dynasty (17–11th centuries BCE), the Chinese referred to their supreme god as Shàngdì (上帝, “Lord on High”) or Dì (帝,”Lord”). During the following Zhou Dynasty, Tiān became synonymous with this figure. Heaven worship was, before the 20th century, an orthodox state religion of China. In Taoism and Confucianism, Tiān (the celestial aspect of the cosmos, often translated as “Heaven“) is mentioned in relationship to its complementary aspect of Dì (地, often translated as “Earth“). These two aspects of Daoist cosmology are representative of the dualisticnature of Taoism. They are thought to maintain the two poles of the Three Realms (三界) of reality, with the middle realm occupied by Humanity (人, Rén), and the lower world occupied by demons (魔, Mó) and ghosts (鬼, Guǐ).” ref, ref, ref
“The first – 上, Shàng – means “high”, “highest”, “first”, “primordial”; the second – 帝, Dì – is typically considered as a short hand for huangdi （皇帝）in modern Chinese, the title of the emperors of China first employed by Qin Shi Huang, and is usually translated as “emperor”. The word itself is derived from Three “Huang” and Five “Di”, including Yellow Emperor (Huangdi 黃帝), the mythological originator of the Chinese civilization and the ancestor of the Chinese race. However, 帝 refers to the High God of Shang, thus means “deity” (manifested god). Thus, the name Shangdi should be translated as “Highest Deity”, but also have the implied meaning of “Primordial Deity” or “First Deity” in Classical Chinese. The deity preceded the title and the emperors of China were named after him in their role as Tianzi, the sons of Heaven. In the classical texts, the highest conception of the heavens is frequently identified with Shang Di, who is described somewhat anthropomorphically. He is also associated with the pole star. The conceptions of the Supreme Ruler (Shang Di) and of the Sublime Heavens (Huang-t’ien)afterward coalesce or absorb each other.” ref, ref, ref
“The earliest references to Shangdi are found in oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty in the around 4,000 years ago, although the later work Classic of History claims yearly sacrifices were made to him by Emperor Shun, even before the Xia Dynasty. “Shang Di” is the pinyinromanization of two Chinese characters that in modern Chinese, the title of the emperors of China first employed by Qin Shi Huang, and is usually translated as “emperor”, the mythological originator of the Chinese civilization and the ancestor of the Chinese race. However, 帝 refers to the High God of Shang, thus means “deity” (manifested god). Thus, the name Shangdi should be translated as “Highest Deity”, but also have the implied meaning of “Primordial Deity” or “First Deity” in Classical Chinese. In the classical texts, the highest conception of the heavens is frequently identified with Shang Di, who is described somewhat anthropomorphically. He is also associated with the pole star. The conceptions of the Supreme Ruler (Shang Di) and of the Sublime Heavens (Huang-t’ien)afterward coalesce or absorb each other.” ref, ref, ref
“Under Shangdi or his later names, the deity received sacrifices from the ruler of China in every Chinese dynasty annually at a great Temple of Heaven in the imperial capital. Following the principles of Chinese geomancy, this would always be located in the southern quarter of the city. During the ritual, a completely healthy bull would be slaughtered and presented as an animal sacrifice to Shangdi. It is important to note that Shangdi is never represented with either images or idols. Instead, in the center building of the Temple of Heaven, in a structure called the “Imperial Vault of Heaven”, a “spirit tablet” (神位, shénwèi) inscribed with the name of Shangdi is stored on the throne, Huangtian Shangdi (皇天上帝). During an annual sacrifice, the emperor would carry these tablets to the north part of the Temple of Heaven, a place called the “Prayer Hall For Good Harvests”, and place them on that throne. It was during Ming and Qing dynasty, when Roman Catholicism was introduced by Jesuit Priest Matteo Ricci, that the idea of “Shangdi” started to be applied to the Christian conception of God.” ref, ref, ref
“While initially, he utilized the term Tianzhu, Ricci gradually changed the translation into “Shangdi” instead. His usage of Shangdi was contested by Confucians, as they believed that the concept of Tian and “Shangdi” is different from that of Christian’s God: Zhōng Shǐ-shēng, through his books, stated that Shangdi only governs, while Christian’s God is a creator, and thus differ. Ricci’s translation also invited the displeasure of Dominicans and that of the Roman Curia; On March 19, 1715, Pope Clement XI released the Edict Ex Illa Die, stating that Catholics must use “Tianzhu” instead of “Shangdi” for Christianity’s God.” ref, ref, ref
On this channel, Lisa, discuss religion in general. How did it come about? Why is it still around? What makes religion attractive to the human species? Lisa, delves into the anthropology, psychology, and neuroscience of religion. Lisa, also cover topics that she feel you should know about before she make episodes in which she mention these items. Also, Lisa, is now taking requests. Come check “Lisa For Truth” out: Link
Damien Marie AtHope (axiological atheist): I am an Atheist-Humanist Philosopher & Pre-Historical Writer/Researcher at http://damienmarieathope.com/
About Me: Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist. Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Poet, Philosopher, Advocate, Activist, with schooling in Psychology and Sociology as well as an Autodidact in Science, Archeology, Anthropology, and Philosophy. Damien Promotes Science, Realism, Axiology, Liberty, Justice, Ethics, Anarchism, Socialism, Progressivism, Liberalism, Philosophy, Psychology, Archaeology, and Anthropology; advocating for Sexual, Gender, Child, Secular, LGBTQIA+, Race, Class Rights, and Equality.
I am interested in helping others with my knowledge or skills but only do this as a paid consultant for $50,00 an hour: https://www.patreon.com/posts/24524245
I am an Educator at http://damienmarieathope.com/, and my atheist investigations often relate to my future book: The Tree of Lies and its Hidden Roots, and atheism activism also can tend to relate to this nonfiction novel as well. I also, do this on LinkedIn with around 50 educational blogs posted here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damien-athope-b019a891/
My degree is in psychology and I dropped out of my masters after 7 classes, to do the new desire to research the origins and evolution of religion.
I have reserched the origins and development around the whole Earth and throughout all time, which is an adventure that has taken over 10 years ago to research for my book: “The Tree of Lies and its Hidden Roots”.
“The Tree of Lies and its Hidden Roots,Exposing The Evolution of Religion and Removing the Rationale of Faith.”
The Tree of Lies and its Hidden Roots back cover writing:
Religions continuing in our modern world, full of science and facts, should be seen as little more than a set of irrational conspiracy theories of reality. Nothing more than a confused reality made up of unscientific echoes from man’s ancient past. Rational thinkers must ask themselves why continue to believe in religions’ stories. Religion myths which are nothing more than childlike stories and obsolete tales once used to explain how the world works, acting like magic was needed when it was always only nature. These childlike religious stories should not even be taken seriously, but sadly too often they are. Often without realizing it, we accumulate beliefs that we allow to negatively influence our lives. In order to bring about awareness, we need to be willing to alter skewed beliefs. Rational thinkers must examine the facts instead of blindly following beliefs or faith.
This book is a collection of researched information such as archaeology, history, linguistics, genetics, art, science, sociology, geography, psychology, philosophy, theology, biology, and zoology. It will make you question your beliefs with information, inquiries, and ideas to ponder and expand on. The two main goals are to expose the evolution of religion starting 100,000 years ago, and to offer challenges to remove the rationale of faith. It is like an intervention for belief in myths that have plagued humankind for way too long. We often think we know what truth is nevertheless this can be but a vantage point away from losing credibility, if we are not willing to follow valid and reliable reason and evidence. The door of reason opens not once but many times. Come on a journey to free thought where the war is against ignorance and the victor is a rational mind.
I have been working on this book after I lost my Job do to not being able to walk and went to college to be a mental health professional in psychology but turned atheist in halfway through college and then by 7 classes in my masters I realized this book I was starting now around 10 years ago loosely not realizing it would be a book as it began. So, all my saving are dwindled only relying on my wife’s income while I develop as a writer and finish my book that I thought was finished like three years ago but my publisher and I stopped seeing eye to eye. I have spent over $10,000 and possibly more around $20,000 so far and will need around $ 50,000 just for a book tour.
I also realized, I needed to make my hard ideas easier,
I needed to make the book more readable as well as needing to define things more in my own words and not just the archeological evidence to help the reader see why it matters thus I have to rewrite a very detailed book with thousands of references and likely 300 to 400 pages and will cost around $30,00. I need the money for research costs, traveling costs, event costs (free events I offer to educate the public), and this includes funds for my book tour after publishing, I figure to hit 50 cities with events mostly in the US but a few in Canada as well and I will be offering a “free book” give away raffle for a lucky attendee at one of these events. I will likely need much more than 50,000 but I see that as a minimum.
Religious beliefs often don’t stay in the “belief” category, as if it is something chosen temporarily if needed or changeable if required. No, what is most common is that religious beliefs are completely infused to the person’s identity, thus it’s not what they believe it is more a factor of who they are. What this means is if they are later challenged and given reason to let the belief go this is largely disrupted because they and the belief are mixed with the person’s identity making its loss, not just a possible belief loss but a perceived personal identity loss. Faith is being inspired to strong belief in that which, by the lack of proof, should inspire strong doubt. Faith is the self-indoctrination process of coming to believe in unjustified belief.
The turbulent seas of denial are ever crashing like a tsunami of avoidance on religion’s shores. With minds of cognitive decadence and intellectual dishonesty, they welcome this eroding of the religion-believers perceived need to change belief in the face of facts when they want to keep belief regardless. Thus, they joyfully dive in swimming deep under denials dark waters to the safety of blind ignorance.
Religions continuing in our modern world, full of science and facts, should be seen as little more than a set of irrational conspiracy theories of reality. Nothing more than a confused reality made up of unscientific echoes from man’s ancient past. Rational thinkers must ask themselves why continue to believe in religions’ stories. Religion myths which are nothing more than childlike stories and obsolete tales once used to explain how the world works, acting like magic was needed when it was always only nature.
These childlike religious stories should not even be taken seriously, but sadly too often they are. Often without realizing it, we accumulate beliefs that we allow to negatively influence our lives. In order to bring about awareness, we need to be willing to alter skewed beliefs. Rational thinkers must examine the facts instead of blindly following beliefs or faith.
I have a BA in psychology, with sociology, addiction as well as intervention training, a little on criminology/youth antisocial behavior and education.
MayIHelpbetheVoiceofReason
Heroes often hide among us until they express their act of bravely. May I too be so brave. I aspire to the heights of courage, supporting radical kindness in an unkind world. But I do so valiantly, knowing that we rise by helping each other. May I be a good human and support radical kindness as a positive proactive way to further real change in the world. If good people do nothing then nothing good may be done. Thus, I am responsible. I never wanted to be the one to work as an activist but a good person cannot sit silently doing nothing when the atheist movement is in such need.
I was in college to be a mental health therapist, which I would have enjoyed. Unlike the shit, I have to endure as the out activist, like I am now. In fact, I would likely be financially well off but instead, I chose humanity and possible poverty if needed in order to help change the world as much as I can. It was the work mistake of my life but the proudest thing I have ever done in my life. We rise by helping each other. Pain of the mind is some of the most lasting pain just as freedom of the mind is some of the most lasting freedom. May I be someone who can make anyone feel like someone of value. Human-Kind. Be both…
Here is a comment to this from a Fan and Friend:
“Damien, like a heart surgeon or a singer like George Straight. You are a person that people depend on. It would be sad if you quit. But It would be understandable. It’s a hard life,standing up against the culture of delusion. How much suffering was involved to abolish slavery in this country. How long the fight against prejudice and bigotry been going on. How is it that these things are still around. Why is religion still popular.
Because there are people out there that are bad and use other people’s weaknesses to benefit themselves. I call them parasites. We all know how hard it is to get rid of head lice. Or other diseases such as smallpox. It is changing, but how long will it take until religion will goes down in history books, what will they call it. Christian and Islamic mythology. That’s why you do what you do. All I can say is, like a soldier who sacrificed his/her life for humanity. Does the word Hero have any meaning to you. Because that’s what people consider you to be. I wish only the best for you. Good luck my friend.”
How can we silently watch as yet another generation is indoctrinated with religious faith, fear, and foolishness? Religion and it’s god myths are like a spiritually transmitted disease of the mind. This infection even once cured holds mental disruption which can linger on for a lifetime. What proof is “faith,” of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
When you start thinking your “out, atheism, antitheism or antireligionism is not vitally needed just remember all the millions of children being indoctrinated and need our help badly. Ones who desperately need our help with the truth. Three things are common in all religions: “pseudo-science,” “pseudo-history,” and “pseudo-morality.”And my biggest thing of all is the widespread forced indoctrination of children, violating their free choice of what to not believe or believe, I hate forced hereditary religion.
We rise by helping each other. Many fans have wondered how My Book is coming along” (all art represented is my art as well). I have been taking a break from reworking the writing in my book yet to be published, as I am overloaded with all the other things like event planning public as well as video blogging speaking I am doing. It’s a big task I took on, it’s also very complicated, it’s like a story of everything in the evolution of religion. It’s so hard for some people to see the big connections I make as it needs good critical thinking so it needs to be more high school less college. lol
I am trying to make everything a little easier, but I have doctorate level thinking and I get that is a lot for some.Mayweallaspiringtothegreatnessofbeingstrongreasonedthinkerswithtrulystrongheartsofkindness.
More than just atheists I hope my thinking inspires people to be rationalists who strive to use critical thinking putting reason at the forefront thus as their only master even over their ego. As well as from such thoughtfulness may we all see the need for humanism and secularism, respecting all as helpful servant leaders assisting other as often as we can to navigate truth and the beauty of reality. I strive to be and wish for others to be more than just atheists, may we all aspiring to the greatness of being strong reasoned thinkers with truly strong hearts of kindness.
If you are a religious believer, may I remind you that faith in the acquisition of knowledge is not a valid method worth believing in. Because, what proof is“faith”, of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
Around a million years ago, I surmise that Pre-Animism, “animistic superstitionism”, began, Around 400,000 Years ago shows Sociocultural Evolution, and then led to the animistic somethingism or animistic supernaturalism, which is at least 300,000 years old and about 100,00 years ago, it evolves to a representation of general Animism, which is present in today’s religions. There is also Homo Naledi and an Intentional Cemetery “Pre-Animism” dating to around 250,000 years ago. And, Neanderthals “Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism?)” Mystery Cave Rings 175,000 Years Ago. Neanderthals were the first humans to intentionally bury the dead, around 130,000 years ago at sites such as Krapina in Croatia. ref, ref
Pre-animism ideas can be seen in rock art such as that expressed in portable anthropomorphic art, which may be related to some kind of ancestor veneration. This magical thinking may stem from a social or non-religious function of ancestor veneration, which cultivates kinship values such as filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. Ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times. ref, ref
Humans are not the only species, which bury their dead. The practice has been observed in chimpanzees, elephants, and possibly dogs. Intentional burial, particularly with grave goods, signify a “concern for the dead” and Neanderthals were the first human species to practice burial behavior and intentionally bury their dead, doing so in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones. Exemplary sites include Shanidar in Iraq, Kebara Cave in Israel and Krapina in Croatia. The earliest undisputed human burial dates back 100,000 years ago with remains stained with red ochre, which show ritual intentionality similar to the Neanderthals before them. ref, ref
Did Neanderthals teach us “Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism?)” 120,000 Years Ago? Homo sapiens – is known to have reached the Levant between 120,000 and 90,000 years ago, but that exit from Africa evidently went extinct. 100,000 years ago, in Qafzeh, Israel, the oldest intentional burial had 15 African individuals covered in red ocher was from a group who visited and returned back to Africa. 100,000 to 74,000 years ago, at Border Cave in Africa, an intentional burial of an infant with red ochre and a shell ornament, which may have possible connections to the Africans buried in Qafzeh. Animism is approximately a 100,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden animist. ref, ref
The following is evidence of Animism: 100,000 years ago, in Qafzeh, Israel, the oldest intentional burial had 15 African individuals covered in red ocher was from a group who visited and returned back to Africa. 100,000 to 74,000 years ago, at Border Cave in Africa, an intentional burial of an infant with red ochre and a shell ornament, which may have possible connections to the Africans buried in Qafzeh, Israel. 120,000 years ago, did Neanderthals teach us Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism) as they too used red ocher and burials? ref, ref
It seems to me, it may be the Neanderthals who may have transmitted a “Primal Religion (Animism)” or at least burial and thoughts of an afterlife. The Neanderthals seem to express what could be perceived as a Primal “type of” Religion, which could have come first and is supported in how 250,000 years ago, the Neanderthals used red ochre and 230,000 years ago shows evidence of Neanderthal burial with grave goods and possibly a belief in the afterlife. ref
Do you think it is crazy that the Neanderthals may have transmitted a “Primal Religion”? Consider this, it appears that 175,000 years ago, the Neanderthals built mysterious underground circles with broken off stalactites. This evidence suggests that the Neanderthals were the first humans to intentionally bury the dead, doing so in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones. Exemplary sites include Shanidar in Iraq, Kebara Cave in Israel and Krapina in Croatia. Other evidence may suggest the Neanderthals had it transmitted to them by Homo heidelbergensis, 350,000 years ago, by their earliest burial in a shaft pit grave in a cave that had a pink stone axe on the top of 27 Homo heidelbergensis individuals and 250,000 years ago, Homo naledi had an intentional cemetery in South Africa cave. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
Again at a different time ad place than animism, I wonder did Neanderthals Help Inspire Totemism? Because there is Art Dating to Around 65,000 Years Ago in Spain? Totemism as seen in Europe: 50,000 years ago, mainly the Aurignacian culture. Pre-Aurignacian “Châtelperronian” (Western Europe, mainly Spain and France, possible transitional/cultural diffusion between Neanderthals and Humans around 50,000-40,000 years ago). Archaic–Aurignacian/Proto-Aurignacian Humans (Europe around 46,000-35,000). And Aurignacian “classical/early to late” Humans (Europe and other areas around 38,000 – 26,000 years ago). Totemism is approximately a 50,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden totemist. ref, ref
Toetmism may be older as there is evidence of what looks like a Stone Snake in South Africa, which may be the “first human worship” dating to around 70,000 years ago. Many archaeologists propose that societies from 70,000 to 50,000 years ago such as that of the Neanderthals may also have practiced the earliest form of totemism or animal worship in addition to their presumably religious burial of the dead. Did Neanderthals help inspire Totemism? There is Neanderthals art dating to around 65,000 years ago in Spain. ref, ref
Shamanism (such as that seen in Siberia Gravettian culture: 30,000 years ago). Gravettian culture (34,000–24,000 years ago; Western Gravettian, mainly France, Spain, and Britain, as well as Eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians, which include the Pavlovian culture). And, the Pavlovian culture (31,000 – 25,000 years ago such as in Austria and Poland). 31,000 – 20,000 years ago Oldest Shaman was Female, Buried with the Oldest Portrait Carving. Shamanism is approximately a 30,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals that can connect to spirit-filled life and/or afterlife. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden shamanist. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
Around 29,000 to 25,000 years ago in Dolní Vestonice, Czech Republic, the oldest human face representation is a carved ivory female head that was found nearby a female burial and belong to the Pavlovian culture, a variant of the Gravettian culture. The left side of the figure’s face was a distorted image and is believed to be a portrait of an elder female, who was around 40 years old. She was ritualistically placed beneath a pair of mammoth scapulae, one leaning against the other. Surprisingly, the left side of the skull was disfigured in the same manner as the aforementioned carved ivory figure, indicating that the figure was an intentional depiction of this specific individual. The bones and the earth surrounding the body contained traces of red ocher, a flint spearhead had been placed near the skull, and one hand held the body of a fox. This evidence suggests that this was the burial site of a shaman. This is the oldest site not only of ceramic figurines and artistic portraiture but also of evidence of early female shamans. Before 5,500 years ago, women were much more prominent in religion. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
Archaeologists usually describe two regional variants: the western Gravettian, known namely from cave sites in France, Spain, and Britain, and the eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians include the Pavlovian culture, which were specialized mammoth hunters and whose remains are usually found not in caves but in open air sites. The origins of the Gravettian people are not clear, they seem to appear simultaneously all over Europe. Though they carried distinct genetic signatures, the Gravettians and Aurignacians before them were descended from the same ancient founder population. According to genetic data, 37,000 years ago, all Europeans can be traced back to a single ‘founding population’ that made it through the last ice age. Furthermore, the so-called founding fathers were part of the Aurignacian culture, which was displaced by another group of early humans members of the Gravettian culture. Between 37,000 years ago and 14,000 years ago, different groups of Europeans were descended from a single founder population. To a greater extent than their Aurignacian predecessors, they are known for their Venus figurines. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
Paganism (such as that seen in Turkey: 12,000 years ago). Gobekli Tepe: “first human-made temple” around 12,000 years ago. Sedentism and the Creation of goddesses around 12,000 years ago as well as male gods after 7,000 years ago. Pagan-Shaman burial in Israel 12,000 years ago and 12,000 – 10,000 years old Paganistic-Shamanistic Art in a Remote Cave in Egypt. Skull Cult around 11,500 to 8,400 Years Ago and Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” around 10,000 years ago. Paganism is approximately a 12,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals that can connect to spirit-filled life and/or afterlife and who are guided/supported by a goddess/god, goddesses/gods, magical beings, or supreme spirits. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden paganist. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
Around 12,000 years ago, in Turkey, the first evidence of paganism is Gobekli Tepe: “first human-made temple” and around 9,500 years ago, in Turkey, the second evidence of paganism is Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city”. In addition, early paganism is connected to Proto-Indo-European language and religion. Proto-Indo-European religion can be reconstructed with confidence that the gods and goddesses, myths, festivals, and form of rituals with invocations, prayers, and songs of praise make up the spoken element of religion. Much of this activity is connected to the natural and agricultural year or at least those are the easiest elements to reconstruct because nature does not change and because farmers are the most conservative members of society and are best able to keep the old ways. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
The reconstruction of goddesses/gods characteristics may be different than what we think of and only evolved later to the characteristics we know of today. One such characteristic is how a deity’s gender may not be fixed, since they are often deified forces of nature, which tend to not have genders. There are at least 40 deities and the Goddesses that have been reconstructed are: *Pria, *Pleto, *Devi, *Perkunos, *Aeusos, and *Yama. The reconstruction of myths can be connected to Proto-Indo-European culture/language and by additional research, many of these myths have since been confirmed including some areas that were not accessible to the early writers such as Latvian folk songs and Hittite hieroglyphic tablets. There are at least 28 myths and one of the most widely recognized myths of the Indo-Europeans is the myth, “Yama is killed by his brother Manu” and “the world is made from his body”. Some of the forms of this myth in various Indo-European languages are about the Creation Myth of the Indo-Europeans. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
The reconstruction of rituals can be connected to Proto-Indo-European culture/language and is estimated to have been spoken as a single language from around 6,500 years ago. One of the earliest ritual is the construction of kurgans or mound graves as a part of a death ritual. kurgans were inspired by common ritual-mythological ideas. Kurgans are complex structures with internal chambers. Within the burial chamber at the heart of the kurgan, elite individuals were buried with grave goods and sacrificial offerings, sometimes including horses and chariots. The speakers of Pre-Proto-Indo-European lived in Turkey and it associates the distribution of historical Indo-European languages with the expansion around 9,000 years ago, with a proposed homeland of Proto-Indo-European proper in the Balkans around 7,000 years ago. The Proto-Indo-European Religion seemingly stretches at least back around 6,000 years ago or likely much further back and I believe Paganism is possibly an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
The earliest kurgans date to 6,000 years ago and are connected to the Proto-Indo-European in the Caucasus. In fact, around 7,000 years ago, there appears to be pre-kurgan in Siberia. Around 7,000 to 2,500 years ago and beyond, kurgans were built with ancient traditions still active in Southern Siberia and Central Asia, which display the continuity of the archaic forming methods. Kurgan cultures are divided archaeologically into different sub-cultures such as Timber Grave, Pit Grave, Scythian, Sarmatian, Hunnish, and Kuman–Kipchak. Kurgans have been found from the Altay Mountains to the Caucasus, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria. Around 5,000 years ago, kurgans were used in the Ukrainian and Russian flat unforested grasslands and their use spread with migration into eastern, central, northern Europe, Turkey, and beyond. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
*The First Dynasty* Date: 3,150 B.C.E. (5,150 years ago) And with the Beginning Rise of the Unequal State Government Hierarchies, Religions and Cultures Merge
Progressed organized religion (such as that seen in Egypt: 5,000 years ago “The First Dynasty dates to 5,150 years ago”). This was a time of astonishing religion development and organization with a new state power to control. Around the time of 5,000 to 4,000 years ago, saw the growth of these riches, both intellectually and physically, became a source of contention on a political stage, and rulers sought the accumulation of more wealth and more power.
The Pharaoh in ancient Egypt was the political and religious leader holding the titles ‘Lord of the Two Lands’ Upper and Lower Egypt and ‘High Priest of Every Temple’. In 5,150 years ago the First Dynasty appeared in Egypt and this reign was thought to be in accordance with the will of the gods; but the office of the king itself was not associated with the divine until later. Around 4,890 years ago during the Second Dynasty, the King was linked with the divine and reign with the will of the gods. Following this, rulers of the later dynasties were equated with the gods and with the duties and obligations due to those gods. As supreme ruler of the people, the pharaoh was considered a god on earth, the intermediary between the gods and the people, and when he died, he was thought to become Osiris, the god of the dead. As such, in his role of ‘High Priest of Every Temple’, it was the pharaoh’s duty to build great temples and monuments celebrating his own achievements and paying homage to the gods of the land. Among the earliest civilizations that exhibit the phenomenon of divinized kings are early Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. RefRef
In 5,150 years ago the First Dynasty appeared in Egypt with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by the king Menes (now believed to be Narmer). Menes/Narmer is depicted on inscriptions wearing the two crowns of Egypt, signifying unification, and his reign was thought to be in accordance with the will of the gods; but the office of the king itself was not associated with the divine until later. During the Second Dynasty of Egypt 4,890-4,670 years ago King Raneb (also known as Nebra) linked his name with the divine and his reign with the will of the gods. Following Raneb, the rulers of the later dynasties were equated with the gods and with the duties and obligations due to those gods. As supreme ruler of the people, the pharaoh was considered a god on earth. The honorific title of `pharaoh’ for a ruler did not appear until the period known as the New Kingdom 3,570-3,069 years ago. Monarchs of the dynasties before the title of `pharaoh’ from the New Kingdom were addressed as `your majesty’ by foreign dignitaries and members of the court and as `brother’ by foreign rulers; both practices would continue after the king of Egypt came to be known as a pharaoh. RefRef
Possibly, around 30,000 years ago (in simpler form) to 6,000 years ago, Stars/Astrology are connected to Ancestors, Spirit Animals, and Deities.
The star also seems to be a possible proto-star for Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna, or Star of Venus.
Around 7,000 to 6,000 years ago, Star Constellations/Astrology have connections to the “Kurgan phenomenon” of below-ground “mound” stone/wood burial structures and “Dolmen phenomenon” of above-ground stone burial structures.
Around 6,500–5,800 years ago, The Northern Levant migrations into Jordon and Israel in the Southern Levant brought new cultural and religious transfer from Turkey and Iran.
“The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan may have connections to the European paganstic kurgan/dolmens phenomenon.
Around 5,500 years ago, Science evolves, The first evidence of science was 5,500 years ago and was demonstrated by a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world. ref
Around 5,000 years ago, Origin of Logicsis a Naturalistic Observation (principles of valid reasoning, inference, & demonstration) ref
Around 4,150 to 4,000 years ago: The earliest surviving versions of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, which was originally titled “He who Saw the Deep” (Sha naqba īmuru) or “Surpassing All Other Kings” (Shūtur eli sharrī) were written. ref
Timeline of Current Religions begin after around 4,000 years ago:
Confucianism’s Tiān (Shangdi god)
Supernaturalism, Pantheism or Theism
Oldest Women’s Rights document was written from Kultepe, an archaeological site from central Turkey
Monotheism = Man-o-theism: Single god religions
Around 3,700 to 3,500 years old:Hinduism:
3,700 years ago or so, the oldest of the Hindu Vedas (scriptures), the Rig Veda was composed.
3,500 years ago or so, the Vedic Age began in India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Around 3,450 or 3,250 to 2,500 years ago :Judaism:
around 3,000 years ago, the first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew”
around 2,500 years ago, many believe the religious Jewish texts where completed
Around 2,599 – 2,527 years ago, JainismAround 2,600 – 2,551 years ago, ConfucianismAround 2,563/2,480 – 2,483/2,400 ago, BuddhismAround 2,000 years ago, ChristianityAround 1,305 years ago, ShintoAround 1,407 – 1,385 years ago, IslamAround 548 – 478 years ago, SikhismAround 200 – 125 years ago, Bahá’íMyths: The bible inspired religion is not just one religion or one myth but a grouping of several religions and myths
Around 3,450 or 3,250 years ago, according to legend, is the traditionally accepted period in which the Israelite lawgiver, Moses, provided the Ten Commandments.
Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, a collection of ancient religious writings by the Israelites based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament is the first part of Christianity’s bible.
Around 2,400 years ago, the most accepted hypothesis is that the canon was formed in stages, first the Pentateuch (Torah).
Around 2,140 to 2,116 years ago, the Prophets was written during the Hasmonean dynasty and finally the remaining books.
Christians traditionally divide the Old Testament into four sections:
The first five books or Pentateuch (Torah).
The proposed history books telling the history of the Israelites from their conquest of Canaan to their defeat and exile in Babylon.
The poetic and proposed “Wisdom books” dealing, in various forms, with questions of good and evil in the world.
The books of the biblical prophets, warning of the consequences of turning away from God:
Henotheism:
Exodus 20:23 “You shall not make other gods besides Me (not saying there are no other gods just not to worship them); gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.”
Polytheism:
Judges 10:6 “Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.”
1 Corinthians 8:5 “For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords.”
Monotheism:
Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
Around 2,570 to 2,270 Years Ago, there is a confirmation of atheistic doubting as well as atheistic thinking, mainly by Greek philosophers. However, doubting gods is likely as old as the invention of gods and should destroy the thinking that belief in god(s) is the “default belief”. The Greek word is apistos (a “not” and pistos “faithful,”), thus not faithful or faithless because one is unpersuaded and unconvinced by a god(s) claim. Short Definition: unbelieving, unbeliever, or unbelief.
Expressions of Atheistic Thinking:
Around 2,600 years ago, Ajita Kesakambali, ancient Indian philosopher, who is the first known proponent of Indian materialism. ref
Around 2,535 to 2,475 years ago, Heraclitus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, a native of the Greek city Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor or modern Turkey. ref
Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, according to The Story of Civilization book series certain African pygmy tribes have no identifiable gods, spirits, or religious beliefs or rituals and even what burials accrue are without ceremony. ref
Around 2,490 to 2,430 years ago, Empedocles, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek city in Sicily. ref
Around 2,460 to 2,370 years ago, Democritus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher considered to be the “father of modern science” possibly had some disbelief amounting to atheism. ref
Around 2,399 years ago or so, Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher was tried for sinfulness by teaching doubt of state gods. ref
Around 2,341 to 2,270 years ago, Epicurus, Greek philosopher is known for composing atheistic critics and famously stated, “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?” ref
This last expression by Epicurus, seems to be an expression of Axiological Atheism. To understand and utilize value or actually possess “Value Conscious/Consciousness” to both give a strong moral “axiological” argument (the problem of evil) as well as use it to fortify humanism and positive ethical persuasion of human helping and care responsibilities. Because value-blindness gives rise to sociopathic/psychopathic evil.
Around 2,600 Years Ago, there is a confirmation of atheistic doubting as well as atheistic thinking, mainly by Greek philosophers. However, doubting gods is likely as old as the invention of gods and should destroy the thinking that belief in god(s) is the “default belief”. The Greek word is apistos (a “not” and pistos “faithful,”), thus not faithful or faithless because one is unpersuaded and unconvinced by a god(s) claim. Short Definition: unbelieving, unbeliever, or unbelief.
If you are a religious believer, may I remind you that faith in the acquisition of knowledge is not a valid method worth believing in. Because, what proof is“faith”, of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
First, addressing a little on the psychology behind religious belief?
“According to a psychologist, Steven Reiss, a professor of psychology at The Ohio State University, who has studied human motivation for more than 20 years suggests Religion, attracts followers because it satisfies all of the 16 basic desires that humans share. And that all religious beliefs and practices are designed to meet one or more of these 16 desires. Moreover, while all people need to fulfill the same basic desires, not everyone will turn to religion to satisfy them and secular society offers alternatives to fulfill all of the basic desires. Thus religion competes with secular society to meet those 16 needs and can gain or lose popularity based on how well people believe it does compared to secular society.” ref
“Damien, do you think religion is an evolutionary adaptation?” – Questioner
My response, No, it is just a cultural product like tool technology or language. We create tools based on believed needs.
“Damien, how can you advocate science and anti-theism at the same time without being logically inconsistent? Science proves religion is part of our human psychology. How do you rid the world of our human psychology?” – Challenger
My response, Selfish and antisocial behavior can be part of our psychology and addiction as well. We are not perfect beings and thus we do need to improve on what we start with. You are also wrong as to what anti-theism means. I see Theism as harmful. Anti-theism sees theism as harmful to the believer, harmful to society, harmful to politics, harmful, to culture, etc. And, theism is a promoter of pseudoscience, pseudohistory, and pseudomorality. It is more than a lie, Theism is anti-humanism.
I quest for intellectual, emotional, and social honesty, as main goals I wish to live in and grow from, may I be a good human.
I
would first like to point out that there seems to be some scant possible
hinting of the earliest pseudo-superstition before 1 million years ago and
possibly back to 2 million years ago.
Yet
likely this is not truly full superstitionism and defiantly not religion, but
there are still elements there that are forming that will further religions’
future evolution.
Superstition begins around 1 million years ago, to Pre-Animism 300,000 years ago, & then Animism Religion 100,000 years ago:
“Pseudo-superstition
before 1 million years ago“
1.
Primal superstition at around 1 million years ago
2.
Proto superstition at around 600,000 years ago
3.
Progressed superstition at around 300,000 years ago (pre-animism)
4.
Primal religion Animism at around 100,000 years ago
5.
Proto religion Early Animism at around 75,000 years ago
6.
Progressed religion Totemism at around 50,000 years ago to 30,000 years ago
with Shamanism
This
pseudo-superstition starts with symbolic, superstition, or early sacralized
behaviors seen mostly in tools that may have been possibly exhibited even if
only in the most limited ways at start to further standardize around 1 million
years ago with primal superstition. Then the development of religion evolution
increased around 600,000 years ago with proto superstition and then even to a
greater extent around 300,000 years ago with progressed
superstition. Religions’ evolution moves from the loose growing of
superstitionism to a greater developed thought addiction that was used to
manage fear and the desire to sway control over a dangerous world. This began
to happen around 100,000 years ago with primal religion. next the proto
religion stage is around 75,000 years ago or less, the progressed religion
stage is around 50,000 years ago to 30,000 years ago and finally after around
13, 500 years ago, begins with the evolution of more organized religion.
The set of stages for the development of organized religion is subdivided into the following: the primal stage of organized religion is around 12,000 years ago with paganism with the emergence of goddesses. The proto organized religion stage of paganism is around 10,000 years ago spreading out to other areas and adapting and developing, and finally the progressed organized religion stage of paganism is around 7,000 years ago involving the emergence of male gods with limited mythology to 5,000 years ago with the emergence of religious nation-states as well as the forming of full mythology and its connected set of Dogmatic-Propaganda strains of sacralized superstitionism.
Superstitionism is the Mother of Supernaturalism, thus Religion is its child.
If you are a religious believer,may I remind you thatfaithin the acquisition of knowledgeis not a valid method worth believing in. Because, what proof is“faith”,of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
“An Archaeological/Anthropological Understanding of Religion Evolution” Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago) Around a million years ago, I surmise that Pre-Animism, “animistic superstitionism”, began, Around 400,000 Years ago shows Sociocultural Evolution, and then led to the animistic somethingism or animistic supernaturalism, which is at least 300,000 years old and about 100,00 years ago, it evolves to a representation of general Animism, which is present in today’s religions. There is also Homo Naledi and an Intentional Cemetery “Pre-Animism” dating to around 250,000 years ago. And, Neanderthals “Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism?)” Mystery Cave Rings 175,000 Years Ago. Neanderthals were the first humans to intentionally bury the dead, around 130,000 years ago at sites such as Krapina in Croatia.
Pre-animism ideas can be seen in rock art such as that expressed in portable anthropomorphic art, which may be related to some kind of ancestor veneration. This magical thinking may stem from a social or non-religious function of ancestor veneration, which cultivates kinship values such as filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. Ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times.
Humans are not the only species, which bury their dead. The practice has been observed in chimpanzees, elephants, and possibly dogs. Intentional burial, particularly with grave goods, signify a “concern for the dead” and Neanderthals were the first human species to practice burial behavior and intentionally bury their dead, doing so in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones. Exemplary sites include Shanidar in Iraq, Kebara Cave in Israel and Krapina in Croatia. The earliest undisputed human burial dates back 100,000 years ago with remains stained with red ochre, which show ritual intentionality similar to the Neanderthals before them. ref, ref Animism (such as that seen in Africa: 100,000 years ago) Did Neanderthals teach us “Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism?)” 120,000 Years Ago? Homo sapiens – is known to have reached the Levant between 120,000 and 90,000 years ago, but that exit from Africa evidently went extinct. 100,000 years ago, in Qafzeh, Israel, the oldest intentional burial had 15 African individuals covered in red ocher was from a group who visited and returned back to Africa. 100,000 to 74,000 years ago, at Border Cave in Africa, an intentional burial of an infant with red ochre and a shell ornament, which may have possible connections to the Africans buried in Qafzeh.
Animism is approximately a 100,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden animist.
The following is evidence of Animism: 100,000 years ago, in Qafzeh, Israel, the oldest intentional burial had 15 African individuals covered in red ocher was from a group who visited and returned back to Africa. 100,000 to 74,000 years ago, at Border Cave in Africa, an intentional burial of an infant with red ochre and a shell ornament, which may have possible connections to the Africans buried in Qafzeh, Israel. 120,000 years ago, did Neanderthals teach us Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism) as they too used red ocher and burials? ref, ref
It seems to me, it may be the Neanderthals who may have transmitted a “Primal Religion (Animism)” or at least burial and thoughts of an afterlife. The Neanderthals seem to express what could be perceived as a Primal “type of” Religion, which could have come first and is supported in how 250,000 years ago, the Neanderthals used red ochre and 230,000 years ago shows evidence of Neanderthal burial with grave goods and possibly a belief in the afterlife. ref
Do you think it is crazy that the Neanderthals may have transmitted a “Primal Religion”? Consider this, it appears that 175,000 years ago, the Neanderthals built mysterious underground circles with broken off stalactites. This evidence suggests that the Neanderthals were the first humans to intentionally bury the dead, doing so in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones. Exemplary sites include Shanidar in Iraq, Kebara Cave in Israel and Krapina in Croatia. Other evidence may suggest the Neanderthals had it transmitted to them by Homo heidelbergensis, 350,000 years ago, by their earliest burial in a shaft pit grave in a cave that had a pink stone axe on the top of 27 Homo heidelbergensis individuals and 250,000 years ago, Homo naledi had an intentional cemetery in South Africa cave. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago) Did Neanderthals Help Inspire Totemism? Because there is Art Dating to Around 65,000 Years Ago in Spain? Totemism as seen in Europe: 50,000 years ago, mainly the Aurignacian culture. Pre-Aurignacian “Châtelperronian” (Western Europe, mainly Spain and France, possible transitional/cultural diffusion between Neanderthals and Humans around 50,000-40,000 years ago). Archaic–Aurignacian/Proto-Aurignacian Humans (Europe around 46,000-35,000). And Aurignacian “classical/early to late” Humans (Europe and other areas around 38,000 – 26,000 years ago).
Totemism is approximately a 50,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden totemist.
Toetmism may be older as there is evidence of what looks like a Stone Snake in South Africa, which may be the “first human worship” dating to around 70,000 years ago. Many archaeologists propose that societies from 70,000 to 50,000 years ago such as that of the Neanderthals may also have practiced the earliest form of totemism or animal worship in addition to their presumably religious burial of the dead. Did Neanderthals help inspire Totemism? There is Neanderthals art dating to around 65,000 years ago in Spain. ref, ref Shamanism (beginning around 30,000 years ago) Shamanism (such as that seen in Siberia Gravettian culture: 30,000 years ago). Gravettian culture (34,000–24,000 years ago; Western Gravettian, mainly France, Spain, and Britain, as well as Eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians, which include the Pavlovian culture). And, the Pavlovian culture (31,000 – 25,000 years ago such as in Austria and Poland). 31,000 – 20,000 years ago Oldest Shaman was Female, Buried with the Oldest Portrait Carving.
Shamanism is approximately a 30,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals that can connect to spirit-filled life and/or afterlife. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden shamanist.
Around 29,000 to 25,000 years ago in Dolní Vestonice, Czech Republic, the oldest human face representation is a carved ivory female head that was found nearby a female burial and belong to the Pavlovian culture, a variant of the Gravettian culture. The left side of the figure’s face was a distorted image and is believed to be a portrait of an elder female, who was around 40 years old. She was ritualistically placed beneath a pair of mammoth scapulae, one leaning against the other. Surprisingly, the left side of the skull was disfigured in the same manner as the aforementioned carved ivory figure, indicating that the figure was an intentional depiction of this specific individual. The bones and the earth surrounding the body contained traces of red ocher, a flint spearhead had been placed near the skull, and one hand held the body of a fox. This evidence suggests that this was the burial site of a shaman. This is the oldest site not only of ceramic figurines and artistic portraiture but also of evidence of early female shamans. Before 5,500 years ago, women were much more prominent in religion.
Archaeologists usually describe two regional variants: the western Gravettian, known namely from cave sites in France, Spain, and Britain, and the eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians include the Pavlovian culture, which were specialized mammoth hunters and whose remains are usually found not in caves but in open air sites. The origins of the Gravettian people are not clear, they seem to appear simultaneously all over Europe. Though they carried distinct genetic signatures, the Gravettians and Aurignacians before them were descended from the same ancient founder population. According to genetic data, 37,000 years ago, all Europeans can be traced back to a single ‘founding population’ that made it through the last ice age. Furthermore, the so-called founding fathers were part of the Aurignacian culture, which was displaced by another group of early humans members of the Gravettian culture. Between 37,000 years ago and 14,000 years ago, different groups of Europeans were descended from a single founder population. To a greater extent than their Aurignacianpredecessors, they are known for their Venus figurines. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref Paganism (beginning around 12,000 years ago) Paganism (such as that seen in Turkey: 12,000 years ago). Gobekli Tepe: “first human-made temple” around 12,000 years ago. Sedentism and the Creation of goddesses around 12,000 years ago as well as male gods after 7,000 years ago. Pagan-Shaman burial in Israel 12,000 years ago and 12,000 – 10,000 years old Paganistic-Shamanistic Art in a Remote Cave in Egypt. Skull Cult around 11,500 to 8,400 Years Ago and Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” around 10,000 years ago.
Paganism is approximately a 12,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals that can connect to spirit-filled life and/or afterlife and who are guided/supported by a goddess/god, goddesses/gods, magical beings, or supreme spirits. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden paganist.
Around 12,000 years ago, in Turkey, the first evidence of paganism is Gobekli Tepe: “first human-made temple” and around 9,500 years ago, in Turkey, the second evidence of paganism is Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city”. In addition, early paganism is connected to Proto-Indo-European language and religion. Proto-Indo-European religion can be reconstructed with confidence that the gods and goddesses, myths, festivals, and form of rituals with invocations, prayers, and songs of praise make up the spoken element of religion. Much of this activity is connected to the natural and agricultural year or at least those are the easiest elements to reconstruct because nature does not change and because farmers are the most conservative members of society and are best able to keep the old ways.
The reconstruction of goddesses/gods characteristics may be different than what we think of and only evolved later to the characteristics we know of today. One such characteristic is how a deity’s gender may not be fixed, since they are often deified forces of nature, which tend to not have genders. There are at least 40 deities and the Goddesses that have been reconstructed are: *Pria, *Pleto, *Devi, *Perkunos, *Aeusos, and *Yama.
The reconstruction of myths can be connected to Proto-Indo-European culture/language and by additional research, many of these myths have since been confirmed including some areas that were not accessible to the early writers such as Latvian folk songs and Hittite hieroglyphic tablets. There are at least 28 myths and one of the most widely recognized myths of the Indo-Europeans is the myth, “Yama is killed by his brother Manu” and “the world is made from his body”. Some of the forms of this myth in various Indo-European languages are about the Creation Myth of the Indo-Europeans.
The reconstruction of rituals can be connected to Proto-Indo-European culture/language and is estimated to have been spoken as a single language from around 6,500 years ago. One of the earliest ritual is the construction of kurgans or mound graves as a part of a death ritual. kurgans were inspired by common ritual-mythological ideas. Kurgans are complex structures with internal chambers. Within the burial chamber at the heart of the kurgan, elite individuals were buried with grave goods and sacrificial offerings, sometimes including horses and chariots.
The speakers of Pre-Proto-Indo-European lived in Turkey and it associates the distribution of historical Indo-European languages with the expansion around 9,000 years ago, with a proposed homeland of Proto-Indo-European proper in the Balkans around 7,000 years ago. The Proto-Indo-European Religion seemingly stretches at least back around 6,000 years ago or likely much further back and I believe Paganism is possibly an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system.
The earliest kurgans date to 6,000 years ago and are connected to the Proto-Indo-European in the Caucasus. In fact, around 7,000 years ago, there appears to be pre-kurgan in Siberia. Around 7,000 to 2,500 years ago and beyond, kurgans were built with ancient traditions still active in Southern Siberia and Central Asia, which display the continuity of the archaic forming methods. Kurgan cultures are divided archaeologically into different sub-cultures such as Timber Grave, Pit Grave, Scythian, Sarmatian, Hunnish, and Kuman–Kipchak. Kurgans have been found from the Altay Mountains to the Caucasus, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria. Around 5,000 years ago, kurgans were used in the Ukrainian and Russian flat unforested grasslands and their use spread with migration into eastern, central, northern Europe, Turkey, and beyond. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref Progressed organized religion (around 5,000 years ago) Progressed organized religion (such as that seen in Egypt: 5,000 years ago “The First Dynasty dates to 5,150 years ago”). This was a time of astonishing religion development and organization with a new state power to control. Around the time of 5,000 to 4,000 years ago, saw the growth of these riches, both intellectually and physically, became a source of contention on a political stage, and rulers sought the accumulation of more wealth and more power. *The First Dynasty* Date: 3,150 B.C.E. (5,150 years ago)
The Beginning Rise of the Unequal State Government Hierarchies, Religions and Cultures Merger
The Pharaoh in ancient Egypt was the political and religious leader holding the titles ‘Lord of the Two Lands’ Upper and Lower Egypt and ‘High Priest of Every Temple’. In 5,150 years ago the First Dynasty appeared in Egypt and this reign was thought to be in accordance with the will of the gods; but the office of the king itself was not associated with the divine until later. Around 4,890 years ago during the Second Dynasty, the King was linked with the divine and reign with the will of the gods. Following this, rulers of the later dynasties were equated with the gods and with the duties and obligations due to those gods. As supreme ruler of the people, the pharaoh was considered a god on earth, the intermediary between the gods and the people, and when he died, he was thought to become Osiris, the god of the dead. As such, in his role of ‘High Priest of Every Temple’, it was the pharaoh’s duty to build great temples and monuments celebrating his own achievements and paying homage to the gods of the land.
Among the earliest civilizations that exhibit the phenomenon of divinized kings are early Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt.
In 5,150 years ago the First Dynasty appeared in Egypt with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by the king Menes (now believed to be Narmer). Menes/Narmer is depicted on inscriptions wearing the two crowns of Egypt, signifying unification, and his reign was thought to be in accordance with the will of the gods; but the office of the king itself was not associated with the divine until later. During the Second Dynasty of Egypt 4,890-4,670 years ago King Raneb (also known as Nebra) linked his name with the divine and his reign with the will of the gods. Following Raneb, the rulers of the later dynasties were equated with the gods and with the duties and obligations due to those gods. As supreme ruler of the people, the pharaoh was considered a god on earth. The honorific title of `pharaoh’ for a ruler did not appear until the period known as the New Kingdom 3,570-3,069 years ago. Monarchs of the dynasties before the title of `pharaoh’ from the New Kingdom were addressed as `your majesty’ by foreign dignitaries and members of the court and as `brother’ by foreign rulers; both practices would continue after the king of Egypt came to be known as a pharaoh. RefRef CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago) Hinduism around 3,700 to 3,500 years old. Judaism around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (The first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew” dated to around 3,000 years ago). Jainism around 2,599 – 2,527 years old. Confucianism around 2,600 – 2,551 years old. Buddhism around 2,563/2,480 – 2,483/2,400 years old. Christianity around 2,000 years old. Shinto around 1,305 years old. Islam around 1407–1385 years old. Sikhism around 548–478 years old. Bahá’í around 200–125 years old. Early Atheistic Doubting (at least by around 2,600 Years Ago) Around 2,600 Years Ago, there is a confirmation of atheistic doubting as well as atheistic thinking, mainly by Greek philosophers. However, doubting gods is likely as old as the invention of gods and should destroy the thinking that belief in god(s) is the “default belief”. The Greek word is apistos (a “not” and pistos “faithful,”), thus not faithful or faithless because one is unpersuaded and unconvinced by a god(s) claim. Short Definition: unbelieving, unbeliever, or unbelief. If you are a religious believer, may I remind you that faith in the acquisition of knowledge is not a valid method worth believing in. Because, what proof is“faith”, of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
Acheulean tools date to about 1.76 million to 130,000 years ago, are typically found with Homo erectus remains and were produced during the Lower Palaeolithic era across Africa and much of West Asia, South Asia, and Europe, and are typically found with Homo erectus remains. It is thought that Acheulean technologies developed from the more primitive Oldowan technology associated with Homo habilis. ref
Homo ergaster or early Homo erectus is the likely the earliest user of Acheulean tools. It appears that Acheulean originated in Africa and spread to Asian, Middle Eastern, and European areas sometime between 1.5 million years ago and about 800 thousand years ago. Later, used by Homo heidelbergensis (the common ancestor of both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens). ref
Tool types found in Acheulean assemblages include pointed, cordate, ovate, ficron, and bout-coupé hand-axes (referring to the shapes of the final tool), cleavers, retouched flakes, scrapers, and segmental chopping tools. Materials used were determined by available local stone types; flint is most often associated with the tools but its use is concentrated in Western Europe; in Africa sedimentary and igneous rock such as mudstone and basalt were most widely used, for example. Other source materials include chalcedony, quartzite, andesite, sandstone, chert, and shale. Even relatively soft rock such as limestone could be exploited. In all cases the toolmakers worked their handaxes close to the source of their raw materials, suggesting that the Acheulean was a set of skills passed between individual groups. ref
The symmetry of the hand-axes has been used to suggest that Acheulean tool users possessed the ability to use language; the parts of the brain connected with fine control and movement are located in the same region that controls speech. The wider variety of tool types compared to earlier industries and their aesthetically as well as functionally pleasing form could indicate a higher intellectual level in Acheulean tool users than in earlier hominines. ref
Acheulean artifacts, such as the Venus of Berekhat Ram, have been used to argue for artisticexpression among this Acheulean stone tool culture users. The incised elephanttibiafrom Bilzingsleben in Germany, and ochre finds from Kapthurin in Kenya and Duinefonteinin South Africa, are sometimes cited as being some of the earliest examples of an aesthetic sensibility in human history. There are numerous other explanations put forward for the creation of these artefacts, however; and there is no unequivocal evidence of human art until around 50,000 years ago, after the emergence of modern Homo sapiens. ref
Ethnographic study of flint-knapping populations of the Irian Jaya, demonstrated it require long-term memory, spatial or procedural cognition, advanced planning, and procedural ‘know-how’ or social cognition. Other research contends that higher order cognitive function is tied to motor action and that these processes and must be in order to make an Acheulean tool. Therefore, Homo erectus may have had an enlargement of neural areas relevant to tool-making cognitive processes. Thus, the Acheulean actually could signal both innovations in social cognition and technological creativity. ref
Acheulean culture spread throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. It flourished around 400,000–100,000 years ago. The Homo erectus and early Homo sapiens of the Acheulean culture lived in primitive communities in caves and in the open. They were hunters and gatherers who had discovered the use of fire. Known Acheulean sites in Ukraine are the Kiik-Koba, Zhytomyr, and Luka-Vrublivetska. ref
Prehistoric remains in the Atapuerca region’s limestone caves preserved a million years of human evolution. Among these sites is the cave of Gran Dolina, where six hominin skeletons, dated between 780,000 and 1.2 million years ago, skeletons belonging to the species Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, or Homo antecessor. And with evidence of tool use to butcher animals and other hominins, likely to constitute the first evidence of cannibalism in a hominin species. Evidence of fire has also been found at the site, suggesting they cooked their meat. ref
A million years ago fire was used, ash and charred bone, at Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa. Fire can be said to have a reasonably wide use and possibly being sacralized then, but we do know at some point it was attached to sacredness. At what point in humanoid history did these sacred rituals fully appear, and did shared feasting aid in this? What dreams were dreamed, what stories told around the fire? There seems to be fossil evidence of feasting on rhinos dating to around 2 million years ago. (likely was scavenged not killed in a hunt. The fossils and stone tools from the Philippines where dated to between 777,000 and 631,000 years ago, and research confirmed that the butchering of the rhino took place around 700,000 years ago. ref, ref, ref
750,000 years ago at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov in northern Israel, is found some of the earliest known evidence of social organization, communication, and divided living and working spaces—all considered hallmarks of modern human behavior. The former hunter-gatherer encampment dates back as far as 750,000 years ago, and must have been built by Homo erectus or another ancestral human species. ref
Homo heidelbergensis likely emerged at least 600,000 years ago, left Africa between 300,000 to 400,000 years ago and is also believed to have lived in huts, utilised fire, use stone-tipped spears, and there is some evidence that they may have buried their dead which if confirmed, thought by some doubted, would be an indication of symbolic / abstract thought. Red ochre has also been found at some Homo heidelbergensis sites. The Homo heidelbergensis that remained in Africa would later evolve into Homo sapiens approximately 130,000 years ago. ref
500,000 years ago Chichibu, north of Tokyo Homo erectus semi permanent living shelter. It consists of what appear to be 10 post holes, forming two irregular pentagons which may be the remains of two huts. Thirty stone tools were also found scattered around the site. ref
400,000 years ago there is evidence of twelve huts found in Nice, France (the question is who made this, and the ideas rang from Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis to even possibly Neanderthals as all three are believed to make and live in Hut shelters at least at sometimes). They where oval shelters ranged from 26 feet to 49 feet in length and were between 13 feet and 20 feet wide. They were built of 3-inch in diameter stakes and braced by a ring of stones. Longer poles were set around the perimeter as supports. The huts had hearths and pebble-lined pits and were defined by stake holes. ref
350,000 years ago near Bilzingsleben, East Germany Homo erectus that lived and constructed shelters similar to those of Bushmen in southern Africa. Circular bone and stone foundations were discovered for three huts between 9 and 13 feet across. In the middle of on circle, archaeologist found an elephant tusk, which they speculated was a center post. ref
Figure-stones present in additional objects from the same context as the Belgian Kempen, Belgium, like these stone faces dated to around 450,000 to 300,000 years old. They indicate the eye concavities are natural features but the overall shape of the piece possibly was worked to the final head shape. ref
430,000
years ago, Sima
de los Huesos,
“Pit of Bones”, Atapuerca, Spain, seeming evidence of intentional
storing of 28 individuals in a cave chamber pit (a symbolic pseudo-womb?) and a
reddish quartzite tool found with the bodies, seems like a kind of ritual
funeral offering in this possibly early cemetery. Fossil remains of
430,000-400,000-years-old 28 individuals, 6,500 bone fragments and 500
teeth, in one of several important sections of the Cueva Mayor-Cueva del Silo
cave system in north-central Spain. The bone pit is at the bottom of the
cave, beneath an abrupt vertical shaft measuring between 6.5-13 feet in
diameter, and located about .1/3 of a mile in down a 42.5 ft shaft and it
is possibly an expression of mortuary practices. Ref
Whit
a high representation of adolescents and prime-age adults and a low
percentage of adults between 20 and 40 years of age. Only one individual was
under 10 at the time of death, and none were over 40-45 years old:
statistically, say the scholars, there should be more children. Ref
Sima
de los Huesos
represents a purposeful burial, based partly on the recovery of a single
quartzite Acheulean handaxe and
the complete lack of stone tool waste or other habitation waste at all.
Moreover, evidence suggesting that at least one of the individuals in the pit
died as a result of interpersonal violence. Cranium 17 has multiple impact
fractures thus is believe to have been dead at the time s/he was dropped into
the shaft and seemingly placing dead bodies into the pit was indeed a social
practice of the community. Ref
A
large variety in cranial capacity and other characteristics were
detailed possibly the population was evolutionarily related to
Neanderthals as a sister group, and could best fit into the then-refined
species of Homo heidelbergensis or
more likely it is thought the fossils represented an archaic form of
Neanderthal, rather than Homo
heidelbergensis. Studies highlight that the Sima
de los Huesos
population shares some DNA with the Denisovans, rather than the
Neanderthals. 17 complete skulls have numerous Neanderthal-like characteristics
so less likely to be a Homo
heidelbergensis this groups dates are close
to the age predicted for when the split in hominid species creating the
Neanderthal and Denisovan lineages occurred. Ref
This
cave artifacts are dated to around 300,000 to as much as 400,000 to even maybe
500,000 years ago Acheulean stone
tool culture made of red stone tool offering in the ear;y
cemetery, was nicknamed, Excalibur. Ref
Finally,
genetic analysis of the Sima de los Huesos fossils
seems to suggest that Homoheidelbergensis in
its entirety should be included in the Neanderthal lineage, as
“pre-Neanderthal” or “archaic Neanderthal” or “early
Neanderthal”, while the divergence time between the Neanderthal and modern
lineages has been pushed back to before the emergence of H.
heidelbergensis, to about 600,000 to 800,000 years
ago, the approximate time of disappearance of Homo antecessor. Ref
An
archaeological site in Schöningen,
Germany contained eight exceptionally well-preserved ~400,000-year-old spears for
hunting, and various other wooden tools. 500,000-year-old hafted stone points
used for hunting are reported from Kathu Pan 1 in
South Africa, tested by way of use-wear replication. This find could mean
that modern humans and Neanderthals inherited
the stone-tipped spear, rather than developing the technology independently.
mitochondrial DNA samples from three caves Sima
de los Huesos
revealed that they are “distantly related to the mitochondrial DNA of
Denisovans rather than to that of Neanderthals.” ref
Fossils from Morocco suggest the Homo sapiens lineage became distinct as early as 350,000 years ago, adding as much as 150,000 years to our species’ history, as before it was assumed our Human line emerged around 200,000 years ago. ref
Around a million years ago, I surmise that Pre-Animism, “animistic superstitionism”, began and led to the animistic somethingism or animistic supernaturalism, which is at least 300,000 years old and about 100,00 years ago, it evolves to a representation of general Animism, which is present in today’s religions.
Anthropology states that Pre-animism is “A stage of religious development supposed to have preceded animism, in which material objects were believed to contain spiritual energy.” ref
To me, it is a kind of “Primal Pre-Religion (Pre-Animism/Proto-Animism” or at least burial and thoughts of an afterlife, may have been transferred from the Neanderthals to arcane humans when they bred with them. Neanderthals, also interbred with Homo erectus, the ‘upright walking man,’ Homo habilis, the ‘tool-using man” and possibly others, which means they could have possibly learned some pre-animism ideas from one of the other hominids thas is expressed in portable anthropomorphic art, which could have been related to some kind of ancestor veneration as well. ref
Around 500,000 to 400,000 years ago, the earliest European hominin crania associated with Acheulean handaxes are at the sites of Arago, Atapuerca Sima de los Huesos, and Swanscombe. The Atapuerca fossils and the Swanscombe cranium belong to the Neandertals whereas the Arago hominins have been attributed to Homo heidelbergensis or to a subspecies of Homo erectus, which is an incipient stage of Neandertal evolution. A cranium (Aroeira 3) from the Gruta da Aroeira (Almonda karst system, Portugal) dating to 436,000 to 390,000 years ago provides important evidence on the earliest European Acheulean-bearing hominins as well as could show a transfer of ideas. ref
Homo erectus, the “upright walking man,” lived between 1.89 million and 143,000 years ago, whereas early African Homo erectus and sometimes called Homo ergaster are the oldest known early humans to have possessed modern human-like attributes. The earliest evidence of campfires occurred during the time of Homo erectus. While there is evidence that campfires were used for cooking, and probably sharing food, they are likely to have been placed for social interaction, used for warmth, to keep away large predators, and possibly even relating to Primal Religion, “Pre-Animism,” which may have included Fire Sacralizing and/or Worship. ref
Neanderthals used fire 400,000 years ago and there is evidence of a 300,000-year-old ‘campfire’ from Israel, which is not that surprising since our human ancestors have controlled fire from 1.5 million to 300,000 years ago and beyond. The benefits of fire are not only to cook food and fend off predators, but also extended their day and added to the community by how a fire in the middle of the darkness mellows and also excite people, which possibly inspire pre-animism’s “animistic superstitionism.” ref
Forkhead box P2 (FOXP2) is implicated in human speech and language playing important roles in the plasticity of the developing brain and that of modern populations suggests that it has been the target of positive (Darwinian) selection during recent human evolution. The first mutations in exon 7 more than around 400,000 years ago, prior to the human-Neandertal split, and impacted FOXP2 function. The second event, beginning within the last 200,000 years, did not involve further FOXP2 amino acid changes (because the Neandertal and human FOXP2 are identical) but might have instead affected FOXP2.
Overall, there was strong evidence of selection of FOXP2 targets in Europeans, but not in the Han Chinese, Japanese, or Yoruba populations. Analyses of ancient DNA samples have revealed that the amino acid differences were shared with Neandertals, who split from modern humans 300,000–400,000 years ago, and the haplotypes extended across the amino acid changes. And, Neanderthals and humans share two changes in FOXP2 compared with chimpanzees and the possibilities range from interaction gene flow to that of a common ancestor to both or changes and selective sweep occurred before the divergence that could mean Neanderthals had language and or other type capabilities. ref, ref
Sun-worshipping baboons rise early to catch the African sunrise and race each other to the top for the best spots. Thus, we may rightly ponder how much did fireside tales aid to the socio-cultural-religious transformations or evolution. In the dark under flickering lights from the stars above and the fire below was the scene of wonder, fear, and mystery. Was superstition expanded and religion further imagined? It would seem that superstition was expanded and religion further imagined because both heavenly lights and flickering fire have been sacralized. This does seem to be somewhat supported by a researcher who spent 40 years studying African Bushmen who gathered evidence of the importance of gathering around a nighttime campfire as a time for bonding, social information, and shared emotions with fireside tales. This may provide a correlation that our prehistoric ancestors likely lived in a similar way to how the Bushmen currently do. Although, we cannot directly peer into the past or fully know the past from the indigenous Bushmen, these people do live in a way that our ancient ancestors lived for around 99% of our evolution.
Fire, as sacred or magic, can be seen in:
Consuming fire as volcanos/lightning as gods and gods’power/vengeance.
Holy fire as a means of transformation or magical purification.
A magical being as used in worshipping the sun or punishment such as hell/lake of fire, which could be seen as mixing fire and water, if only symbolically.
Ceremonies such as bonfires, eternal flames, or sacred candles/incense/lights/lamps are in one form or another incorporated in many faiths such as judaism, christianity, islam, hinduism, buddhism, sikhism, bahaism, shintoism, taoism, etc. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
All this worship of fire/sun is hardly special to humans since many other primates worship thunderstorms, others fire, or sunrises. We have forgotten how nature worship, animistic superstitionism, animistic somethingism, or animistic supernatralism is presented in today’s religion. The mega religions now think they are removed from animistic superstitionism, which they are not. Their rituals, beliefs, and prayers have a connection to animism nature worship but are more hidden or stylized such as burning candles, which is worshipping fire.
Archaeology reveals that the world’s oldest sculpture was enhanced by hominid hand. To date, the oldest known human three-dimensional representation is the Tan-Tan sculpture, which is an anthropomorific human form from Morocco was found in ancient river deposits of the Draa river. It is Acheulian and has been dated between 500,000 to 300,000 years old. 500,000 to 233,000 years ago, in Israel, another sculpture, which may be the oldest Stone Age Art was found at the Berekhat Ram site on the Golan Heights that consist of a small quartzite pebble, which resembles a human female figure with magical believed qualities or representing something that was believed to be magical. ref
Is this just art or a form of ancestor veneration?
Pre-animism ideas can be seen in rock art such as that expressed in portable anthropomorphic art, which may be related to some kind of ancestor veneration. This magical thinking may stem from a social or non-religious function of ancestor veneration, which cultivates kinship values such as filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. Ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times.
Humans are not the only species, which bury their dead. The practice has been observed in chimpanzees, elephants, and possibly dogs. Intentional burial, particularly with grave goods, signify a “concern for the dead” and Neanderthals were the first human species to practice burial behavior and intentionally bury their dead, doing so in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones. Exemplary sites include Shanidar in Iraq, Kebara Cave in Israel and Krapina in Croatia. The earliest undisputed human burial dates back 100,000 years ago with remains stained with red ochre, which show ritual intentionality similar to the Neanderthals before them. ref, ref
The distribution of Neandertal similarity outside Africa increases with distance from Africa and suggested this could be explained by SNP ascertainment bias plus a strong genetic drift in East Asian populations. ref
Neanderthals used Mousterian tools and it seems these tools were also being used in Africa as early as 130,000 years ago, thus seemingly this places Neanderthals in North Africa. The Neanderthal tools found at Jebel Ighoud and Haua Fteah resemble contemporaneous European Neanderthal tools. The presence of Mousterian tools suggest that Neanderthals mixed with Africans because we know that anatomically modern humans were living in the area at the time. The North African Neanderthal people used the common Levoiso-Mousterian tool kit originally discovered in Europe. Ki-Zerbo said the Neanderthal skeletons came from Djebel Irhoud and El Guettar in Morocco. Later Neanderthal people used the Aterian tool kit. It was probably in Morocco that Neanderthal and Khoisan interacted. Khoisan Africans share more alleles with Altaic Neanderthal than Denisova. ref, ref
About 125,000 years ago the hand-axe was replaced by the Levallois or Prepared-Core technique. Evidence from this period indicates humans were well familiar with fishing techniques, and painted their faces with red ochre. The most important Neanderthal site from Libya is the Cave of Haua Fteah’, near Marsa Sousa, in eastern Libya; other North African sites include Jebel Irhoud, Temara and Tangier. One of the best evidences that humans have existed continuously in one site in Libya for 100,000 years. ref
Personal Shell ornament have been found at Grotte des Pigeons in North Africa, dated to ca. 82 and in Blombos Cave in South Africa, dated to around 77 ,000 years ago, possibly even with regional artifact styles, including personal adornment of beads and ornaments, as well as their associated connection with use of pigment, to me, could demonstrate religious clans, reflected in the shells and ochre at Qafzeh Cave. As incurring the shells would likely involve some amount of ‘‘risk taking’’ to obtain them, adding to the precevied meaning to the wearer of them, and may express religious affiliations of some kind. Thus, it can be assumed they could be more than simple art decoration. And we need not discard the un-perforated shells seen at other sites may also express more than a collection of beauty but instead relate to a somewhat cultist type symbolic purpose (charms?) could be an additional category to be considered. ref
Evidence for bead use comes from the 100,000 years old Mousterian levels at Qafzeh Cave in Israel where four water-worn Glycymeris spp shells with perforations interpreted as beads, or alternatively, pigment containers. ref
The three shells from Skhul and Oued Djebbana belong to Nassarius gibbosulus and display, like in the Blombos beads. Skhul findings of two Nassarius shells from the chemical composition of sediments adhering to the shells come from the same layer B as the modern humans ranging from 100,000 to 135,000 years years ago. Similarly, Glycymeris shells from Qafzeh where found in the layers with modern human burials though not directly associated with the burials, but they come 26 miles away from the sea. ref
Furthermore, red pigment on one unperforated and nine perforated marine shells for personal adornments from Taforalt date to around 82,000 years ago. In the MSA of southern Africa, the use of ochred shells also is recorded at Blombos. Taforalt (Morocco North Africa) finds compared to others from Djebbana (Algeria, North Africa), Skhul (Israel), but together with Blombos (Southern Cape coastline, South Africa), this implies that, after 100,000 years, and possibly even earlier, material culture indicative of one aspect of behavioral modernity is expresses each of these regions, personal ornamentation became a widespread practice in Africa and adjacent areas of southwest Asia suggesting some amount of homogeneity in the early phases of this phenomenon. The same species of marine gastropod is used at Taforalt, Djebbana, and Skhul, and morphologically similar to shells used at Blombos. In contrast to the Upper Paleolithic of Europe in which >150 bead types are recorded for a single cultural entity yet only one or possibly two types, and those from Qafzeh indicates that the role beads played in African and southwest Asian Middle Paleolithic societies may have been different from the personal ornaments had in the Upper Paleolithic of Europe. ref
Stone tools on the Greek island of Crete dating back at least 130,000 years and researchers have built up a convincing case for Neandertal seafarers. In fact, there is a growing inventory of stone tools and the occasional bone scattered across Eurasia (Wooden boats and paddles don’t typically survive the ages) possibly first seen with Homo erectus who are now known to have crossed several kilometers of deep water more than a million years ago in Indonesia, to islands such as Flores and Sulawesi. Modern humans braved treacherous waters to reach Australia by 65,000 years ago. Furthermore, the discovery of hundreds of stone tools near the southern coastal village of Plakias on the south coast of the Greek island of Crete were so plentiful that a one-off accident seems unlikely, and since these artifacts resemble Acheulean stone tool culture developed more than a million years ago by H. erectus and continued with Neandertals as well, used until about 130,000 years ago. ref
Not to mention that it is possible Neandertal artifacts have turned up on a number of islands, including at Stelida on the island of Naxos around 155 miles north of Crete in the Aegean Sea; even during glacial times, when sea levels were lower, it was likely accessible only by watercraft. The hand axes and blades resemble the so-called Mousterian stone tool culture, more sophisticated than Acheulean types which Neandertals and modern humans made from about 200,000 years ago until 50,000 years ago. Other Paleolithic tools taken as a cohesive whole seem to imply movement back and forth to islands much earlier than thought that appear to be from the Mousterian culture have been recovered on the western Ionian islands of Kefalonia and and Zakynthos islands (west of mainland Greece). ref
Pre-Animism Emergence is No Accident at Least by 300,000-year Ago Was Aided by Evolution
Pre-Animism: “animistic superstitionism”, I surmise, leads to the animistic somethingism, or animistic supernatralism is presented in today’s religions and is a representation of general Animism that is at least 100,000 years old. ref
The Blue on the outside references the size difference to modern human brains and the inside to illustrate regions with surface size increase associated with this gradual shape changes. ref
300,000-year-old Moroccan, North African skulls look shockingly that of Modern Humans and these skulls hold a combination of advanced and archaic features suggesting that these skulls may represent the very root of our Modern Human species. This is further supported in how all Homo sapiens ever found even far beyond Africa trace their ancestral linkages to the Moroccan, North African skulls or at least point as it where in that direction. And seemingly Homo sapiens could have been living across Africa and sem9ingly engaging in extensive movement, which could have involved exchange both in ideas, technology as well as even genetics. ref
300,000-year-old wolf tooth pendant from Repolust Cave, Austria. ref
To me, it seems likely Homo Naledi did have an intentional cemetery as seen at Dinaledi Chamber, in South African, thus “Pre-Animism” dating to around 250,000 years ago. Mysterious cache of bones from several Homo naledi, where recovered from a deep chamber in a South African cave, seeming to express a cemetery far from the cave entrance, accessible only through a narrow, difficult passage impossible place to live, and not by accident this purposefully cave chamber was most likely kind of graveyard. ref
Original chamber: Dinaledi withover 1,500 Homo naledispecimens were found deep underground and behind narrow passageways. ref
New chamber: Lesedi withover 100 Homo naledispecimens have been found here, including one partial skeleton and several small mammals. ref
“Though there were some who have been skeptical at first with the addition of another set of remains in another cave area some vindication for one of its most hotly contested hypotheses: that in some form or fashion, H. naledi used the Rising Star cave system as a place to dispose of its dead. The further fossil remains of Homo naledi have been found within the Rising Star cave system in South Africa. The new chamber, named Lesedi, or “light,” lies 475 feet from the chamber where Homo naledi was originally discovered is more than 300 feet from the Dinaledi Chamber.” ref
“Much like the Dinaledi Chamber, which requires passing through a seven-inch-wide slot to enter, the Lesedi Chamber also poses unique challenges to archaeological excavations. Marina Elliott, the Wits exploration scientist who led excavations in both chambers, says that while Lesedi isn’t quite as hard to reach as Dinaledi, it’s harder to excavate. Neo was found in a narrow “blind” alcove less than two feet wide. “I basically excavate lying on my chest or in the fetal position, with both my shoulders pinned in by rock on either side,” she says. “It’s extremely physically difficult; I’ve tried to do a lot of yoga to get myself to be able to do it.” Berger himself hasn’t set foot in Dinaledi, and only once has he ventured into Lesedi. During his return to the surface, he got stuck for nearly an hour, requiring his colleagues to pull him out by ropes around his wrists. Team members now call the squeeze the Berger Box. In light of the Lesedi Chamber’s discovery, Berger’s team has claimed some vindication for one of its most hotly contested hypotheses: that in some form or fashion, H. naledi used the Rising Star cave system as a place to dispose of its dead.” ref
DNA taken from a Neanderthal leg bone found in a German cave hinted at much earlier encounters between the two species, dating back more than 200,000 years. Neanderthal DNA sequences from Altai Cave in Siberia, as well as from Spain and Croatia, that show evidence of human-Neanderthal interbreeding as far back as 100,000 years ago. Approximately 1-4% of the genomes of non-African modern humans, although a modern human who lived about 40,000 years ago has been found to have between 6-9% Neanderthal DNA. ref, ref
Although all of the early fossils of Homo sapiens are found with Middle Stone Age artifacts, it is unlikely that our species was the exclusive author of MSA lithic technology. On present evidence, the oldest Middle Stone Age sites are in eastern Africa, at around 276,000 years ago, such as at Gademotta, Ethiopia. The overlap between age estimates for the earliest MSA and the latest Acheulian sites supports the hypothesis of a prolonged shift to MSA technologies. The youngest reported Acheulian artifacts are surface collected from the Herto Member of the Bouri Formation of Ethiopia, dated to around 154–160,000 years ago, and in situ material around 125,000 years ago from Abdur, Eritrea, in northeast Africa. The Acheulian attribution of the material from Abdur results suggest around 100,000–150,000 years overlap between Acheulian and MSA technologies in eastern Africa. There remains the possibility that the Acheulian artifacts from the Herto Member are older than the dated sediments by an unknown but possibly large interval. ref, ref
However, L0 most likely has a southern African origin on the basis of its prevalence in indigenous Khoe (both herder and hunter-gatherer) and San (Ju- and Tuu-speaking “Bushman” hunter-gatherer) populations, as well as in exclusively southern African Bantu speakers – although one of the main subclades of L0 (L0a’b’f) may have an eastern African origin. Thus from the time after the main African clades have evolved they can prove highly informative; but the final path back to the human mtDNA root remains mysterious. Furthermore, it is not clear that different systems are informing us about the same phenomena. “Modern” features in human anatomy, appear ~150,000–200,000 years ago, and predominate in Africa after 130,000 years ago, but there is no indication in the fossil record of a speciation event at this time, and Homo sapiensemerges gradually from more archaic specimens in Africa over the preceding few hundred thousand years. ref
Neanderthals, diverged from Arcane Humans around 500,000, with several likely occurrences of interbreeding after that. Evidence from Neanderthal DNA found in a German cave expresses early interbreeding, dating back more than 200,000 years. Moreover, a 200,000 years old prehistoric jawbone was found in an Israeli cave. Then there is DNA evidence for interbreeding around 100,000 years ago from the Altai mountains on the Russia-Mongolia border. An early modern human population left Africa much earlier met with Neanderthals, possibly those moving from Europe towards the East, sometime around 100,000 years ago. Anatomically modern humans migrated massively from Africa into the Middle East and later Europe, starting some 65,000 years ago. Anatomically modern humans migrated massively from Africa into the Middle East and later Europe, starting some 65,000 years ago. A 55,000-year-old incomplete skull found in Israel may belong to a human group that interbred with Neanderthals. And then there is interbreeding with modern humans about 65,000-47,000 years ago, With East Asian populations, genetics relating to Neanderthals emerging around 45,000 years ago. Modern Humans share 99% their genes with Neanderthal “proto-humans.” DNA analysis of one of the oldest Homo sapiens skeletons in Europe, also found in Romania and dated to around 40,000 years ago, has shown that this individual’s ancestors had interbred with Neanderthals between four to six generations earlier. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
Genome studies of Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) and of both ancient and contemporary H. sapiens suggest that the two species interbred somewhere in the Middle East between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago. But no remains of anatomically modern humans have been discovered in the Middle East from this crucial period, after H. sapiens left Africa and before it colonized Europe and Asia. ref
Neanderthal introgression within the chromosome 3p21.31 region, occurring with a high frequency in East Asians (ranging from 49.4% to 66.5%) and at a low frequency in Europeans. We also detected a signal of strong positive selection in this region only in East Asians. Our data indicate that likely candidate targets of selection include rs12488302-T and its associated alleles—among which four are nonsynonymous, including rs35455589-G in HYAL2, a gene related to the cellular response to ultraviolet-B irradiation. Furthermore, suggestive evidence supports latitude-dependent selection, implicating a role of ultraviolet-B. Interestingly, the distribution of rs35455589-G suggests that this allele was lost during the exodus of ancestors of modern Eurasians from Africa and reintroduced to Eurasians from Neanderthals.The introgressive haplotypes were positively selected in only East Asian populations, rising steadily from 45,000 years ago until a sudden increase of growth rate around 5,000 to 3,500 years ago. They occur at very high frequencies among East Asian populations in contrast to other Eurasian populations (e.g. European and South Asian populations). The findings also suggests that this Neanderthal introgression occurred within the ancestral population shared by East Asians and Native Americans. ref
Analyzing chromosome 21 of the Altai (Siberia), El Sidrón (Spain), and Vindija (Croatia) Neanderthals, it is determined that—of these three lineages—only the El Sidrón and Vindija Neanderthals display significant rates of gene flow (0.3–2.6%) into modern humans, suggesting that the El Sidrón and Vindija Neanderthals are more closely related than the Altai Neanderthal to the Neanderthals that interbred with modern humans about 47,000–65,000 years ago. Conversely, it is also determined that significant rates of modern human gene flow into Neanderthals occurred—of the three examined lineages—for only the Altai Neanderthal (0.1–2.1%), suggesting that modern human gene flow into Neanderthals mainly took place after the separation of the Altai Neanderthals from the El Sidrón and Vindija Neanderthals that occurred roughly 110,000 years ago. The findings show that the source of modern human gene flow into Neanderthals originated from a population of early modern humans from about 100,000 years ago, predating the out-of-Africa migration of the modern human ancestors of present-day non-Africans. ref
Three, 200,000 years old fragments of ostrich-eggshell beads, connecting to Late Acheulian of El Greifa E, Libya which are similar to beads found at two Upper Palaeolithic sites in India. ref
What is the meaning of early beads and pendants? Well, for sure some beads, in which production has been pushed to the limits allowed by the medium, seem to express a sense of perfection, and it is contended that beads are among the most informative forms of exograms that could possibly have survived from these very early times. A key requisite for the use and appreciation of all beads and pendants is a level of hominin self-awareness that essentially expresses full cognitive modernity. Beads can be used in a number of ways or for several purposes and provide various forms of information about the wearer and the possible status in their society/culture. One might believe that beads are simply a body adornment, but this is almost certainly an oversimplification that is limited as o the original meaning (if they relate to stars it could be thought to represent the ancestors. The concept of “Personal Adornment” itself is rather anthropocentric; we do not assume that other animals perceive the information imparted by the beads as meaningful. ref
Estimates for the date at which early migration out of sub-Saharan Africa occurred vary from 200,000 to 80,000 years ago, evidence is elusive, but the excavation of what is being called ‘the deepest archaeological trench in North Africa’ has now proved that modern humans were living on the north coast of Libya at least 80,000 years ago; the question now is just how much further back they go but it is thought that the deepest archaeological trench in North Africa has potentially a 200,000-year-old story to tell. Moreover, modern humans (Homo sapiens) did not arrive in North Africa until around 40,000 years ago, which is about when they reached Europe. ref
There are shell ornaments in a limestone cave in Eastern Morocco dating to around 72,000 years ago along with evidence of shells, already known from as old as 110,000 to 82,000-year-old Aterian deposits in the cave occupations include pre-Mousterian, Aterian, and Iberomaurusianlithic industries. ref, ref
Neanderthals
“Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism?)”, Mystery Cave Rings 175,000 Years Ago,
possibly a chapel or sacred space? Well we do know it had meaning in some
symbolic way, and they easily predate
the arrival of modern humans in Europe.
Thus, likely, they were built by Neanderthals, the only hominins in the region.
The stalagmite structures are 50 centimetres
high in places, says Jaubert.
They are built from around 400 individual stalagmites with a combined weight of
about 2 tonnes
which must take time [to shift] and thus some time and effort to arrange the
structures. ref
“The earliest tools of this kind were found at the Le Moustier site in southwestern France and tools of that kind are mow called Mousterian tools. Neanderthal flaked toolmaking skills remained largely unchanged for 100,000 years. Moustierian tools were more sophisticated than Acheulean hand axes and were made of stones that had been carefully trimmed before flakes were struck to shape it into a tool. To make them doesn’t require fine, precise toolmaking skills but they were difficult to make nevertheless.” ref
“Examples of Mousterian tools have been found in Europe and Africa. Near the end of their existence, Neanderthals developed more sophisticated tools with shafted points and handles (Châtelperronian technology) and Aurignacian blade tools generally associated with early modern humans. Aurignacian tools are named after the French site of Auriganc where the tools were first found. They consisted of blades and advanced bone tools. Because the oldest Aurignacian tools predate the earliest modern human fossils, some scientists think they have been made by Neanderthals. Neanderthal tools found in Israel and the Middle East were virtually identical to used by Homo sapiens there. One possibility is that the technology spread to Neanderthals in Europe from modern humans who were already in the Middle East as the tools used by Neanderthals in Europe were markedly inferior to those used by Homo sapiens living in Europe at the same time. A third is that Neanderthals invented the tools and early modern humans adopted them when they arrived. Though it was Neanderthals who produce the first glue as early as 200,000 years ago.” ref
“Levantine Mousterian assemblages occur in Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and Jordan in contexts dating to between 47,000–250,000 several Levantine Mousterian assemblages and found evidence for a variety of functions on Middle Palaeolithic stone tools, including spear point use. And a methodology derived from breakage patterns of Palaeoindian projectile points to pointed implements from two Zagros Mousterian sites, finds no evidence for Middle Palaeolithic stone-tipped spears. Documented experimental studies are surprisingly scarce in the recent debate over Middle Palaeolithic spear points. This gap in experimentation stands in marked contrast to the abundance of experimental studies on spear, dart, and arrow tips from Upper Palaeolithic.” ref
“For Kebara, Rosh Ein Mor, Tor Faraj, and Yabrud, these values cluster within the lower part of the ‘‘spear point optimal zone’’, indicating that most Levallois points from these sites are relatively short and broad. This distribution supports the ‘‘spear points’’ hypothesis and contradicts the prediction of the ‘‘multipurpose knives’’ hypothesis. ‘Ain Difla exhibits values outside the optimal zone, suggesting that Levallois point production associated with this assemblage may have emphasized the production of knives, rather than spear points. This interpretation is supported by the results of Roler & Clark’s (1997) microwear analysis of Levallois points from ‘Ain Difla. While our data suggest Levallois points were designed for use as spear points, previous microwear studies of Levallois points from the Levantine Mousterian suggest that these tools were also used for a variety of tasks.” ref
If its predecessor, known as Levallois or “Levallois-Mousterian” is included, the range is extended to as early as c. 300,000–200,000 years ago. Moreover, Mousterian continued alongside the new Neandertal Châtelperronian industry during the 45,000-40,000. ref
“There are numerous sites in Europe and Asia which contain Levallois or proto-Levallois artifacts dated between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8 and 9 (~330,000-300,000 years bp), and a handful as early as MIS 11 or 12 (~400,000-430,000 bp): although most are controversial or not well-dated.” ref
“The Levallois, or more precisely the Levallois prepared-core technique, is the name archaeologists have given to a distinctive style of flint knapping, which makes up part of the Middle PaleolithicAcheuleanand Mousterian artifact assemblages. Levallois technology is thought to have been an outgrowth of the Acheulean handaxe. ” ref
“Experimental archaeology, attempting to achieve a perfect Levallois flake requires a level of skill that can only be identified under very specific circumstances. These tools might have been used as arrowheads.” ref
“Later Levantine Mousterian assemblages dating to between 47,000–130,000 years ago, such as those from Tabun Unit I, Skhul B, Qafzeh I–XXIV, and Kebara VIII– XIII, feature shorter and broader points. Experiments suggest these kinds of points were more likely designed for use as spear points than as knives. Some of the later Levantine Mousterian contexts are dominated by a few species, such as aurochs (89·5% at Skhul), fallow deer (71–73% at Ksar Akil 29–36) and gazelle (62% of Kebara, 86% of Hayonim). This seemingly correlated shift in the lithic stone tools and animal evidence from these specific time and regions may reflect more frequent use of hunting strategies in which reliability enhancing stone weapon would have been most useful. The particularly large number of relatively short and broad Levallois points recovered from Kebara Cave may reflect intensified hunting in the context of decreased mobility.” ref
130,000 years ago – Earliest undisputed evidence for intentional burial and it is Neanderthals…
Evidence suggests that the Neanderthals were the first humans to intentionally bury the dead and possibly doing cannibalism which could be evidence of a death ritual, doing so in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones. 130,000 years ago – Earliest undisputed evidence for intentional burial. Neanderthals bury their dead at sites such as Krapina in Croatia. There was a total of 876 single Neanderthal fossil remnants found at the Hušnjak hill. The Bones belonged to several dozen different individuals, of different sex, from 2 to 40 years of age. Over a thousand pieces of various stone tools and weapons from the Paleolithic era were found, all witnessing to the material culture of the Krapina proto-human. This rich locality is approximately 130.000 years old.
Numerous fossil remnants of the cave bear, wolf, moose, large deer, warm climate rhinoceros, wild cattle and many other animals were also found. Moreover, there is bird skeletons, with some of the parts modified, are found in association with the Neanderthal bones. Here are some talons and foot bones from the white-tailed eagle. There appears to be cut marks in the talons and foot bones to which they were attached, suggesting that Neanderthals were using the talons and bones as jewelry. This is supported by recent findings of gut “fiber” tied around part of a talon. Here are a foot bone and a talon that have been modified by having grooves cut in them. Neanderthals were largely carnivores, though we know they also used medicinal plants. ref, ref, ref
Homo sapiens – is known to have reached the Levant between 120,000 and 90,000 years ago, but that exit from Africa evidently went extinct. Homo sapiens – is known to have reached the Levant between 120,000 and 90,000 years ago, but that exit from Africa evidently went extinct. Tabun Cave Mousterian (stone tool) culture (about 200,000 45,000 years ago). Small flint tools, made of thin flakes, predominate here, many produced by the Levallois technique. ref, ref
Mousterian is found in Morocco, Africa North and that means there could have ben interactions between Homo Sapiens and Neandertals. Evidence is commonly known for interbreeding between Neandertals and non-African modern humans. Ganetic evidence from North African populations show a significant excess of DNA with Neandertals, compared to sub-Saharan Africans which did not mix with Neandertals.. Furthermore, local, pre-Neolithic North African ancestry holds a higher Neandertal’s genetic signal, thus not due to recent Near Eastern or European migrations. Sub-Saharan populations are the only ones not affected by the admixture event with Neandertals. ref
A study of 1,300 stone hand axes found at 80 Neanderthal sites in France, Germany, Belgium, Britain, and the Netherlands shows that two cultural traditions existed among Neanderthals living in what is now northern Europe between 115,000 to 35,000 years ago. Three hand-axe traditions of Mousterian an Acheulean Tradition in south-western France as well as Britain, the Keilmessergruppen Tradition in Germany including further to the East and the melting pot of ideas seen in Belgium and the Netherlands that demonstrates a transition between the Germany and France which appears to be two separate hand-axe traditions. ref, ref, ref
Keilmesser is the type fossil of the late Middle Paleolithic Keilmessergruppen or Micoquian of central and eastern Europe. Keilmesser stone tools are typically of the Micoquien (about 100,000 to 45,000 years ago). This is evidence that these cultures were passed on from generation to generation and indicate strong social learning within secrete Neanderthal groups expressing stability as well as connectivity of distinct Neanderthal populations. Where the western region Neanderthals made symmetrical, triangular and heart-shaped stone tools, while during the same time period, in the eastern region, Neanderthals made asymmetrically shaped stone tools. ref, ref, ref
The Tabun Cave,Mount Carmel, Israel, occupied intermittently during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic (500,000 to around 40,000 years ago). Tabun suggests that ancestral humans used fire at the site on a regular basis since about 350,000 years ago and this likely would have shaped our culture and behavior. The material remains from the upper strata of the cave are of Levallois technique and the Mousterian culture (about 200,000 – 45,000 years ago). The Middle Palaeolithic of the southern Levant involved Neandertals and early modern humans, occupying the region at that time. Tabun Cave held fossil remains involved Neandertals and early modern humans but not an absolute chronology of the Levantine MP fossils though could indicates that an enamel fragment from the Tabun C1 could be as old as 143,000 years ago nearly double Tabun BC7. Moreover, a Neanderthal-type female, dated to about 120,000 years ago around the time early modern humans existed there which was between 120,000 – 90,000 years ago and again from 55,000 years ago on. ref, ref, ref, ref
Moreover, Tabun BC7 identified as a probable Neanderthal from Layer B, preliminary around 82,000 – 92,000 years ago Neandertals mainly existed in that region between ca. 80,000 – 55,000 years ago. Genomic flow evidence from early modern humans to the eastern Altai Neandertals around 100,000 and from Neandertals to early modern humans between ca. 60,000 – 50,000 years ago. In the Levant, the archaeological record cannot distinguish between these two as the two populations left similar material culture remains. In addition, at Tabun, Neandertal and early modern human populations used the same cave with possible shared changes occurring over a period of similar time, expressing a resemblance in burials, the Levallois stone tool culture settlement and mobility patterns in respect to the use of caves for habitation. ref, ref, ref, ref
Animism is approximately a 100,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden animist.
Animism is more holistic, and feminine in nature things even is nature has tricksters and malevolence it is also protective and helpful. There s spirits and supernatural beings both animal and human as well as nonhuman supernatural things or being but in general would be attributed to a somewhat personal ancestor grandmother/grandfather or great grandmother/grandfather, not as much of what we think about like a god today.
Animism (from Latin anima, “breath, spirit, life”) is the religious belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork and perhaps even words—as animated and alive. Animism is the oldest known type of belief system in the world that even predates paganism. It is still practised in a variety of forms in many traditional societies. Animism is used in the anthropology of religion as a term for the belief system of many indigenous tribal peoples, especially in contrast to the relatively more recent development of organized religions. Although each culture has its own different mythologies and rituals, “animism” is said to describe the most common, foundational thread of indigenous peoples’ “spiritual” or “supernatural” perspectives. The animistic perspective is so widely held and inherent to most animistic indigenous peoples that they often do not even have a word in their languages that corresponds to “animism” (or even “religion”); the term is an anthropological construct. ref
Beads
made from sea snail discovered at Skhul in
Israel and dated to between 100,000 and 135,000 years ago. ref
The following is evidence of Animism: 100,000 years ago, in Qafzeh, Israel, the oldest intentional burial had 15 African individuals covered in red ocher was from a group who visited and returned back to Africa. 100,000 to 74,000 years ago, at Border Cave in Africa, an intentional burial of an infant with red ochre and a shell ornament, which may have possible connections to the Africans buried in Qafzeh, Israel. 120,000 years ago, did Neanderthals teach us Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism) as they too used red ocher and burials? ref, ref
It seems to me, it may be the Neanderthals who may have transmitted a “Primal Religion (Animism)” or at least burial and thoughts of an afterlife. The Neanderthals seem to express what could be perceived as a Primal “type of” Religion, which could have come first and is supported in how 250,000 years ago, the Neanderthals used red ochre and 230,000 years ago shows evidence of Neanderthal burial with grave goods and possibly a belief in the afterlife. ref
Neanderthal dental plaque, associated with gum disease was found at El Sidron cave in northern Spain it which Neanderthals, Ancient and Modern humans shared the bacteria that cause dental caries and gum disease, suggesting Neanderthals and humans were interacting sexually around 180,000 years ago. ref
Neanderthal and modern humans in some areas seem to lived side by side as in the Nahal Mea’rot (Cave River) in Israel. None of the bones uncovered had lethal wounds which suggested prehistoric men lived in peace with each other 80,000 years ago. ref
Do you think it is crazy that the Neanderthals may have transmitted a “Primal Religion”? Consider this, it appears that 175,000 years ago, the Neanderthals built mysterious underground circles with broken off stalactites. This evidence suggests that the Neanderthals were the first humans to intentionally bury the dead, doing so in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones. Exemplary sites include Shanidar in Iraq, Kebara Cave in Israel and Krapina in Croatia. Other evidence may suggest the Neanderthals had it transmitted to them by Homo heidelbergensis, 350,000 years ago, by their earliest burial in a shaft pit grave in a cave that had a pink stone axe on the top of 27 Homo heidelbergensis individuals and 250,000 years ago, Homo naledi had an intentional cemetery in South Africa cave. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
120,000 to 75,000 years ago: Khoisanid back-migration from Southern Africa to East Africa.
82,000 years ago: small perforated seashell beads from Taforalt in Morocco are the earliest evidence of personal adornment found anywhere in the world.
75,000 years ago: Toba Volcano supereruption that almost made humanity extinct. Populations could have been lowered to about 3000-1000 people on the Earth.
70,000 years ago: earliest example of abstract art or symbolic art from Blombos Cave, South Africa—stones engraved with grid or cross-hatch patterns.
Qafzeh Cave held early modern human remains dated to the Middle Paleolithic period which is the oldest levels are dated to the Mousterian culture period, about 80,000-100,000 years ago. At the site ithere were hearths; and stone tools use the Levallois technique on the stone tools. various layers at Qafzeh were dated to an average of 96,000-115,000 years ago and the Qafzeh cave contains some of the earliest evidence for burials in the world and include 27 anatomically modern humans, with some archaic features dating to around 92,000 years ago and where directly associated with Levallois-Mousterian assemblage, appear to have been purposefully buried:dated to around 92,000 years ago. The remains are from anatomically modern humans, with some archaic features; they are directly associated with Levallois-Mousterian assemblage. Modern behaviors indicated at the cave include the purposeful burials; the use of ochre for body painting; the presence of marine shells, used as ornamentation and, most interestingly, the survival and eventual ritual interment of a severely brain-damaged child. Moreover, deer antler at Qafzeh 11 seem to be associated with burials unlike the marine shells which do not seem to be associated with burials, but rather are scattered more or less randomly throughout the site, possibly as a sacred offering, one that sanctifies an area? Or kind of blessing the aria? ref
By 100,000 years ago early modern humans migrated to the middle east from Africa then the fossil record of these early modern humans migrates ends after 100,000 years ago either died out or more likely they returned to Africa. 100,000 to 50,000 years ago – Increased use of red ochre at several Middle Stone Age sites in Africa. Red Ochre is thought to have played an important role in ritual. The human skeletons were associated with red ochre which was found only alongside the bones, suggesting that the burials were symbolic in nature. ref
Within Israel’s Qafzeh Cave, researchers found evidence of a sophisticated culture and remains of modern humans that are up to 100,000 years old. About 100,000 years ago, tall, long-limbed humans lived in the caves of Qafzeh, east of Nazareth, and Skhul, on Israel’s Mount Carmel. The Skhul-Qafzeh people gathered shells from a shoreline more than 20 miles away, decorated them and strung them as jewelry. They buried their dead, most likely with grave goods, and cared for their living: A child born with hydrocephalus, sometimes called water on the brain, lived with a profound disability until the age of 3 or so, a feat only possible with a patient, loving care. The Qafzeh humans were around 92,000 years old, and the Skhul people were even older, averaging about 115,000 years. ref, ref
Around 75,000 years ago, close to the time, the Homo sapiens of Skhul and Qafzeh disappear from the fossil record, the climate in the Levant shifted in Neanderthals’ favor. Rapid glaciation left the region both cooler and drier. Steppe-deserts advanced, and forests retreated. Neanderthal bodies were adapted for colder conditions. Their stocky, barrel-chested build lost less heat and offered plenty of insulating muscle, and their systems were streamlined to extract calories from food and turn them into body heat. The Skhul-Qafzeh people’s slender physiques were better at getting rid of heat than making it. Or, as Shea says, “Neanderthals liked cold and dry. Our ancestors liked warm and wet. It got cold, and humans retreated.” ref, ref
At Border Cave, a “savanna-woodland” vegetation community is implied before 100,000 years ago and the matching density of stone tools vary considerably through time, with high frequencies of stone blades occurring before 100,000 years ago. ref
Around 74,000 years ago, Border Cave, South Africa, burial of a 4 to 6-month-old child was found in a pit with a personal ornament, a perforated Conus shell. ref
Border Cave is the only African site covering a time span of 250,000 years, with Middle Stone Age human remains and also records the first emergence of key cultural innovation such as things like grass bedding dated between 70,000 to 30,000 years ago. ref
In South Africa, some of the oldest beads are made of marine shells that come from the Still Bay layers of Blombos Cave date back to around 72,000 years ago and engraved ostrich eggshell dated to around 60,000 years ago from Diepkloof in South Africa. Some of the oldest beads made of non-marine shells involve ostrich eggshells and from Border Cave there are some that date to around 42,000 years ago. Beads were also collected from late MSA/early LSA context of similar age at Apollo 11 and from layers associated with MSA at Boomplaas Cave. Furthermore, beads were also reported from the MSA at Cave of Hearths. Other sub-contemporaneous beads have been recovered north of South Africa. ref
The pulses of occupation seem to have occurred between about 200,000 to 38,000 years ago, with Middle Stone Age 1 Polokwane/Pietersburg industries accumulated between 227,000 to 77,000 years ago, Middle Stone Age 2 Howiesons Poort between 74 and 60 kya, Middle Stone Age 3 post-Howiesons Poort between 60 and 39 kya, and Early Later Stone Age after about 39,000 years ago. ref
Pietersburg has been identified at sites such as:
Besides Cave of Hearths, Bushman Rock Shelter, Mwulu’s Cave, Olieboomspoort Shelter, Rainbow Cave, and several others, which suggests this stone tool tradition may represent a regional expression occurring in the interior of South Africa, south of the Limpopo River. Pietersburg is sen first at the Bushman Rock Shelter on the north-eastern fringe of the Drakensberg mountain range, in the Limpopo Province which could possibly tell us something about population movements, with dates from 97,000-75,000 years ago to 91,000- 73,000 years ago. ref
Here we see the tracings of the engraved ochres from the Blombos cave site’s in South Africa, from its Middle Stone Age layers and their stratigraphic locations where they were found in the dirt and the years they relate too. M1 dates to around 73,000 years ago, M2 around 85,000 to 77,000 years ago, and M3 dates to around 100,000 to 99,000 years ago. Middle Stone Age generally started around 280,000 years ago and ended around 25,000 years ago or so. Therefore, amazing as it is, here we have proof that “Symbolic Meaning,” seems to be clear at the beginning of Animism, as seen in Africa 100,000 years ago. ref
In a landmark study, it was demonstrated, for the first time, that there are seeming tradition in the production of geometric engraved representations, includes the production of a number of different patterns and this set of evolving traditions have roots that go back in time to at least 100,000 years ago (around a time I say Animism begins in Africa). The fact that they were created, that most of them are deliberate and were made with representational intent, strongly suggests they functioned as artifacts within a society by symbols with meaning. ref
Neanderthals had complex social structures including burying their dead (concept of an afterlife) and wearing personal ornaments (eagle claws and shell beads) and used pigments like red ocher and feathers too. Both Neanderthals and Modern Humans where similar in relation to aggression or to fight each other and with a comparison of more than 200 skulls dating back 80,000 years found similar levels of head injuries in both groups, Neanderthals and Modern Humans suggesting a similar lifestyle. They were more likely to hunt demonstrated n how it is the males in both groups who displayed greater injuries due to role stratification, with gender-specific behaviors and activities. The only difference discovered was the age of the injuries – with greater skull wounds among young Neanderthals under 30. It is possible that such injuries on young Neanderthals are thought to be concentrated on the head resulting from violent social behavior, front teeth of Neanderthals often show heavy wear, even in young (teeth vice to hold skins or objects) though growing evidence in general shows that Neanderthals had much in common with early human groups. ref, ref
77,000 years ago, at Blombos Cave in South Africa, 49 intentionally perforated shell beads found in clusters of 2 to 17 with similar wear patterns suggesting they were strung together and some beads holding ochre inside them. Moreover, Similar shell beads have also been found in caves in North Africa and the Middle East dating to between 100,000 – 70,000 years ago. ref
The “Mask” of La Roche-Cotard, France, found at layer 7c within the Mousterian level dating to around 75,600 years ago. This is a flint object with a striking likeness to a human face may be one of the best examples of art by Neanderthals ever found ref, ref
A Few Mousterian Sites
Levant: Israel: Qafzeh, Skhul, Kebara, Hayonim, Tabun, Emeireh, Amud, Zuttiyeh, El-Wad; Jordan: ‘Ain Difla; and Syria: El Kowm
North Africa: Morocco: Rhafas Cave, Dar es Soltan
Central Asia: Turkey: Kalatepe Deresi; Afghanistan: Darra-i-Kur; and Uzbekistan: Teschik-Tasch
Was it Just Us, at Origin of Modern Mind 75,000 Years Ago?
The oldest skulls of early modern (arcane) humans, dating back 300,000 years, with elongated brains that were more like those of Neanderthals than Modern humans. However, the Skulls from Modern humans dating about 120,000 years ago show that brains had gotten somewhat rounder by then, but were still outside the range observed in people today. ref
It doesn’t look so, thus we need to rethink our ideas about the evolving mind of the Neanderthal skulls (right) are elongated from front to back like a football. Modern human adult has a basketball-like shape skulls (left) and Modern human infants also have somewhat elongated skulls, but by the time they reach adulthood, their heads have rounded out into a basketball-like shape. Analyzing Neanderthal DNA in Europeans identifies two Neanderthal gene variants linked to the head shape and also influence brain organization, in evolution acting on the brain might have reshaped the skull. Therefore, the Neanderthal DNA had a direct effect on brain shape and, presumably, brain function in humans today but infants start life with elongated skulls, somewhat like Neanderthals. ref
Evidence shows that Neanderthals had a complex culture although they did not behave in the same ways as the early modern humans who lived at the same time. Neanderthal dead were often buried, although there is no conclusive evidence for full ritualistic behavior, though at some sites, objects have been uncovered that may represent grave goods. ref
Neanderoid neurons also make fewer synaptic connections, creating what resembles an abnormal neuronal network which is somewhat similar to neuronal development in the brains of individuals with autism. Modern humans, with these types of changes are linked to defects in brain development that are needed for socialization, probably demonstrating why Neanderthals had smaller family clans than the larger groups that Modern humans. ref
Neanderthal skulls demonstrate that they were not short on brains with brains that were as big as ours and commonly even bigger though their brains did not mimic ours. Before they disappeared about 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals left behind signs of sophistication: spears used to hunt big game, for instance, and jewelry made of shells and eagle talons. ref
Neanderthals also increased in brain size through their evolution, but in different ways to Modern humans, relatively better vision. And by 150,000 years ago, both Neanderthals and early modern humans had brains about three times larger than chimpanzees, our closest modern (arcane) humans. ref
Early modern humans had relatively larger cerebellar hemispheres but a smaller occidental region in the cerebrum than Neanderthals long before the time that Neanderthals disappeared. And abilities such as cognitive flexibility, attention, the language processing, episodic and working memory capacity were positively correlated with size-adjusted cerebellar volume. ref
South African around the Middle Stone Age cultural periods known as Still Bay techno-tradition (75,000-71,000 years ago) and Howiesons Poort techno-tradition (65,000-59,000 years ago), and establishes the region as the primary center for the early development of human behavior. In these periods of many innovations including, for example, the first abstract art (engraved ochre and engraved ostrich eggshell); the first jewelry (shell beads); the first bone tools; the earliest use of the pressure flaking technique, that was used in combination with heating to make stone spear points and the first probable use of stone tipped arrows launched by bow. ref
Lastly, Neanderthals may not have used their brains they way modern humans do as modern human brains have expanded parietal and cerebellar regions which develop in the first year of life (Neanderthal infants appear to miss this stage of development) and are linked to key functions like the ability to integrate sensory information and form abstract representations of surroundings. ref
75,000 Years Ago – (Spain), found evidence rock crystal stone tools made by Neanderthals in Navalmaíllo rock-shelter Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain. We can assume these never used tools are thus not tools and rather a sacred stones or ritual items. These rock crystals are surprisingly, not so good for tools as flint or other similar stone minerals which where available which seems to suggest a sacred/ritual use or purpose than any utilitarian-practical function. Thus, due to there being no scarcity of quality raw materials, the reason for this behavior, of making stone tools that don’t work well and Neanderthals don’t use anyway expresses a sacred item. Moreover, the cores found at the Navalmaíllo site intentionally worked to a very small size are also reported for other European stone tool cultural assemblages of similar age. Quartz cobbles are also common locally, but this material was usually avoided during the Middle Paleolithic period going back around 100,000 years ago until these where made. The few exceptions are always in rock shelters or caves. The best known are Jarama VI cave and Peña Capón rock shelter central spain.
This use of rock crystal or quartz also is seen Europe such as southwestern France such as at the Les Merveilles rock shelter. At prehistoric sites in the Austrian alps, quartz or quartzite was generally used very frequently as raw material for stone tools, about 68 % of the stone tool artifacts from Repolusthöhle (Repolust), Austria was made of quartzite. More than 99 % of the lithic artifacts from the Drachenhöhle (Dragon’s Cave), Austria were made of quartz or quartzite and about 90 % of the artifacts from the Tunnelsteinhöhle, Austria were made of quartz. This is evidence of the collection by Neanderthals of highly crafted objects of no great use, except for their beauty or specialness possibly ritual as seems odd it was only seen as a standard tool. Thus, a use-wear analysis was done to prove that quartz artifacts really were regarded as tools which it seems they may not have been.
This further highlights a possible ritualism because there seems to be a low frequency of mechanical damage on the quartz artifacts. However, evidence of quartz tools goes back 500,000 years ago as numerous pieces of quartz crystal found with remains of ‘Peking Man’ some fragments of white quartz in tabus, a mineral not native to the area raises the importance of this find. In fact, more than 10,000 stone tools have been recovered coming from 44 different raw materials used by the ancient inhabitants of the cave, and 89% of this raw material is quartz and the remainder of the raw materials used includes 5% rock crystal. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Our origins originate from Southern African (NOT THE FIRST ANCESTORS EVER AS THAT WOULD BE NORTH AFRICA AROUND 300,000 YEARS AGO TO EAST AFRICA AROUND 200,000 YEARS AGO OR SO BUT RATHER OUR LAST MAIN COMMON ANCESTORS AROUND 100,000 YEARS AGO), with a population divergence around 120,000 to 110,000 years ago and this is after the two other main areas of North and East Africa either migrated south or largely went extinct around 100,000 years ago. This is the most recent glacial era that consisted of a larger pattern of glacial and interglacial periods beginning around 115,000 which may have influenced both the migrating south and possibly could connect to some of the influences relating to the extinctions as well. Moreover, as these Ancient Southern African peoples developed over time, they also expanded out from there to populate the globe and the DNA of us all points to a southern African origin. Furthermore, it seems as they expanded back out, they either replaced the other populations in central and east Africa that may have been left or absorbed any remaining individuals. ref
Africa’s Middle Stone Age is best known for innovations that appearing various times after about 200,000 years ago. Such innovations might have been linked to new types of social behavior as well as pulses in movements within and out of the continent of Africa. Population shifts likely occurred repeatedly during the 200,000 to 50,000 years ago. Southern African sites seem concentrated in the interior of the subcontinent before 130,000 years ago seemingly coinciding with the dispersal after 130,000 years ago of populations from the interior to mountainous areas, but, more particularly, to the coastal stretches of the southern and western Cape. Then by around 58,000 years ago occupations tended once more to shift away from the southern coast and back into the interior, or to the eastern seaboard. Regional and even local variability is characteristic of stone artifacts of the time, while sites seem to have fewer ornaments or decorated items than was formerly the case. ref
100,000 – 50,000 Years Ago – Signs of increased ritual or symbolic use of red ochre at several sites. Red ochre is a common traits appearing in burials, non-mortuary ritual or symbolic context, and non-ritual context. However, most importantly red ochre is thought to have played an important role in early religious rituals. The color red could be a symbol of transformation from this life to an afterlife or from the mundane to the sacred, as it was used in burials, grave goods and later for painting the Venus figurines. ref, ref, ref
90,000 Years Ago – (Africa), found evidence of humans making symbolic paintings and ritual or symbolic uses involving red ochre. Neanderthals living in Europe and the Near East at this time were also involved in ritual or symbolic use of red ochre as well as what seems like early religion possibly involving animal totems, such as the cave bear cult and what may have been a death cult involving several Neanderthal cave sites burials in fetal positions frequently stained with red ochre which must have had a sacred quality of some kind connected to its use. ref, ref, ref, ref
86,000 – 24,500 Years Ago – Found evidence that Neanderthals (distinct species from humans) and modern humans inbreed exchanging genes and likely shared technology and religious ideas too. 40,000 – 30,000 years ago, in northern Italy, remains are believed to be that of a Neanderthal-Modern Human hybrid. Moreover, 24,500 years ago, another burial of a juvenile Neanderthal-Modern Human hybrid (the Lapedo child) from central Portugal who’s burial involved red ochre and bones of red deer. All non-Africans today have Neanderthal gene fragments in their genetic codes. This is important because of the seeming Neanderthals shared some religious practice of using red ochre with religious and afterlife symbolism with modern humans and the s likely shared more than genes but also could have shared religious ideas too. Similar and more interesting are the non-humans inbreeding with Denisovans and most likely spreading other things such as sacralizing, ritualizing, and supernatural beliefs too but as of yet there is just my speculation. Denisovans, a cousins to Neanderthals, lived in Asia from roughly 400,000 to posably 30,000 years ago years ago and also interbred with both Neanderthals and modern humans, with their DNA spreading from the Altai Mountains in Central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together all the way to Papua New Guinea. A DNA analysis from Papua New Guinea shows they hold 4.8% Denisovan DNA. Moreover, by 26,000 years ago, almost all diversity of the hominids vanished and humans everywhere had evolved into the anatomically and behaviorally to roughly the modern form we know today. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
Evidence from Rhino Cave, in Botswana produced results that revealed a very special set of behavioral patterns which best-fit ritualized behavior. There where colorful non-local stone tools carefully and often elaborately made just to be offered to the stone snake; burned and smashed beyond use then abandoned. ref
Rhino Cave, located at the World Heritage site of Tsodilo Hills, is one of the three main Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites in Botswana. Initial investigations during the mid-1990s left unanswered a number of key questions regarding the early use of the cave. This prompted the current investigations, which have unearthed a wealth of MSA artifacts from a lag deposit. Results of a selectively employed chaîne opératoire analysis have revealed a very special set of behavioral patterns. It will be argued that the best-fit interpretation of the results from this investigation lies within the realm of ritualized behavior. The assemblage is characterized by an unexpectedly large number of MSA points, which are for the most part produced in non-locally acquired raw materials. These points are colorful, carefully and often elaborately made, and, once complete, never left the cave. They were either deliberately burned to the point where they could no longer be used, abandoned, or intentionally smashed. These artifacts were found together with tabular grinding slabs and pieces of the locally available pigment, specularite. This assemblage was recovered directly beneath a massive, virtually free-standing rock face that has been carved with hundreds of cupules of varying sizes and shapes. A section of the carved rock face was recovered from well within the MSA deposits in association with handheld grinding stones. ref
Around 74,000 years ago, Border Cave, South Africa, burial of a 4 to 6 month old child was found in a oval pit with a personal ornament, a perforated Conus shell. ref
73,000 years old example of meaning consisting of a few simple red marks adorn a pattern made with an ochre crayon found at Blombos cave in South Africa. The fragment of rock is part of a larger symbolic design drawn on the cobble. Researchers believe the cross-hatches were originally part of a larger design but are perplexed as to what it might represent. ref
“This is the oldest stone bracelet in the world, believed to have been made by the extinct Denisovan species of early humans, dated as being between 40,000 – 50,000 to be 65,000 – 70,000 years old, long before ancient people were believed to capable of making such remarkable objects. The bracelet is thought to have adorned a very important woman or child on only special occasions. And it is unlikely it was used as an everyday jewellery piece. I believe this beautiful and very fragile bracelet was worn only for some exceptional moments.” ref
Scientists have found the first major evidence that Neanderthals made cave paintings, indicating they may have had an artistic sense similar to our own. A new study led by the University of Southampton and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology shows that paintings in three caves in Spain were created more than 64,000 years ago – 20,000 years before modern humans arrived in Europe. This means that the Palaeolithic (Ice Age) cave art – including pictures of animals, dots, and geometric signs – must have been made by Neanderthals, a ‘sister’ species to Homo sapiens, and Europe’s sole human inhabitants at the time. It also indicates that they may have had a similar artistic sense, in terms of thinking symbolically, to modern humans. ref
Published in the journal Science, the study reveals how an international team of scientists used a state-of-the-art technique called uranium-thorium dating to fix the age of the paintings as more than 64,000 years. Until now, cave art has been attributed entirely to modern humans, as claims to a possible Neanderthal origin have been hampered by imprecise dating techniques. However, uranium-thorium dating provides much more reliable results than methods such as radiocarbon dating, which can give false age estimates. Results show that the paintings we dated are, by far, the oldest known cave art in the world, and were created at least 20,000 years before modern humans arrived in Europe from Africa so it is assumed – therefore they may have been painted by Neanderthals. ref
All three caves contain red (ochre) or black paintings of groups of animals, dots, and geometric signs, as well as hand stencils, handprints, and engravings. According to the researchers, creating the art must have involved such sophisticated behavior as the choice of a location, planning of light source and mixing of pigments. There is evidence that Neanderthals in Europe used body ornamentation around 40,000 to 45,000 years ago, but many researchers have suggested this was inspired by modern humans who at the time had just arrived in Europe. Study co-author Paul Pettitt, of Durham University, commented: “Neanderthals created meaningful symbols in meaningful places. The art is not a one-off accident. ref
Neanderthals are our closest extinct relative, but for a long time, they had a reputation for being pretty backward. Early modern humans, for example, made cave paintings. But even though Neanderthals used pigments and decorated themselves with eagle claws and shells, there was no clear proof that they painted caves. One theory goes that Neanderthals developed their rudimentary culture only after early modern humans arrived in Europe some 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. The most recent painting is at least 64,800 years old, according to this technique, and the oldest is more than 66,000 years old. ref
The Neanderthal was the only proven Human of Europe at the time, but was his or her brain up to the job? Or did modern humans reach Europe tens of thousands of years earlier than thought? The ancient art forms are symbolic but not figurative, explain their finders. In Spain, a cave in Maltravieso features hand stencils more than 66,000 years old, Prof. Dirk Hoffmann of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and others report in their paper, published in Science. The La Pasiega Cave in Cantabria features a ladder form composed of red horizontal and vertical lines that were created more than 64,000 years ago, they say. Further supporting the Neanderthal-as-artist theory, a related paper published Thursday in Science Advances reports that dyed and decorated seashells found in a Spanish cave dated to more than 115,000 years ago. ref
Perforated shells found in sediments in Cueva de los Aviones that date to between 115,000 and 120,000 years. There’s no argument that there were Neanderthals in Europe 64,000 years ago. Homo sapiens, on the other hand, was thought to have reached Europe only 45,000 to 40,000 years ago. There is no evidence for modern humans in Iberia before 41,000 years ago, and there is evidence for Neanderthal presence until about 36,000 years ago in southern Spain and Portugal. Neanderthals existed for twice the time modern people have, if not more, and were once the dominant hominin in Europe. While Neanderthals may have etched a crisscross and perhaps carved a flute, look what Homo sapiens achieved, Coolidge says. The Paleolithic record is replete with exquisite works, from cave paintings to carvings done tens of thousands of years ago – such as the Lion Man sculpture found in a German cave and made of mammoth ivory some 38,000 years ago. ref
Neanderthal ritual or religious practice at around 50,000 years old burial in Sima de las Palomas in Murcia, Southeast Spain of a female covered with rocks inturned with a cut off panther paw, suggesting that Neanderthals—much like today’s bear hunters—ceremoniously cut off panther paws and kept them as totemistic trophies. This 50,000-year-old Neanderthal burial ground actually includes the remains of at least three individuals intentionally buried, with each Neanderthal’s arms folded such that the hands were close to the head. Remains of other Neanderthals have been found in this position, suggesting that it held meaning. The remains of six to seven other Neanderthals, including one baby and two juveniles, have also been excavated at the site. The tallest individual appears to have been an adult who stood around 5 feet 1 inch tall. ref, ref
65,000 years ago, at Panga ya Saidi was some of the oldest beads in Kenya, East Africa. The site held a mix of technological innovations dated to around 67,000 years ago and after, however, has a and no radical break of behavior can be detected at any time. After around 60,000 years ago there was a noticeable increase in populations. Between around 48,000 to 25,000 years ago, carved bone, carved tusk, a decorated bone tube, a small bone point, and modified pieces of ochre were found, which indicates behavioral complexity and symbolism. ref
60,000
years old fragments of engraved ostrich eggshells from the Diepkloof
Rock Shelter, Western Cape, South Africa.
Symbolic meaning expressed in art or designs and patterns, starting with animism at 100,000 years ago and more so around 50,000 years ago with the emergence of totemism and shamanism 30,000 years ago which I think all connect in a general way to religious thinking or mindsets that create the art or patterns and are not only a much older phenomenon than previously thought and has its roots in the African continent. Such early symbolic expression is seen in things like personal ornamentation and engraved designs, traditions that go far back into African prehistory. The patterns are symbolic and could have been used to express religious clan connections, group relations or personal expression. The patterns may indeed have a meaning and while abstract in representation they are unequivocal evidence for symbolic thought and one step closer to language. Ref
Cave Bear Hunting by Neanderthals 50,000 years ago
50,000 years ago, at least, Neanderthals where hunting the “now-extinct” and ferocious cave bears (weighing 1,300 lbs, twice that of grizzlies), seen in Neanderthals bite marks spotted on cave bear bones. Furthermore, the remains, which belonged to a total of 50 cave bears that lived 50,000 to 43,000 years ago. Bands of Neanderthals would regularly ambush sleeping bears (belonging to male and female adults, cubs, and fetuses) as they awoke from their annual targeted by the for their pelts, meat, and living quarters. Among the fossils remains are penis bones, showing that Neanderthals did hunt the seeming hardest to kill, the adult male cave bear. Cave bears may have spent more time in caves than the brown bear, which uses caves only for hibernation. ref, ref, ref
800 specimens collected throughout western Eurasia, and dated between 80,000 and 20,000 years ago. The team documented incidents of skull trauma, perceived sex and age at death, degree of skeleton preservation, and geographical location of each sample. Based on 836 cranial elements analyzed from 204 individuals, researchers found no differences in injury rates between Neanderthals and contemporaneous humans, Gizmodo reported. ref, ref
The walls of France’s Chauvet cave, occupied 32,000 years ago, are painted with lions, hyenas as well as bears and the floor is covered with 150 cave bear skeletons. Most dramatically, a cave bear skull was perched on a stone slab in the center of one chamber, placed deliberately, possibility the skull was put on the rock evoking a religious significance. ref
Neandertals seem to have possibly had an ancient bear cult in Western Eurasia during the Middle Paleolithic and it is well documented that bears feature often on many totems throughout northern cultures that carve them. Neanderthals would have worshiped the cave bear discovered in several different caves and not mere presence of bones but their arrangement in a way not naturally possible. Ancient bear cult may be expressed in cave bear remains in Switzerland and at Mornova Cave in Slovenia. Bear skulls were found arranged in a perfect circle in Saône-et-Loire; an act which has been attributed to Neandertals and is assumed to have been a part of some sort of ceremony. ref
Bear worship or bear cults involve a religious worshiping of bears) is found in many North Eurasian ethnic religions such as the Sami, Nivkh, Ainu, pre-Christian Basques, and Finns. There are also a number of deities from Celtic Gaul and Britain associated with the bear, and the Dacians, Thracians, and Getians were noted to worship bears. The Ainu people, who live on select islands in the Japanese archipelago, call the bear “kamuy” in their language, which translates to mean “god”. While many other animals are considered to be gods in the Ainu culture, the bear is the head of the gods. The Ainu people willingly and thankfully ate the bear as they believed that the disguise (the flesh and fur) of any god was a gift to the home that the god chose to visit. ref
Neanderthals and modern humans likely last interbred as recently as 47,000 years ago. ref
A “female Neanderthal who mated with Moreno Human male” relates to a 40,000-30,000 years old human/Neanderthal hybrid. Modern humans and Neanderthals therefore lived in roughly the same regions for thousands of years, but research hints at modern humans possibly raping female Neanderthals so this and other evidence supports a slow process of replacement by the invading modern human populations, as well as additional evidence of of the Neanderthals’ continuing a relatively continual cultural identity. ref
Suspicion is that this male tiara or diadem (mammoth ivory) was made by Denisovans and hints at the depth of Denisovan technology 50,000 to 45,000 years ago. Expression for family, clan or tribe, So maybe early Totemistic behaviors. ref
Denisovan technology is at least by 50,000 years ago, such as their making elegant needles out of ivory and a sophisticated and beautiful stone bracelet. It appears to have had a practical use: to keep hair out of the eyes; its size indicates it was for male, not female, use. Interestingly tiaras made 20,000 to 28,000 years later by people living in the Russian Far East, around the Yana river in Yakutia and they could have denoted the family, clan or tribe, So maybe early Totemistic behaviors. ref
A tiara is an ornamental crown traditionally worn by women, often used interchangeably with the word “diadem.” A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headbandworn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. ref, ref
Neandertals, evolved out of later populations of Homo heidelbergensis. At the end of the last glacial period, the Neanderthals enlarged their originally exclusive European settlement area, expanding into the Near East, parts of Central Asia, and even as far as the Altai region in Siberia. Neandertals, north of the Ebro divide and the “IUP ϭ Bohunician hypothesis” of a Danubian wedge of modern human settlement dated to around 45,000 years ago. The cultural continuity between the Bohunician and the regional Middle Paleolithic remain are still an open due to the lack of associated human remains. Circles: latest Ch ˆtelperronian, Micoquian and Uluzzian sites. Triangles: Neandertal remains dated to around 45,000 years ago. Squares: Neandertal remains in Ch ˆtelperronian, Micoquian, Szeletian, Uluzzian, or late Middle Paleolithic contexts. 1. Caune de Belvis, 2. Abri Dubalen, 3. Grotte XVI and Roc-de-Combe, 4. Saint-Ce ́ saire, 5. Ch ˆtelperron, 6. Grotte du Renne, 7. Kleine Feldhofer Grotte (Neander valley), 8. Sesselfelsgrotte, 9. Vindija, 10. Cav- allo, 11. Klisoura 1, 12. Lakonis I. ref, ref
The earliest connection concerns the Levantine IUP/Emirian and Central European Bohunician and similar assemblages in Eastern Europe and North Asia. Similarities have also been documented between the Levantine Early Ahmarian (EUP) and the European Proto-Aurignacian. Therefore, identifying the first occurrence of technologically similar lithic industries in the Levant and Europe holds potential information about dispersal. ref
“In the realm of culture, the archeological evidence also supports a Neandertal contribution to Europe’s earliest modern human societies, which feature personal ornaments completely unknown before immigration and are characteristic of such Neandertal-associated archeological entities as the Chatelperronian and the Uluzzian.” – (PDF) Neandertals and Moderns Mixed, and It Matters: Link
Grotte du Renne there are good reasons to suspect admixture of Mousterian age elements within the Châtelperronian contexts (layers X-VIII, from the lower to the upper). The Châtelperronian habitation activities entailed digging into the earlier Mousterian deposits including postholes and hearths, which caused removal and redeposition of Mousterian components within the depositional processes of the later layers. In addition, the earlier layers near the cave walls are often higher then in the central area, thus one may expect a continuous, although reduced, Mousterian contribution from these layers to the later, Châtelperronian deposits in the central area.
Thus, possibly a portion of the ornaments in the early Châtelperronian layer can be interpreted as the result of the newcomers’ activities in the cave on top of the Mousterian deposits, produced their own lithic and bone artifacts including ornaments and nowhere across Europe did late Mousterian contexts contain the same kind of ornaments as found in the Châtelperronian layers of the Grotte du Renne. In addition, these ornaments were made by the same technique as that employed in the production of the Aurignacian ornaments and thus testify for a local regional production tradition that continued through time. In sum, it seems that the Châtelperronians were the likely ancestors of the Aurignacian. The two groups were contemporaries and possibly encountered and confronted each other. Inter-group relationships of hunter-gatherers, especially if they belonged to different ethno-linguistic entities, could have been friendly indifferent or conflicts. Therefore, in this general time frame as long as we do not have an intact, articulated Neandertal burial in a clear Châtelperronian context, it is quite possible that this prehistoric culture was the product of modern humans. ref
The European Mousterian is the product of Neanderthals. It existed roughly from 160,000 to 40,000 and the younger Châtelperronian deposits during around 45,000-40,000 years ago of bone tools and body ornaments were produced by Neanderthals. Châtelperronian stone industries are a blend of earlier tool types from the Middle Paleolithic Mousterian and Upper Paleolithic Aurignacian style tool types. However, since these late Neanderthals only seem to have manufactured Châtelperronian body ornaments seemingly after modern humans arrived in neighboring regions, possibly suggests that cultural diffusion might have taken place between modern humans and Neanderthals.
Neanderthal ritual or religious practice at around 50,000 years old burial in Sima de las Palomas in Murcia, Southeast Spain of a female covered with rocks inturned with a cut off panther paw, suggesting that Neanderthals—much like today’s bear hunters—ceremoniously cut off panther paws and kept them as totemistic trophies. This 50,000-year-old Neanderthal burial ground actually includes the remains of at least three individuals intentionally buried, with each Neanderthal’s arms folded such that the hands were close to the head. Remains of other Neanderthals have been found in this position, suggesting that it held meaning. The remains of six to seven other Neanderthals, including one baby and two juveniles, have also been excavated at the site. The tallest individual appears to have been an adult who stood around 5 feet 1 inch tall. ref, ref
Totemism is less holistic and somewhat masculine in nature compared to Animism with the heavily supported taboos and clan structure (things are separated and must stay separated with sacred and profane, off-limits and allowed, or clean and unclean running one’s entire lives. Things in nature are to be controlled or feared, things in nature have danger and can be evil, but it is also can be used for good and can be helpful for protection. There are spirits that I made thinner than Animism as it has to share space with the metaphorical clan ancestor there is also supernatural beings both animal and human-like Animism, but where animisms animals are calmer less harmful like the bird that is a stork referencing life, and the shake is smiling. Whereas, in totemism, this same template is changed through similar. The totemism bird is a vulture referencing a thing of death, not life, and the snake has its teeth barred as a threat. Like Animism, there are nonhuman supernatural things or being but in general would be attributed to a somewhat nonpersonal shared clan ancestor grandmother/grandfather or great grandmother/grandfather, not as much of what we think about like a god today.
“The Totemism, system of belief in which humans are said to have kinship or a mystical relationship with a spirit-being, such as an animal or plant. The entity, or totem, is thought to interact with a given kin group or an individual and to serve as their emblem or symbol. The term totemism has been used to characterize a cluster of traits in the religion and in the social organization of many peoples. Totemism is manifested in various forms and types in different contexts and is most often found among populations whose traditional economies relied on hunting and gathering, mixed farming with hunting and gathering, or emphasized the raising of cattle. The term totem is derived from the Ojibwa word ototeman, meaning “one’s brother-sister kin.” The grammatical root, ote, signifies a blood relationship between brothers and sisters who have the same mother and who may not marry each other. In English, the word totem was introduced in 1791 by a British merchant and translator who gave it a false meaning in the belief that it designated the guardian spirit of an individual, who appeared in the form of an animal—an idea that the Ojibwa clans did indeed portray by their wearing of animal skins. It was reported at the end of the 18th century that the Ojibwa named their clans after those animals that live in the area in which they live and appear to be either friendly or fearful.” ref
“The first accurate report about totemism in North America was written by a Methodist missionary, Peter Jones, himself an Ojibwa, who died in 1856 and whose report was published posthumously. According to Jones, the Great Spirit had given toodaims(“totems”) to the Ojibwa clans, and because of this act, it should never be forgotten that members of the group are related to one another and on this account may not marry among themselves. Totemism is a complex of varied ideas and ways of behavior based on a worldview drawn from nature. There are ideological, mystical, emotional, reverential, and genealogical relationships of social groups or specific persons with animals or natural objects, the so-called totems. It is necessary to differentiate between group and individual totemism. These forms share some basic characteristics, but they occur with different emphases and in different specific forms. For instance, people generally view the totem as a companion, relative, protector, progenitor, or helper, ascribe to it superhuman powers and abilities, and offer it some combination of respect, veneration, awe, and fear. Most cultures use special names and emblems to refer to the totem, and those it sponsors engage in partial identification with the totem or symbolic assimilation to it. There is usually a prohibition or taboo against killing, eating, or touching the totem. Although totems are often the focus of ritual behavior, it is generally agreed that totemism is not a religion.” ref
“Totemism can certainly include religious elements in varying degrees, just as it can appear conjoined with magic. Totemism is frequently mixed with different kinds of other beliefs, such as ancestor worship, ideas of the soul, or animism. Such mixtures have historically made the understanding of particular totemistic forms difficult. Social or collective totemism is the most widely disseminated form of this belief system. It typically includes one or more of several features, such as the mystic association of animal and plant species, natural phenomena, or created objects with unilineallyrelated groups (lineages, clans, tribes, moieties, phratries) or with local groups and families; the hereditary transmission of the totems (patrilineal or matrilineal); group and personal names that are based either directly or indirectly on the totem; the use of totemistic emblems and symbols; taboos and prohibitions that may apply to the species itself or can be limited to parts of animals and plants (partial taboos instead of partial totems); and a connection with a large number of animals and natural objects (multiplex totems) within which a distinction can be made between principal totems and subsidiary ones (linked totems). Group totems are generally associated or coordinated on the basis of analogies or on the basis of myth or ritual. Just why particular animals or natural things—which sometimes possess no economic worth for the communities concerned—were originally selected as totems is often based on eventful and decisive moments in a people’s past. Folk traditions regarding the nature of totems and the origin of the societies in question are informative, especially with regard to the group’s cultural presuppositions.” ref
“For example, a group that holds that it is derived directly or indirectly from a given totem may have a tradition in which its progenitor was an animal or plant that could also appear as a human being. In such belief systems, groups of people and species of animals and plants can thus have progenitors in common. In other cases, there are traditions that the human progenitor of a kin group had certain favorable or unfavorable experiences with an animal or natural object and then ordered that his descendants respect the whole species of that animal. Group totemism was traditionally common among peoples in Africa, India, Oceania (especially in Melanesia), North America, and parts of South America. These peoples include, among others, the Australian Aborigines, the African Pygmies, and various Native American peoples—most notably the Northwest Coast Indians (predominantly fishermen), California Indians, and Northeast Indians. Moreover, group totemism is represented in a distinctive form among the Ugrians and west Siberians (hunters and fishermen who also breed reindeer) as well as among tribes of herdsmen in north and Central Asia. Individual totemism is expressed in an intimate relationship of friendship and protection between a person and a particular animal or a natural object (sometimes between a person and a species of animal); the natural object can grant special power to its owner. Frequently connected with individual totemism are definite ideas about the human soul (or souls) and conceptions derived from them, such as the idea of an alter ego and nagualism—from the Spanish form of the Aztec word naualli, “something hidden or veiled”—which means that a kind of simultaneous existence is assumed between an animal or a natural object and a person; i.e., a mutual, close bond of life and fate exists in such a way that in case of the injury, sickness, or death of one partner, the same fate would befall the other member of the relationship.” ref
“Consequently, such totems became most strongly tabooed; above all, they were connected with family or group leaders, chiefs, medicine men, shamans, and other socially significant persons. Studies of shamanism indicate that individual totemism may have predated group totemism, as a group’s protective spirits were sometimes derived from the totems of specific individuals. To some extent, there also exists a tendency to pass on an individual totem as hereditary or to make taboo the entire species of animal to which the individual totem belongs. Individual totemism is widely disseminated. It is found not only among tribes of hunters and harvesters but also among farmers and herdsmen. Individual totemism is especially emphasized among the Australian Aborigines and the American Indians. Among the Wiradjuri, an Aboriginal people who traditionally lived in New South Wales (Australia), totem clans are divided among two subgroups and corresponding matrilineal moieties. The group totem, named “flesh,” is transmitted from the mother. In contrast to this, individual totems belong only to the medicine men and are passed on patrilineally. Such an individual totem is named bala, “spirit companion,” or jarawaijewa, “the meat (totem) that is within him.” There is a strict prohibition against eating the totem. Breach of the taboo carries with it sickness or death. It is said: “To eat your jarawaijewa is the same as if you were to eat your very own flesh or that of your father.” The medicine man identifies himself with his personal totem. Every offense or injury against the totem has its automatic effect upon the man who commits it. It is a duty of the totem to guard the ritualist and the medicine man while he is asleep. In the case of danger or the arrival of strangers, the animal goes back into the body of the medicine man and informs him. After the death of the medicine man, the animal stands watch as a bright flickering light near the grave. The individual totem is also a helper of the medicine man. The medicine man emits the totem in his sleep or in a trance so that it can collect information for him. In this tradition, sorcery may also be practiced by the medicine man. By singing, for instance, the medicine man can send out his totem to kill an enemy; the totem enters the chest of the enemy and devours his viscera.” ref
“The transmission of the individual totem to novices is done through the father or the grandfather, who, of course, himself is also a medicine man. While the candidate lies on his back, the totem is “sung into” him. The blood relative who is transmitting the totem takes a small animal and places it on the chest of the youngster. During the singing, the animal supposedly sinks slowly into his body and finally disappears into it. The candidate is then instructed on how he has to treat the animal that is his comrade, and he is further instructed in song and the ritual concentration that is necessary to dispatch the totem from his body. Among the Nor-Papua of New Guinea, patrilineal, exogamous groups (consanguineous sibs) are spread over several villages and are associated with animals, especially fish. They believe that they are born from totems, and they make them taboo. Children are given an opportunity to decide during their initiation whether they will respect the paternal or maternal totem. Each group of relatives has a holy place to which the totem animal brings the souls of the dead and from which the souls of children are also believed to come. Totem animals are represented in various manifestations: as spirit creatures in sacred flutes, in disguises, and in figures preserved in each man’s house. At the end of initiation ceremonies, the totems are mimicked by the members of the group. Among the Iban of Sarawak (Malaysia), individual totemism has been the tradition. Particular persons dream of a spirit of an ancestor or a dead relative; this spirit appears in a human form, presents himself as a helper and protector, and names an animal (or sometimes an object) in which he is manifested. The Iban then observe the mannerisms of animals and recognize in the behavior of the animals the embodiment of their protector spirit (ngarong). Sometimes, members of the tribe also carry with them a part of such an animal. Not only this particular animal, but the whole species, is given due respect. Meals and blood offerings are also presented to the spirit animal. Young men who wish to obtain such a protector spirit for themselves sleep on the graves of prominent persons or seek out solitude and fast so that they may dream of a helper spirit. Actually, only a few persons can name such animals as their very own. Individuals with protector spirits have also attempted to require from their descendants the respect and the taboo given the animal representing the spirit. As a rule, such descendants do not expect special help from the protector spirit, but they observe the totemistic regulations anyway. The Birhor, a people that were traditionally residents of the jungle of Chotanagpur Plateau in the northeast Deccan (India), are organized into patrilineal, exogamous totem groups.” ref
“According to one imperfect list of 37 clans, 12 are based on animals, 10 on plants, 8 on Hindu castes and localities, and the rest on objects. The totems are passed on within the group, and tales about the tribe’s origins suggest that each totem had a fortuitous connection with the birth of the ancestor of the clan. The Birhor think that there is a temperamental or physical similarity between the members of the clan and their totems. Prohibitions or taboos are sometimes cultivated to an extreme degree. In regard to eating, killing, or destroying them, the clan totems are regarded as if they were human members of the group. Moreover, it is believed that an offense against the totems through a breach of taboo will produce a corresponding decrease in the size of the clan. If a person comes upon a dead totem animal, he must smear his forehead with oil or a red dye, but he must not actually mourn over the animal; he also does not bury it. The close and vital relationship between the totem and the clan is shown in a definite ceremony: the yearly offering to the chief spirit of the ancestral hill. Each Birhor community has a tradition of an old settlement that is thought to be located on a hill in the area. Once a year, the men of each clan come together at an open place. The elder of the clan functions as the priest who gives the offering. A diagram with four sections is drawn on the ground with rice flour. In one of these, the elder sits while gazing in the direction of the ancestral hill. The emblem of the particular totem is placed in one of the other sections of the diagram; depending on the circumstances, this emblem could be a flower, a piece of horn or skin, a wing, or a twig. This emblem represents the clan as a whole. If an animal is needed for such a ceremony, it is provided by the members of another clan who do not hold it as a totem. The Birhor show great fear of the spirits of the ancestral hill and avoid these places as far as possible. Among the Kpelle people of Liberia there is not only group totemism but also individual totemism. Both kinds of totems are referred to variously as “thing of possession,” “thing of birth,” or “thing of the back of men.” These phrases express the idea that the totem always accompanies, belongs to, and stands behind one as a guide and warner of dangers.” ref
“The totem also punishes the breach of any taboo. Kpelle totems include animals, plants, and natural phenomena. The kin groups that live in several villages were matrilineal at an earlier time, but during the 20th century they began to exhibit patrilineal tendencies. The group totems, especially the animal totems, are considered as the residence of the ancestors; they are respected and are given offerings. Moreover, a great role is played by individual totems that, in addition to being taboo, are also given offerings. Personal totems that are animals can be transmitted from father to son or from mother to daughter; on the other hand, individual plant totems are assigned at birth or later. The totem also communicates magical powers. It is even believed possible to alter one’s own totem animal; further, it is considered an alter ego. Persons with the same individual totem prefer to be united in communities. The well-known leopard confederation, a secret association, seems to have grown out of such desires. Entirely different groups produce patrilineal taboo communities that are supposedly related by blood; they comprise persons of several tribes. The animals, plants, and actions made taboo by these groups are not considered as totems. In a certain respect, the individual totems in this community seem to be the basis of group totemism.” ref
Pre-Aurignacian “Châtelperronian” (Western Europe, mainly Spain and France, possible transitional/cultural diffusion between Neanderthals and humans around 50,000-40,000 years ago)
Archaic–Aurignacian/Proto-Aurignacian (Europe around 46,000-35,000)
Aurignacian culture to me arose possibly from Châtelperronian diffusion between Neanderthals and humans and the European Bohunician culture in South-Central and East Europe dated at 48,000 years ago, thought to be related to LevantEmiran dated to around 50,000—40,000 years ago. Ahmarian culture in the Levant dated at 46,000-42,000 years ago and thought to be related to Levantine Emiran and younger European Aurignacian cultures which began spreading from the Middle East. Such as, in the likes of the Manot Cave, occupied from about 55,000 years ago to at least 30,000 years ago some of who moved toward Europe at least by 45,000 years. ref, ref
Aurignacian “classical/early to late” (Europe and other areas around 38,000 – 26,000 years ago)
“The most significant “recent” Out of Africa wave took place about 70,000 years ago, via the so-called “Southern Route”, spreading rapidly along the coast of Asia and reaching Australia by around 65,000–50,000 years ago. While Europe was populated by an early offshoot which settled the Near East and Europe less than 55,000 years ago.” ref
All populations before around 40,000 years ago where way more inbred and then after that is has a great decrease, to which I hypothesize could be genetic evidence of the emergence of INCEST-PROHIBITION hints at the taboo in Totemism. ref
“The Horror of Incest” concerns incesttaboos adopted by societies believing in totemism.
Totemism is a belief system scattered world-wide mainly by hunting and gathering peoples, which seems to diminish when agricultural becomes predominant. Totemism seems expressed all over the North American especially the west cost indigenous peoples, in Peru, in Guiana, what was the African Gold Coast, in India, the South Seas islands, Australia, Siberia, Egypt and Semitic regions. It is thought that the current true totemism is found only among Australian Aborigines, North, and South American indigenous peoples, in New Guinea, and parts of Africa and India. But it is Australia, America, and Africa that are the three main areas where totemism has been found in its most highly developed and widespread forms. ref
Totemism is approximately a 50,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden totemist.
Toetmism may be older as there is evidence of what looks like a Stone Snake in South Africa, which may be the “first human worship” dating to around 70,000 years ago. Many archaeologists propose that societies from 70,000 to 50,000 years ago such as that of the Neanderthals may also have practiced the earliest form of totemism or animal worship in addition to their presumably religious burial of the dead. Did Neanderthals help inspire Totemism? There is Neanderthals art dating to around 65,000 years ago in Spain. ref, ref
42,000 years ago: earliest evidence of advanced deep sea fishing technology at the Jerimalai cave site in East Timor—demonstrates high-level maritime skills and by implication the technology needed to make ocean crossings to reach Australia and other islands, as they were catching and consuming large numbers of big deep sea fish such as tuna.
“Fossil bone evidence of the Denisovans uncovered in Denisova Cave in the Russian Altai Mountains which are a sister group to Neanderthals showed that Denisovans lived in the cave from at least 200,000 to less than 50,000 years ago. And that Denisovans are closer in terms of shared ancestry to Neanderthals than they are to modern humans at one time lived alongside Neanderthals in the same cave, the evidence showed. Moreover, that Neanderthals were present at Denisova Cave from at least 190,000 years ago until at least 90,000 years ago. Evidence shows that the two groups certainly interbred first giving rise a daughter of mixed ancestry about 100,000 years ago.” ref
“A 50,000-year-old bone fragment of a 13-year-old female was discovered in the Denisova Cave who had a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father.” ref
“From the location of the Denisova Cave, we can trace a path from modern day Russia into Southeast Asia and Australia. What’s perhaps more surprising is that there is a low rate of interbreeding in China, Mongolia, Nepal, and other countries on the main continent. But the fractions of a percent of shared DNA seen in modern Asian populations have imparted beneficial adaptations to some groups there. For native Tibetans, ancient hominin interbreeding may have impacted their ability to live in climates and attitudes hostile to other groups, such as withstand the effects of hypoxia in low-oxygen environments. The gene flow from Denisovans was from another archaic population that was extremely distantly related to the Denisovan from the Denisova Cave.” ref
Modern humans interbred with Denisovans twice, such as the genomes of two groups of modern humans with Denisovan ancestry from Oceania and East Asia are uniquely different, indicating that there were two separate episodes of Denisovan admixture. In fact, in East Asians DNA, is a set of Denisovan ancestry not found in the South Asians and Papuans. Moreover, it was determined that the Denisovan genome is more closely related to the modern East Asian population than to modern Papuans. ref
“Although DNA from the Papuans up against the Denisovan genome, were similar enough to declare a match, some of the DNA sequences in the East Asians, notably Han Chinese, Chinese Dai, and Japanese, were a much closer match with the Denisovan. The assumption is that admixing with Denisovans occurred fairly quickly after humans moved out of Africa, around 50,000 years ago, but we do not know where in terms of location.” ref
DNA from the Denisovan Siberian cave-dwellers from the has been found in the Aboriginal descendants of the first settlers on the continent. And separate studies suggest that the ability of Tibetans to withstand the effects of hypoxia in low-oxygen environments is linked to a gene absent in Neanderthals but present in Denisovans. ‘Where the interbreeding event(s) between Denisovans and early modern humans actually took place are currently unknown. There is also evidence from fossil teeth that modern humans were in southern China at least 80,000 years ago, and in Sumatra about 65,000 years ago. So populations conected to those are much more likely than Denisovans to have been the first colonizers of Australia, an event now dated to at least 65,000 years ago. Denisovans where an archaic species lived in Altai Mountains of southern Russia, yet their DNA shows up in populations across Southeast Asia. Examining DNA from a finger bone excavated in Siberia, researchers concluded that the Denisovans migrated from Siberia to tropical parts of Asia and that they interbred with modern humans in South-East Asia 44,000 years ago, before Australia separated from Papua New Guinea approximately 11,700 years BP. ref, ref, ref
They contributed DNA to Aboriginal Australians along with present-day New Guineans and an indigenous tribe in the Philippines known as Mamanwa. Scholars have long been flummoxed as to why the language spoken by 90 percent of Australia’s Aborigines is relatively young—approximately 4,000 years old according to language experts—if their ancestors had occupied the continent so much earlier. One possible answer has been that a second migration into Australia by people speaking this language occurred around 4,000 years ago. The authors of the new study, however, say a previously unidentified internal dispersal of Aborigines that swept from the northeast across Australia around that time led to the linguistic and cultural linking of the continent’s indigenous people. Although they had a sweeping impact on ancient Australian culture, these “ghost-like” migrants mysteriously disappeared from the genetic record. A few immigrants appear in different villages and communities around Australia. ref, ref, ref
They change the way people speak and think; then they disappear, like ghosts. And people just carry on living in isolation the same way they always have. This may have happened for religious or cultural reasons that we can only speculate about. But in genetic terms, we have never seen anything like it before.” One other notable finding from the DNA study is evidence of an “uncharacterized” hominin group that interbred with modern humans as they migrated through southeast Asia on their way to Australia. Four percent of Aboriginal Australian DNA comes from a distant relative of Denisovans (an extinct human species from Siberia). It has been found that there was a migration of genes from India to Australia around 4,000 years ago. ref, ref, ref
The researchers had two theories for this: either some Indians had contact with people in Indonesia who eventually transferred those genes from India to Australian Aborigines, or that a group of Indians migrated all the way from India to Australia and intermingled with the locals directly. Their research also shows that these new arrivals came at a time when dingoes first appeared in the fossil record, and when Aboriginal peoples first used microliths in hunting. In addition, they arrived just as one of the Aboriginal language groups was undergoing a rapid expansion. Blood samples from some Warlpiri Tribe of Aboriginal Australians, who are not representative of all Aboriginal Tribes in Australia and descended from ancient Asians whose DNA is still somewhat present in Southeastern Asian groups, although greatly diminished. The Warlpiri DNA also lacks certain information found in modern Asian genomes, and carries information not found in other genomes, reinforcing the idea of ancient Aboriginal isolation. ref, ref, ref
The so-called “transitional industries” are a key for understanding the replacement process of Neanderthals by modern humans in western Eurasia at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic between 50,000 and 40,000 years ago. While in Europe the older Mousterian industry of the Middle Paleolithic can be clearly attributed to Neanderthals and the later Upper Paleolithic assemblages to modern humans, the nature of the makers of the transitional Châtelperronian (CP) industry has long been disputed. ref, ref, ref
Haplogroup O-M175 is a descendant haplogroup of Haplogroup NO-M214, and first appeared according to different theories either in Southeast Asia approximately 40,000 years ago (or between 31,294 and 51,202 years ago. This haplogroup appears in 80-90% of most populations in East Asia and Southeast Asia, and it is almost exclusive to that region: M175 is almost nonexistent in Western Siberia, Western Asia, Europe, most of Africa, and the Americas, where its presence may be the result of recent migrations. Certain subclades of Haplogroup O-M175 do achieve significant frequencies among some populations of South Asia, Central Asia, and Oceania. Significant presence of Haplogroup O-M50 have been found in Bantu-speaking populations of the Comoros along with a single instance of O-MSY2.2(xM50) while both O-M50 and O-M95(xM88) occur commonly among the Malagasy people of Madagascar. O-M175(xM119, M95, M176, M122) Y-DNA in 1/18 Iranians from Teheran, 2/37 Tajiks from Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, and 1/97 Mongols from northwest Mongolia, while finding O-M176 only in 1/20 Mongols from northeast Mongolia. ref
K2b probably is around 50,000 years old is the ancestor of Haplogroup K2 (K-M526), is found in southeast Asia around 30,000-40,000 years ago. Splitting into: K3(P79) , M(P256), NO(M214), P(M45) and S(M230). Y- DNA Haplogroup M (P256) is a descendant of Haplogroup K2b1, and it presumably first mutated between 32,000 and 47,000 years ago in south Asia. Most populations (50%-100%) in West Papua and western Papua New Guinea belong to haplogroup M (P256). Haplogroup M (P256) likely originated in Melanesia and then spread into Indonesia, Micronesia, and New Guinea. Haplogroup S-M230 is found primarily in populations in Papua New Guinea with lower frequencies in Melanesia and Indonesia. Possible time of origin is 28,000-41,000 years before present and possibly originated in New Guinea or Indonesia. K2b1, its subclades and P* are virtually restricted geographically to South East Asia and Oceania. Whereas, in a striking contrast, P1(P-M45) and its primary subclades Q and R now make up “the most frequent haplogroup in Europe, the Americas, and Central Asia and South Asia“. The estimated dates for the branching of K, K2, K2b and P point to a “rapid diversification” within K2 “that likely occurred in Southeast Asia”, with subsequent “westward expansions” of P*, P1, Q and R ref, ref
Around
50,000 to 40,000 years ago there seems to be the emergence of norm violations
relating to what I think is totemistic cultural influenced behavior, on what
research suggests is moral disgust. This early moralistic totemism or “taboo”
beliefs, which, to me, relates to genetic evidence of possible moral disgust
with genetics showing that after 40,000 years ago there is an extreme lowering
of incest behaviors also coinciding with the emergence of more complex cave
art, figurines, and personal adornments around 50,000 to 40,000 years ago. All
this and more offers some confirming evidence of my thoughts on totemism’s
emergence around 50,000 years ago in western Europe, seen in the
Pre-Aurignacian Neanderthal “Châtelperronian”
and/or by the Early Aurignacian or Proto-Aurignacian times.
In the video “Robert Sapolsky: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst” (17 or so minutes in) states the emergence of norm violations of moral disgust occurred around 40,000 to 50,000 years ago which is about the time that genetics shows after 40,000 years ago there was an extreme lowering of insect behaviors coinciding with the emergence of more complex cave art, figurines, and personal adornments all confirming my thoughts on totemism emerging after 50,000 years ago in Europe by the Early Aurignacian or Proto-Aurignacian stage. And in the video “DNA Mammoths, Neanderthals, and Your Ancestors,” it also quickly including the evidence for early people followingincesttaboos, are clearly evident after 40,000 years ago by genetics. Which, to me, likely connects to the motivations adopted by societies believing in Totemism. ref, ref
Thinking about how Totemic cultures, can, to me, be said to likely start in Europe and disperse else were through religious transfer, connected through genes or otherwise. The initial settlement of Australia occurred between 47,000–55,000 years ago. Aboriginal Australians and New Guineans is different, implying a long separation that started at least 30 KYA. Did the colonisers enter Sahul via present-day New Guinea and subsequently spread southwards to Australia, or were there different routes into Sahul, such that one or more groups entered Australia via the ancient northwestern coast that is now submerged under the Timor and Arafura Seas? Furthermore, a mix of genetic, archeological, anthropological and linguistic data have suggested later migration(s) to Australia in the Holocene epoch, particularly from the Asian sub-continent.
The basal para-group K2b* has not been identified among living males or ancient remains. K2b1 (P397/P399) known previously as Haplogroup MS, and Haplogroup P (P-P295), also known as K2b2are the only primary clades of K2b. K2b1, its subclades and P* are virtually restricted geographically to South East Asia and Oceania. Today, P is most commonly found in Oceania, especially in Papuans, Melanesians, indigenous Australians, and Filipinos. It was found in the Aeta of Bataan at 40%. Whereas, in a striking contrast, P1 (P-M45) and its primary subclades Q and R now make up “the most frequent haplogroup in Europe, the Americas, and Central Asia and South Asia”. Estimated dates for the branching of K, K2, K2b and P point to a “rapid diversification” within K2 “that likely occurred in Southeast Asia”, with subsequent “westward expansions” of P*, P1, Q and R. ref, ref, ref
R1, has been common throughout Europe and South Asia since pre-history. Interestingly, haplogroups R and Q, which make up the majority of paternal lineages in Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, represents the only subclade with K2b that is not geographically restricted to Southeast Asia and Oceania. Haplogroup R, is believed to have arisen during the Upper Paleolithic era, about 27,000 years ago. Only one confirmed example of basal R* has been found, in 24,000 year old remains, known as MA1, found at Mal’ta–Buret’ culture near Lake Baikal in Siberia. The wide geographical distribution of R1b, in particular, has also been noted living examples found in Central Asia include the “deepest subclade” of R-M269 (R1b1a1a2) – the most numerous branch of R1b in Western Europe. ref
M1 in Africa is the result of a back-migration from Asia which occurred sometime after the Out of Africa migration 40,000 years ago. ref
After the dispersal of modern humans Out of Africa, around 70,000 years ago or so. Modern Humans appeared in the Western Eurasian fossil record around 45,000 years ago or so, then begins the transition from Neandertals occupation to Modern Humans expansion and one of these early people was Ust’-Ishim (Western Siberia, around 45,000 years ago, Kostenki (Russia, 39–36,000 years ago), Grotta di Fumane (Italy, 41,000–39,000 years ago) and Peştera cu Oase (Romania, 37,000–42,000 years ago). Around 6-9% of the genome of the Oase individual is derived from Neanderthals, indicating that this individual had a Neanderthal ancestor as recently as four to six generations back. The origins of Europeans used to seem straightforward: The first modern humans moved into Europe around 45,000 years ago or more, perhaps occasionally meeting the Neandertals whose ancestors had inhabited Europe for at least 400,000 years. Then, starting 10,000 years ago, farmers came from the Middle East and spread rapidly throughout Europe. refref, ref
The Bacho Kiro site in is one of the earliest known Aurignacian burials. Among one of the earliest known Aurignacian burials (layer 11), two pierced animal teeth were found and ordered into the distinct Bachokiran artifact assemblage. Radiocarbon dated to over 43,000 years ago, they currently represent the oldest known ornaments in Europe. With an approximate age of 46,000 years, human fossils consist of a pair of fragmented mandibles. Whether these early humans were in factHomo sapiens or Neanderthals is still disputed. Important Aurignacian sites such as, Ksar Akil northeast of Beirut in Lebanon dated to approximately 45,000 years ago or earlier. Bacho Kiro cave (Bulgarian: пещера „Бачо Киро“) is situated 5 km (3.1 mi) west of the town Dryanovo, Bulgaria dated to 46,000 to 43,000 years ago. Hohle Fels Germany, 42,000 to 35,000 years ago. ref, ref
Zagros Mountains, Kurdistan, Iraq, located in north-east Iraq held the first evidence for possible skull modification among our ancestors comes in the form of some 45,000-year-old Neanderthal skulls. The Shanidar Cave was inhabited by Neanderthal for over 30,000 years (from 60,000 – 35,000 BC) until the arrival of Modern Humans. The Shanidar skeletons and their burials suggested complex socialization skills including care for other members of the group. Archeologists believe that Shanidar 1 was taken care of by the other Neanderthals in his social group. It would have been very difficult for him to live long enough for his injuries to partially heal without help from others. Both Shanidar 1 and 5 both exhibit what seeming evidence of artificial cranial deformation. The most striking aspect of these skulls is their combination of frontal flattening and unnatural curvature at the back. Shanidar 5 shows significant forehead flattening—4.5 standard deviations from the population mean. There is also a report of a 20,000-year-old skull found near Beijing in China that may have been modified. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
Kow Swamp, possibly to as early as 22,000 BP. At least 40 individuals were buried with grave goods, some of which were mussel shells, stone artefacts, marsupial teeth and ochre. There is also a report of a 20,000-year-old skull found near Beijing in China that may have been modified. The Cohuna cranium came from the Kow Swamp site, from southeast of Cohuna was low, broad and elongated and the forehead has been flattened artificially dated to between 14,000-9,000 years ago. Australia’s ancient inhabitants were among the first in the world to deliberately transform the shape of their own skulls. Such as, the Coobool Creek remains were about 14,000 years old near the Wakool River in New South Wales, Australia. ref, ref, ref, ref
The earliest examples of intentionally deformed skulls in the Americas were found in Peru and date to between 9,000 to 8,000 years ago. The practice put down deep roots in Peru, spreading throughout Andean communities and the rest of the continent from there. Excavations of ancient Peruvian remains have found that a vast majority of them—as many as 90 percent on some digs—have deformed skulls. ref
Sequencing of one Aboriginal genome from an old hair sample in Western Australia revealed that the individual was descended from people who migrated into East Asia between 62,000 and 75,000 years ago. This supports the theory of a single migration into Australia and New Guinea before the arrival of Modern Asians (between 25,000 and 38,000 years ago) and their later migration into North America.
This dispersal is separate and I think is around the time totemism enters the region from Arcane Early Europe by way of Siberia and thus Aisa, the one that gave rise to modern Asians 25,000 to 38,000 years ago. We also find evidence of gene flow between populations of the two dispersal waves prior to the divergence of Native Americans from modern Asian ancestors. It is surmised from DNA that a split between Europeans and Asians dating to 17,000 to 43,000 years before the present. ref
Mitochondrial haplogroups A, B and G originated about 50,000 years ago, and bearers subsequently colonized Siberia, Korea, and Japan, by about 35,000 years ago. Several phenotypical traits associated with Mongoloids with a single mutation of the EDAR gene, dated to c. 35,000 years ago. A Paleolithic site on the Yana River, Siberia, at 71°N, lies well above the Arctic Circle and dates to 27,000 radiocarbon years before present, during glacial times. This site shows that people adapted to this harsh, high-altitude, Late Pleistocene environment much earlier than previously thought. ref
Moreover, the mitogenome of a 35,000-year-old Homo sapiens from Europe (Peștera Muierii 1 individual from Romania) supports a Palaeolithic back-migration to Africa. The Peștera Muierii 1 individual mitogenome was a basal for haplogroup U6*, not previously found in any ancient or present-day humans.
The derived U6 haplotypes are predominantly found in present-day North-Western African populations. Concomitantly, those found in Europe have been attributed to recent gene-flow from North Africa.
The presence of the basal haplogroup U6* in South East Europe (Romania) at 35,000 years ago confirms a Eurasian origin of the U6 mitochondrial lineage. Consequently, we propose that the Peștera Muierii 1 individual lineage is an offshoot to South East Europe that can be traced to the Early Upper Paleolithic back migration from Western Asia to North Africa, during which the U6 lineage diversified, until the emergence of the present-day U6 African lineages.
After the dispersal of modern humans Out of Africa, hominins with similar morphology to present-day humans appeared in the Western Eurasian fossil record around 45,000–40,000 years ago, initiating the demographic transition from ancient human occupation (Neandertals) to modern human (Homo sapiens) expansion on to the continent.
The first insights of the genetics of early Eurasian modern humans were recently provided by four ancient human genomes: Ust’-Ishim (Western Siberia, 45,000 years ago), Kostenki (Russia, 39,000–36,000 years ago), Fumane 2 (Italy, 41,000–39,000 years ago) and Peştera cu Oase (Romania, 37,000–42,000 years ago). Population genetic analyses of modern-day human mitochondrial haplogroup distributions suggest that in conjunction with the Eurasian expansion, some populations initiated a back-migration to North Africa.
Although the first genome of an ancient African individual (Ethiopia, 4,000-5,000 years ago) identified a back-migration from Eurasia to Africa within the at last 4.500 years, the scarcity of older human remains in North Africa has prevented researchers from obtaining direct evidence of such a migratory phenomenon during the Paleolithic period. We present the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the Peştera Muierii 1 (PM1) remains from Romania, directly dated to 35,000 years ago, which sheds new light on the Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) migrations in Eurasia and North Africa. ref
Haplogroup U6 has a very wide geographic distribution across the northern half of Africa, the Middle East and most of western and southern Europe. It has been found at low frequencies as far north as the Baltic and as far east as Central Asia and Iran. It is most common in North-West Africa, especially among the Mozabites (28%) and Kabyles (18%) of Algeria, as well as Mauritanians (14%) and Canary Islanders (13.5%).
Other regions with frequencies of U6 exceeding 1% include 6-8% in Morocco and coastal Algeria, 5% in Tunisia, 4% in Libya, 2.5% in Lebanon, Portugal, Egypt and Oman, 2% in Cyprus, Sudan, Ethiopia and Guinea-Bissau, 1.5% in Saudi Arabia, and 1% in Syria, Jordan and in Spain. Isolated pockets of high U6 frequencies have been reported in Iberia, notably 8.5% in Huelva (western Andalusia) by Hernández et al. 2014, 7% in northern Portugal by Pereira et al. 2000, 4.3% in northern Portugal, 4% in central Spain and 2.5% in central Portugal by Ottoni et al. 2011, and 2.6% in Catalonia by by Garcia et al. 2011. U6 is only found at trace frequencies among Ashkenazi Jews and in most of Europe. The highest frequencies observed in Europe outside Iberia are in south-west France (1.4%), Brittany (0.7%), in Tuscany (0.6%), Sicily (0.5%) and southern Italy (0.5%).
Therefore, although now found primarily in western, northern and north-eastern Africa, haplogroup U6 descends from the western Eurasian haplogroup U, and therefore represents a back migration to Africa. Secher et al. (2014) estimated that U6 arose very approximately 35,000 years ago (±11 ky), during the Early Upper Paleolithic, and prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. ref
Two Paleolithic harpoons, at least 60,000 years old, decorated with geometric figures discovered at Veyriernear Geneva. Which is younger than a beautifully-carved 90,000-year-old bone harpoon used to hunt giant catfish in present-day the Democratic Republic of the Congo.ref
Our ancestors had interbred with Neanderthals 55,000 years ago, possibly in the Middle East. Modern humans and Neanderthals interbred in Europe, an analysis of 40,000-year-old DNA suggests. ref
Research into ancient genomics and archaeology has shed light into the first humans in Europe, who appear in the record approximately 45,000 years ago. Neanderthals disappeared from the region 5,000 years later. The nature of their relationship is being revealed with every new discovery and breakthrough. ref
Neanderthals and modern humans belong to the same genus (Homo) and inhabited the same geographic areas in Asia for 30,000–50,000 years; genetic evidence indicates while they may have interbred with non-African modern humans, they are separate branches of the human family tree (separate species). ref
So, around the time we fully interact with Neanderthals in Europe Totemism emerges about 50,000 years ago. And, around the time all interact with Neanderthals is over we see Shamanism emerge about 30,000 years ago, could this just be a coincidence, I don’t really think so.
Upper Paleolithic (totemism in Europe between 50,000 and 30,000 years ago)
Ust’-Ishim man has been classified as belonging to Y-DNA haplogroupK2a*, belonged to mitochondrial DNA haplogroupR*. Before 2016 they had been classified as U*. Both of these haplogroups and descendant subclades are now found among populations throughout Eurasia, Oceania and The Americas. When compared to other ancient remains, Ust’-Ishim man is more closely related, in terms of autosomal DNA to Tianyuan man, found near Beijing and dating from 42,000 to 39,000 years ago; Mal’ta boy (or MA-1), a child who lived 24,000 years ago along the Bolshaya Belaya River near today’s Irkutsk in Siberia, or; La Braña man – a hunter-gatherer who lived in La Braña (modern Spain) about 8,000 years ago. ref
From a cave in South Korea have found evidence that suggests human beings were using sophisticated techniques to catch fish as far back as 29,000 years ago. Pryor to the South Korean find, the oldest fishing implements were believed to be fishing hooks, made from the shells of sea snails, that was found on a southern Japanese island and said to date back some 23,000 years. ref
Zagros Aurignacian from Yafteh cave, Iran, Early Baradostian culture at Yafteh cave in the Zagros mountains dated around 40,000-35,000 years ago. The Baradostian culture was an Upper Paleolithic flint industry culture found in the Zagros region in the border-country between Iraq and Iran. The site held a rich collection of ornaments made of marine shells, tooth and hematite have been discovered in the early Upper Paleolithic deposits with dates clustered around 28,000–35,000 thousand years ago. Yafteh cave has clear evidence pointing to an Aurignacian connection dating back to about 35,5000 years ago possibly providing a culture link from West Asia to Europe, I would propose by way of Siberia.ref, ref, ref
Mammoth bone dwellings are a very an early type of housing constructed by Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers mainly in central Europe. ref
Mammoth Bone Dwellings range from around 44,000 to 14,000 years ago, likely expressions of Cultist Culture and maybe some “Totemism” socio-religious-symbolic meanings. These ritual structures seem to have begun with Neandertals and then continued with Modern Human Hunter Gather groups like the Gravettian and connected Epi-gravettian cultures. ref
Gravettian and Epigravettian mammoth bone dwellings range from: Pavlovian (Early Gravettian of Moravia), Gagarino and Pouchkari (Gravettian of Eastern Europe), Kostienki 11/1a (Zamiatnine culture), and Mezinian. ref
The 44,000-year-old site from Molodova in eastern Ukraine was a Neanderthal “Mousterian Culture” Mammoth Bone Dwelling with possible “Totemism” connections due to how some of the bones used to build the ritual structure home had decorative carvings and added pigments. It was an incredible 26 foot wide circular building believed to be earliest bone built cultural structure and where they lived for extended periods of time. refref
The 44,000-year-old Neanderthal bone structure near Molodova was constructed with 116 large deliberately selected mammoth bones including skulls, jaws, tusks and leg. Inside there was at least 25 fire pits and from the artifacts found Neanderthals made many decorated carvings in addition to the symbolic adding of ochre pigments to the bones. refref
The painting in red on the front of mammoth skull may represent the flames and sparks of a fire and as bones where found burned in fire pits so there could be a ritualistic representation connection, which I think it is. It could be a prehistoric “drum” consisted of a mammoth skull, which may relate to a change from totemism to shamanism and was set at the entrance as well as contained a painted pattern of red ocher dots and lines. The top of this skull bears depressions where it seems to have been beaten by “drumsticks,” the animal long bones that were found to bear corresponding damage on their ends. It is possible that the building may have served some ritual or communal function at which the mammoth bone rhythms were beaten out, although many Ukrainian huts of a similar size seem to have been ordinary living places. refrefref
Even more telling to its ritualistic relevance is that is was found at the entrance to one of the mammoth hunter’s huts, which could also hold a vaginal/womb reference and as there was also an oddly placed signal tusk pointing in and hugging the head sticking upright out of the ground almost as if it represents a phallus entering the vaginal/womb thus fertility hunting cult suggestions as well as maybe fire worship. refref
Inside the Mezherich building, there were some remarkable finds: amber ornaments and fossil shells, transported an estimated 218 to 310 miles from their source, and the remains of one of the earliest percussion instruments ever found. The middle Dnepr basin is the origin of amber is well known near Kiev where it was collected throughout the Upper Palaeolithic. Amber objects have been used as pieces of small adornment in the Upper Palaeolithic sites of the Dnepr basin: Gontsy, Dobra-nichivka, Mejiriche, Semenivka 2, Ioudinovo, Chulatovo 2, Mezine, Osokorivka (level 2), and Kaistrova balka 2 refref
A spectacular prehistoric art is visible in the dwellings of the Mezinian, in the grouping in the outer wall of jaws and long bones showing a geometric pattern of lines, chevrons and zigzags, which are also figured in the painted bones of the dwellings and in the mobile art of the statuettes, tools and various artifacts, confirming they are the manifestation of a socio-symbolic system of the Mezinian culture. ref
A mammoth bone dwelling hold a common form of a circular or oval structure with walls made of stacked large mammoth bones often modified to allow them to be lashed together or implanted into the soil. Within the interior is typically found a central fire pits or several scattered fire pits. External fire pits, butchering areas, and flint workshops are often found in association with the hut: scholars call these combinations Mammoth Bone Settlements (MBS). ref
The mammoth bone dwellings are not random. And they seem to express a pattern, thus this may demonstrate cultural/religious transfer inclinations and consistency in tradition over thousands of years. Similarly they are composed of several hundred bones and tusks arranged in a rough circles with a diameter of 20 to 33 feet. Even more interesting is that the first Neanderthal mammoth bone dwelling at 44,000-year-old was also in the range at 26 feet, thus it too is consistent with all the rest seeming to hit that they share some deep possible connection. ref
Such bone houses have been found in considerable numbers, often clustered together in little “villages” of four or five houses in the fertile valleys of the Ukraine and the same method of construction has appeared as far west as Kracow, in Poland, with three rings of mammoth bones exactly similar to those in Russia and dating to about 20 000 years ago. ref
Relatively all of the mammoth bone dwelling sites date to the Upper Paleolithic period (Gravettian or Epi-Gravettian), with the sole exception of Molodova 1, which dates to the Middle Stone Age and is associated with Neanderthals. ref
Most huts in central Europe date between 20,000 to 14,000 years ago:
Some archaeologists, have argued that they possess religious or ritual social significance and have been described as the earliest examples of ‘monumental architecture’ as well as evidence of increased social complexity and status differentiation. ref
RitualAdornments
Mobile art adornment in the Upper Palaeolithic ( between 50,000-10,000 years ago) in the form of ivory sculptures, preferably female representations, was present in the settlements of Dobranichivka, Mejiriche, Mezine, and Elisseevichi 1. Several types of ivory adornments are present in Gontsy, Mezine, Mejiriche, Elisseevichi1, Ioudinovo, and Suponevo. The clear preference for the use of ivory in the manufacture of different types of ornament (pearl, pendant as well as a bracelet) and figurative statuettes, as also utilitarian or non-utilitarian objects, occurs in many residential settlements. ref
Artifact finds dating to Upper and Middle Paleolithic times (around 100,000 to 14,000 years ago). Among the finds unearthed at Gontsy and Kiev-Kirillovskaya were mammoth tusk fragments which feature engraved patterns that have been interpreted as tables of lunar phase observations. More remarkable are two mammoth ivory bracelets from the site of Mezin which contain elaborate engraved ornamentation that also has been connected with a lunar calendar. Not to mention astronomical finds at Paleolithic sites on the Crimean peninsula, including the famous solar petroglyph at Chokcurcha-1 and a possible star map‘ engraved on a mammoth shoulder bone that was found at Chokurcha-2. ref
Ivory beads and pendants are known in Gontsy, Mezine,Mejiriche, Ioudinovo, Elisseevichi 1, and Suponevo, but one site, Ioudinovo, has ivory beads in large quantities. The tiny beads with a hole in the center have varied shapes: square, rectangular, oval, and circular. Their dimensions vary. ref
Neanderthals made art, practiced rituals, buried their dead and interbred with modern humans before they went extinct some 35,000 years ago. Cave paintings in Malaga, Spain, depict the seals that the locals would have eaten, and charcoal remains found beside six of the paintings – preserved in Spain’s Nerja caves – have been radiocarbon dated to between 43,500 and 42,300 years old. Seemingly Proto-Aurignacian culture, possibly Neandertal Châtelperronian (I think of as a possible Pre-Proto-Aurignacian culture or Modern Humans Proto-Aurignacian culture. refref
In Kostënki 17, Russia, there were numerous pendants recovered and at least one, seen above, was dated to 43,000 years ago, which was made from fossil belemite rostrum. The artifacts include a group of more than 40 pendants made from fox canines teeth. In addition, there were pendants made from stone and fossils as well. Along with shell beads from the lower layers of Kostënki 14 and the Kostënki 17 pendants are the earliest good evidence for personal adornment anywhere in Eastern Europe. The occupations at Kostenki include several Late Early Upper Paleolithic levels, dated between 42,000 to 30,000 calibrated years ago (cal BP). Kostenki, the Aurignacian sequence was considered the oldest component associated with modern humans at archaeological sites in Europe, underlain by Mousterian-like deposits representing Neanderthals. Kostenki 14, also known as Markina Gora, is the main site at Kostenki, and it has been found to contain genetic evidence concerning the migration of early modern humans from Africa into Eurasia. ref, ref
Two sites located on the northern Levantine coast, Üçağızlı Cave (Turkey) and Ksar ‘Akil (Lebanon) have yielded numerous marine shell beads between roughly 41,000–43,000 years ago for the oldest ornament-bearing levels in Üçağızlı Cave. Based on stratigraphic evidence, the earliest shell beads from Ksar ‘Akil may be even older. These artifacts provide some of the earliest evidence for traditions of personal ornament manufacture by Upper Paleolithic humans in western Asia, comparable in age to similar objects from Eastern Europe and Africa. ref
Some of the oldest human remains in an Aurignacian-related archeological context, confirming that by 41,000 calendar years before the present, modern humans bearing Proto-aurignacian culture spread into Southern Europe. Because the last Neandertals date to 41,030 to 39,260 calendar years before the present, we suggest that the Proto-aurignacian triggered the demise of Neandertals in this area. ref
Ornaments are abundant in the Initial Upper Paleolithic and Ahmarian layers of Üçağızlı I cave, and they are also present in the small Epipaleolithic as well. With the exception of one notched raptor talon (probably vulture, Gyps or Gypaetus) from layer B, all of the ornaments were made from small marine and freshwater mollusk shells. ref
I think “raptor talon” and use of “bird feathers” could relate to sky burials:
The Levantine Upper Palaeolithic currently spans some 25,000 years, beginning around 50,000 years ago, and concluding with the shift to the Epi-Palaeolithic at around 23,000 years ago with the onset of the Late Glacial Maximum. It appears that the MP-UP shift occurred between around 48,500-47,000 years ago, corroborating 50,000 years ago for the IUP levels 1-2 at Boker Tachtit. ref
Neanderthals, this work presents new evidence of the deliberate removal of raptor claws occurred in Mediterranean Europe during the recent phases of the Mousterian. Rio Secco Cave in the north-east of Italy and Mandrin Cave in the Middle Rhône valley have recently produced two golden eagle pedal phalanges from contexts not younger than 49.1–48.0 ky cal BP at Rio Secco and dated around 50.0 ky cal BP at Mandrin. The bones show cut-marks located on the proximal end ascribable to the cutting of the tendons and the incision of the cortical organic tissues. Also supported by an experimental removal of large raptor claws, our reconstruction explains that the deliberate detachment occurred without damaging the claw, in a way comparable at a general level with other Mousterian contexts across Europe. ref
I think the adding of dots could referencing starts, like the sun in day and stats and moon at night or other celestial bodies.
Cave art dated to at least 40,800 years old, was discovered in the Cave of El Castillo, “the cave of castles”, in the Cantabria region of Spain. The El Castillo cave contains a large red stippled disk in the Panel de las Manos dated to more than more than 40,800 years old and is consistent with the tradition of cave painting originating in the Proto-Aurignacian. Modern humans are believed to have also been in the area at the time, arriving about 41,500 years ago. Habitation roughly involves 55 000 to 45 000 years ago there is occupation by Neanderthals. From then 45 000 to 35 000 years ago is a transition period, the first phase of occupation by modern man during the upper Palaeolithic. And it is believed that Aurignacian involves at least three phases of occupation, clearly evident from 35,000 to 30,000 when it turns to Gravettian seeming to involve two phases of occupation from around 30,000 to 25,000 years ago. Followed by Magdalenian, with two phases of occupation dated to around 20 000 to 15 000 years ago. ref ,ref
Could the Phallus Phenomena (A Bull Horn) and the Shamanism Phenomena beginning around 30,000 years ago or its elements seen after 50,000 years ago as connected to Totemism. Moreover, could this be a large multiple religious/cultural phenomena starting in Totemism then transferred to a Gravettian carving of a woman holding a bull horn around 25,000 years old that may even relate to Later Goddess and the Bull cults like Catal Huyuk, the first religious designed city starting around 9,000 years ago in Turkey. Likewise, could a 12,000-year-old Bull Geoglyph at Göbekli Tepe, the first religious temple also in Turkey which may also relate to the older Bull and Female Art from 25,000 years ago and Later Goddess and the Bull cults like Catal Huyuk?
Images of wild cattle that scientists have dated to at least 40,000 years old in Borneo cave Above and between the three beasts are hand stencils. The animal is one of a trio of large creatures that adorn a wall in the Lubang Jeriji Saléh cave in the East Kalimantan province of Indonesian Borneo. If the measurement is accurate the Borneo paintings may be 4,500 years older than depictions of animals that adorn cave walls on the neighboring island of Sulawesi. But there is room for doubt. Writing in the journal Nature, the researchers concede that the crusts they analyzed had formed on top of a heavily weathered part of the animal painting and that pigment analyses could not distinguish the underlying paint from that of a nearby mulberry-colored hand stencil. Cave art in East Kalimantan can be grouped into three distinct phases. The oldest includes the reddish-orange hand stencils and animal paintings that mostly appear to depict Bornean banteng, the wild cattle still found on the island. The next phase consists of younger hand stencils, intricate motifs and symbols, and depictions of elegant, thread-like people, some wearing elaborate headdresses, some apparently dancing, painted in dark purple or mulberry on the cave walls. ref
While humans seem to first settle in East Timor 42,000 years ago and a 39,900 years old hand stencil that is from the Leang Timpuseng Cave on the Island of Sulawesi in Indonesia also includes some of the most ancient animal paintings, all made by Aborigine migrants who were probably heading for Australia. and the image of the “pig-deer” at the Sulawesi Cave, Indonesia, dating to as old as 35,400 years ago. ref,ref, ref
Then there is a 39,900 years old hand stencil that is from the Leang Timpuseng Cave on the Island of Sulawesi. The site also includes some of the most ancient animal paintings, all made by Aborigine migrants who were probably heading for Australia. Humans first settled in East Timor 42,000 years ago. Descendants of at least three waves of migration are believed still to live in East Timor. The first is described by anthropologists as people of the Veddo–Australoid type. Cave Paintings in East Kalimantan (Borneo) Indonesia, which is to the south and east are islands of Indonesia: Java and Sulawesi., and before sea levels rose at the end of the last Ice Age, Borneo was part of the mainland of Asia with Java and Sumatra.
The first group comprises two caves situated in the middle of a cliff about 30 meters apart. They contain roughly 60 hand stencils concentrated in only two to three panels. The disposition of the stencils indicates the panels intentionally organized. The other group, 80 km westwards, comprises three large chambers with at least 200 figures including more than 140 handprints. More than 20 of them have anthropo-and zoo-morphic features in the form of linear or punctuated marks inside the stencil blanks. Moreover, painted on the roof of a “laminoir”, about one meter high, three bovine figures larger than one meter are to be seen.
They seem to be clear representations of an almost-vanished wild small cow. The next two features appear to be deer involved in a hunting scene and are associated with some pairs of hand stencils. Some handprints have internal linear tracks evoking tattooing figures like those still executed by Mentawi communities in the Siberut Islands (South Sumatra), as well as the “X ray” drawings frequently present in some Australian Aboriginal pictorial expression. With origins probably predating the arrival of Austronesians into Borneo 4,000-5,000 years ago, that culture-area or a “Rock Art Culture”, could correspond to the period when climatic and marine changes occurred at the end of Pleistocene. ref,ref, ref
The Venus of Hohle Fels, is an Upper Paleolithic Venus figurine made of mammoth ivory that was located near Schelklingen, Germany. It is dated to between 40,000 to 35,000 years ago and comes from the Aurignacian that was preceded by possibly both Ahmarian, Châtelperronian. It was discovered in September 2008 in a cave at Schelklingen in Baden-Württemberg in western Germany. In place of the head, the figurine has a perforated protrusion, which may have allowed it to be worn as an amulet. The Swabian Alb region of Germany has a number of caves that have yielded many mammoth-ivory artifacts of the Upper Paleolithic period. Approximately twenty-five items have been discovered to date. This concentration of evidence of full behavioral modernity, including figurative art and instrumental music among humans in the period of 40 to 30 thousand years ago, speculates that the bearers of the Aurignacian culture in the Swabian Alb may be credited with the invention, not just of figurative art and music, but possibly, the earliest religious practices as well. Within a distance of 2 feet to the Venus figurine, there was also found a flute made from a vulture bone. Additional artifacts excavated from the same cave layer included flint-knapping debris, worked bone, and carved ivory as well as remains of tarpans, reindeer, cave bears, woolly mammoths, and Alpine Ibexes. ref, ref
Ritual Pointillism, to me, references stars/ancestor worship in Aurignacian culture totemism, which I think relates to the Neanderthal Châtelperronian culture totemism. There was 16 engraved and otherwise modified limestone blocks, created 38,000 years ago, pointillist techniques: small dots to create the illusion of a larger image. ref
Around 37,500 to 32,500 years old Aurignacian bison skull from Régismont-le-Haut (Hérault). Possibility symbolic or ritualized item and certainly a major animal for them, as shown by the ornamentation of certain caves (for example, the Aurignacian of Chauvet Cave in France. The trophy-head belongs to a male individual. The many depictions of bison in Palaeolithic art back up, the symbolic interpretation as possible. ref
Aurignacian
burials (around 37,000-30,000 years ago) belong to the early phase of this
period in Europe. Examples have been excavated at Cave
of Cavillon,
Liguria – a burial wearing a cap of netted whelk shells with a border of deer’s
teeth, red ochre around the face and a bone awl at the side.ref
Aurignacian
in the Zagros region dates back to about 35,500 years ago at Yafteh
Cave, Lorestan, Iran. ref
“The presence of dolmens are found in a few areas of Israel, with most dolmens known to the public found in the Golan Heights. Gamla is part of the Golan heights and is an important dolmen site.” ref
This picture above is a gigantic dolmen, with a 50-ton capstone over 4,000 years old with unique artistic carvings in its ceiling has been found in the Golan Heights. What makes this dolmen so unique is its huge dimensions, the structure surrounding it and most importantly the artistic decorations engraved in its ceiling. ref, ref
This picture above is a gigantic dolmen, with a 50-ton capstone over 4,000 years old with unique artistic carvings in its ceiling has been found in the Golan Heights. What makes this dolmen so unique is its huge dimensions, the structure surrounding it and most importantly the artistic decorations engraved in its ceiling. ref, ref
“The Galilee dolmens date from roughly the same time as other mysterious, monumental structures discovered nearby in the Golan, most notably the extraordinary circular megalithic monument called Rujm el-Hiri, in the middle of a large plateau also covered with hundreds of dolmen shown above.” ref
“Gilgal Rephaim (Hebrew for “Circle of the Giants”) is a large megalithic monument that is just three miles east of the site of Gamla in the Golan. This area is known as the land of Bashan, where King Og lived and is located east of the Jordan River, and the Sea of Galilee in what would be the land of the tribe Mannaseh. King Og of Bashan, who according to Deuteronomy 3:11, “was the last of the Rephaim (giants), whose bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long (13 1/2 feet) and four cubits wide (six feet).” The structure has been dated by archaeologists to the Early Bronze Age (3000 – 2700 BCE), thus would have existed prior to the flood of Noah.” ref
“There is over 42,000 tons of boulders, partly worked, and stacked up to 2 meters (nearly 7 feet) high. The outermost circle is 520 feet in diameter. In order to see the entire structure, an aerial view is required. It is possible that the ancient inhabitants of this area practiced excarnation, that is the burial practice of removing the flesh from the bones of the deceased, perhaps leaving the body exposed for scavengers such as vultures. It is interesting that just three miles from this location is the Gamla Nature Reserve, at the site of ancient Gamla, which hosts one of the world’s largest known populations of Griffon vultures, and other birds of prey. Certainly the later inhabitants of Gamla were very familiar with this site as it is a mere 3 mile walk up the Daliyot Stream. An interesting fact about Gamla is that, although thousands were have said to have died there during the Jewish Revolt in what is called “The Masada of the North”, unlike at Masada, no bodies have ever been found.” ref
Shamanistic pagan stone arrangement are seen in many areas ranging from piles of arranged rocks, Menhirs “monolith standing stone” found alone or as part of a group, to Dolmens. In finland a Napakivi (pole/navel stone) or tonttukivi (elf stone) is a standing stone connecting to fertility, protection or death, such as being placed the middle of a field, central spot or the heart of an pile of stones compiled burial mound and Juminkeko pole stones are located in the Western and Southwestern Finland and southeastern Norway is the main area of dolmens both of which may also have some cultural connection with sami seids as well as central European and Great Britian megaliths. ref, ref, ref
The Haga dolmen (Swedish: Hagadosen) is a thin slab “stone box” like dolmen, which dates to around 5,400 years ago containing several artifacts sch as an amber necklace, slate jewellery, a flint knife and a stone axe. Around 7,000 years ago Dolmens begin to be situated in Brittany France and were found in Britain, Ireland and southern Scandinavia about 4,000 Similarly, Sami seids (Finnish: Seita) maybe dolmen and other standing stones or stone arrangements which may also be associated with artifacts generally found at places north-European people believed to be sacred such as the mountains, tundra, lakes, or other natural formation. ref, ref, ref
Around 5, 000 years ago in the North-Western Caucasus there are found dolmens (few tombs have breasts, done in relief), also seem to generally involve thin slab “stone box” like dolmens situated along the coast of the Black Sea. and southern Caucasus mountain range extends eastwards to the Caspian Sea in northwestern Iran, and into northeastern Turkey. Thousands of dolmens are scattered across the Middle East, from Turkey to Yemen. There is evidence a “dolmen phenomenon” of above-ground stone burial structures two sites in Hatay and five sites in south-eastern Turkey. Dolmen-like structures occur through much of the Levant commonly dating to around 5,300-5,000 years ago and around 4,000 years old Dolmen table-like burial structures with the multi-burial of both adults and children along with a roof containing engraved shapes depicting symbols involving a simple line attached to the inside of an open semicircle on its ceiling found at the Golan Heights in Israel. Which is interestingly similar but reversed shapes to the Zuschen (megalithic dolmen tomb) Germany, dated to around 5,000 years ago with engraved shapes depicting symbols involving a simple line attached to the outside of an open semicircle, interpreted as possibly stylised cattle. ref, ref, ref
Another monumental stone display in Israel called Rujm el-Hiri, involves a circular monument of stones in the middle of a large plateau covered with hundreds of surrounding dolmens and ancient beads have been found at dolmens in the Galilee. Moreover, Dolmen like structures are also found in Switzerland, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean as well as in parts of Africa. Dolmens “monolith table top roof with standing stones,” which have different names in other languages, including Abkhaz (northwest of Georgia south of russia): Adamra, Adyghe Ispun, dysse; Dutch and Norwegian: hunebed; Galician and Portuguese: anta; German: Hunengrab/Hunenbett; Irish: dolmain; Korean: goindol/koindol or chisongmyo, Portugal: Granja, Spain: Galicia, and Swedish: dos. Dolmen like structures are also found in Switzerland, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean as well as in parts of Africa. Additionally, Dolmens may have served as places of ritual or worship and possibility a porthole to the spiritual world (some dolmans actually contain a circular porthole). The prehistory of Korean religious/cultural iconography include paintings, rock carvings, and stones positioned for religious ceremonies that may connect to the Pit-Comb pottery culture. ref, ref, ref
“How did European megalith graves arise and spread? Studies show people in the younger Stone Age were far more mobile than previously thought and had quite advanced seafaring skills, thus there were exchanges between different parts of Europe. There are approximately 35,000 megaliths – ancient monuments constructed from one or more blocks of stone – that remain all across Europe. Most of them come from the Neolithic period (the final part of the Stone Age) and the Copper Age (the transition period between the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age) and are concentrated in coastal areas.” ref
“After analysing more than 2,400 radiocarbon dates from megalithic, pre-megalithic and contemporaneous non-megalithic sites throughout Europe, With the earliest megalith graves arose 6,500 years ago over a period of 200-300 years in Northwest France, along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, and in the Mediterranean region. Moreover, Pre-megalithic structures were found only in Northwest France. Results show that Northwest France was where Europe’s first megalith graves arose and that the megalith tradition then gradually diffused in largely three phases. All in all, the results indicate that there was great mobility via sea routes. Megalith graves emerge on the Iberian Peninsula, in the British Isles and in France in the first half of the 5th millennium BCE, and in Scandinavia during the second half of the same millennium.” ref
The earliest known dolmens are dated to the 7,000 years ago in Brittany, France’s northwesternmost region.
“Astronomers are exploring what might be described as the first astronomical observing tool, potentially used by prehistoric humans 6,000 years ago in Portugal. They suggest that the long, narrow entrance passages to ancient stone, or ‘megalithic’, tombs may have enhanced what early human cultures could see in the night sky, an effect that could have been interpreted as the ancestors granting special power to the initiated.” – ref
Dolmens used in this way seems like the features found in some pyramids, aiming to the stars that could have been thought to actually be ancestors or the place they go as in a possible reason to think ghosts live in the skies, that could relate to things like the zodiac. Could this also relate in some way to ‘Sky Burial’ theory and its possible origins at least 12,000 years ago to likely 30,000 years ago or older. The dolmens reached Britain, Ireland and southern Scandinavia about 6,000 years ago. Sites in central and southern Europe were constructed at a similar date. They are generally all regarded as tombs or burial chambers, despite the absence of clear evidence for this. Human remains, sometimes accompanied by artefacts, have been found in or close to the dolmens which could be scientifically dated using radiocarbon dating. However, it has been impossible to prove that these remains date from the time when the stones were originally set in place. A dolmen is a type of single-chamber megalithic, usually consisting of two or more vertical megaliths stones supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or “table”. ref
“The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan; a Proto-Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna or Star of Venus?
Yes, I believe they may be, and to me, thus possibly could have some connections to the central Asain deity Tianwhich may also be related to Tengri.
“The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan. “The Ghassulian Star” was made before people could write, back when everyone either hunted and gathered or lived in small farming villages. The figures were painted with black, brown, red, white and yellow natural mineral paints; mud and lime walls were the canvas. The painting features a giant star, animals and masked figures sporting what look a lot like googly eyes. ref
“The Ghassulian stage was characterized by small hamlet settlements of mixed farming peoples, who had immigrated from the north and settled in the southern Levant – today’s Jordan, Israel and Palestine. People of the Beersheba Culture (a Ghassulian subculture) lived in underground dwellings – a unique phenomenon in the archaeological history of the region – or in houses that were trapezoid-shaped and built of mud-brick. Those were often built partially underground (on top of collapsed underground dwellings) and were covered with remarkable polychrome wall paintings.” ref
“Their pottery was highly elaborate, including footed bowls and horn-shaped drinking goblets, indicating the cultivation of wine. Several samples display the use of sculptural decoration or of a reserved slip (a clay and water coating partially wiped away while still wet). The Ghassulians were a Chalcolithic culture as they used stone tools but also smelted copper. Funerary customs show evidence that they buried their dead in stone dolmens and also practiced Secondary burial. Settlements belonging to the Ghassulian culture have been identified at numerous other sites in what is today southern Israel, especially in the region of Beersheba, where elaborate underground dwellings have been excavated. The Ghassulian culture correlates closely with the Amratian of Egypt and also seems to have affinities (e.g., the distinctive churns, or “bird vases”) with early Minoan culture in Crete.” ref
“Between 5,800 – 5,350 years ago, the Ghassulian culture emerged based on an economy specializing in smelting the copper that Sumerian (Uruk) cities imported from the Southern Levant and the Upper Euphrates. The Ghassulians also erected dolmen monuments, similar to megalithic burial structures found not only in Western Europe, but also in the Western Caucasus. An unexpected link with the Uruk dispersions of the Caucasus has been suggested for the Nahal Mishmar “Cave of the Treasure” discovered in the Judean Desert. The fine metalwork discovered in this desert cache includes pieces crafted in a long period 7,000 – 5,500 years ago, as if this cache was buried to protect valuable cultural artifacts (possibly from temple sites) from robbers during the Ubaid-Uruk transition period.” ref
“Adding to the archaeological mystery, the only comparable metalwork from this period has been discovered far away in the Maykop burial north of the Black Sea. Archaeologists have also suggested Ghassulian contacts with the Aegean and Upper Egypt (Amratian culture), suggesting that these East Mediterranean copper smelters played a dynamic role connecting far-flung cultures. Notably, the Ghassulian culture flourished at the time and location some linguists have suggested the Proto-Semitic languages first emerged (approximately 5,750 years ago, probably in the East Mediterranean).5 These later developed to become the Ugaritic, Phoenician, and Hebrew languages spoken not only in Canaan, but also throughout the Mediterranean, Arabian Peninsula, and the Horn of Africa. In Europe, this period was less favorable. The “Old European” civilization of the CBMP dissolved between 5,500 – 5,200 years ago, partly regrouping near the Aegean Sea (preserving the foundations for the seagoing Minoan-Mycenaean civilizations), and some adapting to new pastoral lifeways near the Black Sea (such as the Usatovo culture.” ref
“Despite the centrality of ancient Sumer, early Mesopotamia has rarely been discussed in the context of human genetic structure, and the effects of Sumerian expansions in reshaping the world genetic landscape remain to be discovered. However, the potential of urban centers using new technological toolkits (fueling population growth and giving an early demographic advantage over neighboring Mesolithic societies) suggests that Sumer might have played a formative role in West Eurasian demographic history. To help establish a historical foundation for examining the multi-layered genetic structure of the Middle East, this article will outline three phases of Sumerian civilization: (1) Founding of urban settlements during the Ubaid period; (2) Dispersion of Sumerian populations to the Caucasus Mountains and Asia during the Uruk period (including related Kura-Araxes migrations, possibly related to the spread of satem IE languages); and (3) Back-migrations to the Fertile Crescent (in response to events at the periphery of the Sumerian world) during the Middle Bronze Age.” ref
“Ubaid Period Foundations (8,500 – 5,800 years ago). The foundations of Sumerian civilization were laid during the Ubaid Period (8,500 – 5,800 years ago). In this period, the first Mesopotamian cities were founded, starting with the world’s first capital, Eridu. Probably under the guidance of a priestly bureaucratic elite, these settlements were organized in a tripartite hereditary social structure: integrating farm laborers, nomadic pastoralists (animal herders), and hunting-fishing peoples as urban citizens. This urban culture spread outwards to establish a vast “Ubaid horizon” (2,000 km across) between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. The flow of Ubaid material culture stimulated developments in more distant regions. In the Northern Levant, the Ubaid civilization absorbed neighboring Halaf dry farming (non-irrigation) settlements (perhaps Afroasiatic speaking predecessors of the Akkadians and Assyrians).” ref
“Reaching even further beyond these rivers, Ubaid related (Hassuna-Samarra) pottery types and clay artwork have been found throughout the Aegean, Anatolia, and East Mediterranean. According to the archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, these shared craft forms appeared simultaneously in Southeastern Europe and West Asia around 8,700 – 8,500 years ago. Map of West Eurasian cultures during the Ubaid period. Sumer (the Ubaid heartland) is highlighted in red. Possible language families in neighboring areas are listed in italics. In Europe, this Ubaid related material culture was the basis of what Gimbutas dubbed the “Old European” civilization of the Balkan Peninsula and Central Europe, later splitting into local variant traditions around 7,000 years ago. More recently, Evgeny Chernykh has documented evidence for a large Carpatho-Balkan Metallurgical Province composed of densely settled communities (of up to 15,000 people each) connected by shared copper technology. This network of settlements flourished between 7,500 – 5,500 years ago, before dissolving around 5,200 years ago.” ref
“In the later part of the Ubaid period, another peripheral Copper Age culture emerged in South Asia: the Mehrgarh III or Togau Phase (6,300 – 5,800 years ago) that brought an influx of new collective burial customs, ceramic styles, and copper technology (possibly from West Asia). Other cultural centers that emerged during the Ubaid period included Nabta Playa in Africa, possibly constructed by early populations of the “Green Sahara” (Neolithic Subpluvial; 9,000 – 5,500 years ago), when the landscape of Northern Africa resembled the ecologically rich savannahs of present-day Kenya, and the Badarian and Amratian (Predynastic Upper Egyptian) cultures emerged along the Nile River. Because of their “early adopter” status, these dense Ubaid period settlements in Mesopotamia, Southeastern Europe, and South Asia potentially played a key role in shaping later demographic history. The Kurgan Culture and the Indo-Europeanization of Europe considered the Chalcolithic “Old European” civilization pre-IE and suggested that the Proto-Indo-European (IE) languages emerged only later with “Kurgan” culture of the Eurasian steppe.” ref
“However, this article suggests instead that the Proto-Indo-European language emerged in Ubaid period Southeastern Europe (possibly derived from older West Asian Indo-Hittite languages), later diverging into Eurasian satem and Mediterranean centum IE varieties after the collapse of the CBMP around 5,200 years ago. This would be consistent with linguistic evidence for PIE origins around 6,000 years ago and early contacts with the Uralic (North Eurasian), Caucasian (West Asian), and Afroasiatic (East Mediterranean) languages in West Eurasia. However, it is probable that no modern culture fully represents these ancestral founding populations. Nevertheless, traces of this ancestral population structure might to some extent be preserved in West Asian populations with a tradition of endogamy (such as Assyrian Christians, Druze, etc.). However, ancient DNA would be needed to examine these relationships in more detail.” ref
If you are a religious believer,may I remind you thatfaithin the acquisition of knowledgeis not a valid method worth believing in. Because, what proof is“faith”,of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
He was a troll who was slandering me as If I was a fool and called me out on Twitter. I told him to do a video and see who was right, it was a debate.
This is a False Dilemma fallacy
(also known as: all-or-nothing fallacy, false dichotomy*, the either-or fallacy, either-or reasoning, fallacy of false choice, fallacy of false alternatives, black-and-white thinking, the fallacy of exhaustive hypotheses, bifurcation, excluded middle, no middle ground, polarization)ref
Description: When only two choices are presented yet more exist, or a spectrum of possible choices exists between two extremes. False dilemmas are usually characterized by “either this or that” language, but can also be characterized by omissions of choices. Another variety is the false trilemma, which is when three choices are presented when more exist. ref
He used many StrawManFallacies which really was irritating me.
“A straw man is a form of argument and an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent’s argument, while actually refuting an argument that was not presented by that opponent. One who engages in this fallacy is said to be “attacking a straw man.” The typical straw man argument creates the illusion of having completely refuted or defeated an opponent’s proposition through the covert replacement of it with a different proposition (i.e., “stand up a straw man”) and the subsequent refutation of that false argument (“knock down a straw man”) instead of the opponent’s proposition.” ref
“The straw man is a fallacy in which an opponent’s argument is overstated or misrepresented in order to be more easily attacked or refuted. The technique often takes quotes out of context or, more often, incorrectly paraphrases or summarizes an opponent’s position. Then after “defeating” the position, the attacker claims to have beaten the real thing. Although the term straw man is a recent coinage, the concept is ancient. In the “Topics,” Aristotle acknowledges “that in argument it would be inappropriate to interpret as someone’s position an opinion that he did not express or is not committed to, in virtue of what he said” (Douglas Walton, “Methods of Argumentation”). The name of the fallacy represents the idea that although a straw man may look like a human, it won’t put up any resistance in a fight.” ref
“Intentionally committed fallacies in debates and reasoning are called intellectual dishonesty.” ref
Two Completely Different Responses to the Same Debate
1. Damien, that debate was very good, well done! You weren’t rude, a large part of debates is framing arguments, and calling out logical fallacies. Interrupting one another is not rude in debates because it helps prevent being gish galloped or straw-manned. It didn’t ever get out of hand, there wasn’t any ad hominem that I noticed. Maybe they don’t understand the concept of civil debates. There were plenty of points for Adam to interject without interruption that he never challenged your arguments. Seemed pretty fair and civil to me. I would say you did a great job presenting your stance and defending it. Most the other stuff he either agreed with you, or conceded. You were literally explaining how debates work to him, you made the 3 claims in regards to why you believe religions are bad and he literally didn’t attempt to challenge any of them.
2. Waste of time. Damien lacks, refinement, and common courtesy. His conduct was self-centered and he only wanted to hear himself speak. He cut Adam off every time he started to started to speak; when asking or answering a question. Damien wouldn’t even let Adam finish a question, without knocking him or his beliefs. Damien showed no respect for his guest. You get the respect you give. I like smart people, which Damien is, but I will not waste my time again. I now want to know more about Adam Friended; not Damien. Adam seems very intelligent, polite, and thoughtful. I suffered through the whole video. Damien 1 / Adam 9.
Key components of argumentation
“Understanding and identifying arguments, either explicit or implied, and the goals of the participants in the different types of dialogue.
Identifying the premises from which conclusions are derived
Establishing the “burden of proof” – determining who made the initial claim and is thus responsible for providing evidence why his/her position merits acceptance.
For the one carrying the “burden of proof”, the advocate, to marshal evidence for his/her position in order to convince or force the opponent’s acceptance. The method by which this is accomplished is producing valid, sound, and cogent arguments, devoid of weaknesses, and not easily attacked.
In a debate, fulfillment of the burden of proof creates a burden of rejoinder. One must try to identify faulty reasoning in the opponent’s argument, to attack the reasons/premises of the argument, to provide counterexamples if possible, to identify any fallacies, and to show why a valid conclusion cannot be derived from the reasons provided for his/her argument.” ref
Another Response to My Debate:
“Wow, I wish I had half of your calm and composer, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to you, unfortunately I can become angry in such a situation, big weakness, will definitely listen to this debate many more times in the future and hope somehow to curb my (passionate way) its always a pleasure following you wish you love and happiness for many years to come”
I am a Proud Anti-theist
I am an anti-theist, as I am for peace and freedom thus any claimed god that can at will remove my human rights to freedom requires my loyal opposition regardless if a myth or somehow real. And any god that creates hell or threatens harm to humans is a moral monster that also must rightly be opposition regardless if a myth or somehow real. And god that can do good and does not is deeply unethical and requires my loyal opposition regardless if a myth or somehow real. Any god that created this world with so much harm is deeply evil or thoughtless and thus as before requires my loyal opposition regardless if a myth or somehow real. And, therefore, any theistic religion that promotes such a god deserves as much distain as the evil god they promote as well.
God: “anti-humanism thinking”
God thinking is a superstitiously transmitted disease, that usually is accompanied with some kind of antihumanism thinking. Relatively all gods, in general, are said to have the will and power over humans.
Likewise, such god claims often are attributed to be the ones who decide morality thus remove the true-morality nature in humans that actually assist us in morality. So, adding a god is to welcome antihumanism burdens, because god concepts are often an expression.
This is especially so when any so-called god somethingism are said to make things like hells is an antihumanism thinking. A general humanism thinking to me is that everyone owns themselves, not some god and everyone is equal. Such humanism thinking that to me, requires a shunning of coercion force that removes a human’s rights.
Or involves the subjugation of oppression and threats for things like requiring belief or demanding faith in some other unjustified abstraction from others. Therefore, humanism thinking is not open to being in such beliefs, position or situations that violate free expression of one’s human rights.
One’s human rights are not just relinquished because some people believed right or their removal is at the whims of some claimed god (human rights removing/limiting/controlling = ANTIHUMANISM).
Humanism to me, summed up as, humans solving human problems through human means. Thus, humanism thinking involves striving to do good without gods, and not welcoming the human rights removing/limiting/controlling, even if the myths could somehow come to be true.
I am an Out Atheist, Antitheist, and Antireligionist as a Valuized Ethical Duty.
How can we silently watch as yet another generation is indoctrinated with religious faith, fear, and foolishness? Religion and it’s god myths are like a spiritually transmitted disease of the mind. This infection even once cured holds mental disruption which can linger on for a lifetime. What proof is “faith,” of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
When you start thinking your “out, atheism, antitheism or antireligionism is not vitally needed just remember all the millions of children being indoctrinated and need our help badly. Ones who desperately need our help with the truth.
My anti-theism, means I am against Theism, thus against the concept of gods, real or not and against the religious support for Theism. Generally it involves seeing Theism as harmful in one way or another and is against Theism for this reason. I see the concept of gods as commonly very anti-humanism.
God’s people most often worship are claimed to be able to willfully remove humanities right to freedom as if you don’t do as the tyrant-god likes you are threatened in some way or another. It is not different than in concept that living in a country where the Human running it is a Typical Tyrant. I also see it as removing the rationale to healthy self-mastery and self-freedom.
If you have someone in government do as gods are claiming most people would be apposed to it but call it a god and people are magically willing mental slaves. Though this is largely because of indoctrination either as a child or because it is common in the culture. That fact is proven by how the Theism of choice is more a matter of geography not quality of the god claim product.
Three things I hate are common in all religions: “pseudo-science,” “pseudo-history,” and “pseudo-morality.”
And my biggest thing of all is the widespread forced indoctrination of children, violating their free choice of what to not believe or believe, I hate forced hereditary religion.
Here are my thoughts on Real Morality vs. Pseudo Morality:
+Morals (Personal Morality relating to a “self” morality): are not held by all in the same way since all are not held to Orthodox faith and though most start with good and bad or right and wrong values, which usually are personally, familially, socially or religiously give or in some way otherworldly defined, thus not universal.
+Ethics (Social Morality relating to a “others” morality): Ethics are not constrained by a given religion’s value systems to motivate its ideas of right and wrong instead it relies on universal truths found in universal principles of just human action. Ethics is set standers uses to personally engage with others and universal truths assist goals of universal ethics standards. Thus, ethics are general prosocial prescription we as morality aware beings in a rather universal way tend to have some awareness of and it is not just an awareness as in one who holds to ethics often get it applies to all peoples. Some may wish to devalue people but to do so is not really unethical, though often it can lead to unethical behavior. So what I am trying to highlight is how in the behavior that the ethics violation could occur as the internal attitude of devaluing others would only be a possible morals violation such as one who valued virtue and not getting it but failing by the persuasion of devaluing the life of other humans. This simple internal devaluing of humans, that they may be doing is vile. But ethics would not be involved until public behaviors with others, as such ethics is not so much a persuasion as an adherence to a standard(s) that should cover all thus it is highly applicable to utilize in environmental decision making.
Axiology, Naturalism, Realism and Moral Theory Ideas
Real Morality is referring to “ethics” (Social Morality relating to a “others” morality) as opposed to +Morals (Personal Morality relating to a “self” morality).
Because we use Real Morality or need to to assist in judging the behaviors in a social dynamic behavioral event or interaction and can only accrue in a social dynamic (social behavioral realm) as such all morality propositions removed from a social dynamic and which accrue only in a personal dynamic lack attachment to “Real Morality” referring to the social nature of “ethics.” In other words, if you are by yourself and do something only to yourself, it is neither ethical nor immorality; thus, doing a behavior that is only personal (a believed moral or otherwise) by yourself and only something to yourself, is amorality to everyone but that chosen person doing a behavior that is only personal. One can chouse to personally value some moral standard for themselves but because morals (the personal valued behaviors) as opposed to ethics (the interpersonal/social valued behaviors; which there is business never business morals as ethics is about our social behaviors we can hold others to, whereas, morals are only something we can hold ourselves to).
I hold the assumptions that to understand morality more fully we need to understand its synthesis and properties by emphasizing its relations to conceptual tools understanding motivation and behavior such as biopsychosocial model, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, kohlberg’s moral development theory and formal axiology interactions across multiple levels. Real Morality is an emergent aspect limited to a sphere of social dynamics (social) result in human progress and social evolution understood in mental processes of high cognitively developed beings (biological) with developed psychological quality of awareness (psychological) and the so-called moral facts and the values that support or motivate them is limited to the realm of possible harm psychological or physical (actual external world or experiential internal world). Pseudo Morality is seen when holy books or people “cognitively reconstruct” an inhumane idea or behavior to make it into something different from than it is, to something more moral than what it actually is.
Or turn something highly immoral into something highly moral. One way to do that is to cloak the behavior “in moral wrappings” or “in divine authority” such as god hates gays, gays are evil, thus killing gays is doing good by destroying evil. This thinking is obviously pseudo morality as gays are not evil but killing them is evil and inhumane idea or behavior thus very immoral. The god justified immorality into what is then called moral is some of the most common pseudo-morality, though political leaders and others in power tend to employ it as well. They all are using “pseudo-moral justifications” to describe something immoral as moral. True morality is not as simply as the golden rule…
True morality is a valued behavior we do that interacts with others; it is not really related to what we do to ourselves. Which is why I do not agree with the so-called golden rule as it is what you don’t want do to others but this fails in that its focused on ourselves which is us focused and true morality needs to be other focused on what valued behavior we do that interacts with others. I say treat others the way they should be treated. People have self-ownership, self-rights, right to dignity, freedom, and equality. True morality is a valued behavior we do that interacts with others starting with the conception that people matter, they have worth and value, It is in this way they should be treated.
Pseudo Morality is seen when holy books or people “cognitively reconstruct” an inhumane idea or behavior to make it into something different from than it is, to something more moral than what it actually is. Or turn something highly immoral into something highly moral. One way to do that is to cloak the behavior “in moral wrappings” or “in divine authority” such as god hates gays, gays are evil, thus killing gays is doing good by destroying evil. This thinking is obviously pseudo morality as gays are not evil but killing them is evil and inhumane idea or behavior thus very immoral.
The god justified immoral into moral is some of the most common pseudo morality though political and others in power tend to employ it as well. They all are using “pseudo-moral justifications” to describe something immoral as moral.
To me, true morality is not starting with an us or me focused morality as morality is a social interaction exchange thus it must be other focused. “treating others as they should be treated” To me, I see everyone as owning themselves all equal in this right as humans. Moreover, to me morality is behavioral and a social property, there is no immoral thing one can do to themselves as one cannot violate themselves or their own consent as they choose their own actions. Thus, to me, all morality is about others and our interactions with them and them with us. So, morality arises in a social context with all things not that all things have the same moral weight. Therefore, moral relationships with life outside humans have a different moral weight or value. So, the golden rule? No thanks, I want real morality not reverse-selfishness driven morality.
Moral fear and Moral love (which together motivate my axiological ethics)?
Harm is often a violation of trust and a violation of expected trust makes bad things even worse like if I told you a child was killed, you would feel it was terrible but if I further told you it was the child’s doctor that murdered the child out of anger. You would be more angered as doctors are expected to care for people not harm them. And if you think that is bad what if I further told you the doctor who killed the child was her mother would you hold her even mone in contempt as mothers also are expected to care and not kill children, so a violation of trust is terrible and even makes things worse. Therefore, we can see why people that hold places of trust should never abuse them, and that we should hold them accountable if they do violate such trust by harming others. Morality first, that is morality should be at the forefront in all I do.
I hope I am always strong enough to put my morality at the forefront in all I do, so much so, that it is obvious in the ways I think and behave. To better grasp, a naturalistic morality one should see the perspective of how there is a self-regulatory effect on the self-evaluative moral emotions, such as shame and guilt. Broadly conceived, self-regulation distinguishes between two types of motivation: approach/activation and avoidance/inhibition. one should conceptually understand the socialization dimensions (parental restrictiveness versus nurturance), associated emotions (anxiety versus empathy), and forms of morality (proscriptive versus prescriptive) that serve as precursors to each self-evaluative moral emotion.
“Sometimes justice has to outweigh care and sometimes care has to outweigh justice.”
And one may ask or question how do you discern the appropriate morality course of action between what is ethically right? To me, it takes Axiology (i.e. value consciousness: value judgment analysis of ethical appropriateness do to assess value involved). And True Morality quickly summed up to me is largely the expression of axiological value judgments or assessments carried into an appropriate valueized action.
Why care? Because we are Dignity Beings is because we are Dignity-beings
My Axiological Dignity Being Theory: An “Axiological assessment of human beings” shows with an axiological awareness a logic of values is clear which takes as its basic premise that “all persons always deserve positive regard.” – Progressive Logic by William J. Kelleher, Ph.D.
And the reason why we should care is that we are Dignity Beings.
I am inspired by philosophy, enlightened by archaeology and grounded by science that religious claims, on the whole, along with their magical gods, are but Dogmatic-Propaganda, myths and lies. Kindness beats prayers every time, even if you think prayer works, you know kindness works. Think otherwise, do both without telling people and see which one they notice. Aspire to master the heavens but don’t forget about the ones in need still here on earth. You can be kind and never love but you cannot love and never be kind. Therefore, it is this generosity of humanity, we need the most of. So, if you can be kind, as in the end some of the best we can be to others is to exchange kindness. For too long now we have allowed the dark shadow of hate to cloud our minds, while we wait in silence as if pondering if there is a need to commiserate. For too long little has been done and we too often have been part of this dark clouded shame of hate. Simply, so many humans now but sadly one is still left asking, where is the humanity?
MORAL FEAR (fight or flight “justice perspective”):
To feel a kind of morality “anxiety” (ethical apprehension to potentially cause harm) about behaviors and their outcomes empathy (I feel you) or sympathy (I feel for you) about something moral that may be done, is being done, or that has been done, thus feeling of distress, apprehension or alarm caused by value driven emotional intelligence concern; moral/ethical anxiety to the possibility; chance (to do something as a moral thinker and an ethical actor) or dread; respect (to take the sensitivity of a personal moral choice that leads one to choose an ethical behavior(s) and grasping the moral weight of the actions involved and potential outcomes this engagement can or will likely create (using data from learning whether theoretical or practical to lessen the effect of an unpleasant choice as much as posable (morality development/awareness/goals/persuasion).
“Moral Anxiety, improves us, while Social Anxiety kills. Some anxieties are indicators of healthy curiosity and strong moral fiber, while others are a source of severe stress. Knowing which is which can help you to navigate your personal, professional, and intellectual life more effectively.” Ref
Moral fear thus is a kind of morality “anxiety” that motivates a fascinating aspect of humanity, which is that we hold ourselves to high moral standards. With our values and emotional intelligence and moral development, we gain a developed prosocial persuasion thus “tend to self-impose rules on ourselves to protect society from the short-term temptations that might cause us to do things that would have a negative impact in the long-run. For example, we might be tempted to harm a person who bothers us, but a society in which everyone gave in to the temptation to hurt those who made us angry would quickly devolve into chaos. And once we accept that emotion plays some role in complex decisions, it is important to figure out which emotions are influencing different kinds of choices. Therefore, when we make these moral judgments to an extent we are somewhat driven by our ability to reason about the consequences of the actions or are influenced by their emotions to or about the outcomes of the consequences of the actions.” ref
*ps. MORAL FEAR (fight or flight “consequentialistethics/utilitarianethics”) is roughly referring to the fight-or-flight response, also known as the acute stress response, refers to a physiological reaction that occurs in the presence of something that is terrifying, either mentally or physically. The fight-or-flight response (also called hyperarousal, or the acute stress response) is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. An evolutionary psychology explanation is that early animals had to react to threatening stimuli quickly and did not have time to psychologically and physically prepare themselves. The fight or flight response provided them with the mechanisms to rapidly respond to threats against survival. This response is recognized as the first stage of the general adaptation syndrome that regulates stress responses among vertebrates and other organisms. The reaction begins in the amygdala, which triggers a neural response in the hypothalamus. The initial reaction is followed by activation of the pituitary gland and secretion of the hormone ACTH. Ref,Ref
The adrenal gland is activated almost simultaneously and releases the hormone epinephrine. The release of chemical messengers results in the production of the hormone cortisol, which increases blood pressure, blood sugar, and suppresses the immune system. The initial response and subsequent reactions are triggered in an effort to create a boost of energy. This boost of energy is activated by epinephrine binding to liver cells and the subsequent production of glucose. Additionally, the circulation of cortisol functions to turn fatty acids into available energy, which prepares muscles throughout the body for response. Catecholamine hormones, such as adrenaline (epinephrine) or noradrenaline (norepinephrine), facilitate immediate physical reactions associated with a preparation for violent muscular action and:
The physiological changes that occur during the fight or flight response are activated in order to give the body increased strength and speed in anticipation of fighting or running. Some of the specific physiological changes and their functions include:
Increased blood flow to the muscles activated by diverting blood flow from other parts of the body.
Increased blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugars, and fats in order to supply the body with extra energy.
The blood clotting function of the body speeds up in order to prevent excessive blood loss in the event of an injury sustained during the response.
Increased muscle tension in order to provide the body with extra speed and strength. Ref, Ref
Here is a little on Consequentialist ethics and Utilitarian ethics
*Consequentialist ethics: “involves a class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of one’s conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act (or omission from acting) is one that will produce a good outcome, or consequence. In an extreme form, the idea of consequentialism is commonly encapsulated in the saying, “the end justifies the means“, meaning that if a goal is morally important enough, any method of achieving it is acceptable. Consequentialism is usually contrasted with deontological ethics (or deontology), in that deontology, in which rules and moral duty are central, derives the rightness or wrongness of one’s conduct from the character of the behaviour itself rather than the outcomes of the conduct.” Ref
“It is also contrasted with virtue ethics, which focuses on the character of the agent rather than on the nature or consequences of the act (or omission) itself, and pragmatic ethics which treats morality like science: advancing socially over the course of many lifetimes, such that any moral criterion is subject to revision. Consequentialist theories differ in how they define moral goods. Some argue that consequentialist and deontological theories are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, T. M. Scanlon advances the idea that human rights, which are commonly considered a “deontological” concept, can only be justified with reference to the consequences of having those rights. Similarly, Robert Nozick argues for a theory that is mostly consequentialist, but incorporates inviolable “side-constraints” which restrict the sort of actions agents are permitted to do.” Ref
*Utilitarian ethics: “involve an ethical theory which states that the best action is the one that maximizes utility. “Utility” is defined in various ways, usually in terms of the well-being of sentient entities. Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism, described utility as the sum of all pleasure that results from an action, minus the suffering of anyone involved in the action. Utilitarianism is a version of consequentialism, which states that the consequences of any action are the only standard of right and wrong. Unlike other forms of consequentialism, such as egoism, utilitarianism considers the interests of all beings equally. Proponents of utilitarianism have disagreed on a number of points, such as whether actions should be chosen based on their likely results (act utilitarianism) or whether agents should conform to rules that maximize utility (rule utilitarianism). There is also disagreement as to whether total (total utilitarianism) or average (average utilitarianism) utility should be maximized. Though the seeds of the theory can be found in the hedonists Aristippus and Epicurus, who viewed happiness as the only good, the tradition of utilitarianism properly began with Bentham, and has included John Stuart Mill, Henry Sidgwick, R. M. Hare, David Braybrooke, and Peter Singer. It has been applied to social welfare economics, the crisis of global poverty, the ethics of raising animals for food and the importance of avoiding existential risks to humanity.” ref
“Because utilitarianism is not a single theory but a cluster of related theories that have been developed over two hundred years, criticisms can be made for different reasons and have different targets. Karl Marx, in Das Kapital, criticises Bentham’s utilitarianism on the grounds that it does not appear to recognize that different people have different joys: Not even excepting our philosopher, Christian Wolff, in no time and in no country has the most homespun commonplace ever strutted about in so self-satisfied a way. The principle of utility was no discovery of Bentham. He simply reproduced in his dull way what Helvétius and other Frenchmen had said with esprit in the 18th century. To know what is useful for a dog, one must study dog-nature.” ref
“This nature itself is not to be deduced from the principle of utility. Applying this to man, he who would criticize all human acts, movements, relations, etc., by the principle of utility, must first deal with human nature in general, and then with human nature as modified in each historical epoch. Bentham makes short work of it. With the driest naivete he takes the modern shopkeeper, especially the English shopkeeper, as the normal man. Whatever is useful to this queer normal man, and to his world, is absolutely useful. This yard-measure, then, he applies to past, present, and future. The Christian religion, e.g., is “useful,” “because it forbids in the name of religion the same faults that the penal code condemns in the name of the law.” Artistic criticism is “harmful,” because it disturbs worthy people in their enjoyment of Martin Tupper, etc. With such rubbish has the brave fellow, with his motto, “nulla dies sine linea [no day without a line]”, piled up mountains of books.” ref
“An article in the American Journal for Economics has addressed the issue of Utilitarian ethics within redistribution of wealth. The journal stated that taxation of the wealthy is the best way to make use of the disposable income they receive. This says that the money creates utility for the most people by funding government services. Many utilitarian philosophers, including Peter Singer and Toby Ord, argue that inhabitants of developed countries, in particular, have an obligation to help to end extreme poverty across the world, for example by regularly donating some of their income to charity.” ref
“Peter Singer, for example, argues that donating some of one’s income to charity could help to save a life or cure somebody from a poverty-related illness, which is a much better use of the money as it brings someone in extreme poverty far more happiness than it would bring to oneself if one lived in relative comfort. However, Singer not only argues that one ought to donate a significant proportion of one’s income to charity, but also that this money should be directed to the most cost-effective charities, in order to bring about the greatest good for the greatest number, consistent with utilitarian thinking. Singer’s ideas have formed the basis of the modern effective altruist movement.” ref
“To me, this relates to care/caring ethics, which affirms the importance of caring motivation, emotion and the body in moral deliberation, as well as reasoning from particulars.This moral theory is known as “ the ethics of care” implies that there is moral significance in the fundamental elements of relationships and dependencies in human life. Normatively, care ethics seeks to maintain relationships by contextualizing and promoting the well-being of care-givers and care-receivers in a network of social relations. Most often defined as a practice or virtue rather than a theory as such, “care” involves maintaining the world of, and meeting the needs of, ourself and others. It builds on the motivation to care for those who are dependent and vulnerable, and it is inspired by both memories of being cared for and the idealizations of self. Following in the sentimentalist tradition of moral theory, care ethics affirms the importance of caring motivation, emotion and the body in moral deliberation, as well as reasoning from particulars.” ref
“One of the original works of care ethics was Milton Mayeroff’s short book, On Caring, but the emergence of care ethics as a distinct moral theory is most often attributed to the works of psychologist Carol Gilligan and philosopher Nel Noddings in the mid-1980s. Though there are notable thinkers who express early strains of care ethics such as those that can be detected in the writings of feminist philosophers such as Mary Wollstonecraft, Catherine and Harriet Beecher, and Charlotte Perkins. Offering a general charged that traditional moral approaches contain a kinda of male bias, and asserted the “voice of care” as a legitimate alternative to the “justice perspective” of liberal human rights theory. Annette Baier, Virginia Held, Eva Feder Kittay, Sara Ruddick, and Joan Tronto are some of the most influential among many subsequent contributors to care ethics. Typically contrasted with deontological/Kantian and consequentialist/utilitarian ethics, is that of care ethics.” ref
*ps. MORAL LOVE (tend and befriend “care ethics (ethics of care)/reciprocity (reciprocal altruism ethics) is similar to the fight or flight which is also only part of a bigger picture, according to Shelley Taylor, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and her colleagues. In the Psychological Review, as in evolutionary psychology, researchers describe how stress can elicit another behavioral pattern they call “tend and befriend”–especially in females. Tend-and-befriend is a behavior exhibited by some animals, including humans, in response to threat. ref
It refers to protection of offspring (tending) and seeking out the social group for mutual defense (befriending), tend-and-befriend is theorized as having evolved as the typical female response to stress, just as the primary male response was fight-or-flight. This kind of gender determinism within the field is the subject of some controversy but I see it as to limited as well because we tend to use multiple sstrategiesto further sucuresafty depending of avalable resorces and if one regardless of gender persuasion is not able to either adequately defend themselves/or others (the fight part of fight or flight ) or is not able to either adequately flee a given threat (the flight part of fight or flight ) then other options such as The tend-and-befriend theoretical model was originally developed by Dr. Shelley E. Taylor and her research team at the University of California, Los Angeles and first described in a Psychological Review article published in the year 2000. ref
“The moral theory known as “ the ethics of care” implies that there is moral significance in the fundamental elements of relationships and dependencies in human life. Normatively, care ethics seeks to maintain relationships by contextualizing and promoting the well-being of care-givers and care-receivers in a network of social relations. Most often defined as a practice or virtue rather than a theory as such, “care” involves maintaining the world of, and meeting the needs of, ourself and others. It builds on the motivation to care for those who are dependent and vulnerable, and it is inspired by both memories of being cared for and the idealizations of self. Following in the sentimentalist tradition of moral theory, care ethics affirms the importance of caring motivation, emotion and the body in moral deliberation, as well as reasoning from particulars.” ref
“One of the original works of care ethics was Milton Mayeroff’s short book, On Caring, but the emergence of care ethics as a distinct moral theory is most often attributed to the works of psychologist Carol Gilligan and philosopher Nel Noddings in the mid-1980s. Both charged traditional moral approaches with male bias, and asserted the “voice of care” as a legitimate alternative to the “justice perspective” of liberal human rights theory. Annette Baier, Virginia Held, Eva Feder Kittay, Sara Ruddick, and Joan Tronto are some of the most influential among many subsequent contributors to care ethics.” ref
Here is a little on Care ethics and Reciprocal altruism
*Care ethics: is a normativeethical theory that holds interpersonal relationships and care or benevolence as a virtue as central to moral action. It is one of a cluster of normative ethical theories that were developed by feminists in the second half of the twentieth century. Here is a link to Feminist ethics. While consequentialist and deontological ethical theories emphasize universal standards and impartiality, ethics of care emphasize the importance of response. The shift in moral perspective is manifested by a change in the moral question from “what is just?” to “how to respond?”. Ethics of care criticize application of universal standards as “morally problematic since it breeds moral blindness or indifference. ref, ref
Some beliefs of the theory are basic:
Persons are understood to have varying degrees of dependence and interdependence on one another. This is in contrast to deontological and consequentialist theories that tend to view persons as having independent interests and interactions.
Those particularly vulnerable to one’s choices and their outcomes deserve extra consideration to be measured according to their vulnerability to one’s choices.
It is necessary to attend to contextual details of situations in order to safeguard and promote the actual specific interests of those involved.
“Care ethics contrasts with more well-known ethical models, such as consequentialist theories (e.g. utilitarianism) and deontological theories (e.g. Kantian ethics) in that it seeks to incorporate traditionally feminized virtues and values which, proponents of care ethics contend, are absent in such traditional models of ethics. While some feminists have criticized care-based ethics for reinforcing traditional stereotypes of a “good woman” others have embraced parts of this paradigm under the theoretical concept of care-focused feminism. Care-focused feminism is a branch of feminist thought, informed primarily by ethics of care as developed by Carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings. This body of theory is critical of how caring is socially engendered to women and consequently devalued. “Care-focused feminists regard women’s capacity for care as a human strength” which can and should be taught to and expected of men as well as women. Noddings proposes that ethical caring has the potential to be a more concrete evaluative model of moral dilemma, than an ethic of justice. Noddings’ care-focused feminism requires practical application of relational ethics, predicated on an ethic of care. Ethics of care is also a basis for care-focused feminist theorizing on maternal ethics.” Ref
“Critical of how society engenders caring labor, theorists Sara Ruddick, Virginia Held, and Eva Feder Kittay suggest caring should be performed and caregivers valued in both public and private spheres. Their theories recognize caring as an ethically relevant issue. This proposed paradigm shift in ethics encourages that an ethic of caring be the social responsibility of both men and women. Joan Tronto argues that the definition of the term “ethic of care” is ambiguous due in part to the lack of a central role it plays in moral theory. She argues that considering moral philosophy is engaged with human goodness, then care would appear to assume a significant role in this type of philosophy. However, this is not the case and Tronto further stresses the association between care and “naturalness”. The latter term refers to the socially and culturally constructed gender roles where care is mainly assumed to be the role of the woman. As such, care loses the power to take a central role in moral theory.” Ref
Tronto states there are four ethical elements of care:
Attentiveness Attentiveness is crucial to the ethics of care because care requires a recognition of others’ needs in order to respond to them. The question which arises is the distinction between ignorance and inattentiveness. Tronto poses this question as such, “But when is ignorance simply ignorance, and when is it inattentiveness”?
Responsibility In order to care, we must take it upon ourselves, thus responsibility. The problem associated with this second ethical element of responsibility is the question of obligation. Obligation is often, if not already, tied to pre-established societal and cultural norms and roles. Tronto makes the effort to differentiate the terms “responsibility” and “obligation” with regards to the ethic of care. Responsibility is ambiguous, whereas obligation refers to situations where action or reaction is due, such as the case of a legal contract. This ambiguity allows for ebb and flow in and between class structures and gender roles, and to other socially constructed roles that would bind responsibility to those only befitting of those roles.
Competence To provide care also means competency. One cannot simply acknowledge the need to care, accept the responsibility, but not follow through with enough adequacy – as such action would result in the need of care not being met.
Responsiveness This refers to the “responsiveness of the care receiver to the care”. Tronto states, “Responsiveness signals an important moral problem within care: by its nature, care is concerned with conditions of vulnerability and inequality”. She further argues responsiveness does not equal reciprocity. Rather, it is another method to understand vulnerability and inequality by understanding what has been expressed by those in the vulnerable position, as opposed to re-imagining oneself in a similar situation. Ref
“Reciprocal altruism: (the evolution of cooperation)is a social interaction phenomenon where an individual makes sacrifices for another individual in expectation of similar treatment in the future. Originally introduced as a concept by biologist Robert Trivers, reciprocal altruism explains how altruistic behavior and morality can arise from evolutionary causes, as evolution selects for the best possible game theory results. If the benefit is higher than the initial cost, then multiple reciprocal interactions can actually out-compete more “greedy” forms of relationships, thus providing an evolutionary incentive for altruistic behavior. At the same time (and in opposition to unlimited altruism), reciprocity ensures that cheaters are also harmed when they choose to do so and are gradually made less fit as a result of their own behavior. Modern ethnology seems to support at least part of this hypothesis, as many societies on all continents have developed highly complex forms of gift economy where gifts are given with no immediately obvious material return, but the implicit societal expectation of “repayment” in gift form at some later point in time.” Ref
“Amazingly, those societies work. The custom of giving gifts for birthdays in the West may be seen as a remnant of this. It’s not uncommon for someone to engage in this behavior with the object of their affection, i.e. being nice to them with the expectation of a sexual relationship. Since a lot of these situations tend to involve lonely, single straightmen, the common term for this is “Nice Guy” — in other words, the suitor’s claim “but I’m a nice guy…” translates to “I went through all the motions and she still won’t sleep with me.” As a general rule, this is not an effective strategy, and often even drifts into stalking behavior. Women who engage in the same behavior do not get as much attention but are still known (naturally) as Nice Girls. Either way, such people are seldom actually nice, and frequently come off as manipulative and bitter without realizing it. The fallacy lies in their equating sexual relationship with being nice – if their expectation of tit for tat was actually equal, aka being nice for being nice and being honest for being honest (which they, coming into relationship with entirely different expectations than they communicate, fail at), they wouldn’t face such a problem.” Ref
I see my Axiological driven morality to involve an enmeshed union of both:
Fight or flight “justice perspective” and a Tend and befriend “voice of care perspective.”
Helping is Helpful: Valuing, Motivating, Supporting
How to Grow in Our Positive Outcomes: Gratitude, Empathy, and Kindness
We can become a more quality person by actively being aware and developing a gratitude for life, which supports as well as grows our feelings of empathy, that then motivates the behavior of kindness.
Universal ethics: There are several ethical standards that are considered to be self-evident and seem to apply to all people throughout all of history, regardless of cultural, political, social, or economic context. The non-aggression principle, which prohibits aggression, or the initiation of force or violence against another person, is a universal ethical principle. My Examples of aggression include murder, rape, kidnapping, assault, robbery, theft, and vandalism. On the other hand, the commission of any of such acts in response to aggression does not necessarily violate universal ethics. There are obvious reasons why universal ethics are beneficial to society. For example, if people were allowed to kill or steal, this would lead to widespread chaos and violence and would be detrimental to the well-being of society. Most people agree that it’s better to prohibit aggression than to allow everyone to commit it. Therefore, aggression is intrinsically immoral. Ref, Ref, Ref
Although nearly all societies have laws prohibiting aggression, this does not mean that universal ethics are necessarily reflected by that society’s government or its dominant ideology. Universal ethics does not mean the imposition of one set of morals by one group on another. It means a shared way or means of reaching a consensus on norms and values that also accepts diversity. A shared understanding of what is right and what is wrong. In any circumstance or situation, we can start by examining the present state of affairs. This should be done with the aim of gaining an understanding of other cultural differences, history, and tradition, remembering that an explanation is not necessarily a justification. Next, what is the minimum that is acceptable? There has to be an acceptance that some disagreements cannot be resolved at that time. The aim is to change the present situation for the better. Once an acceptable minimum is reached, it is possible to work towards an eventual ideal state. Ref, Ref, Ref
We are all one community and we are all responsible for upholding human rights for each other. More than ever there is a need for agreement on the existence of universally held values and the content of those values. It may prove to be impossible to find one set of universal ethical principles that apply to all cultures, philosophies, faiths and professions but the destination is only part of the journey. The value lies in the search for principles that can be shared by all and can underpin the framework for global dialogue on ethical issues. A universal moral code might be a set of underlying dispositions we are all born with. Or it might be a set of explicit norms and values humans might one day universally accept. But a more important sense of ‘universal moral code’ is of a set of moral values that is universally valid, whether or not it is inscribed in our brains, or accepted by people. Of course, that is a very controversial idea. If there is such a universal moral code, then we have an imperative to try to discover it, and to make it universally accepted (to make it a moral code in the descriptive sense). But this requires thinking hard about ethics, not looking for some code that might or might not be written into our brains. Ref, Ref, Ref
Values (morality motivations): are a amalgam of personal, family, local or extended group environmental, religious and/or cultural content etc. we are what we eat we are the knowledge we consume and the ideas we are sounded by. Values to me thus are self driven ideals others influenced. I like to think myself out of the matrix though if I would have grown up in china would I not be a different me. Born rich and loved as a child be different or adopted be Angelina Jolie be forever changed. Or the love child of Jeffry Dahmer or Mahatma Gondi would I still be the same me with the same values? I think not. Values are not fixed they change throughout one’s lifetime they can be absolute or relative, the assumption of which can be the basis for any sort of chosen action. Thus, a value system is a set of consistent values and measures one chooses because of their connectedness to chosen ideals. Values to me can be a foundation upon which other thinking streams and measures of ideal integrity are based. Those values which are not physiologically determined and normally considered objective, such as a desire to avoid physical pain, seek pleasure, etc., are considered subjective, vary across individuals and cultures and are in many ways aligned with belief and belief systems only truth to a set of people.
In general I am a Universal Ethicist?
I am a Universal Ethicist holding the value of universal ethical principles and a Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a moral doctrine, a justice reasoning not for or by any mythology or toads direct opposition to any religion or faith in goddess or gods (Kuhmerker, Gielen, & Hayes, 1994). Universal ethicists is one who draw from collective values, no matter what country or varied cultures, claim that what is acceptable generally are common ethical standards that can be used to judged moral behaviors regardless of location (Newton, 2009). Universal ethical principles are a form of natural and rational moral code for all humankind not fixed or proclaimed by moral prophets or the founders of the world’s religions (Foldvary, 1980). What Universal ethical principles and a Universal Declaration of Human Rights are is a strict standard of freedoms, justus and principles applicable to all. Such values extend to all children and adult alike having the same rights. All rights are interconnected and of equal importance (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, 2008). A Universal Ethicist, Universal Declaration of Human Rightsholds recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world (United Nations, 2008). A Universal Ethicist value of universal ethical principles is different to religious proclaimed moral codes because universal ethical principles is ethical codes to set all free to believe and live as they wish but strive to do no harm and applicable to all humankind whether religious or not (Foldvary, 1980).ref, ref
“There are many tools for decision making, but few (secular) guides to indicate when situations might have an ethical implication. Yet this awareness is a crucial first step before decisions are made. Recognizing the moral context of a situation must precede any attempt to resolve it. Otherwise, what’s to resolve? Ethical dilemmas rarely present themselves as such. They usually pass us by before we know it or develop so gradually that we can only recognize them in hindsight – a little like noticing the snake after you’ve been bitten. But what are the signs that a snake might be present? An ethical framework is like a ‘snake detector’. I offer the following principles as landmarks – generic indicators to be used as compelling guides for an active conscience. They are NOT absolute rules or values. They are more like a rough measurement where an exact one is not possible. They often conflict with each other in practice, and some will trump others under certain circumstances. But as principles that need to be considered, they appear constant. These principles are compatible with the argument that we should simply follow our intuition and rely on the ‘inner voice’.” Ref
“However, that voice is not always audible, and today’s society presents a wide range of complex circumstances that require more guidance than simply ‘concern for others’ or ‘does it feel right?’ And so these principles are offered effectively as a more detailed reference. In a sense, the principles are outcomes of the mother of all principles – unconditional love and compassion – which appears in virtually all faiths, and is expressed here as ‘concern for the well-being of others’. (This principle is at the heart of the stakeholder model of ethics, i.e. what is my impact on others?) At first glance, they will appear obvious and perhaps trite or simplistic. Keep in mind that they are meant to be practical rather than groundbreaking, and that many people have found them useful in the absence of other guides.” Ref
“Universal ethics: there are several ethical standards that are considered to be self-evident, and seem to apply to all people throughout all of history, regardless of cultural, political, social, or economic context. The non-aggression principle, which prohibits aggression, or the initiation of force or violence against another person, is a universal ethical principle. Examples of aggression include murder, rape, kidnapping, assault, robbery, theft, and vandalism. On the other hand, the commission of any of such acts in response to aggression does not necessarily violate universal ethics. There are obvious reasons why universal ethics are beneficial to society. For example, if people were allowed to kill or steal, this would lead to widespread chaos and violence, and would be detrimental to the well-being of society. Most people agree that it’s better to prohibit aggression than to allow everyone to commit it. Therefore, aggression is intrinsically immoral. Although nearly all societies have laws prohibiting aggression, this does not mean that universal ethics are necessarily reflected by that society’s government or its dominant ideology. In ethics, a ‘universal code of ethics’ is a system of ethics that can apply to every sentient being.” Ref
Religion and Science are Completely Different Epistemologies
Some try to say that science and religion ear not that different saying they both use faith. This is utter nonsense, not only does science not use faith as a method for anything, religion and science are completely different epistemologies. Scientists reason differently than most nonscientists because of a standardized focus on scientific based reasoning and scientific epistemology.
A basic outline of scientific epistemology:Science:
Hypotheses (Rationalism/Deductive, Inductive, or Abductive Reasoning etc.) + Testing (Empiricism/Systematic Observation) – Checking for errors (Skepticism/Fallibilism) + Interpret/Draw a Conclusion (Rationalism/Deductive, Inductive, or Abductive Reasoning etc.) *if valid* = Scientific Laws (describes observed phenomena) or Scientific Theory (substantiated and repeatedly tested explanation of phenomena) = Justified True Belief = Scientific Knowledge = Epistemic Certainty supportive of correctability
*being epistemiclly certainty is believing a truth has the highest epistemic status, often with warranted psychological certainty but it may not, neither is it a requirement*
A basic outline of religious epistemology:Religion:
Culture/Testimony/ Myths/Scriptures/Revelation/Prophecies (arbitrary and unjustified way of coming to ideas or Idealism) + Mysticism, Supernaturalism, Spirtualism, or Theology (arbitrary and unjustified to form explanations, Idealism or misuse of Rationalism; often self-justified or even believe they are beyond a need for justification) – Denial of Relevant Alternatives and Basis (Fideism/Dogmatic Foundationalism/Pseudo-Skepticism/Anti-Rationalism/Anti-Empiricism or Anti-Skepticism) + Superstition, Falsehood, Misconception, Fantasy, or Delusion (unsubstantiated ideas and unjustified way of coming to ideas or Idealism) = Religion Reality Theory = Unjustified Untrue Faith Belief = Religion Faith or Beliefs as Knowledge = Unwarranted Psychological Certainty supportive of incorrectability
*being psychologically certain believing a truth does not mean that something is not actually false*
A wise person can even learn from things some people think are stupid.
However, often a stupid person cannot even learn from someone who is wise.
I am strong because I was once ok to feel week and allowed myself the freedom to be ok to be who I was without self-disrespect. I wanted to be more but building a house requires a strong foundation so I worked on that first with self-love and kindness even in my believed weakness, which I realized was the beginning of my strength.
Similarly, as an atheist at the moment of leaving my faith I started with not knowing and at first I was uncomfortable in my believed weakness of not knowing and realizing I could never believe the nonsense in god claims and the religions that supported them, yet I felt in a quandary of not knowing what was true as in just knowing something is a lie does not somehow automatically inform you t what is true. Then with self-love and kindness even in my not knowing what was true, I realized this acknowledged truth was a beginning of my strength in being open to learn and thus know.
I am now strong in my disbelief because I was once willing to feel weak in knowing true information and allowed myself the freedom to be okay to be who I was without self-disrespect inspiring me with the freedom to learn which I have but not just back then, as I am always open to not knowing and this ready to learn. I will sum it up, be open and enjoy being open.
*I hear all the time but did you read the bible?*
Read the bible, you mean the book of dogmatic propaganda. Yes sadly I have. I read two versions of the bible,the King James and the NIV. I have read history, anthropology and archeology of world religions and understood right thinking because of philosophy. I know a lot, I dont claim to know everything but certainly enough to firmly know religion and gods are myths. I could list countess scriptures to contradict the bible’s credibility (it has none) as I have listed some but true believers will believe as they wish (blind faith). The male god is an invented idea no more than 5,000 years the female goddess at least 12,000 but the first worship was and the world’s oldest ritual was of a large stone python 70,000 years ago.
If you are a believer think critically, it is not the one deity you see as possible without evidence but to notice how many gods or goddesses you reject as impossible without evidence. What kind of thinker can believe that rationally? There are literally thousands of religions being practiced today and many others once were once thought true in history just to be reworked or rejected.
Here are 20 of the most popular, along with an estimate of the number of followers: Christianity: 2.1 billion, Islam: 1.3 billion, Hinduism: 900 million, Chinese traditional religion: 394 million, Buddhism: 376 million, African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million, Sikhism: 23 million, Juche (a.k.a. Chuch’e and Kimilsungism): 19 million, Spiritism: 15 million, Judaism: 14 million, Baha’i: 7 million, Jainism: 4.2 million, Shinto: 4 million, Cao Dai: 4 million, Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million, Tenrikyo: 2 million, Neo-Paganism: 1 million, Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand, Rastafarianism: 600 thousand, Scientology: 500 thousand, [Source: Encyclopedia Britannica]
If you can believe only in a possible God of Christianity, you have chosen to reject Allah, Vishnu, Lord Buddha, Waheguru, Ngame, Isis, Kali, Brigid, Kuan Yin, Europa, Aphrodite, Amaterasu, Aurora, Chicomecoatl, Ishtar, Antares, and all of the thousands of other gods or goddess that other people worship today or once held faith in. It is quite likely that you rejected these other gods or goddesses without ever looking into their history, religions, reading or even learning about them. You may not even know some of the names listed or have heard much about them or the thousands of other deities and mythical beings people now or through time have put faith in. Most people believer or agnostic are singly indoctrinated all their life and simply have absorbed the dominant faith in your home or in the society you grew up in, thus you now see only it as the only possible truth.
In the same way, the followers of all these other religions have chosen to reject god or goddesses without reading or even learning about them as well and as many believers put faith over scientific facts. If you are a believer or agnostic only your possibility is true and you think their gods are imaginary, similarly, they think your god or goddess is imaginary. In other words, each religious person on earth today arbitrarily rejects thousands of gods or goddesses as imaginary.
A rational person armed with history, science, psychology, sociology, biology, and archeology rejects all human gods or goddess myths equally, because all of them are equally human inventions. How do we know that they are human inventions?
Show me a claimed god that is not limited to having to be promoted by people, only transferred by people who were told about this brand of god or it stays unknown or stops being known when it stops being talked about.
Sounds like these claimed all-powerful gods are not any power at all, instead they are universally limited and as fragile as any lie, you know just stop telling a “god-lie” it stops existing.
These god myths like all myths not only must be told and retold by humans to other humans they suffer another weakness all myths share in that they tend to be changed or altered as they are retold. Some say not my god (let’s say Christians) but this is a pure delusion and undeserved self-confidence as the over 40,000 sects and denominations as well as the many different translations of one book the bible which easily has over 100 versions in English alone. And even using the same translation people differ how they view or believe the myth of the bible god, you can see why now right because it is only a myth that is limited to being believed and being told.
Still not convinced all gods are lies even the one god myth you may like or believe you choose or chose “more likely where raised in and forced to believe” then stop telling people about it and see if it keeps going as always gods have no more power than the believer gives them. God myths are weak and fragile simply stop believing in them and stop talking about them and they stop existing.
Just think what claimed god if real requires you to talk about it or it stops being known. What real features of the world stop existing just because we stop talking about them or stop believing in them? Simply imagine that one of these god myths was actually real it would automatically be real not limited to being expressed to stay seen as real.
We know that all gods are myths as if one of these thousands of mythic gods were actually real, then its believers would be experiencing real, undeniable benefits. These undeniable benefits would not only be obvious to everyone they could be testable and demonstrable limited only to some the believers in the one claimed real god. But spoiler alert no such evidence exists, not that its a real shocker as all gods are myths.
That right there is no special anything followers of a claimed one true god have others don’t have but an odd belief in a God myth as true when there is no proof of such claims not even in the lives of the ones doing the claiming.
Because if some myth god was real couldn’t we at least see actual proof in the lives of the ones believing that only occurred in the lives of the believers and was testable and demonstrable like have fewer diseases, or more so-called blessings like more money, etc. In fact, if a belief in a god meant anything at all there would be and I say must be, testable and demonstrable proofs directly connected to or special attributions only surrounding the lives followers of some claimed true god or it’s just not anything true?
I know if you are a believer in some claimed god you may defensibly say well even if there are not any testable or demonstrable proofs you still should believe as you don’t want to go to hell if you are wrong, to which we all should say and that works for you? As in what a bunch of nonsense and simple reasoning supported only by fear. Stop this unjustified fear and live life free.
I am Very Strongly Outspoken
That being said I am just into providing valid and reliable information or seeking valid and reliable information. I don’t treat people bad even if I did think they or their ideas were or seemed insane. I also strive to attack thinking and not people. And as long as people say the things are true to them and not provable facts in the world they expect me to agree with or believe, What I am saying about “they think it is true” is their delusion, as it’s only true to them when in reality it’s actually false. I don’t challenge what they wish to believe as to me people own themselves and this includes their beliefs. However, this is not extended to behavior as in I will attack bad or harmful behavior.
Appeal to consequences, also known as argumentum ad consequentiam (Latin for “argument to the consequences”), is an argument that concludes a hypothesis (typically a belief) to be either true or false based on whether the premise leads to desirable or undesirable consequences. This is based on an appeal to emotion and is a type of informal fallacy, since the desirability of a premise’s consequence does not make the premise true. Moreover, in categorizing consequences as either desirable or undesirable, such arguments inherently contain subjective points of view. In logic, appeal to consequences refers only to arguments that assert a conclusion’s truth value (true or false) without regard to the formal preservation of the truth from the premises; appeal to consequences does not refer to arguments that address a premise’s consequential desirability (good or bad, or right or wrong) instead of its truth value. Therefore, an argument based on an appeal to consequences is valid in long-term decision making (which discusses possibilities that do not exist yet in the present) and abstract ethics, and in fact, such arguments are the cornerstones of many moral theories, particularly related to consequentialism. Appeal to consequences also should not be confused with argumentum ad baculum, which is the bringing up of artificial consequences (i.e. punishments) to argue that an action is wrong. ref
Any case of wishful thinking is an appeal to desire, like an appeal to people‘s desire for things such as safety, pleasure, and hedonism to manipulate or unjustifiably persuade. The Logical Fallacy of Appeal to Self-Interest / Appeal to Desire / Appeal to Personal Interest / Homily Ad Hominem (type of) occurs when an appeal is made to the personal the likes, interests, preferences, prejudices, predispositions, fears, etc. of others so they will accept the conclusion and self-interest is the reason for believing something to be true. This is a fallacy only when those personal interests are not relevant to the truth or falsity of the argument. Argument from consequences is a negative form of this fallacy. There is a positive form where something is believed because of what will be gained by believing. “I believe in Jesus because I want to go to Heaven.” Well, that appeal to desire, to go to Heaven can’t make Jesus exist nor is an appeal to desire, to go to Heaven or not go to Hell a confirmation of any value to if either exists either. ref, ref
An appeal to fear (also called argumentum ad metum or argumentum in terrorem) is a fallacy in which a person attempts to create support for an idea by attempting to increase fear towards an alternative. Fear appeals are often used in marketing and social policy, as a method of persuasion. Fear is an effective tool to change attitudes, which are moderated by the motivation and ability to process the fear message. Others argue that it is not the level of fear that is decisive in changing attitudes via the persuasion process. Rather, as long as a scare-tactics message includes a recommendation to cope with the fear, it can work. When fear, not based on evidence or reason, is being used as the primary motivator to get others to accept an idea, proposition, or conclusion. Fear-arousing persuasive messages work well to manipulate. A meta-analysis of the fear-appeals literature indicating that overall, increasing fear is associated with increased persuasion. ref, ref, ref
Appeal to fear (scare tactics)
by John Jackson
The claim that some action should be taken to prevent undesirable consequences of not taking that action. It is often presented as a warning.
It takes the form:
X is a something to fear; therefore
Y should be implemented to prevent X.
The fallacy occurs when the level of fear created does not relate to the truth of the claim. The appeal to fear can be strong or weak depending on whether the preventative action (Y) really can be shown to prevent circumstance X.
House fires can kill you and your family: fit smoke detectors to your house. (strong)
You ought to believe in God. After all, if you do not accept the existence of God, then you will face the horrors of hell. (weak)
Appeals to fear work on our emotions and our general lack of ability to understand risk. They work by:
Identifying a threat (real or imagined);
Offering a prevention;
Convincing others that the prevention will be effective;
Convincing others that they are capable of facilitating the recommended prevention.
Appeals to fear are common in advertising, conspiracy theories, politics, propaganda, and promotion of alternative medicine. In fact, it is a useful tool for anyone who wishes to influence the behavior of others. Scaremongering works by exploiting our natural fears and insecurities. Those who oppose vaccination, for example, often state: vaccines contain poisons, do you want to poison your children?
To counteract falling for an appeal to fear we need to:
Ascertain whether or not the perceived threat is actually real;
If it is, find out what the real level of risk faced is;
Decide whether or not the proposed preventative measures actually reduce the risk;
If any of the abovearenot true, then the appeal to fear is a fallacious one.ref
If Christians are so much about love, why are you so well represented by hate groups something us atheists don’t seem to favor much as there are many theistic or religionists connected hate groups of various kinds yet no even one atheist hate group in the bunch. I am not ot saying atheist’s can’t unjustifiablely hate. I am saying that we can produce the demonstrateable really of the situation as there are no atheist hate groups. and this is not some empty provide nothing evidenceless claim of god, my claim for no atheist hate groups, can indeed be tied to evidenceculararally positive responding evidence in this case the obviously clear lack of evidence as the evidence it is not some directly connected issue atheistic beliefs hold.
Christofascism (Christian and Fascism) as well as Religiofascism (Religion and Fascism):
When I was young I raged at the world for abuse I received from my parents. Then I developed some, so I held my parents accountable, raging at them and the world; as so much was out there, like them. Then I fully developed and became an atheist, thus I started to see my parents were two different versions of Christofascism (Christian and Fascism), as well as I saw that relatively all religions in some way are part of Religiofascism (Religion and Fascism) especially how they often force hereditary religion of children by cursive force or oppression and I became an antireligionist atheist raging against religion as well as the lies of gods.
Southern Poverty Law Center has a list of may religious hate groups but here are just the Christian hate groups which I have added below:
11th Hour Remnant Messenger
Abundant Life Fellowship
America’s Promise Ministries
Christian Identity Church – Aryan Nations
Church of the Sons of YHWH
Covenant People’s Ministry
Ecclesiastical Council for the Restoration of Covenant Israel
Fellowship of God’s Covenant People
First Baptist Church and Ministry
First Century Christian Ministries
Holy Order Ministry
Identity Nation
Kingdom Identity Ministries
Kinsman Redeemer Ministries
Knights of the Holy Identity
Mission to Israel
Non-Universal Teaching Ministries
Our Place Fellowship
Scriptures for America Ministries
Shepherd’s Call Ministries
The Church of Jesus Christ Christian / Aryan Nations
The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord
Thomas Robb Ministries
United Identity Church of Christ
Virginia Publishing Company
Watchmen Bible Study Group
Weisman Publications
Yahweh’s Truth
The Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ
Abiding Truth Ministries
American Family Association
Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute
Chalcedon Foundation
Christ the King Church (Larkspur, Colorado)
Faithful Word Baptist Church
Family Research Council
Mission: America
Pilgrims Covenant Church
Providence Road Baptist Church
Sons of Thundr (Faith Baptist Church)
The Pray in Jesus Name Project
Tom Brown Ministries
Traditional Values Coalition
True Light Pentecost Church
Truth In Action Ministries
Westboro Baptist Church
Windsor Hills Baptist Church
World Congress of Families/Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society
Bill Keller Ministries
Christian Anti-Defamation Commission
Christian Books and Things
Dove World Outreach Center
European-American Evangelistic Crusades
Florida Family Association
Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints
National Prayer Network
Official Street Preachers
Power of Prophecy
Reformation-Bible Puritan-Baptist Church
Society for the Practical Establishment and Perpetuation of the Ten Commandments
The Brother Nathanael Foundation
The Church at Kaweah
Tony Alamo Christian Ministries
Truth At Last
Truth Triumphant
Ku Klux Klan
Christian Defense League
Alliance for Catholic Tradition
Catholic Action Resource Center
Catholic Counterpoint
Catholic Family News/Catholic Family Ministries, Inc.
Christ or Chaos
Culture Wars/Fidelity Press
The Fatima Crusader/International Fatima Rosary Crusade
“This question is at once hilarious, insulting, pathetic, and revealing. It only makes sense if you believe in two things:
1. Moral thought and behavior are essentially determined by the fear of punishment;
2. The definition of “morality” regarding sex is different than it is for other human endeavors.
And indeed, young children and emotionally under-developed adults do make moral choices based on the fear of punishment. Organized religion relies on and promotes this style of personality organization: “Do the right thing or God will punish you.” And what is the right thing regarding sex? Every organized religion has highly specific answers to this question. They mostly involve “God doesn’t want you to do sex this way; God strongly prefers you do sex that way.” And if you disagree with God about your sexual expression, see rule #1.” ref
“Divorce Rates for Atheists Are Among the Lowest in America and yet Conservative Christian Defenders of Marriage Get Divorced More Often:
11% of all American adults are divorced
25% of all American adults have had at least one divorce
27% of born-again Christians have had at least one divorce
24% of all non-born-again Christians have been divorced
21% of atheists have been divorced
21% of Catholics and Lutherans have been divorced
24% of Mormons have been divorced
25% of mainstream Protestants have been divorced
29% of Baptists have been divorced
24% of nondenominational, independent Protestants have been divorced
27% of people in the South and Midwest have been divorced
26% of people in the West have been divorced
19% of people in the Northwest and Northeast have been divorced.” ref
It Turns out Christians at 70% have more abortions than any other religious group in America and only 4% are atheist or 8% are agnostic.
“The survey was conducted by the LifeWay group in partnership with the pregnancy center support organization Care Net, which also runs “the nation’s only real-time call center providing pregnancy decision coaching” with hopes that those who call in will be “transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ and empowered to choose life.” The survey, which polled 1,038 women who’d had abortions from across the U.S., found that almost 40% of those women were attending a Christian church once a month or more at the time of their abortion, but that a majority of the women who attended church regularly kept their abortion a secret from their church community, mostly out of fear of being judged or condemned. Almost half of the women agreed that “pastors’ teachings on forgiveness don’t seem to apply to terminated pregnancies,” and 54 percent agreed that churches “over-simplify decisions about pregnancy options.” ref
I am an axiological atheist?
And if you wonder what that means here is a little on that:
Axiological Atheism, axiological (value theory and or value science) atheism, also considered a constructive form of atheism. Axiological Atheism not only rejects the existence of god(s) it favors things with real meaning and value like humans and humanity as well as the science of value in formal axiology.
This form of atheism favors humanity as the absolute source of ethics and values, and permits individuals to resolve moral problems without resorting to mythical things like gOD(s).
Marx, Freud, and Sartre all used this argument of axiological atheism whether they knew it or not to convey messages of liberation, full-development, and unfettered happiness. Axiological Atheism answers or offers a different thinking to one of the most common criticisms of some forms of atheism, that they have no bases of or for morality and or value.
Axiological atheism can be thought to believe in “good” utilizing the understanding of value theory and formal axiology holding that there can be truth in objective morality or universal ethics holding that life can be meaningful showing to that denying the existence of a god(s) does not have to lead to moral relativism, leave one with no moral or ethical foundation, or somehow must renders life meaningless and miserable.
I thus as an axiological atheist believe good or basic morality seeing it as natural and evolutionary such as all mammals seem to express or display elements of morality such as compassion, empathy, altruism, group bonding, shame, etc. but we human higher reasoning animals are different or more advanced.
We do have higher moral reasoning than animals and can affirm or have intentionality in ethical standards we also can grasp the systemic or big picture and future ramifications to actions animals are more commonly fixed in here and now thinking.
Doing helpful supportive things creates more good in the world” is NOT a human-limited concept and does not require some kind of “magic book with super being derived morals it is already hard-wired in us as a survive and thrive nature for beneficial evolutionary adaptation success.
The “good brings more good” concept is an inherent and fundamental aspect of reality. In a physics example: you create enough heat, eventually, things nearby start burning (making additional heat increases, even though it’s happening independently, or beyond, of your original input).
Axiological atheism: (Ethical/Value theory Reasoned and Moral Argument driven) Atheism, Anti-theism, Anti-religionism, and Secular Humanism. Roughly understood axiological atheism = Strong Disbelief as well as Strong Secularism and Humanism.
The Mental Parasite Called God?
God is not simply a myth, it a mental parasite feeding off your life, is like a mental prison concept, disemboweling you, and any religion that supports the concept of god(s), becomes like a controlling jailer to the mind of the god believer. What is love, if it is so cheap, that it is for wholesale to myths? To me, it is truly a sad thing, when you have people offer more love to an unknown and at best unproven thing they call god; not even evident in this world, over real people, even loved ones, which are known in this world. Sadly, all too often a mind full of god(s) myths have no appetite for reason.
I am an Iconoclast to religions and gods as they are lies. Thus, that is one of my atheist motivation to destroy them like all untruth. Firebrand-Atheists-Unite, I profess my Iconoclasm to anti-humanistic things in society and politics, as they also lie and other unethical and inhumanity harmful to human well-being as well as positive flushing. So that is part of my atheist motivation to destroy them like all untruth and humanity harm.
I am not an american first. I am a global citizen first. I am not a american first as I see humanity hindered in its value, if it strongly puts nationalism over humanism. I do not have a problem with others liking their country but when this like creates a superior or dislike of all other countries then I do look down on that. We are truly one people one world, you all are a valued part of my shared and connected humanity only ignorance and hate of this humanistic awareness stands in our way to making a better world for all.
Facts about Atheists
“Self-identified atheists tend to be aligned with the Democratic Party and with political liberalism. About two-thirds of atheists (69%) identify as Democrats (or lean in that direction), and a majority (56%) call themselves political liberals (compared with just one-in-ten who say they are conservatives). Atheists overwhelmingly favor same-sex marriage (92%) and legal abortion (87%). In addition, three-quarters (74%) say that government aid to the poor does more good than harm. Virtually no atheists (1%) turn to religion for guidance on questions of right and wrong, but increasing numbers are turning to science. About a third of atheists (32%) say they look primarily to science for guidance on questions of right and wrong, up from 20% in 2007. A plurality (44%) still cite “practical experience and common sense” as their primary guide on such questions, but that is down from 52% in 2007.” ref
Axiology and Value Theory?
“Value theory is a range of approaches to understanding how, why, and to what degree persons value things; whether the object or subject of valuing is a person, idea, object, or anything else. This investigation began in ancient philosophy, where it is called axiology or ethics.”– Wikipedia
“The term “Value Theory” is used in at least three different ways in philosophy. In its broadest sense, “value theory” is a catch-all label used to encompass all branches of moral philosophy, social and political philosophy, aesthetics, and sometimes feminist philosophy and the philosophy of religion — whatever areas of philosophy are deemed to encompass some “evaluative” aspect. In its narrowest sense, “value theory” is used for a relatively narrow area of normative ethical theory particularly, but not exclusively, of concern to consequentialists. In this narrow sense, “value theory” is roughly synonymous with “axiology”. Axiology can be thought of as primarily concerned with classifying what things are good, and how good they are. – (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
For instance, a traditional question of axiology concerns whether the objects of value are subjective psychological states or objective states of the world. But in a more useful sense, “value theory” designates the area of moral philosophy that is concerned with theoretical questions about value and goodness of all varieties — the theory of value. The theory of value, so construed, encompasses axiology, but also includes many other questions about the nature of value and its relation to other moral categories. – (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
The division of moral theory into the theory of value, as contrasting with other areas of investigation, cross-cuts the traditional classification of moral theory into normative and metaethical inquiry, but is a worthy distinction in its own right; theoretical questions about value constitute a core domain of interest in moral theory, often cross the boundaries between the normative and the metaethical, and have a distinguished history of investigation.” – (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Axiological atheism can be thought to involve ethical/value theory reasoned and moral argument driven apatheism, ignosticism, atheism, anti-theism, anti-religionism, secularism, and humanism. The valuations move up the latter as the levels of evaluation is made to value judge all the elements to better understand the value or disvalue available to reach the most accurate valuation reasonable with a sound aware value conciseness. Axiological atheism can be thought to involve Ethical Atheism.
Below shows the 7 axiological atheism argument flow to show the value layers and my thoughts on it:
1.Apatheism: we are born and by the fact reality is devoid of magic removes theological desires to understand the obvious naturalistic world, until we learn otherwise. (a “presumptive-value” failure, thus no motivation to adequately start the evaluation needed to understand if there is real value for an Axiology assessment to accurately place it in the value hierarchy). = no value
2.Ignosticism: Sees theological arguments and language as equivocation, contradictory, and/or un-cognitively relatable other than emotionalism or the like. I see Ignosticism as using the Theological non-cognitivism arguments of “mind understanding issues” (rationalism challenging) and an evidentialist/verificationist arguments of “lacking evidence issues” (empiricism challenging). As an atheist, I am a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of god or gods. In my non-belief, I am also ignostic feeling that every theological position assumes too much about the concept of god(s).
As an ignostic, I am a person who rational no idea of anything from reality whatever to label as “a concept of god” thus I can say I have no idea of anything that can connect to the term god and no reason to think anyone else can either. (again a “presumptive-value” failure, no good Ontology of the thing for Identifying values that could influence belief but without what is needed to understand if there is real value for an axiology assessment to accurately place it in the value hierarchy). = no value
3.Atheism: How can we not reject the concept of gods, aka: supposed supreme magical beings, when not even some simple magic is supported in reality. So how then is it not even more ridiculous to claim some supreme magic aka: gods which are even further from reality. May I remind you that faith in the acquisition of knowledge is not a valid method worth believing in. Because, what proof is “faith”, of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
As an atheist, I am a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of god or gods. In my non-belief, I am also ignostic feeling that every theological position assumes too much about the concept of god(s). As an ignostic, I am a person who rational no idea of anything from reality whatever to label as “a concept of god” thus I can say I have no idea of anything that can connect to the term god and no reason to think anyone else can either. Atheists talk about gods and religions for the same reason doctors talk about cancer, they are looking for a cure or a firefighter talking about fires because they burn people and they care to stop them.
We atheists too often feel a need to help the victim’s of mental slavery, held in the bondage that is the false beliefs of gods and the conspiracy theories of reality found in religions. If you think you believe in a god, “what do you mean by god,” saying a name tells me not one thing about the thing I am asking to know “its” beingness / thingness / attributes / qualities. Thus, what is the thing “god” to which you are talking about and I want you to explain its beingness /thingness / attributes/ qualities? Religious/theistic people with supernatural beliefs often seem as though they haven’t thought much about and that is something we can help using ontology questions about the beingness / thingness / attributes/ qualities they are trying to refer too. What do you mean by god, when you use the term god? And, I am not asking you for the name you attach to the thing you label as a god. I don’t need to know what the god you believe is known “by.” I am asking, what is the thing you are naming as a god and what that thing is, its qualities in every detail like all things have if they are real.
Are you just making stuff up or guessing/hoping or just promoting unjustified ideas you want to believe, what is a god? As an atheist, I feel more wonder than I did as a theist because I thought, “big deal” to any wonder I experienced, thinking god could do anything. So with such an unrealistic mindset, everything lost its wonder but it’s the opposite as an atheist. As a theist, the world was full of superstitions and supernatural magic possibilities and thus utilized thinking that was not in the real world. As an atheist all I have now is the real world, not that all atheists seem to get this, we all are in a real world devoid of magic anything, therefore, everything adds to my feeling of awe. There should be little debate with atheist acknowledging discernable reality compared to theists with non-reality claims. Yes, I have way more awe and wonder as an atheist than I ever had as a theist because as a theist anything was possible with god. Therefore, as a theist things where not that amazing.
However, as an atheist grasping what an absolute accidental or how random things are, with a 95 to 99 % of all life ever existing on this planet went extinct. I am thoroughly amazed we are even here the evolved children of ancient exploded stars, likely born in galaxies born in super-massive black holes, it’s all amazing. There is no evidence for Gods. But is their proposition outside of reason? As always start in reality from the evidence we do know, such as never in the history of scientific research or investigation has any supernatural claims shown to be true. So it is completely outside of possibility and is utterly ridiculous.
Therefore, belief should be rejected as there are no warrants at all and it is axiologically unworthy to such a preponderance to demand disbelief. (yet again a “presumptive value” failure, no good Ontology of the thing not the cognitively meaningful claims relatable to reality that must be attached to all magic and gods claims for Identifying values that could influence belief but without what is needed to understand if there is real value for an axiology assessment to accurately place it in the value hierarchy). =novalue
4.Antitheism: Anti-theism requires more than either merely disbelieving in gods or even denying the existence of gods. Anti-theism requires a couple of specific and additional beliefs: first, that theism is harmful to the believer, harmful to society, harmful to politics, harmful, to culture, etc.; second, that theism can and should be countered in order to reduce the harm it causes. If a person believes these things, then they will likely be an anti-theist who works against theism by arguing that it be abandoned, promoting alternatives, or perhaps even supporting measures to suppress it. It’s worth noting here that, however, unlikely it may be in practice, it’s possible in theory for a theist to be an anti-theist.
This may sound bizarre at first, but remember that some people have argued in favor of promoting false beliefs if they are socially useful. To me, I think many may have a misconception of the term. Atheism and anti-theism so often occur together at the same time and in the same person that it’s understandable if many individuals fail to realize that they aren’t the same. Making a note of the difference is important, however, because not every atheist is anti-theistic and even those who are, aren’t anti-theistic all the time. Atheism is simply the absence of belief in gods; anti-theism is a conscious and deliberate opposition to theism.
Many atheists are also anti-theists, but not all and not always. To me as an antitheist, I see the concept of gods antihumanistic and wholly harmful to a free humanity and if the so-called gods somehow do end up being real that I will switch to direct opposition as I would any tyrant oppressing humanity. Antitheism (sometimes anti-theism) is a term used to describe an opposition to theism. The term has had a range of applications and definitions. In secular contexts, it typically refers to direct opposition to the validity of theism, but not necessarily to the existence of a deity. As an anti-theist, I am a person who is active in opposition to theism: both the concepts of god(s) as well as the religions that support them.
This is because theistic concepts and theistic religions are harmful and that even if theistic beliefs were true, they would be undesirable. (And, again a “presumptive value” failure, of the other value challenges of the lesser evaluations and value judgments addressed in the apatheism, ignosticism, atheism value judgment conclusionand an Axiological Atheism assessment of the god concept that must be attached to all magic and gods claims Identifying a lack of value and/or disvalue that influence harm to real value in an axiology assessment to accurately place its value violations in the value hierarchy).=novalue
5.Antireligionism: Not just Atheist, axiological atheists should be antitheists but this generally will involve anti-religionism. it would generally thus hold anti-religionist thinking. Especially, I am an anti-religionist, not just an atheist, and here is why summed up in three ideas I am against. And, in which these three things are common in all religions: “pseudo-science”, “pseudo-history”, and “pseudo-morality”. And my biggest thing of all is the widespread forced indoctrination of children, violating their free choice of what to not believe or believe, I hate forced hereditary religion. And my biggest thing of all is the widespread forced indoctrination of children, violating their free choice of what to not believe or believe, I hate forced hereditary religion. As well as wish to offer strong critiques regarding the pseudo-meaning of the “three letter noise” people call “G.o.d” (group originated delusion)!
As an anti-religionist, I am a person who can look at religion on the whole and see it is detrimental to the progress of humanity thus am in opposition to all and every religion, not even just opposition to organized religion. In case you were wondering, I am anti-pseudoscience, anti-supernatural, and anti-superstition as well. May I not be a silent watcher as millions of children are subjugated almost before their birth let alone when they can understand thought and are forcibly coerced, compelled, constrained, and indoctrinated in the mental pollution that religion can be. My main goal against religion is to fully stop as much as possible forced indoctrination, one could ask but then why do I challenge all adults faith?
Well, who do you think is doing the lying to children in the first place. End Hereditary religion, if its a belief let them the equal right to choose to believe. “Religion is an Evolved Product” and Yes, Religion is Like Fear Given Wings… (And, one last time a “presumptive value” failure, of the other value challenges of the lesser evaluations and value judgments addressed inthe apatheism, ignosticism, atheism value judgment conclusionand an Axiological Atheism assessment of the god concept and anti-theismassessment of the god show not just a lack of value but a possibly or likely harm demonstrating bot just a lack of value but a real disvalue and that includes the religions potentially removing value in an axiology assessment to accurately place it in the value hierarchy). =novalue
6.Secularism: is the only honorable way to value the dignity of others. If it was not true that there is a large unequal distribution of religion contributing to violence then there would be equal religion and atheist secularism violence. You do not see atheists bombing agnostics the very idea is laughable however even different branches of the same religion do will and have killed one another. So, violence not who we are it’s something we need to be compelled to do. Therefore, please support secularism.
We are all one connected human family, proven by DNA showing we should treat each other as fellow dignity beings, supported equally (no gods and no masters). States may often have powers, but only citizens have the glue of morality we call rights. And, as they say, in my “dream society”, lots of things are free (aka. planting free food everywhere, free to everyone); but I wonder what you mean when people say you can’t just let things be free, I think, yeah, how can I take free stuff from a free earth.
If one observes the virtues of (T. R. U. E. “The Rational Universal Ethics” or “The Responsible Universal Ethics”) that connect to all things as that of the connectedness equality like those which mirror the rays of the sun, fall down equally with a blind but fair indifference. (what is being expressed is that this sun shining will not favor one over another, no, the same upon everyone offering its light to all plant, animal, human, women, men, single or married, homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, nonreligious, religious, people of means and those without, able-bodied and those which special needs, people of color, and those who are not, those with access to resources and those which out, young and elderly, etc.) All who wish to follow T. R. U. E. thus embodying a universalize equalitarian standard of ethics should strive to be like a ray of connected light to the world, shining equally and freedom to all of the world.
By such efforts a nonbiased unitive ethical approach is possible, one would have an increase in positive feelings to help others understanding equalitarian connectedness. If you don’t think different you will not behave differently, if you have never lived differently it is hard to see things differently and if you do not strive to understand difference one is thus unknowingly or not bound by limited encapsulation.
I am for a Free Secular Society. I am not for oppression or abuse of religious believer and want a free secular society with both freedoms of religion and freedom from religion. Even though I wish the end of faith and believing in myths and superstition, I wish this by means of informing the willing and not force of the unwilling. I will openly challenge and rebuff religious falsehoods and misunderstanding as well as rebuke and ridicule harmful or unethical religious ideology or behavior. =value
7.Humanism: is the philosophic thinking that humans can solve human problems by human means, without feeling a need to appeal to the likes of holy books, mystical anything, nor the belief in gods or religions. But, instead, aspires to a true belief in humanity, viewing it with a persuasion of equality. This caring realist thinking found in humanism utilizes an unstated assumption or aspiration, to do no harm as much as possible and to do good whenever one can.
Moreover, we are all one connected human family, proven by DNA showing we should treat each other as fellow dignity beings, supported equally. And, no one really owns the earth, we may make claims to it even draw lines on maps thinking this makes the fantasy borders, illusion supported by force and the potential for threat. Thus the ethical truth is we need to share the earth as communally as possible. And use the resources as safe and ethically as possible striving towards sharing and caring. (do no Harm and do good = Humanism). My core definition of humanism is that humans can solve human problems by human means. =value
I am not saying other things can’t or shouldn’t be added to it but to me, a definition of humanism must always contain something coherent to such a thinking or not contradict such as I have offered. Thus, why it is appropriate to say “good without god” when one is a humanist.
I argue for Atheism on scientific, archaeologically/anthropologically, philosophical, social/humanitarianism and prehistorical/historical grounds.
Archaeological, Scientific, & Philosophic grounds: Link
God myths are an Axiological “Presumptive-Value” Failure
I am an Axiological (value theorist) Atheist, and Claims of god are a Presumptive-Value failure. Simply, if you presume a thing is of value that you can’t justify, then you have committed an axiological presumptive value failure.
Axiological “presumptive-value” Success: Sound Thinker: uses disciplined rationality (sound axiological judgment the evaluation of evidence to make a decision) supporting a valid and reliable justification.
Axiological “presumptive-value” Failure: Shallow Thinker: undisciplined, situational, sporadic, or limited thinking (unsound axiological judgment, lacking required evidence to make a “presumptive-value” success decision) lacking the support of a needed valid and reliable justification.
Often I get disheartened to see that so many people can look at the unknown or that which is devoid of any and all understanding and claim to know that this is evidence for some god or another. How can they with all honesty even say that they somehow already know about an established scientific unknown, when all along it is what it ever was, which I will remind you, is currently holding a confirmed status of unknown. Thus, still fully intact as currently unknowable (I.e. you simply cannot justifiability claim that such unknown is god or evidence of god). What really is a god anyway?
The fallacies of presumption also fail to provide adequate reason for believing the truth of their conclusions. In these instances, however, the erroneous reasoning results from an implicit supposition of some further proposition whose truth is uncertain or implausible. Again, we’ll consider each of them in turn, seeking always to identify the unwarranted assumption upon which it is based.
Accident
The fallacy of accident begins with the statement of some principle that is true as a general rule, but then errs by applying this principle to a specific case that is unusual or atypical in some way.
Women earn less than men earn for doing the same work.
Oprah Winfrey is a woman.
Therefore, Oprah Winfrey earns less than male talk-show hosts.
As we’ll soon see, a true universal premise would entail the truth of this conclusion; but then, a universal statement that “Every woman earns less than any man.” would obviously be false. The truth of a general rule, on the other hand, leaves plenty of room for exceptional cases, and applying it to any of them is fallacious.
Converse Accident
The fallacy of converse accident begins with a specific case that is unusual or atypical in some way, and then errs by deriving from this case the truth of a general rule.
Dennis Rodman wears earrings and is an excellent rebounder.
Therefore, people who wear earrings are excellent rebounders.
It should be obvious that a single instance is not enough to establish the truth of such a general principle. Since it’s easy for this conclusion to be false even though the premise is true, the argument is unreliable.
False Cause
The fallacy of false cause infers the presence of a causal connection simply because events appear to occur in correlation or (in the post hoc, ergo propter hoc variety) temporal succession.
The moon was full on Thursday evening.
On Friday morning I overslept.
Therefore, the full moon caused me to oversleep.
Later we’ll consider what sort of evidence adequately supports the conclusion that a causal relationship does exist, but these fallacies clearly are not enough.
Begging the Question (petitio principii)
Begging the question is the fallacy of using the conclusion of an argument as one of the premises offered in its own support. Although this often happens in an implicit or disguised fashion, an explicit version would look like this:
All dogs are mammals.
All mammals have hair.
Since animals with hair bear live young, dogs bear live young.
But all animals that bear live young are mammals.
Therefore, all dogs are mammals.
Unlike the other fallacies we’ve considered, begging the question involves an argument (or chain of arguments) that is formally valid: if its premises (including the first) are true, then the conclusion must be true. The problem is that this valid argument doesn’t really provide support for the truth its conclusion; we can’t use it unless we have already granted that.
Complex Question
The fallacy of complex question presupposes the truth of its own conclusion by including it implicitly in the statement of the issue to be considered:
Have you tried to stop watching too much television?
If so, then you admit that you do watch too much television.
If not, then you must still be watching too much television.
Therefore, you watch too much television.
In a somewhat more subtle fashion, this involves the same difficulty as the previous fallacy. We would not willingly agree to the first premise unless we already accepted the truth of the conclusion that the argument is supposed to prove. ref
“In Formal Axiology, (science of value, or value science, is a creation of philosopher Robert S. Hartman), it is thought that the three basic dimensions of value, systemic, extrinsic and intrinsic for sets of properties—perfection is to systemic value what goodness is to extrinsic value and what uniqueness is to intrinsic value, which attempts to formally elucidate value theory using both formal and symbolic logic. The fundamental principle, which functions as an axiom, and can be stated in symbolic logic, is that a thing is good insofar as it exemplifies its concept. To put it another way, “a thing is good if it has all its descriptive properties.”– Wikipedia
“Intrinsic value has traditionally been thought to lie at the heart of ethics. Philosophers use a number of terms to refer to such value. The intrinsic value of something is said to be the value that that thing has “in itself,” or “for its own sake,” or “as such,” or “in its own right.” Extrinsic value is value that is not intrinsic. Many philosophers take intrinsic value to be crucial to a variety of moral judgments. For example, according to a fundamental form of consequentialism, whether an action is morally right or wrong has exclusively to do with whether its consequences are intrinsically better than those of any other action one can perform under the circumstances. Many other theories also hold that what it is right or wrong to do has at least in part to do with the intrinsic value of the consequences of the actions one can perform. Moreover, if, as is commonly believed, what one is morally responsible for doing is some function of the rightness or wrongness of what one does, then, intrinsic value would seem relevant to judgments about responsibility, too.” ref
“Intrinsic value is also often taken to be pertinent to judgments about moral justice (whether having to do with moral rights or moral desert), insofar as it is good that justice is done and bad that justice is denied, in ways that appear intimately tied to intrinsic value. Finally, it is typically thought that judgments about moral virtue and vice also turn on questions of intrinsic value, inasmuch as virtues are good, and vices bad, again in ways that appear closely connected to such value. All four types of moral judgments have been the subject of discussion since the dawn of western philosophy in ancient Greece. The Greeks themselves were especially concerned with questions about virtue and vice, and the concept of intrinsic value may be found at work in their writings and in the writings of moral philosophers ever since. Despite this fact, and rather surprisingly, it is only within the last one hundred years or so that this concept has itself been the subject of sustained scrutiny, and even within this relatively brief period the scrutiny has waxed and waned.” ref
Compare ideas not people, attack thinking and not people. In this way, we have a higher chance to promote change because it’s the thinking we can help change if we address the thinking and don’t attack them.
My eclectic set of tools for my style I call “Truth Navigation” (Techniques for Discussions or Debates) which involves:
*The Hammer of Truth: ontology, epistemology, and axiology (methodological use of philosophy)
*Dialectical Rhetoric = truth persuasion: use of facts and reasoning (motivational teaching)
*Utilizing Dignity: strategic dignity attacks or dignity enrichments (only used if confusion happens or resistance is present)
Asking the right questions at the right time with the right info can also change minds, you can’t just use facts all on their own. Denial likes consistency, the pattern of thinking cannot vary from a fixed standard of thinking, or the risk of truth could slip in. Helping people alter skewed thinking is indeed a large task but most definitely a worthy endeavor. Some of my ideas are because I am educated both some in college (BA in Psychology with addiction treatment, sociology, and a little teaching and criminology) and also as an autodidact I have become somewhat educated in philosophy, science, archeology, anthropology, and history but this is not the only reason for all my ideas. It is also because I am a deep thinker, just striving for truth. Moreover, I am a seeker of truth and a lover of that which is true.
The term god equals mystery that is used to explain the mysterious leaving us with yet more mystery, thus explains nothing. Claims of god are a Presumptive-Value failure. Simply, if you presume a thing is of value that you can’t justify, then you have committed an axiological presumptive value failure. Axiological “presumptive-value” Success: Sound Thinker: uses disciplined rationality (sound axiological judgment the evaluation of evidence to make a decision) supporting a valid and reliable justification.
“Ok, So basically, the difference between reasoning with evidence and without?” – Questioner
My response, Well with or without valid justification because of evidence. As in you can’t claim to know the value of something you can’t demonstrate as having good qualities to attach the value claim too so if you lack evidence of the thing in question then you can not validate its value.
So it’s addressing justificationism (uncountable) Theory of justification, An (philosophy standard) approach that regards the justification of a claim as primary, while the claim itself is secondary; thus, criticism consists of trying to show that a claim cannot be reduced to the authority or criteria that it appeals to. Think of is as a use matrix. If I say this is of great use for that, can you validate its use or value, and can I use this as a valid method to state a valid justification for my claims without evidence to value judge from? No, thus an axiological presumptive-value failure as a valid anything. Theory of justification is a part of epistemology that attempts to understand the justification of propositions and beliefs. Epistemologists are concerned with various epistemic features of belief, which include the ideas of justification, warrant, rationality, and probability. Loosely speaking, justification is the reason that someone (properly) holds a belief. When a claim is in doubt, justification can be used to support the claim and reduce or remove the doubt. Justification can use empiricism (the evidence of the senses), authoritative testimony (the appeal to criteria and authority), or reason. – Wikipedia
“Presumptions are things that are credited as being true until evidence of their falsity is presented. Presumptions have many forms and value (Axiology) is just one. In ethics, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining what actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics), or to describe the significance of different actions. It may be described as treating actions as abstract objects, putting VALUE to them. It deals with right conduct and living a good life, in the sense that a highly, or at least relatively high valuable action may be regarded as ethically “good” (adjective sense), and that an action of low value, or relatively low in value, may be regarded as “bad”. What makes an action valuable may, in turn, depend on the ethic values of the objects it increases, decreases or alters. An object with “ethic value” may be termed an “ethic or philosophic good” (noun sense). Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of actions or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person’s sense of right and wrong or what “ought” to be. “Equal rights for all”, “Excellence deserves admiration”, and “People should be treated with respect and dignity” are representatives of values. Values tend to influence attitudes and behavior and these types include ethical/moral values, doctrinal/ideological(religious, political) values, social values, and aesthetic values. It is debated whether some values that are not clearly physiologically determined, such as altruism, are intrinsic, and whether some, such as acquisitiveness, should be classified as vices or virtues.” ref, ref
No God: No evidence, No intelligence, and No goodness = Valid Atheism Conclusion
No evidence, to move past the Atheistic Null Hypothesis: There is no God/Gods (in inferential statistics, a Null Hypothesis generally assumed to be true until evidence indicates otherwise. Thus, a Null Hypothesis is a statistical hypothesis that there is no significant difference reached between the claim and the non-claim, as it is relatively provable/demonstratable in reality some way. “The god question” Null Hypothesis is set at as always at the negative standard: Thus, holding that there is no God/Gods, and as god faith is an assumption of the non-evidentiary wishful thinking non-reality of “mystery thing” found in all god talk, until it is demonstratable otherwise to change. Alternative hypothesis: There is a God (offered with no proof: what is a god and how can anyone say they know), therefore, results: Insufficient evidence to overturn the null hypothesis of no God/Gods.
No goodness, assessed through ethically challenging the good god assumptions as seen in the reality of pain and other harm of which there are many to demonstrates either a god is not sufficiently good, not real or as I would assert, god if responsible for this world, would make it a moral monster ripe for the problem of evil and suffering (Argument from Evil). God would be responsible for all pain as life could easily be less painful and yet there is mass suffering. In fact, to me, every child born with diseases from birth scream out against a caring or loving god with the power to do otherwise. It could be different as there is Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), also known as congenital analgesia, in which a person cannot feel (and has never felt) physical pain.[1] As an axiological atheist, I understand and utilize value or actually “Value Consciousness” to both give a strong moral “axiological” argument (the problem of evil) as well as use it to fortify my humanism and positive ethical persuasion of human helping and care. Value-blindness gives rise to sociopathic evil.
Disproof by logical contradiction‘A Logical Impossibility’
In classical logic, a contradiction consists of a logical incompatibility between two or more propositions. It occurs when the propositions, taken together, yield two conclusions which form the logical, usually opposite inversions of each other. Contradiction by the creation of a paradox, Plato’s Euthydemus dialogue demonstrates the need for the notion of contradiction. In the ensuing dialogue, Dionysodorus denies the existence of “contradiction”, all the while that Socrates is contradicting him: “… I in my astonishment said: What do you mean Dionysodorus? I have often heard, and have been amazed to hear, this thesis of yours, which is maintained and employed by the disciples of Protagoras and others before them, and which to me appears to be quite wonderful, and suicidal as well as destructive, and I think that I am most likely to hear the truth about it from you. The dictum is that there is no such thing as a falsehood; a man must either say what is true or say nothing. Is not that your position?” Indeed, Dionysodorus agrees that “there is no such thing as a false opinion … there is no such thing as ignorance” and demands of Socrates to “Refute me.” Socrates responds “But how can I refute you, if, as you say, to tell a falsehood is impossible?”. – Wikipedia
I am a BIG fan of the truth.
“Where did you find it?! Mankind has been diligently seeking truth since time memorial!” – Challenger
My response, Your statement is a “truth claim” right after asking about truth: “Where did you find it?! Mankind has been diligently seeking truth since time memorial! (a “truth claim” emphasized with two exclamation marks seeming to demonstrate that you believed you had said a confirmed truth. So you do believe you have found a truth while acting as if you don’t know, and seemingly by your strength of assertion, believe I guess, that no one can but here I am teaching you truth!!!I have been asked before, how can I stand to deal with illogical, ones lacking critical thinking, the unreasonable, misinformed but fully believe, deliberately uninformed or deluded people, often so kindly?Well, I believe in others, or at least their ability to reason even if you don’t know how or are not paying attention currently. I can do deal with most people as I am often fighting for them even if they only feel I am against them and it usually is not that hard to do with a heart of compassion, as I care for the future of humanity and people have value. And, if people don’t listen or grasp logic, I try something else like reasoning. If they will not listen or grasp reasoning, I will try just getting them to think, maybe on something they can agree or they do understand trying to work them back to the rationalism they are not getting or are avoiding.Then, if I can get them to reason, I build that up to logic. If they don’t seem to get them to thinking or are trying to avoid I can draw them back to feelings, maybe on something they can agree or they do understand trying to work them back to thinking, then reasoning, and then finally back to logic with which they are not getting or are avoiding. In a general way, all reality, in a philosophic sense, is an emergent property of reason, and knowing how reason accrues does not remove its warrant. Feelings are experienced then perceived, leading to thinking, right thinking is reason, right reason is logic, right logic is mathematics, right mathematics is physics and from there all science.
“Damien, what I find interesting is how an atheist like you spends so much time and energy on God and religion.” – Challenger
My response, Well, let’s see, maybe because we atheists and anti-religionists care to inform our fellow humans who have been lied to and are lying to others and often forcing religion on children indoctrinating them with lies over truth and it’s harming us all. You know, all the religious hate groups and religious violence stuff and the like. What I find interesting is how could a responsible caring ethical person stay silent against religions, that my friend is a much better question.
As an atheist rationalist, I tend to filter everything through reason, empirical facts, and ethics before they can be accepted as justified, true or good.
A Rational Mind Values Humanity
A truly rational mind sees the need for humanity, as they too live in the world and see themselves as they actually are an alone body in the world seeking comfort and safety. Thus, see the value of everyone around them, as they too are the same and therefore, rationally as well a humanistically, we should work for this humanity we are part of. Moreover, we simply can either dwell in or help its flourishing (the humanity we are part of), as we are all in a metaphoric way, are in the hands of each other and communally need each other.
We rise by helping each other and we may fail if we keep going as hurtful as humans too often are to each other. May we be good humans. We can be builders of life or its destruction. The person is political so the actions of my life are the expression of my political values even before I tell you what brand I may claim. We are not our past, though we are bound to it. We are also not our future self yet.
So, just be the best you in the here and now. May the actions of my life be written deep with the poetry of my humanity. What do your actions say?
I am a high thinking primate, just trying to live an honorable life, being of service to others, and I wish as a life’s mission to be a kindness aficionado. And, I like to contemplate humans, humanity, and human flourishing.
My core definition of Humanism, is that humans can solve human problems by human means. I am not saying other things can’t or shouldn’t be added to it but to me, a definition of humanism must always contain something coherent to such a thinking or not contradict such as I have offered. Thus, why it is appropriate to say “good without god” when one is a humanist. I don’t need religions to understand the world or how to behave in it either.
Life is too Short, to Not be Kind
“Life is too short to not be kind”, is something I now realize as an atheist and no gods required. I may have lost a god myth as an atheist but I am happy to tell you, my friend, it is exactly because of that, leaving the mental terrorizer, god belief that I truly regained my connected ethical as well as kind humanity. To master oneself also means mastering positive prosocial behaviors needed for human flourishing. I once cared the world about what others thought, then I started to realize I had forgotten about impressing the most important person, ME. Now I realize my power to be a shining light for goodness and kindness.
Thus, creating the world, I want to live in, striving for flushing, which is not a place but a positive potential involvement and promotion; a life of humanist goal precision. Don’t let anything hold you back if you feel like you lost your humanity you can get it back. I know I did. We are the authors of our lives until we are gone, so don’t stop until you’re through. Show the world you can be your best no matter what. Don’t let others write your story for you, be your own champion, you’re worth it and others need you too. I need you and we all need each other.
Damien Marie AtHope: Atheist-Humanist Philosopher & Pre-Historical Freelance Writer/Researcher-activist, blogger, video creator, artist, poet, and event producer/speaker/coordinator fordamienmarieathope.com
A Comment from a fan: “Damien, you were a victim of what you call Christofascism (christian and fascism) as well as religiofascism (religion and fascism). And now you are a warrior for the victims of religious oppression. Imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have people like you out there. (Religion run amok, untethered). Thank you, Damien Marie AtHope.”
Another Comment from a Fan: “You argue atheism from a wide variety of angles. There is the rationalist rebuke, then there is the axiological rebuke. The former is truth-based, the second is value-based. While reason alone will suffice for some, most people believe emotionally, and the axiological aspect of showing them why religion produces immorality rebukes the emotional/ pseudo-moral component of faith as well. You package a lot of argumentative clout into short phrases for your lovely artwork.”
Another Comment from a Fan: “A favorite thing about what you do is your creative and generous way of sharing all your knowledge for the good of humankind. I admire & respect your ability to approach an inherently hostile subject with humor & genuine love. You are passionate about what is good and what is real. You strive to endow others with knowledge to better their own understanding. You have a pursuit of honesty and integrity. You tackle the nonsense of religious claims that are unmerited unsubstantiated and untenable. You make this all simple and easy to grasp for the leity.”
Another Comment from a Fan: “Damien, what I like about you is because you try, you try to be honest, you try to be kind, you try to be good to those less fortunate just because it’s the right thing to do, you try to promote love over hatred, you try to be a good person! (Those are just the first reasons that come to mind when I think about you.)”
Another Comment from a Fan: “Damien, I have never seen any single human being who is so devoted to unfolding some of the absurd things about religion and examine it in very scientific and ration way. Bravo”
Yer Another Comment from a Fan: “Damien, I love what you’re doing for the atheist community bro. You’ve been an inspiration to me. Just keep being a positive influence. We need you. Us atheists need you.”
10,300 to 9,400 Year-Old Stone Snake Heads Reveal Stone Age Ritual Ceremonies
“The archaeological site is known as Kamyana Mohyla I (arrow), where the stone snakes were discovered. Nearby sits the Kamyana Mohyla stone mound. The “older” figurine was found near an open fireplace, near piles of shells and flint tools. Using organic matter from the fireplace, the researchers were able to radiocarbon date the yellow sandstone snakehead to between 8300 B.C. and 7500 B.C. The “younger” stone snake was also found by a fireplace and was dated to about 7400 B.C. Also discovered was a fish-like stone sculpture at the nearby Kamyana Mohyla, a giant stone pile just a stone’s throw from the snakeheads’ spot. These prehistoric inhabitants lived on the steppe of the northwestern region of the Sea of Azov. “They made tools from stones, flints and bones and hunted with bows and flint arrows,” Kotova said. “It was the society of hunters and gatherers.” ref
The 8th millennium BC spanned the years 10,000 through 9,001 years ago.
“Cave painting with a horse and rider was found in Doushe cave, Lorestan, Iran, 8,000 BCE. Bladed tools found in southwest Iran date from around 8000 BCE; they were made from obsidian that had been transported from Anatolia /Turkey. During this time, agriculture became widely practiced in the Fertile Crescent and Anatolia. And around 7,200 BCE Cayonu in southeast Turkey: the likely domestication site of emmer wheat, and the first domestic pigs as well as cattle that spread to Europe pigs. And in general animal husbandry (pastoralism) spread to Africa and Eurasia. World population at this time was more or less stable, at Mesolithic level reached during the Last Glacial Maximum, at roughly 5 million.” ref
“After 10 years of research, we understand that Anatolia/Turkey, especially from the west, is part of the basis of all European peoples. Matching how all European cattle are all descended from Iranian cattle dispersed by farmer herders leaving Anatolia/Turkey.” – Joachim Burger – Anthropologist & Population Geneticist Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz.” ref
10,000 years ago —Settlement in Franchthi Cave in Peloponnese, continues. First evidence of seed and animal stocking (lentils, almonds) and obsidian trade with Melos. The settlement was continuously occupied since 20,000 BC and abandoned in 3000 BC.
9,000 years ago: Mesolithic site Lepenski Vir emerges in today’s Serbia.
9,000 years ago: Neolithic economy was established on the island of Crete (domesticated sheep or goats, pigs and cattle together with grains of cultivated bread wheat).
9,000 years agoSweden: Large-scale fish processing operation established at Blekinge.
8,850 – 6,800 years ago: Advanced agriculture and a very early use of pottery by the Sesklo culture in Thessaly, Greece.
8,800 – 6,800 years ago: The earliest domesticated pigs in Europe, which many archaeologists believed to be descended from European wild boar, were introduced from the Middle East by Stone Age farmers.
“Expedition to the Ukok plateau, high in the Altai Mountains close to the modern-day Russian border with Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan, has found evidence that a set of intriguing petroglyphs that stylistically match the Paleolithic tradition, some 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. If this is true, they will be the oldest in Siberia by several millennia. Elsewhere in the Altai Mountains, some areas have no petroglyphs at all, while certain places are like alfresco picture galleries left by our ancestors, dating from around 5,000 years ago. The Ukok Plateau is known for its thriving ancient societies highlighted by the elaborate burials of important people – including that of the remarkable tattooed ‘Ukok princess’, pictured here. But she lived far more recently on the plateau, some 2,500 years ago.” ref
“The name “Altai” means “Gold Mountain” in Mongolian; “alt” (gold) and “tai” (suffix – “with”; the mountain with gold) and also in its Chinese name, derived from the Mongol name (Chinese: 金山; literally: ‘Gold Mountain’). In Turkic languages, altın means gold and dağ means mountain. The controversial Altaic language family takes its name from this mountain range. The Altai Mountains have been identified as being the point of origin of a cultural enigma termed the Seima-Turbino Phenomenon which arose during the Bronze Age around the start of the 2nd millennium BC and led to a rapid and massive migration of peoples from the region into distant parts of Europe and Asia. The Altai mountains were home to the Denisovan branch of hominids who were contemporaries of Neanderthals and of Homo Sapiens (modern humans), descended from Hominids who reached Asia earlier than modern humans.” ref
The6th millennium BC spanned the years 8,000 through 7,001 years ago.
“It falls into the Holocene climatic optimum, with rising sea levels, and agriculture spreads to Europe and to Egypt. World population grows dramatically as a result of the Neolithic Revolution, perhaps quadrupling, from about 10 to 40 million, over the course of the millennium. With the earliest evidence of wine, from Georgia. dating to around 8,000 – 7,900 years ago. is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, Georgia is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. Archaeological finds and references in ancient sources also reveal elements of early political and state formations characterized by advanced metallurgy and goldsmith techniques that date back to the 7th century BC and beyond. In fact, early metallurgy started in Georgia during the 6th millennium BC, associated with the Shulaveri-Shomu culture.” ref, ref
Changes 8,000 years ago
“A bit more than 8000 years ago, the world suddenly cooled, leading to much drier summers for much of the Northern Hemisphere. Massive glacial lakes in North America emptied into the Atlantic Ocean, scientists believe, altering sea currents and weather patterns and triggering what’s known simply as the 8.2 kiloyear event (referring to its occurrence 8200 years ago). The impact on early farmers must have been extreme, yet archaeologists know little about how they endured. Now, the remains of animal fat on broken pottery from one of the world’s oldest and most unusual protocities—known as Çatalhöyük—is finally giving scientists a window into these ancient peoples’ close call with catastrophe. Extreme drought brought on by the 8.2-kiloyear event would have frizzled feed crops and grazing lands, and cooler winters would have increased animals’ food requirements. The combined effect would have been leaner, thirstier livestock, and their fat may have recorded chemical echoes of that dietary stress.” ref
“Çatalhöyük’s farmers left behind any trace of the climate shift. Over the past few years, Marciniak had been digging up fragments of clay pottery (or potsherds) left buried in ancient trash piles, and clay pots were used to store meat, and researchers found relatively well-preserved animal fat residue soaked into the porous, unglazed sherds. dating from about 8300 to 7,900 years ago. Additional finds from Çatalhöyük reveal how the farmers adapted to the cooler, drier conditions. Animal bones from that time have a relatively high number of cut marks, suggesting they were butchering for every last edible bit. Cattle herds shrunk while goat herds rose, the authors note, perhaps because goats could better handle drought. Çatalhöyük’s architecture changed, as well, with the site’s iconic, large, communal dwellings giving way to smaller houses for individual families, reflecting a shift toward independent, self-sufficient households. It seems that Çatalhöyük was already in a period of fairly rapid change well before the 8.2-kiloyear event, as Çatalhöyük’s architecture had been gradually evolving for hundreds of years before.” ref
Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” “involves a 34-acre site in central Turkey, at one time inhabited by as many as 8,000 to 10,000 people, began some 9,500 years ago, and continuing for nearly two millennia, people came together at Çatalhöyük to build hundreds of tightly clustered mud-brick houses, burying their dead beneath the floors and adorning the walls with paintings, livestock skulls and plaster reliefs. More than 8,000 years ago, Çatalhöyük was already a city of one-room homes, accessed from the roof. Places of worship often featured bucrania (displaying sacrificial bulls, and the ritual/decorative use of bull’s horns. People in Çatalhöyük were quite equal, but it might not have been the nicest society as residents had to submit to a lot of social control and that such a society only works with strong homogeneity.” ref
“For many generations, it was very unacceptable for individual households to accumulate [wealth]. Once they started to do so, there is evidence that more problems started to arise. Some of the new evidence expresses something odd about one of the hundreds of skulls dozens of them with similar wounds, all showing a consistent pattern of injury to the top back of the skull. It is believed that the pattern of the wounds suggests that most of them were inflicted by thrown projectiles, but all of them were healed, meaning they were not fatal.” They speculate that the attacks that caused the injuries were meant only to stun, perhaps to control wayward members of the group, or to abduct outsiders as wives or slaves.” ref
Moreover, the skulls with this characteristic were found primarily in later levels of the site, when more independence and differentiation between households started to emerge. Presumably, it is with these new inequalities could have potentially created new tensions among the community’s members, non-fatal violence to diffuse full-fledged conflicts that could break the settlement apart, in a way, confirm the idea of an emerging controlled society. And selection favored shorter people in Italy and Spain starting 8000 years ago.” ref, ref
“8,000-year-old shattered skull of a Ancient European Hunter Gatherer died in a grisly murder from Poland. The skull showed signs of healing, after “received a sharp hit with the tool,” thus he did not die at the impact and likely died a week after his injury. Because the bone was burned and the skull had obviously been dealt a strong blow, the researchers first thought maybe the man had been cannibalized but he had not, it’s possible it was burned in a funerary ritual, as people during the Mesolithic both burned and buried corpses.” ref
“About 8,000 years ago, the plateau of land between what is now the east of England and the Netherlands was flooded by the sea. This brought an end to the forests and animal life that had colonized the region from other parts of Europe, including early human communities. Cores of sediment from the bottom of the North Sea in an area called Doggerland shoal Dogger Bank in the southern part of the North Sea became ice-free about 12,000 years ago, after the end of the last ice age until flooding around 8,000 years ago. Some human remains including part of an ancient skull and several human artifacts, like fragments of stone tools have been recovered.” ref
How Europeans evolved white skin
“Most modern Europeans don’t look much like those of 8000 years ago. Europeans today are a mix of the blending of at least three ancient populations of hunter-gatherers and farmers who moved into Europe in separate migrations over the past 8000 years spreading rapidly throughout Europe. First, hunter-gatherers in Europe could not digest the sugars in milk 8000 years ago, and neither could the first farmers who came from the Near East about 7,800 years ago nor the Yamnaya pastoralists who came from the steppes 4800 years ago. And there was a massive migration of Yamnaya herders from the steppes north of the Black Sea may have brought Indo-European languages to Europe about 4500 years ago. Not until about 4,300 years ago that lactose tolerance swept through Europe.” ref
“When it comes to skin color, the team found a patchwork of evolution in different places and three separate genes that produce light skin, telling a complex story for how European’s skin evolved to be much lighter during the past 8000 years. But in the far north where low light levels favored pale skin. Seven hunter-gatherers found at a 7700-year-old Motala archaeological site in southern Sweden had light skin gene variants. And another gene which causes blue eyes and may also contribute to light skin and blond hair. Thus ancient hunter-gatherers of the far north were already pale and blue-eyed, but those of central and southern Europe had darker skin.” ref
Our ancient ‘mother tongue’ words were spoken around 8,000 years ago.
“8,000 to 5,500 years ago the Proto-Indo-European language was spoken from by all who lived on the steppes to the north of the Caspian Sea. Linguists say it evolved over time to spawn more than 440 modern languages and is the root of all Indo-European languages today. With offshoots in Anatolia (the Hittites), the Aegean (Mycenaean Greece), Western Europe (the Corded Ware culture), Central Asia (Yamna culture), and southern Siberia (Afanasevo culture.) late 6th and early 5th millennium BC: Beginning of Samara culture at the Samara bend region of the middle Volga, Russia. late 6th and early 5th millennium BC: Beginning of Samara culture at the Samara bend region of the middle Volga, Russia.” ref, ref
8,000 years ago, the overwhelming majority of men never reproduced!
“At this time it seems there were 17 WOMEN REPRODUCED FOR EVERY ONE MAN. Once upon a time, 4,000 to 8,000 years after humanity invented agriculture, something very strange happened to human reproduction. Across the globe, for every 17 women who were reproducing, passing on genes that are still around today—only one man did the same. A researcher, a biological anthropologist, hypothesizes that somehow, only a few men accumulated lots of wealth and power, leaving nothing for others. These men could then pass their wealth on to their sons, perpetuating this pattern of elitist reproductive success. If this hypothesis is correct, it would be one of the first instances that scientists have found of culture affecting human evolution.” ref
Proto-Europe 8 000 – 5000 BC with ties to Anatolian Civilization and the Indo-European Language Spreads to Western Europe with Agriculture
“Proto-European Cultures 8,000-2,500 BC Interactive map of the Proto-European cultures in the Balkans. It is now assumed that the pre-Indo-European or Proto-European cultures which have evolved from rich archeological finds in the Greater Balkans, Greece and Sicily/Malta in the last 50 years go back to migrations from Anatolia. The archeological objects found in the Greater Balkans by Marija Gimbutas and others show a high sophistication in sculptures, ornaments, and grave culture. The “Proto-European Culture” in the Balkans and Greece is the oldest collective “civilization” known. They preceded Egypt by 4000 and China by 6000 years. Several large urban settlements (20 000 people) have been found, possibly under a female(?) priesthood.. The earliest temple cities have been unearthed in Göbekli (9200 BP) predating agriculture by 2000 years. The excavators believe that the large concentrations of laborers building the temples precipitated the need for agriculture.” ref
8,000 BC: Fully Neolithic agriculture has spread through Anatolia to the Balkans. (1967 McEvedy)
8,000 BC: Cycladic culturebegin to use a coarse local type of clay to make a variety of objects.
8.000 BC: Female figurines holding serpents are fashioned on Crete and may have been associated with water, regenerative power and protection of the home.
7,000-year-old Mesolithic hunter-gatherer found in Spain had dark skin and blue-eyes.” ref
Out of Iberia Migration Event 7,700 – 4,500YearsAgo?
7,700 – 4,500 Years Ago – Iberia Migration Event (Iberian Peninsula divided between Spain and Portugal, comprising most of their territory. It also includes Andorra, small areas of France, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar).” ref“It seems around 7,700 to 6,100 an out of Iberia event took place where an Iberia migration along southern europe back to Africa then back to Europe. The genetics most commonly attached to the Celtic (including; Iberian, Gallic, Celtic, Germanic and Scandinavian), remains split between Iberia prior to the end of the last ice age and various West Asian locations after the ice age. their ancestor entered Europe from central Asia during a warm period about 40,000 to 30,000 years ago.On the Iberian Peninsula, modern humans developed a series of different cultures, such as the Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean and Magdalenian cultures, some of them characterized by the complex forms of the art of the Upper Paleolithic.” ref, ref, ref
“We know that modern humans survived and flourished in the Iberian refuge during the end of the last ice age. The ice sheets melted and retreated earlier on the west coast than in the rest of Europe. The genetic family tree has a trunk firmly rooted in Iberia and many branches stretch along the western Atlantic coast of Europe and branches across Europe and even back into Asia. This gave the inhabitants of the Iberian refuge an advantage – a “first-mover” advantage gained by being the first to move north. These first-movers gained a land-monopoly. Western Atlantic migrations, took a path along the Mediterranean coast and down the Adriatic and it seems to indicate Crete as a stepping-stone in the Mediterranean after which there was migration into the middle east to the Nile River Valley and from there back to Africa event(s) finally occurring roughly 5,500 to 4,500 years ago. Moreover, there also seems to have been a re-migration back to Europe from Africa about 3,200 to 2,200 years ago. And, it seems again, that Crete played a role as a stepping-stone to re-entering the Eastern Adriatic region and then spreading back into Central and Eastern Europe. ref, ref
“The majority of the Chadic records (Cameroon, Chad, and Nigeria) have relatively close genetic connections to individuals in the Middle East (mainly Saudi Arabia). The Chadic and Middle Eastern records tie back to common ancestors along the upper Nile. While the back to Africa migration it is amazing the re-migration back to Europe from Africa that is just as interesting. The back to Europe event took place about 3,200 ± 1,000 years ago. Again, Crete played a role as a stepping-stone to the Eastern Adriatic region and spread into Central and Eastern Europe.” ref
“By looking at the big picture, including all the data illustrates the migration patterns genetically. We see the out of Iberia and back to Africa then followed by a return to Europe.” ref
Early pre-writing script (found among the cave paintings), recovered from Magdalenian (possibly around 16,000 to 12,000 years ago) cave sites have similar characters to three early written languages: Indus valley signs, Greek and Scandinavian runic alphabet. ref, ref
“The Magdalenian cultures are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic in western Europe, dating from around 17,000 to 12,000 years ago. There is extensive debate about the precise nature of the earliest Magdalenian assemblages, and it remains questionable whether the Badegoulian culture is, in fact, the earliest phase of the Magdalenian. Similarly, finds from the forest of Beauregard near Paris often have been suggested as belonging to the earliest Magdalenian. The earliest Magdalenian sites are all found in France. The Epigravettian is a similar culture appearing at the same time. Its known range extends from southeast France to the western shores of the Volga River, Russia, with a large number of sites in Italy.” ref
“The later phases of the Magdalenian are also synonymous with the human re-settlement of north-western Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum during the Late Glacial Maximum. Research in Switzerland, southern Germany, and Belgium has provided AMS radiocarbon datingto support this. Being hunter gatherers, Magdalenians did not simply re-settle permanently in north-west Europe, however, as they often followed herds and moved depending on seasons.” ref
The earliest swastika ever found was uncovered in Mezine, Ukraine, carved on an ivory figurine, which dates an incredible 12,000 years, and one of the earliest cultures that are known to have used the Swastika was a Neolithic culture in Southern Europe, in the area that is now Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, known as the Vinca Culture, which dates back around 8,000 years. In Nordic Myths , Odin is represented passing through space as a whirling disk or swastika looking down through all worlds. In North America, the swastika was used by the Navajos. It has been used by the Phoenicians as a symbol of the Sun and it was a sacred symbol used by the priestesses. Hinduism, the right-hand swastika is a symbol of the God Vishnu and the Sun, while the left-hand swastika is a symbol of Kali and Magic. The double meaning of symbols is common in ancient traditions, like for example the symbol of the pentagram (five pointed star), which is viewed as negative when pointing downwards, and positive when pointing upwards. ref
In Bronze Age Europe, the “Sun cross” appears most frequently of all continents, often interpreted as a solar symbol. Swastika shapes have been found on numerous artifacts from Iron Age Europe (Greco-Roman, Illyrian, Etruscan, Baltic, Celtic, Germanic, Slavic and Georgian Borjgali).This prehistoric use seems to be reflected in the appearance of the symbol in various folk cultures of Europe. The symbol has been found on vessels in the ancient city of Troy, The evidence shows that it served as a symbol of fertility and life. Its similar use can be found in Trench Graves in Mycanae, Greece, on Athenian vases and even decorating the garments of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Also the Greek Parthenon had this symbol as a Greek design just like other designs. Swastika is a definite European sign moving east into Indus Valley Civilization. It was brought by migrating tribes to India where it is revered in the religious and cultural life of the Indo-Aryans. It did not originate in the Indus Valley Civilization as some people thought. ref
*Paganism (beginning around 12,000 years ago): Paganism (such as that seen in Turkey: 12,000 years ago). Gobekli Tepe: “first human-made temple” around 12,000 years ago. Sedentism and the Creation of goddesses around 12,000 years ago as well as male gods after 7,000 years ago. Pagan-Shaman burial in Israel 12,000 years ago and 12,000 – 10,000 years old Paganistic-Shamanistic Art in a Remote Cave in Egypt. Skull Cult around 11,500 to 8,400 Years Ago and Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” around 10,000 years ago. Paganism is approximately a 12,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals that can connect to spirit-filled life and/or afterlife and who are guided/supported by a goddess/god, goddesses/gods, magical beings, or supreme spirits. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden paganist. Around 12,000 years ago, in Turkey, the first evidence of paganism is Gobekli Tepe: “first human-made temple” and around 9,500 years ago, in Turkey, the second evidence of paganism is Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city”. In addition, early paganism is connected to Proto-Indo-European language and religion. Proto-Indo-European religion can be reconstructed with confidence that the gods and goddesses, myths, festivals, and form of rituals with invocations, prayers, and songs of praise make up the spoken element of religion. Much of this activity is connected to the natural and agricultural year or at least those are the easiest elements to reconstruct because nature does not change and because farmers are the most conservative members of society and are best able to keep the old ways. The reconstruction of goddesses/gods characteristics may be different than what we think of and only evolved later to the characteristics we know of today. One such characteristic is how a deity’s gender may not be fixed, since they are often deified forces of nature, which tend to not have genders. There are at least 40 deities and the Goddesses that have been reconstructed are: *Pria, *Pleto, *Devi, *Perkunos, *Aeusos, and *Yama. The reconstruction of myths can be connected to Proto-Indo-European culture/language and by additional research, many of these myths have since been confirmed including some areas that were not accessible to the early writers such as Latvian folk songs and Hittite hieroglyphic tablets. There are at least 28 myths and one of the most widely recognized myths of the Indo-Europeans is the myth, “Yama is killed by his brother Manu” and “the world is made from his body”. Some of the forms of this myth in various Indo-European languages are about the Creation Myth of the Indo-Europeans. The reconstruction of rituals can be connected to Proto-Indo-European culture/language and is estimated to have been spoken as a single language from around 6,500 years ago. One of the earliest ritual is the construction of kurgans or mound graves as a part of a death ritual. kurgans were inspired by common ritual-mythological ideas. Kurgans are complex structures with internal chambers. Within the burial chamber at the heart of the kurgan, elite individuals were buried with grave goods and sacrificial offerings, sometimes including horses and chariots. The speakers of Pre-Proto-Indo-European lived in Turkey and it associates the distribution of historical Indo-European languages with the expansion around 9,000 years ago, with a proposed homeland of Proto-Indo-European proper in the Balkans around 7,000 years ago. The Proto-Indo-European Religion seemingly stretches at least back around 6,000 years ago or likely much further back and I believe Paganism is possibly an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system. The earliest kurgans date to 6,000 years ago and are connected to the Proto-Indo-European in the Caucasus. In fact, around 7,000 years ago, there appears to be pre-kurgan in Siberia. Around 7,000 to 2,500 years ago and beyond, kurgans were built with ancient traditions still active in Southern Siberia and Central Asia, which display the continuity of the archaic forming methods. Kurgan cultures are divided archaeologically into different sub-cultures such as Timber Grave, Pit Grave, Scythian, Sarmatian, Hunnish, and Kuman–Kipchak. Kurgans have been found from the Altay Mountains to the Caucasus, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria. Around 5,000 years ago, kurgans were used in the Ukrainian and Russian flat unforested grasslands and their use spread with migration into eastern, central, northern Europe, Turkey, and beyond. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
“Raqefet Cave, an archaeological site located near Haifa, Israel, has provided vital insight into an ancient group known as the Natufians. The remains of 30 individuals were unearthed there, along with animal bones, tools and plant impressions, indicating that the Natufians buried their dead on beds of flowers. The Natufians were a semi-sedentary, foraging people that lived in the Levant between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. It is believed that the Natufians served as a vital transitional link between hunter-gatherers and the earliest farming communities in the Near East. Finds discovered in northeastern Jordan the charred remains of bread baked by Natufians some 11,600 to 14,600 years ago. According to the Stanford scientists, the ancient beer residue comes from 11,700 to 13,700 years old, potentially predating the bread. Fermented beverage and food storage in 13,000 year-old stone mortars at Raqefet Cave, Israel: Investigating Natufian ritual feasting.” ref, ref
“By 12,200–10,800 years ago farming communities had arisen in the Levant and spread to Asia Minor, North Africa and North Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 12,000 years ago. Early Neolithic farming was limited to a narrow range of plants, both wild and domesticated, which included einkorn wheat, millet and spelt, and the keeping of dogs, sheep and goats. By about 6900–6400 BC, it included domesticated cattle and pigs, the establishment of permanently or seasonally inhabited settlements, and the use of pottery. But generally the approximate centers of origin of agriculture in the Neolithic revolution and its spread in prehistory: the Fertile Crescent (11,000 years ago), the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins (9,000 years ago).” ref
“The source and upper reaches of the Yangtze are located in ethnic Tibetan areas of Qinghai and its course goes clear across China. The Yangtze River is known in China as Cháng Jiāng (literally: “Long River”) and is the longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the world.” ref
Evidence of nearly 11,000-year-old beer brewing troughs at a cultic feasting site in Turkey called Gobekli Tepe: with the “first human-made temple”. Some researchers suggest that beer use arose at least 11,500 years ago and drove the cultivation of grains. Because grains require so much hard work to produce (collecting tiny, mostly inedible parts, separating grain from chaff, and grinding into flour), beer brewing would have been reserved for feasts with important cultural purposes. Those feasts — and alcohol-induced friendliness — may have enabled hunter-gatherers to bond with larger groups of people in newly emerging villages, fueling the rise of civilization. At work parties, beer may have motivated people to put a little elbow grease into bigger-scale projects such as building ancient monuments. Production and consumption of alcoholic beverages is an important factor in feasts facilitating the cohesion of social groups, and in the case of Göbekli Tepe, in organizing collective work.” ref
Megalithic cultures
Genomics of Middle Neolithic farmers at the fringe of Europe:
“Agriculture emerged in the Fertile Crescent around 11,000 years ago and then spread out from Turkey, reaching central Europe some 7,500 years ago and eventually Scandinavia by 6,000 yearsago. Recent paleogenomic studies have shown that the spread of agriculture from the Fertile Crescent into Europe was due mainly to a demic process. Such event reshaped the genetic makeup of European populations since incoming farmers displaced and admixed with local hunter-gatherers.” ref
“The Middle Neolithic period in Europe is characterized by such interaction, and this is a time where a resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry has been documented. While most research has been focused on the genetic origin and admixture dynamics with hunter-gatherers of farmers from Central Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, and Anatolia, data from farmers at the North-Western edges of Europe remains scarce. Here, we investigate genetic data from the Middle Neolithic from Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia and compare it to genomic data from hunter-gatherers, Early and Middle Neolithic farmers across Europe.” ref
“Of note, affinities between the British Isles and Iberia, confirm previous reports. However, there seems to be a regional origin for the Iberian farmers that putatively migrated to the British Isles. Moreover, we note some indications of particular interactions between Middle Neolithic Farmers of the British Isles and Scandinavia.Finally, our data together with that of previous publications allow us to achieve a better understanding of the interactions between farmers and hunter-gatherers at the northwestern fringe of Europe.” ref
Star Carr in North Yorkshire, England dating to around 10,770 – 10,460 year held an early proto-writing pendant. It is very similar to a number of other pendants from northern European sites, though its unique due to it being made from shale, where others are commonly made of amber. Research suggests two phases of markings on the pendant and possibly more than one artist. The markings may represent a tree, a map, a leaf, tally marks, even a wooden platform, which are found at Star Carr. ref, ref, ref
10,300 to 9,400-Year-Old Stone Snake Heads Reveal Stone Age Ritual Ceremonies
“The archaeological site known as Kamyana Mohyla I (arrow), where the stone snakes were discovered. Nearby sits the Kamyana Mohyla stone mound. The “older” figurine was found near an open fireplace, near piles of shells and flint tools. Using organic matter from the fireplace, the researchers were able to radiocarbon date the yellow sandstone snakehead to between 8300 B.C. and 7500 B.C. The “younger” stone snake was also found by a fireplace and was dated to about 7400 B.C. Also discover was a fish-like stone sculpture at the nearby Kamyana Mohyla, a giant stone pile just a stone’s throw from the snakeheads’ spot. These prehistoric inhabitants lived on the steppe of the northwestern region of the Sea of Azov. “They made tools from stones, flints and bones and hunted with bows and flint arrows,” Kotova said. “It was the society of hunters and gatherers.” ref
Horse Domestication Happened Across Eurasia, Study Showsstarting 8,000 BCE
“A new DNA study suggests that different groups of people independently tamed horses starting 10,000 years ago. Horses have left their stamp on many aspects of human history, from transportation and communication to warfare and agriculture. A team of fellow researchers collected maternally inherited mitochondrial genomes from living horses in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, a strikingly different picture emerged. “We found a high number of different lineages that we were able to identify—at least 18. This means that multiple female horse lines were domesticated throughout the Neolithic period—during the last 10,000 years—in multiple locations of Eurasia, possibly including Western Europe.” ref
“Light skin in Europeans stems from ONE 10,000-year-old ancestor who lived between India and the Middle East. Those who had mutation also shared traces of an ancestral genetic code. This indicates that all instances of mutation originate from same person. The mutated segment of DNA was itself created from a combination of two other mutations commonly found in East Asians.” ref
Study focused on DNA differences across globe with the A111T mutation
Those who had mutation also shared traces of an ancestral genetic code
This indicates that all instances of mutation originate from same person
The mutated segment of DNA was itself created from a combination of two other mutations commonly found in East Asians
8th millennium BC spanned the years 10,000 through 9,001 years ago.
“Cave painting with a horse and rider was found in Doushe cave, Lorestan, Iran, 8,000 BCE. Bladed tools found in southwest Iran date from around 8000 BCE; they were made from obsidian that had been transported from Anatolia /Turkey. During this time, agriculture became widely practiced in the Fertile Crescent and Anatolia. And around 7,200 BCE Cayonu in southeast Turkey: the likely domestication site of emmer wheat, and the first domestic pigs as well as cattle that spread to Europe pigs. And in general animal husbandry (pastoralism) spread to Africa and Eurasia. World population at this time was more or less stable, at Mesolithic level reached during the Last Glacial Maximum, at roughly 5 million.” ref
“After 10 years of research, we understand that Anatolia/Turkey, especially from the west, is part of the basis of all European peoples. Matching how all European cattle are all descended from Iranian cattle dispersed by farmer herders leaving Anatolia/Turkey.” – Joachim Burger – Anthropologist & Population Geneticist Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz.” ref
10,000 years ago —Settlement in Franchthi Cave in Peloponnese, continues. First evidence of seed and animal stocking (lentils, almonds) and obsidian trade with Melos. The settlement was continuously occupied since 20,000 BC and abandoned in 3000 BC.
“9,000yearsago Saudi Arabia Neolithic archaeological site with possible horses domestication in the Arabian peninsula from the civilization, named al-Maqar after the site’s location with some of the earliest evidence of horse domestication at a Neolithic site in the southwestern Asir province. The Maqar Civilization is a very advanced civilization of the Neolithic period. The site also includes remains of mummified skeletons, arrowheads, scrapers, grain grinders, tools for spinning and weaving, and other tools that are evidence of a civilization that is skilled in handicrafts.” ref, ref, ref
9,000yearsago Burial plot sheds new light on early humans on a marshy plain in central Turkey. Even children as young as 8 were not buried alongside their parents or other relatives at the site called sedentary settlement of Çatalhöyük, where before most people on the planet made their living as hunter-gatherers. They also buried their dead (up to 30 of them per house) beneath the floors. ref
9,000yearsago Axe found at Ireland’s earliest burial site, in Co Limerick, which has shed light on the ancient burial practices of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. ref
9,000 years ago Bones of the dead were sorted and categorized before burial
9,000 years ago Horse Burial Linked to Sheba
9,000 years ago:
9,000yearsago Evidence of Londoners, “tool-making factory” in southeast London.ref
9,000 years ago: Mesolithic site Lepenski Vir emerges in today’s Serbia.
9,000 years ago: Neolithic economy was established on the island of Crete (domesticated sheep or goats, pigs and cattle together with grains of cultivated bread wheat).
9,000 years ago: Sweden Large-scale fish processing operation established at Blekinge.
8,850 – 6,800 years ago: Advanced agriculture and a very early use of pottery by the Sesklo culture in Thessaly, Greece.
8,800 – 6,800 years ago: The earliest domesticated pigs in Europe, which many archaeologists believed to be descended from European wild boar, were introduced from the Middle East by Stone Age farmers.
“Expedition to the Ukok plateau, high in the Altai Mountains close to the modern-day Russian border with Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan, has found evidence that a set of intriguing petroglyphs that stylistically match the Paleolithic tradition, some 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. If this is true, they will be the oldest in Siberia by several millennia. Elsewhere in the Altai Mountains, some areas have no petroglyphs at all, while certain places are like alfresco picture galleries left by our ancestors, dating from around 5,000 years ago. The Ukok Plateau is known for its thriving ancient societies highlighted by the elaborate burials of important people – including that of the remarkable tattooed ‘Ukok princess’, pictured here. But she lived far more recently on the plateau, some 2,500 years ago.” ref
“The name “Altai” means “Gold Mountain” in Mongolian; “alt” (gold) and “tai” (suffix – “with”; the mountain with gold) and also in its Chinese name, derived from the Mongol name (Chinese: 金山; literally: ‘Gold Mountain’). In Turkic languages altın means gold and dağ means mountain. The controversial Altaic language family takes its name from this mountain range.The Altai Mountains have been identified as being the point of origin of a cultural enigma termed the Seima-Turbino Phenomenon which arose during the Bronze Age around the start of the 2nd millennium BC and led to a rapid and massive migration of peoples from the region into distant parts of Europe and Asia. The Altai mountains were home to the Denisovan branch of hominids who were contemporaries of Neanderthals and of Homo Sapiens (modern humans), descended from Hominids who reached Asia earlier than modern humans.” ref
“8,300 years ago: The world’s oldest skis were discovered in Russia, near Lake Sindor. And there are 6,000 years old Rock carvings of a skier from this period were discovered in Norway. In Finland around 5,300years old Skis were discovered, whichwere 180 centimeters long and 15 centimeters wide. These skis had five grooves. Around 4,700years old two skis and a pole were dug out of a bog in Sweden. 4,500 years old rock drawings that depict a man on skis holding a stick. The drawings were discovered on a Norwegian island.” ref
The6th millennium BC spanned the years 8,000 through 7,001 years ago.
“It falls into the Holocene climatic optimum, with rising sea levels, and agriculture spreads to Europe and to Egypt. World population grows dramatically as a result of the Neolithic Revolution, perhaps quadrupling, from about 10 to 40 million, over the course of the millennium. With the earliest evidence of wine, from Georgia. dating to around 8,000 – 7,900 years ago. is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asiaand Eastern Europe, Georgia is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. Archaeological finds and references in ancient sources also reveal elements of early political and state formations characterized by advanced metallurgy and goldsmith techniques that date back to the 7th century BC and beyond. In fact, early metallurgy started in Georgia during the 6th millennium BC, associated with the Shulaveri-Shomu culture.” ref, ref
Changes 8,000 years ago
“Ancient European DNA collected from Spain to Russia concluded that the original hunter-gatherer population had assimilated a wave of “farmers” who had arrived from the Near Eastduring the Neolithic about 8,000 years ago. The Mesolithic era site Lepenski Vir in modern day Serbia, the earliest documented sedentary community of Europe with permanent buildings as well as monumental art precedes sites previously considered to be the oldest known by many centuries. The community’s year round access to a food surplus prior to the introduction of agriculture was the basis for the sedentary lifestyle. However, the earliest record for the adoption of elements of farming can be found in Starčevo, a community with close cultural ties. Belovode and Pločnik, also in Serbia, is currently the oldest reliably dated copper smelting site in Europe (around 7,000 years ago). Attributed to the Vinča culture, which on the contrary provides no links to the initiation of or a transition to the Chalcolithic or Copper age.” ref
“A bit more than 8000 years ago, the world suddenly cooled, leading to much drier summers for much of the Northern Hemisphere. Massive glacial lakes in North America emptied into the Atlantic Ocean, scientists believe, altering sea currents and weather patterns and triggering what’s known simply as the 8.2 kiloyear event (referring to its occurrence 8200 years ago). The impact on early farmers must have been extreme, yet archaeologists know little about how they endured. Now, the remains of animal fat on broken pottery from one of the world’s oldest and most unusual protocities—known as Çatalhöyük—is finally giving scientists a window into these ancient peoples’ close call with catastrophe. Extreme drought brought on by the 8.2-kiloyear event would have frizzled feed crops and grazing lands, and cooler winters would have increased animals’ food requirements. The combined effect would have been leaner, thirstier livestock, and their fat may have recorded chemical echoes of that dietary stress.” ref
“Çatalhöyük’s farmers left behind any trace of the climate shift. Over the past few years, Marciniak had been digging up fragments of clay pottery (or potsherds) left buried in ancient trash piles, and clay pots were used to store meat, and researchers found relatively well-preserved animal fat residue soaked into the porous, unglazed sherds. dating from about 8300 to 7,900 years ago. Additional finds from Çatalhöyük reveal how the farmers adapted to the cooler, drier conditions. Animal bones from that time have a relatively high number of cut marks, suggesting they were butchering for every last edible bit. Cattle herds shrunk while goat herds rose, the authors note, perhaps because goats could better handle drought. Çatalhöyük’s architecture changed, as well, with the site’s iconic, large, communal dwellings giving way to smaller houses for individual families, reflecting a shift toward independent, self-sufficient households. It seems that Çatalhöyük was already in a period of fairly rapid change well before the 8.2-kiloyear event, as Çatalhöyük’s architecture had been gradually evolving for hundreds of years before.” ref
Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” “involves a 34-acre site in central Turkey, at one time inhabited by as many as 8,000 to 10,000 people, began some 9,500 years ago, and continuing for nearly two millennia, people came together at Çatalhöyük to build hundreds of tightly clustered mud-brick houses, burying their dead beneath the floors and adorning the walls with paintings, livestock skulls and plaster reliefs. More than 8,000 years ago, Çatalhöyük was already a city of one-room homes, accessed from the roof. Places of worship often featured bucrania (displaying sacrificial bulls, and the ritual/decorative use of bull’s horns. People in Çatalhöyük were quite equal, but it might not have been the nicest society as residents had to submit to a lot of social control and that such a society only works with strong homogeneity.” ref
“For many generations, it was very unacceptable for individual households to accumulate [wealth]. Once they started to do so, there is evidence that more problems started to arise. Some of the new evidence expresses something odd about one of the hundreds of skulls dozens of them with similar wounds, all showing a consistent pattern of injury to the top back of the skull. It is believed that the pattern of the wounds suggests that most of them were inflicted by thrown projectiles, but all of them were healed, meaning they were not fatal.” They speculate that the attacks that caused the injuries were meant only to stun, perhaps to control wayward members of the group, or to abduct outsiders as wives or slaves. Moreover, the skulls with this characteristic were found primarily in later levels of the site, when more independence and differentiation between households started to emerge. Presumably, it is with these new inequalities could have potentially created new tensions among the community’s members, non-fatal violence to diffuse full-fledged conflicts that could break the settlement apart, in a way, confirm the idea of an emerging controlled society.” ref
“8,000-year-old shattered skull of a Ancient European Hunter Gatherer died in a grisly murder from Poland. The skull showed signs of healing, after “received a sharp hit with the tool,” thus he did not die at the impact and likely died a week after his injury. Because the bone was burned and the skull had obviously been dealt a strong blow, the researchers first thought maybe the man had been cannibalized but he had not, it’s possible it was burned in a funerary ritual, as people during the Mesolithic both burned and buried corpses.” ref
“About 8,000 years ago, the plateau of land between what is now the east of England and the Netherlands was flooded by the sea. This brought an end to the forests and animal life that had colonized the region from other parts of Europe, including early human communities. Cores of sediment from the bottom of the North Sea in an area called Doggerland shoal Dogger Bank in the southern part of the North Sea became ice-free about 12,000 years ago, after the end of the last ice age until flooding around 8,000 years ago. Some human remains including part of an ancient skull and several human artifacts, like fragments of stone tools have been recovered.” ref
How Europeans evolved white skin
“Most modern Europeans don’t look much like those of 8000 years ago. Europeans today are a mix of the blending of at least three ancient populations of hunter-gatherers and farmers who moved into Europe in separate migrations over the past 8000 years spreading rapidly throughout Europe. First, hunter-gatherers in Europe could not digest the sugars in milk 8000 years ago, and neither could the first farmers who came from the Near East about 7,800 years ago nor the Yamnaya pastoralists who came from the steppes 4800 years ago. And there was a massive migration of Yamnaya herders from the steppes north of the Black Sea may have brought Indo-European languages to Europe about 4500 years ago. Not until about 4,300 years ago that lactose tolerance swept through Europe.” ref
“When it comes to skin color, the team found a patchwork of evolution in different places, and three separate genes that produce light skin, telling a complex story for how European’s skin evolved to be much lighter during the past 8000 years. But in the far north where low light levels favored pale skin. Seven hunter-gatherers found at a 7700-year-old Motala archaeological site in southern Sweden had light skin gene variants. And another gene which causes blue eyes and may also contribute to light skin and blond hair. Thus ancient hunter-gatherers of the far north were already pale and blue-eyed, but those of central and southern Europe had darker skin.” ref
Our ancient ‘mother tongue’ words were spoken around 8,000 years ago.
“8,000 to 5,500 years ago the Proto-Indo-European language was spoken from by all who lived on the steppes to the north of the Caspian Sea. Linguists say it evolved over time to spawn more than 440 modern languages and is the root of all Indo-European languages today. With offshoots in Anatolia (the Hittites), the Aegean (Mycenaean Greece), Western Europe (the Corded Ware culture), Central Asia (Yamna culture), and southern Siberia (Afanasevo culture.) late 6th and early 5th millennium BC: Beginning of Samara culture at the Samara bend region of the middle Volga, Russia. late 6th and early 5th millennium BC: Beginning of Samara culture at the Samara bend region of the middle Volga, Russia.” ref, ref
8,000 years ago, the overwhelming majority of men never reproduced!
“At this time it seems there were 17 WOMEN REPRODUCED FOR EVERY ONE MAN. Once upon a time, 4,000 to 8,000 years after humanity invented agriculture, something very strange happened to human reproduction. Across the globe, for every 17 women who were reproducing, passing on genes that are still around today—only one man did the same. A researcher, a biological anthropologist, hypothesizes that somehow, only a few men accumulated lots of wealth and power, leaving nothing for others. These men could then pass their wealth on to their sons, perpetuating this pattern of elitist reproductive success. If this hypothesis is correct, it would be one of the first instances that scientists have found of culture affecting human evolution.” ref
8,000 years agoEuropeansusedcattle
“Analyses of the residues left inside ancient pottery vessels, suggest that the consumption of dairy products from sheep, goats and cattle likely dates back into the Neolithic period – at least 8,000 years ago in Europe (6,000 BCE) and earlier in the Near East. The precise origins of cattle as engines of labour – known as traction – is also murky. In the past, investigators traditionally looked for evidence of items pulled – primarily (but not only) wagons and ploughs. Wagons – known from preserved images such as figurines and rock art – have existed for more than 5,000 years. Early ploughs, such as the ard or scratch plough, were made of wood, and do not preserve well over thousands of years. The oldest known evidence of ploughs in Europe comes from fragments of ards preserved in water-logged ancient sites. They are just under 6,000 years old. Though not nearly as effective as modern machines, early ploughs would have been far faster and easier than having to break compacted earth in fields with hand tools in order to plant crops. They allowed people to plant more crops using less labour, increasing the amount of food that could be grown each year.” ref
“Analysed such changes to cattle footbones from European archaeological sites dating to 6,000 years ago or later demonstrated the used of secondary products which must have radically changed the capabilities of ancient societies. Moreover, after studying the footbones of cattle from 11 sites in the western Balkans (modern-day Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina) dating to the local Neolithic, ranging from 6100 BCE to 4500 BCE (8,000 to 6,500 years ago) compared with the same bones from wild cattle at these sites expressed the presence and absence of footbone alterations indicative of the strain of traction. Research found changes to the footbones of cattle consistent with traction across these sites that were completely absent from the control group of wild cattle footbones. The presence of these pathologies, and their absence from the control population of wild cattle hunted at these same sites, proves that humans were using cattle as engines of labour in Europe at least 2,000 years earlier than was previously thought. Furthermore, comparisons of sex-specific proportions from some of these footbones showed that humans were using both male and female cattle. In fact, female cows were more common as animal engines than male bulls.” ref
8,000yearsagoManure used by Europe’s first farmers leads
“Europe’s first farmers used far more sophisticated practices than was previously thought. Scientists have found that Neolithic farmers manured and watered their crops. And evidence for this is abundant in manure, have been found in the charred cereal grains and pulse seeds taken from 13 Neolithic sites around Europe. The fact that farmers made long-term investments such as manuring in their land sheds new light on the nature of early farming landscapes in Neolithic times. The idea that farmland could be cared for by the same family for generations seems quite an advanced notion, but rich fertile land would have been viewed as extremely valuable for the growing of crops. We believe that as land was viewed as a commodity to be inherited, social differences in early European farming communities started to emerge between the haves and the have-nots.” ref
“The territoriality of early farming groups may help to explain documented events of the period involving extreme violence. The study cites the example of a Neolithic mass burial of the late sixth millennium BC at Talheim, Germany, which preserves the remains of a community killed by assailants wielding stone axes like those used to clear the land. The research is based on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of 124 crop samples of barley, wheat, lentil and peas, totalling around 2,500 grains or seeds. The charred remains represent harvested crops preserved in Neolithic houses destroyed by fire. The samples were from archaeological excavations of Neolithic sites across Europe, dating from nearly 8,000 to 4,400 years ago.” ref
Proto-Europe 8 000 – 5000 BC with ties to Anatolian Civilization and the Indo-European Language Spreads to Western Europe with Agriculture
“Proto-European Cultures 8,000-2,500 BC Interactive map of the Proto-European cultures in the Balkans. It is now assumed that the pre-Indo-European or Proto-European cultures which have evolved from rich archeological finds in the Greater Balkans, Greece and Sicily/Malta in the last 50 years go back to migrations from Anatolia. The archeological objects found in the Greater Balkans by Marija Gimbutas and others show a high sophistication in sculptures, ornaments, and grave culture. The “Proto-European Culture” in the Balkans and Greece is the oldest collective “civilization” known. They preceded Egypt by 4000 and China by 6000 years. Several large urban settlements (20 000 people) have been found, possibly under a female(?) priesthood.. The earliest temple cities have been unearthed in Göbekli (9200 BP) predating agriculture by 2000 years. The excavators believe that the large concentrations of laborers building the temples precipitated the need for agriculture.” ref
8,000 BC: Fully Neolithic agriculture has spread through Anatolia to the Balkans. (1967 McEvedy)
8,000 BC: Cycladic culture begin to use a coarse local type of clay to make a variety of objects.
8.000 BC: Female figurines holding serpents are fashioned on Crete and may have been associated with water, regenerative power and protection of the home.
“A study of important sites like Cueva de los Murciélagos in Andalusia, from which the genome of a 7,245 year-old Neolithic farmer, the oldest sequenced genome in southern Iberia representing the Neolithic Almagra Pottery Culture—the early agriculturalists of southern Spain. Prehistoric migrations have played an important role in shaping the genetic makeup of European populations.” ref
“La Almagra (red ochre), also known as ″La Almagra Pottery culture″ is a red pottery found in a number of archaeological sites of the Neolithic period in Spain. It is not known how it relates to other pottery of the Neolithic period. In the 8,000-7,000 years ago Andalusia experiences the arrival of the first agriculturalists.” ref
These ″La Almagra Pottery culture″ people arrive with developed crops (domesticated forms of cereals and legumes). The presence of domestic animals is uncertain, but the known later as domestic species of pig and rabbit remains have been found in large quantities. They also consumed large amounts of olives but it’s uncertain too whether this tree was cultivated or merely harvested in its wild form. Their typical artifact is the La Almagra style pottery, quite variegated. The Andalusian Neolithic also influenced other areas, notably Southern Portugal a few centuries after, where, soon after neolithization, the first dolmen tombs begin to be built c.4800 BC, being possibly the oldest of their kind anywhere. And around 6,700 years ago Cardium Pottery Neolithic culture (also known as Mediterranean Neolithic) arrives to Eastern Iberia.” ref
Cardium potteryorCardial waremostly commonly called the “Cardial culture”
“An open seas navigation culture from the east Mediterranean, called the Cardium culture, also extended its influence to the eastern coasts of the peninsula. These people may have had some relation to the subsequent development of the Iberian civilization.” ref
“8,400- 8,200 years ago: The earliest impressed ware sites are in Epirus and Corfu. Settlements then appear in Albania and Dalmatia on the eastern Adriatic coast dating to between 6100 and 5900 BC.[5] The earliest date in Italy comes from Coppa Nevigata on the Adriatic coast of southern Italy, perhaps as early as 8,000 years ago. Also during Su Carroppu culture in Sardinia, already in its early stages (low strata into Su Coloru cave, c. 6000 BC) early examples of cardial pottery appear. Northward and westward all secure radiocarbon dates are identical to those for Iberia c. 5500 cal BC, which indicates a rapid spread of Cardial and related cultures: 2,000 km from the gulf of Genoa to the estuary of the Mondego in probably no more than 100–200 years. This suggests a seafaring expansion by planting colonies along the coast.” ref
“Older Neolithic cultures existed already at this time in eastern Greece and Crete, apparently having arrived from the Levant, but they appear distinct from the Cardial or impressed ware culture. The ceramic tradition in the central Balkans also remained distinct from that along the Adriatic coastline in both style and manufacturing techniques for almost 1,000 years from the 6th millennium BC. Early Neolithic impressed pottery is found in the Levant, and certain parts of Anatolia, including Mezraa-Teleilat, and in North Africa at Tunus-Redeyef, Tunisia. So the first Cardial settlers in the Adriatic may have come directly from the Levant. Of course it might equally well have come directly from North Africa, and impressed pottery also appears in Egypt. Along the East Mediterranean coast impressed ware has been found in North Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.” ref
“Some ignored these early Neolithic radiocarbon dates noted above for the ″La Almagra Pottery culture″ people looking for a similar archaeological context to the earliest occurrences. They speculated that the origin ranged from Near East, Anatolian and northern Syrian. In this view, the first indication comes from the early Ugaritic, dating from between 2400 and 2300 BC. From these localities it probably migrated to Cyprus. An alternative explanation connected it to the colouration and fabrication technique of the ‘‘Diana style’’ of Lipari (final phase of the Neolithic of Lipari), although the shapes are very different. However, the sixth millennium BC radiocarbon dates confirmed for the archaeological context of the earliest occurrences of this pottery make such speculations untenable since these examples of La Almagra pottery occurred at least 3,000 years before their alleged prototypes in the east Mediterranean.” ref
“8,200-6,500 years ago: The Starčevo culture, sometimes included within a larger grouping known as the Starčevo–Körös–Criş culture,[1] is an archaeological culture of Southeastern Europe, dating to the Neolithic period between 8,200 and 6,500 years ago. The village of Starčevo, the type site, is located on the north bank of the Danube in Serbia (Vojvodinaprovince), opposite Belgrade. It represents the earliest settled farming society in the area, although hunting and gathering still provided a significant portion of the inhabitants’ diet. The pottery is usually coarse but finer fluted and painted vessels later emerged. A type of bone spatula, perhaps for scooping flour, is a distinctive artifact. The Körös is a similar culture in Hungary named after the River Körös with a closely related culture which also used footed vessels but fewer painted ones. Both have given their names to the wider culture of the region in that period. Parallel and closely related cultures also include the Karanovo culture in Bulgaria, Criş in Romania and the pre-Sesklo in Greece. The Starčevo culture covered sizable area that included most of present-day Serbia and Montenegro, as well as parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Republic of MacedoniaandRomania. The westernmost locality of this culture can be found in Croatia, in the vicinity of Ždralovi, a part of the town of Bjelovar. This was the final stage of the culture.” ref
Out of Iberia Migration Event 7,700 – 4,500YearsAgo?
“It seems around 7,700 to 6,100 an out of Iberia event took place where an Iberia migration along southern europe back to Africa then back to Europe. The genetics most commonly attached to the Celtic (including; Iberian, Gallic, Celtic, Germanic and Scandinavian), remains split between Iberia prior to the end of the last ice age and various West Asian locations after the ice age. their ancestor entered Europe from central Asia during a warm period about 40,000 to 30,000 years ago.On the Iberian Peninsula, modern humans developed a series of different cultures, such as the Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean and Magdalenian cultures, some of them characterized by the complex forms of the art of the Upper Paleolithic.” ref, ref, ref
“We know that modern humans survived and flourished in the Iberian refuge during the end of the last ice age. The ice sheets melted and retreated earlier on the west coast than in the rest of Europe. The genetic family tree has a trunk firmly rooted in Iberia and many branches stretch along the western Atlantic coast of Europe and branches across Europe and even back into Asia. This gave the inhabitants of the Iberian refuge an advantage – a “first-mover” advantage gained by being the first to move north. These first-movers gained a land-monopoly. Western Atlantic migrations, took a path along the Mediterranean coast and down the Adriatic and it seems to indicate Crete as a stepping-stone in the Mediterranean after which there was migration into the middle east to the Nile River Valley and from there back to Africa event(s) finally occurring roughly 5,500 to 4,500 years ago. Moreover, there also seems to have been a re-migration back to Europe from Africa about 3,200 to 2,200 years ago. And, it seems again, that Crete played a role as a stepping-stone to re-entering the Eastern Adriatic region and then spreading back into Central and Eastern Europe. ref, ref
“The majority of the Chadic records (Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria) have relatively close genetic connections to individuals in the Middle East (mainly Saudi Arabia). The Chadic and Middle Eastern records tie back to common ancestors along the upper Nile. While the back to Africa migration it is amazing the re-migration back to Europe from Africa that is just as interesting. The back to Europe event took place about 3,200 ± 1,000 years ago. Again, Crete played a role as a stepping-stone to the Eastern Adriatic region and spread into Central and Eastern Europe.” ref
“By looking at the big picture, including all the data illustrates the migration patterns genetically. We see the out of Iberia and back to Africa then followed by a return to Europe.” ref
“The Vinča culture, also known as Turdaș culture or Turdaș–Vinča culture, was a Neolithicarchaeological culture in present-day Serbia and smaller parts of Bulgaria and Romania(particularly Transylvania), dated to the period 5700–4500 BC or 5300–4700/4500 BC. Named for its type site, Vinča-Belo Brdo, a large tell settlement that represents the material remains of a prehistoric society mainly distinguished by its settlement pattern and ritual behavior. Farming technology first introduced to the region during the First Temperate Neolithic was developed further by the Vinča culture, fuelling a population boom and producing some of the largest settlements in prehistoric Europe. These settlements maintained a high degree of cultural uniformity through the long-distance exchange of ritual items, but were probably not politically unified.” ref
“The Danube Valley civilization is one of the oldest civilizations known in Europe. It existed from between 7,500-5,500 years ago in the Balkans and covered a vast area, in what is now Northern Greece to Slovakia (South to North), and Croatia to Romania (West to East). During the height of the Danube Valley civilization, it played an important role in south-eastern Europe through the development of copper tools, a writing system, advanced architecture, including two storey houses, and the construction of furniture, such as chairs and tables, all of which occurred while most of Europe was in the middle of the Stone Age. They developed skills such as spinning, weaving, leather processing, clothes manufacturing, and manipulated wood, clay and stone and they invented the wheel. They had an economic, religious and social structure.” ref
“One of the more intriguing and hotly debated aspects of the Danube Valley civilization is their supposed written language. While some archaeologists have maintained that the ‘writing’ is actually just a series of geometric figures and symbols, others have maintained that it has the features of a true writing system. If this theory is correct, it would make the script the oldest written language ever found, predating the Sumerian writings in Mesopotamia, and possibly even the Dispilio Tablet, which has been dated 5260 BC. Harald Haarmann, a German linguistic and cultural scientist, currently vice-president of the Institute of Archaeomythology, and leading specialist in ancient scripts and ancient languages, firmly supports the view that the Danube script is the oldest writing in the world. The tablets that were found are dated to 5,500 BC, and the glyphs on the tablets, according to Haarmann, are a form of language yet to be deciphered. The symbols, which are also called Vinca symbols, have been found in multiple archaeological sites throughout the Danube Valley areas, inscribed on pottery, figurines, spindles and other clay artifacts.” ref
And, to me, this area and time relates to the birth of the Creation of Male God around 7,000 years ago and proto-kings, such as seen in the royal nobility skeleton discovered in Grave No. 43 in the Varna culture (around 6,400-6,100 years ago) Chalcolithic Necropolis together with the numerous gold artifacts dating to the middle of the 5th Millenium BCE – and is the old processed gold in the world. Which took it to a few different areas but defiantly is seen in a new way as it moved north to the step lands of Eastern Europe and the Proto-Indo-European language as well as south into Jordan and Israel by 6,500 to 6,000 years ago at which time it then moves to Egypt becoming more advanced with the emergence of an emerging nation of Egypt around 5,000 years ago as well as Mesopotamia with Progressed organized religion.
“The Tărtăria tablets, dated to 7,500–7,300 years ago and associated with the Vinča culture. The Vinča symbols on it predate the proto-Sumerian pictographic script. According to Marija Gimbutas, the Vinča culture was part of Old Europe – a relatively homogeneous, peaceful and matrifocal culture that occupied Europe during the Neolithic. According to this hypothesis, its period of decline was followed by an invasion of warlike, horse-riding Proto-Indo-European tribes from the Pontic-Caspian steppe. In its later phase, the center of the Vinča network shifted from Vinča-Belo Brdo to Vršac, and the long-distance exchange of obsidian and Spondylusartefacts from modern-day Hungary and the Aegean respectively became more important than that of Vinča figurines. Eventually, the network lost its cohesion altogether and fell into decline. It is likely that, after two millennia of intensive farming, economic stresses caused by decreasing soil fertility were partly responsible for this decline. A hypothesis hold that the Vinča culture developed locally from the preceding Starčevo culture.” ref
“The Dispilio tablet was found in a Neolithic lake settlement in Northern Greece near the city of Kastoria. A group of people used to occupy the settlement 7,000 to 8,000 years ago. The Dispilio tablet was one of many artifacts that were found in the area, however, the importance of the table lies in the fact that it has an unknown written text on it that goes back further than 5,000 BC. The wooden tablet was dated using the C12 method to have been made in 5260 BC, making it significantly older than the writing system used by the Sumerians. The text on the tablet includes a type of engraved writing which probably consists of a form of writing that pre-existed Linear B writing used by the Mycenaean Greeks. As well as the tablet, many other ceramic pieces were found that also have the same type of writing on them. Professor Xourmouziadis has suggested that this type of writing, which has not yet been deciphered, could be any form of communication including symbols representing the counting of possessions.” ref
Hamangia culture around 7,250-6,500 years ago (Romania and Bulgaria)
First Male God? To me, it seems he stole the goddess’s birthing stool, and possibly her power? Cernavodă, the necropolis where the famous statues “The (MALE) Thinker” and “The Sitting Woman” were discovered and may date some time after 7,000 to 6,600 years ago. ref, ref, ref
“HamangiaCulture’sPottery: Painted vessels with complex geometrical patterns based on spiral-motifs are typical. The shapes include: bowls and cylindric glasses (most with of them with arched walls). They are decorated with dots, staight parallel lines and zig-zags, which make Hamangia pottery very original. Pottery figurines are normally extremely stylized and show standing naked faceless women with emphasized breasts and buttocks.” ref
“The Durankulak lake settlement commenced on a small island, approximately 7000 BC and around 4700/4600 BC the stone architecture was already in general use and became a characteristic phenomenon that was unique in Europe.” ref
The Balkans, where I think the first male god originates is the site of a few major Neolithic cultures, including Butmir, Vinča, Varna, Karanovo, Hamangia. And the threat of violence that accompanied the Copper Age “Kurganization” of the eastern Balkans (and the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture) is associated with an early expansion of the Proto-Indo-European people of a Kurgan culture north of the Black Sea from which the Indo-European languages spread out throughout Europe, Eurasia and parts of Asia. In Serbia, a 7,500 years ago copper axe was found at Prokuplje. The European Corded Ware culture 4,900-4,350 years ago used stone axes modeled on copper axes, imitating “mold marks” carved in the stone. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
The Dead among the Living in the Hamangia Culture
“Hamangia Culture’sPractice of Burying the Dead: Crouched or extended inhumation in cemeteries. Grave-goods tend to be without pottery in Hamangia I. Grave-goods include flint, worked shells, bone tools and shell-ornaments.” ref
“Human bones in the domestic space are not uncommon during Prehistory, but the settlements of the Hamangia culture did not provide, many such remains. A recent reanalysis of the excavations performed at Cernavodă–Columbia C settlement brought to light the discovery of several human bone fragments from the habitation layer. But they do exist, and they were found at various depths, in association with pottery.” ref
“Is there’s a connection between “Hamangia Thinker” and Cycladic art and the “Hamangia Thinker.” These and other similar figures could relate to another Neolithic clay figure that was found at a Cucuteni-Trypillian culture site in the town of Tarpesti, Romania called the “Thinker of Tarpesti” resemblance between the Thinker of Tarpesti statue and the Hamangia Thinker statue is uncanny.” ref
“Hamangia Culture’s Demise: It was absorbed by the expanding Boian culture in its transition towards the Gumelnitsa. Hamangia Culture began around 5250/5200 BC and lasted until around 4550/4500 BCE with cultural links with Anatolia/Turkey suggest that it was the result of a settlement by people from Anatolia/Turkey, unlike the neighbouring cultures, which appear descended from earlier Neolithic settlement.” ref
“The Boian culture (dated to 6,300–5,500 years ago) originated on the Wallachian Plain north of the Danube River in southeastern Romania. is a Neolithicarchaeological culture of Southeast Europe. It is primarily found along the lower course of the Danube in what is now Romania and Bulgaria, and thus may be considered a Danubian culture. The Boian culture emerged from two earlier Neolithic groups: the Dudeşti culture that originated in Anatolia (present-day Turkey); and the Musical note culture (also known as the Middle Linear Pottery culture or LBK) from the northern Subcarpathian region of southeastern Poland and western Ukraine. Later settlements also sometimes showed signs of possible fortification in the form of deep, wide defensive ditches; A segment of the Boian society ventured to the northeast along the Black Sea coast, encountering the late Hamangia culture, which they eventually merged with to form the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture. The use of lithic technology occurred throughout this culture’s existence, attested to by the presence of debitage found next to various types of shapedflint and polished stonetools. Towards the end of its existence copper artifacts began to be found, made from the high-grade copper found in the Balkan Mountains of Bulgaria. There is evidence that the Boian culture acquired the technology for copper metallurgy; as a result, this culture bridged the change from the Neolithic to the Copper Age. Unlike later cultures that followed, there have not been many artifacts found in Boian culture sites of sculptures or figurines. However, the oldest bone figurine in Romania was found at the Cernica site, dating back to Phase I.” ref
“7,000-year-old: Bird-like object which could depict a human but bears no clear sign of gender and was carved from granite – without the benefit of metal tools, as it dates from the Final Neolithic period.” ref
“Buried with stoneaxe and horn-tipped arrow, ancient human remains have archeologists reshaping their assumptions. It is a fair assumption to say, as this fact proves, that the burial mounds emerged much earlier than the Bronze Age, in Neolithic times. In Siberia, there was found a burial mound dating to The New Stone Age (Neolithic Era) has been unearthed in Novosibirsk region. In the mound were nine people, including women and children,” ref
“7,000-year-old remains of a young man buried there in a strange upright position a Mesolithic site dating back 8,500 years, in Germany. The site was one of the first true cemeteries in Europe, used by native central European hunter-gatherers and fisherman from about 8,400-2,500 years ago before and after the first farmers immigrated to Central Europe from Southeast-Europe about 7,500 years ago. He was placed in a vertical pit and the body was fixed upright by filling the grave with sand up to the knees. The upper body was left to decay and was likely picked at by scavengers. The unique burial was found near the village of Groß Fredenwalde, on top of a rocky hill in northeastern Germany, about 50 miles north of Berlin. Nine skeletons have been excavated so far, including five children younger than 6 years and the 8,400-year-old skeleton of a 6-month-old infant, with arms still folded across the chest.” ref
“The Kurgan hypothesis postulates that the Proto-Indo-Europeans were the bearers of the Kurgan culture of the Black Sea and the Caucasus and west of the Urals. The hypothesis combined kurgan archaeology with linguistics to locate the origins of the Proto-Indo-European (PIE)-speaking peoples, named the culture “Kurgan” after their distinctive burial mounds and traced its diffusion into Europe. This hypothesis has had a significant impact on Indo-European studies. Three genetic studies in 2015 gave partial support to Gimbutas’s Kurgan theory regarding the Indo-European Urheimat. According to those studies, haplogroups R1b and R1a, now the most common in Europe (R1a is also common in South Asia) would have expanded from the Russian and Ukrainian steppes, along with the Indo-European languages; they also detected an autosomal component present in modern Europeans which was not present in Neolithic Europeans, which would have been introduced with paternal lineages R1b and R1a, as well as Indo-European languages.” ref
“The Kurgan model of Indo-European origins identifies the Pontic–Caspian steppe as the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) urheimat, and a variety of late PIE dialects are assumed to have been spoken across the region. According to this model, the Kurgan culture gradually expanded until it encompassed the entire Pontic–Caspian steppe, Kurgan IV being identified with the Yamna culture of around 5,000 years ago. The mobility of the Kurgan culture facilitated its expansion over the entire region, and is attributed to the domestication of the horse and later the use of early chariots. The first strong archaeological evidence for the domestication of the horse comes from the Sredny Stog culture north of the Azov Sea in Ukraine, and would correspond to an early PIE or pre-PIE nucleus of the 7,000 years ago.” ref
Cultures considered as part of the “Kurgan culture”:
6,000–5,500: The Pit Grave culture (a.k.a. Yamna culture), the prototypical kurgan builders, emerges in the steppe, and the Maykop culture in the northern Caucasus. Indo-Hittite models postulate the separation of Proto-Anatolian before this time.
5,500–5,000: Middle PIE. The Pit Grave culture is at its peak, representing the classical reconstructed Proto-Indo-European society with stone idols, predominantly practicing animal husbandry in permanent settlements protected by hillforts, subsisting on agriculture, and fishing along rivers. Contact of the Pit Grave culture with late Neolithic Europe cultures results in the “kurganized” Globular Amphora and Baden cultures (Wave 2). The Maykop culture shows the earliest evidence of the beginning Bronze Age, and Bronze weapons and artifacts are introduced to Pit Grave territory. Probable early Satemization.
5,000–4,500: Late PIE. The Pit Grave culture extends over the entire Pontic steppe (Wave 3). The Corded Ware culture extends from the Rhine to the Volga, corresponding to the latest phase of Indo-European unity, the vast “kurganized” area disintegrating into various independent languages and cultures, still in loose contact enabling the spread of technology and early loans between the groups, except for the Anatolian and Tocharian branches, which are already isolated from these processes. The centum–satem break is probably complete, but the phonetic trends of Satemization remain active. ref
“6,750-6,000 years ago Tell Yunatsite (Bulgarian), “The Flat Mound” is situated in the Pazardzhik Province of southern Bulgaria (Northern Thrace). The earliest settlement dates to the beginning of the Early Chalcolithic. It probably covered an area of about 100,000–120,000 m2 (25–30 acres). In the second half of the Early Chalcolithic (around 6,750–6,650 years ago and its collapse around 800 years later) a fortification wall was erected in the eastern part of the settlement, on a small natural plateau 2–3 m higher than the surrounding surface. The Chalcolithic fortification system was reinforced by a ditch surrounding the wall from the outside. The wall protected the tell on its southern and probably western sides. The Topolnitsa river provided natural protection from the north and east. In the course of time, the tell was gradually formed inside the limits of this protected area. Very interesting and important in terms of settlement organization is the fact that the wall and the ditch did not protect the entire settlement, but rather only one part of it – a Prehistoric “citadel” raised inside and above the larger settlement. The “citadel” was in use for more than 500 years, until the entire settlement was destroyed by enemies at the end of the 5th millennium BCE. The settlement structure shows some basic characteristics of towns, which emerged in the Near East about 2 000 years later.” ref
“More and more evidence seems to offer thought to the possibility the Balkan Peninsula, as well as Turkey rather than ancient Mesopotamia that is the cradle of our Modern thoughts civilization. The evidence of a little known culture preceding Egyptian and even Sumerian culture has been attracting the attention of researchers, turning everything we know about antiquity upside down. Remains of this ancient society have gradually been emerging from the ashes of human history taking us some 6-7 millennia back in time when a highly-advanced unknown civilization flourished in our lands, a period which preceded Sumer and Akkad by at least one millennium. A vivid testimonial to the existence of this mysterious civilization is the gold from the Chalcolithic Necropolis of Varna, also known as the oldest processed gold in the world.” ref
“The oldest gold treasure in the world, belonging to the Varna culture, was discovered in the Varna Necropolis and dates to 6,600-6,200 years ago. Varna is the third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, the city has been a major economic, social and cultural centre for almost three millennia. Varna, historically known as Odessos (Ancient Greek: Ὀδησσός), grew from a Thracian seaside settlement to a major seaport on the Black Sea.” ref
The Varna culture belongs to the later Neolithic of northeastern Bulgaria, around 6,400- 6,100 years ago. It is contemporary and closely related with Gumelnița in southern Rumania, often considered as local variants. It is characterized by polychrome pottery and rich cemeteries, the most famous of which are Varna Necropolis, the eponymous site, and the Durankulak complex, which comprises the largest prehistoric cemetery in southeastern Europe.” ref
“The culture had sophisticated religious beliefs about afterlife and developed hierarchical status differences: it constitutes the oldest known burial evidence of an elite male. The end of the fifth millennium BC is the time that Marija Gimbutas, founder of the Kurgan hypothesis claims the transition to male dominance began in Europe. The high status male was buried with remarkable amounts of gold, held a war axe or mace and wore a gold penis sheath. The bull-shaped gold platelets perhaps also venerated virility, instinctive force, and warfare. Gimbutas holds that the artifacts were made largely by local craftspeople.” ref
“Burials at Varna have some of the world’s oldest gold jewelry. There are crouched and extended inhumations. Some graves do not contain a skeleton, but grave gifts (cenotaphs). The symbolic (empty) graves are the richest in gold artifacts. 3000 gold artifacts were found, with a weight of approximately 6 kilograms. Grave 43 contained more gold than has been found in the entire rest of the world for that epoch. Three symbolic graves contained masks of unfired clay. The weight and the number of gold finds in the Varna cemetery exceeds by several times the combined weight and number of all of the gold artifacts found in all excavated sites of the same millenium, 5000-4000 BC, from all over the world, including Mesopotamia and Egypt”.” ref
“VarnaCultureDecline: The discontinuity of the Varna, Karanovo, Vinča and Lengyel culturesin their main territories and the large scale population shifts to the north and northwest are indirect evidence of a catastrophe of such proportions that cannot be explained by possible climatic change, desertification, or epidemics. Direct evidence of the incursion of horse-ridingwarriors is found, not only in single burials of males under barrows, but in the emergence of a whole complex of Indo-Europeancultural traits.” ref
With the birth of the Creation of Male God around 7,000 years ago and proto-kings, such as seen in the royal nobility skeleton discovered in Grave No. 43 in the Varna culture (around 6,400-6,100 years ago) Chalcolithic Necropolis together with the numerous gold artifacts dating to the middle of the 5th Millenium BCE – and is the old processed gold in the world. ref Which took it to a few different areas but defiantly is seen in a new way as it moved north to the step lands of Eastern Europe and the Proto-Indo-European language as well as south into Jordan and Israel by 6,500 to 6,000 years ago at which time it then moves to Egypt becoming more advanced with the emergence of an emerging nation of Egypt around 5,000 years ago as well as Mesopotamia with Progressed organized religion.
The Rise of the Varna Culture
“The first evidence of Varna’s ancient civilization came in the form of tools, vessels, utensils, and figurines made from stone, flint, bone, and clay. Evidence suggests that it was between 4600 and 4200 BC, when gold smithing first started in Varna. As advances were made, and craftsmen mastered metallurgy of copper and gold, the inhabitants now had something extremely valuable to trade. Increased contacts with neighbours both north and south eventually opened up trade relations within the Black Sea and Mediterranean region, which was of great importance for the development of the society. The deep bay, along which the settlements of Varna, provided a comfortable harbor for ships sailing across the Black Sea and Varna became a prosperous trading center. Increased trading activity allowed the metallurgists to accumulate wealth and very quickly, a societal gap developed with metallurgists at the top, followed by merchants in the middle, and farmers making up the lower class. Incredible discoveries made at a nearby cemetery also suggest that Varna had powerful rulers or kings. And so, the foundations had been laid for the emergence of a powerful and flourishing culture, whose influence permeated the whole of Europe for thousands of years to come. Analysis of the graves revealed that the Varna culture had a highly structured society – elite members of society were buried in shrouds with gold ornaments sewn into the cloth wrappings and their graves were laden with treasures, including gold ornaments, heavy copper axes, elegant finery, and richly decorated ceramics, while others had simple burials with few grave goods.” https://lnkd.in/eQFUMY7
“There were more than 300 graves were uncovered in the necropolis, and between them over 22,000 exquisite artifacts were recovered, including 3,000+ items made from gold with a total weight of 6 kilograms. Other precious relics found within the graves included copper, high-quality flint, stone tools, jewellery, shells of Mediterranean mollusks, pottery, obsidian blades, and beads. While there were many elite burials uncovered, there was one in particular that stood out amongst the rest – grave 43. Inside grave 43, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a high status male who appears to have been a ruler/leader of some kind – more gold was found within this burial than in the entire rest of the world in that period. The male was buried with a scepter – a symbol of high rank or spiritual power – and wore a sheath of solid gold over his penis. The burial is incredibly significant as it is the first known elite male burial in Europe. Prior to this, it was the women and children who received the most elaborate burials. Marija Gimbutas, a Lithuanian-American archaeologist, who was well-known for her claims that Neolithic sites across Europe provided evidence for matriarchal pre-Indo-European societies, suggested that it was the end of the 5 th millennium BC when the transition to male dominance began in Europe. Indeed, in the Varna culture, it was observed that around this time, men started to get the better posthumous treatment.” https://lnkd.in/eQFUMY7
“The Funnel Beaker Culture – “First Farmers of Scandinavia” around 6,200-4,650 years ago marks the arrival of Megalithic structures in Scandinavia from western Europe. Megaliths seem to have originated in the Near East. The oldest ones in Europe were found in Sicily and southern Portugal and date from around 9,000 years ago. The Funnelbeaker culture marks the appearance of megalithic tombs at the coasts of the Baltic and of the North sea, an example of which are the Sieben Steinhäuser in northern Germany. At graves, the people sacrificed ceramic vessels that contained food along with amber jewelry and flint-axes. Flint-axes and vessels were also deposed in streams and lakes near the farmlands, and virtually all Sweden’s 10,000 flint axes that have been found from this culture were probably sacrificed in water. They also constructed large cult centres surrounded by pales, earthworks, and moats. The Atlantic Megalithic culture really started with the advent of farming and would have spread from Iberia to France, the British Isles, and the Low Countries before reaching Scandinavia. Considering the high Northwest African admixture in Funnelbeaker, there is a good chance that Iberian Megalithic people inherited genes from Northwest Africans, probably from the North African Neolithic route that brought R1b-V88, E-M78, J1 and T1a to Iberia. R1b-V88 and E-M78 (V13) have both been found in Early Neolithic Iberia, and are both found throughout western Europe today. The two samples below also carried about 3% of Southwest Asian admixture, which is perfectly consistent with a Neolithic dispersal from the southern Levant across North Africa until Iberia.” ref, ref
Funnelbeaker Culture (samples from Sweden) : H (x3), H1, H24, J1d5, J2b1a, K1a5, T2b
Baalberge group (c. 5,800 to 5,350 ybp ; central-east Germany): H (x3), H1e1a, H7d5, HV, J, K1a (x2), N1a1a, T1a1, T2b, T2c (x2), T2e1, U5b2a2, U8a1a, X, X2c
Walternienburg-Bernburg group (c. 5,100 to 4,700 ybp ; central-east Germany): H, H1e1a3, H5, K1, K1a (x2), T2b, U5a, U5b, U5b1c1, U5b2a1a, V, W, X
Outliers from Gotland, Sweden (5,300 to 4,700 ybp): H7d, HV0a, J1c5 (2x), J1c8a, K1a2b (2x), K2b1a, T2b8 ref
The presence of H1 was confirmed in remains from the Late Neolithic Funnel Beaker culture in Scandinavia, which can also be classified as a Megalithic culture. H1 and H3 lineages would have been some of the most prevalent mt-haplogroups among the Megalithic cultures of Western Europe, which spanned the whole Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, from the 5th millennium BCE until the arrival of the Proto-Celts (Y-DNA R1b) from 2200 BCE to 1800 BCE (or up to 1200 BCE in parts of Iberia). Megalithic people would have belonged essentially to Y-haplogroups I2, G2a and E1b1b, with the possible addition of J2 lineages during the Chalcolithic. From the Bronze Age, R1b male lineages replaced a large percentage of Megalithic Y-haplogroups, but female Megalithic lineages survived almost unchanged in frequency. Celtic culture was born from the fusion of Indo-European paternal lineages (R1b) with native Central and Western European maternal lineages (including H1, H3, H10, J1c, K1a, T2, U5, and X2). The first pottery produced in the Fertile Crescent appeared circa 6500 BCE. It is from this period that early agriculturalists began expanding towards western Anatolia and Greece. These Neolithic farmers potentially belonged to haplogroups H5, as well as J1c, K1a, N1a, T2 and X2, all of which have been found in ancient Neolithic samples from Europe and Anatolia, and are also found throughout the Middle East today. The mutation defining haplogroup H took place at least 25,000 years ago, and perhaps closer to 30,000 years ago. Its place of origin is unknown, but it was probably somewhere around the northeastern Mediterraean (Balkans, Anatolia or Levant), possibly even in Italy. ref
Suggests That Prehistoric Humans Had Sophisticated Knowledge of Astronomy. The paintings appear to reflect the position of the stars in the night sky. ref
Stone Age Chefs Spiced Up Food 6,000 Years Ago
“Scientists have found the first direct evidence “It’s the earliest known use of spice,” that European hunter-gatherers flavored their roasted fish and meat as well as probably deer with at least one spice: garlic mustard seeds. Pottery shards that date back to about 6,000 years ago or right before farming was well-established in northern Europe that contain microscopic fossils of crushed mustard seeds, archaeologists report in the journal PLOSOne. In other words, eating wasn’t just about getting calories for hunter-gatherers in northern Europe, they were valuing the flavor in the food in a creative process. it is often assumed that what drove people to choose certain foods in prehistory was caloriesbut evidence shows there was a real change where eating was much more of a social thing about sharing and showing off the prestige of the food.” ref
Not many of us cook with garlic mustard seeds these days, but we probably would have thousands or even hundreds of years ago. The plant is a member of the broccoli family, and it’s related to horseradish, cabbage and kale. The crushed seeds have a peppery flavor, while the leaves taste like a mix between garlic and broccoli. Previous studies have found fossils of other spices, like coriander, turmeric and capers, near prehistoric cooking vessels across Europe. But those sites date back to only about 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, when people in western Europe were already adopting agricultural practices. Spices from Asia and the Middle East are thought to have moved into northern Europe after agriculture. ” ref
Ancient DNA and the peopling of the British Isles – pattern and process of the Neolithic transition 6000 years ago:
“The British Isles aDNA and the relative roles of migration, admixture and acculturation, with a specific focus on the transition from a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer society to the Neolithic and farming. Neolithic cultures first appear in Britain around 6000 years ago, a millennium after they appear in adjacent areas of northwestern continental Europe. However, in Britain, at the margins of the expansion the pattern and process of the British Neolithic transition remains unclear. To examine this we present genome-wide data from British Mesolithic and Neolithic individuals spanning the Neolithic transition.” ref
“These data indicate population continuity through the British Mesolithic but discontinuity after the Neolithic transition, around 6000 years ago. These results provide overwhelming support for agriculture being introduced to Britain primarily by incoming continental farmers, with surprisingly little evidence for local admixture. There is a genetic affinity between British and Iberian Neolithic populations indicating that British Neolithic people derived much of their ancestry from Anatolian farmers who originally followed the Mediterranean route of dispersal and likely entered Britain from northwestern mainland Europe.” ref
6,000 years ago, humans dramatically changed how nature works
“Research reminds us that humans have actually been reshaping the planet for thousands of years, in ways we’re only just beginning to understand. A paper published Wednesday in Nature suggests that human activities caused a major shift about 6,000 years ago in the way plant and animal communities were structured on Earth — this was after the start of the geological epoch known as the “Holocene,” an era which includes the growth of human populations and their rising influence around the globe. The study compared data from the fossil record with observations from the modern era to reach its conclusions. They concluded that biological pressure from the rise of human activity during this time period was the likely cause.” ref
6,000 years old Horse Domesticationin the Northern steppe lands
“Archaeological evidence has indicated that the domestication of horses had taken place by approximately 6,000 years ago in the steppe lands north of the Black Sea from Ukraine to Kazakhstan. Some of the clearest proof of equine domestication points to the steppes of Central Asia roughly 5,500 years ago. Current models suggest that all modern domesticated horses living now descend from those first tamed in Botai, in the north of present-day Kazakhstan. Yet this genomic analysis yielded unexpected results. Though Botai horses did not give rise to today’s domesticated horses, they turn out to be direct ancestors of Przewalski’s horses. Thus the latter, commonly thought to be the last wild horses on our planet, are actually the feral descendants of the first horses ever to have been domesticated.” ref
“The study highlighted certain changes that occurred with this return to a wild state, including the loss of leopard spotting characteristic of the Botai horse. The allele responsible for this coloration was probably eliminated by natural selection as it also caused night blindness. The team’s genomic analysis of twenty-two Eurasian horses, whose lives collectively span the last 4,100 years, has revealed that none are related to the Botai horse. So the origin of modern domestic horses must be sought elsewhere. The researchers are now focusing on other candidate locations in Central Asia as well as on the Pontic-Caspian steppe of southern Russia, in Anatolia, and at various European sites that are refuges for these animals.” ref
6,000 years old Trypilian temple – observatory at Nebelivka Ukraine
“The Nebelivka village, Kirovograd region, Ukraine at the territory of one of the largest settlements of Cucuteni-Trypillia civilization dating from 4000 BC archaeologists excavated a building that was unique for its time. According to experts, the building is a Trypillian temple and has no equals in Europe. It had two levels and the area of 20 x 60 meters, that is 1200 m2. The researchers found seven altars made of clay, which had a crosslike shape. The altars had circles painted on them that formed a composition. Also, many fragments of pottery ware and animal bones, statuettes and other household items were found.” ref
“Between 6,000-5,000 years ago plague is believed to have contributed to the plunge of Europe’s settlements at the start of the early Bronze Age around 5,000 years ago, many Neolithic societies declined throughout western Eurasia due to a combination of factors that are still largely debated. The fact that many people died in a relatively short time in one place suggested they might have perished together in an epidemic. According to the study “the close contact between humans and animals and the accumulation of food, likely led to poorer sanitary conditions and an increased risk of pathogen emergence and transmission in human settlements of the Neolithic and afterward.” ref
How plague spread
“About 5,000 years ago, humans migrated from the Eurasian steppe down into Europe in major waves, replacing the Neolithic farmers who lived in Europe at that time. Previous research had suggested the steppe folk brought the plague with them, wiping out pre-existing settlements upon their arrival. However, if the plague specimen from the Swedish grave diverged from other strains 5,700 years ago, it likely evolved before the steppe migrations began — suggesting it was already there. Rather, the researchers suggested that the plague emerged in so-called mega settlements of 10,000 to 20,000 inhabitants that existed in Europe between 6,100 and 5,400 years ago. These mega settlements — up to 10 times larger than previous European settlements — “had people, animals, and stored food close together, and, likely, very poor sanitation. That’s the textbook example of what you need to evolve new pathogens,” senior study author Simon Rasmussen, a computational biologist at the University of Copenhagen, said in a statement.” ref
“If plague evolved in these mega settlements, then when people started dying from it, the settlements would have been abandoned and destroyed. This is exactly what was observed in these settlements after 5,500 years ago. Plague then could have spread across trade networks made possible by wheeled transport, which had expanded rapidly throughout Europe by that time, Rascovan said. Eventually, it would have made its way even to relatively distant sites like Frälsegården in Sweden, where the woman the researchers analyzed died. That woman’s DNA revealed she was not genetically related to steppe folk, supporting the idea that this ancient strain of plague arrived before the migrants came from the steppe.” ref
The perils of innovation?
“The discovery of plague the previously unknown strain of plague in the remains of a woman at the Frälsegården site in Sweden. Carbon dating suggested she died about 4,900 years ago during a period known as the Neolithic Decline, when Neolithic cultures throughout Europe mysteriously dwindled. in a relatively marginal area of the Neolithic world … suggests well-established and far-reaching contact networks” at that time that allowed the disease to spread. Indeed, it’s possible that “the revolutionary innovations of that time — bigger settlements with more complex organization, wheeled transport, metallurgy, trading networks over large distances, and so on” — may have set the stage for “the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, and this eventually led to, what we think, was the first massive pandemic of human history, The findings don’t mean that plague single-handedly wiped out Neolithic settlements, but rather that it may have been one factor among others, Rascovan said.For instance, the Neolithic settlements may have overexploited their environment, potentially driving forests they depended on into extinction, the researchers said.” ref
5,500-year-old Passage to the Afterlifefrom Ireland
“A monument that may lead to a shift in scholars’ vision of Ireland’s prehistoric past has been discovered in the Boyne Valley north of Dublin. The 5,500-year-old passage tomb—a complex of multiple burials—is thought to be one of the oldest ever discovered in the area, which is renowned for its concentration of Neolithic sites. One of the stones that once covered the tomb is especially well carved. The tomb’s relatively small size suggests that it was constructed earlier than other tombs in the valley, says archaeologist Stephen Davis of University College Dublin. It may date closer to when people first began farming in the region, around 5,800 years ago. “The tomb seems to mark a transition towards a time when religion played a greater role in people’s lives, and to some extent, suggests Davis, the free time to build such monuments must have been the result of an agricultural surplus.” ref
“Newgrange is a 5,200-year-old passage tomb located in the Boyne Valley in Ireland’s Ancient East. Newgrange was built by Stone Age farmers, the mound is 85 meters (93 yards) in diameter and 13.5 meters (15 yards) high, an area of about 1 acre. A passage measuring 19 meters (21 yards) leads into a chamber with 3 alcoves. The passage and chamber are aligned with the rising sun at the Winter Solstice. Newgrange is surrounded by 97 large stones called kerb stones some of which are engraved with megalithic art; the most striking is the entrance stone.” ref
Thousands of horsemen may have swept into Bronze Age Europe, transforming the local population
“Early Bronze Age men from the vast grasslands of the Eurasian steppe swept into Europe on horseback about 5000 years ago—and may have left most women behind. This mostly male migration may have persisted for several generations, sending men into the arms of European women who interbred with them, and leaving a lasting impact on the genomes of living Europeans. It looks like males migrating in war, with horses and wagons. Europeans are the descendants of at least three major migrations of prehistoric people. First, a group of hunter-gatherers arrived in Europe about 37,000 years ago. Then, farmers began migrating from Anatolia (a region including present-day Turkey) into Europe 9000 years ago. ” ref
“But they initially didn’t intermingle much with the local hunter-gatherers because they brought their own families with them. Finally, 5000 to 4800 years ago, nomadic herders known as the Yamnaya swept into Europe. They were an early Bronze Age culture that came from the grasslands, or steppes, of modern-day Russia and Ukraine, bringing with them metallurgy and animal herding skills and, possibly, Proto-Indo-European, the mysterious ancestral tongue from which all of today’s 400 Indo-European languages spring. They immediately interbred with local Europeans, who were descendants of both the farmers and hunter-gatherers. Within a few hundred years, the Yamnaya contributed to at least half of central Europeans’ genetic ancestry.” ref
“A large number of religious casting in the style of the Scythian-Siberian was discovered in Birch island in the Kolyvan district of the Novosibirsk region for more than 2.5 thousand years, can indicate joint activities of the steppe nomads and hunting britainy tribes. In a small area, there was found figures of deer, horses, Scythian bow, small cooking kotelkina, they belong to the so-called Scythian – Siberian style and associated with the culture of nomads of the Kazakh Altai and the Baraba steppes. Such isolated figures found here before.” Ref
“But the mass appearance of these things in britainas area inhabited by tribes of hunters kulaika culture relates with possible joint activities of the ancient tribes he said. Perhaps the nomadic tribes came to petinou area for trade with the tribes of hunters. This is evidenced by found next to the Scythian-Siberian casting items kulaika culture – figures of moose, bear, birds of prey, and arrowheads belonging to the forest hunters. Moreover, could it be it was a joint magical rites tribes or evidence that representatives of different tribes joined together in marriage. The layer associated with the early iron age (3-2,5 thousand years ago) is not a settlement and not a burial: judging by the number of holes, animal bones, and objects found there, it seems like a sanctuary/(temple-like area?), where they celebrated secret rites.” Ref
DNA of Bronze Age Proto-Indo-Europeans
“The so-called Kurgan hypothesis, which postulates that the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language arose in the Pontic steppe. During the Yamna period, one of the world’s first Bronze Age cultures, Proto-Indo-European speakers migrated west towards Europe and east towards Central Asia, then South Asia, spreading with them the Indo-European languages spoken today in most of Europe, Iran and a big part of the Indian subcontinent. The Kurgan model is the most widely accepted scenario of Indo-European origins. Most linguists agree that PIE may have been spoken as a single language (before divergence began) around 3500 BCE, which coincides with the beginning of the Yamna culture in the Pontic-Caspian steppe, and of the related Maykop culture in the northwest Caucasus. .” ref
“There is now compelling genetic evidence that haplogroups R1a and R1b, the most common paternal lineages in Europe, Central Asia and parts of South Asia, were mainly propagated by the Indo-European migrations during the Bronze Age. A sizeable part of European maternal lineages also seem to be of Indo-European origin, although the proportion varies a lot across Europe, but generally correlating to a large extent with the proportion of Y-haplogroups R1a and R1b. Other paternal lineages, such as G2a3b, J2b2, and T1a, are thought to have spread the Copper Age from the Balkans to modern Ukraine, then to have been absorbed by the expansion of R1a and R1b people respectively from central Russia (Volga basin) and southern Russia (Kuban, northwest Caucasus).” ref
“The first PIE expansion into Europe was the Corded Ware culture, which so far have yielded only R1a samples. R1b is thought to have invaded the Balkans, then followed the Danube until Germany, from where it spread to western Europe and Scandinavia. The Asian branch originated around the Volga basin, then expanded across the Urals with the Sintashta culture, then over most of Central Asia and southern Siberia.” ref
“In the Chalcolithic (5,000-4,000 yeas ago), a series of complex cultures developed that would give rise to the peninsula’s first civilizations and to extensive exchange networks reaching to the Baltic, Middle East and North Africa. Around 4,800 – 4,700 yeas ago, the Beaker culture, which produced the Maritime Bell Beaker, probably originated in the vibrant copper-using communities of the Tagus estuary in Portugal and spread from there to many parts of western Europe.” ref
BellBeakerculture 4,800–3,800 years ago
“The Bell Beaker culture/Beaker culture, named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from around 4,800 years ago, and lasting in continental Europe until 4,300 years ago, succeeded by the Unetice culture, in Britain until as late as 3,800 years ago. The culture was widely scattered throughout Western Europe, from various regions in Iberia and spots facing northern Africa to the Danubian plains, the British Isles, and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. In its early phase, the Bell Beaker culture can be seen as the western contemporary of the Corded Ware culture of Central Europe. From about 4,400 years ago, however, the “Beaker folk” expanded eastwards, into the Corded Ware horizon. In parts of Central and Eastern Europe – as far east as Poland – a sequence occurs from Corded Ware to Bell Beaker.” ref
“This period marks a period of cultural contact in Atlantic and Western Europe following a prolonged period of relative isolation during the Neolithic. In its mature phase, the Bell Beaker culture is understood as not only a collection of characteristic artefact types, but a complex cultural phenomenon involving metalwork in copper and gold, archery, specific types of ornamentation, and (presumably) shared ideological, cultural and religious ideas.[6] A wide range of regional diversity persists within the widespread late Beaker culture, particularly in local burial styles (including incidences of cremation rather than inhumation), housing styles, economic profile, and local ceramic wares (Begleitkeramik). The Bell Beaker culture follows the Corded Ware culture and for north-central Europe the Funnelbeaker culture. Its spread has been one of the central questions of the migrationism vs. diffusionismdebate in 20th-century archaeology, variously described as due to migration, possibly of small groups of warriors, craftsmen or traders, or due to the diffusion of ideas and object exchange.” ref
“DNA taken from ancient European skeletons reveals that the genetic makeup of Europe mysteriously transformed about 4,500 years ago. What is intriguing is that the genetic markers of this first pan-European culture, which was clearly very successful, were then suddenly replaced around 4,500 years ago, and we don’t know why. People sweeping out from Turkey colonized Europe, likely as a part of the agricultural revolution, reaching Germany about 7,500 years ago.” ref
“Analyzed mitochondrial DNA, which resides in the cells’ energy-making structures and is passed on through the maternal line, from 37 skeletal remains from Germany and two from Italy; the skeletons belonged to humans who lived in several different cultures that flourished between 7,500 and 2,500 years ago. The team looked a DNA specifically from a certain genetic group, called haplogroup h, which is found widely throughout Europe but is less common in East and Central Asia. The earliest farmers in Germany were closely related to Near Eastern and Anatolian people, suggesting that the agricultural revolution did indeed bring migrations of people into Europe who replaced early hunter-gatherers.” ref
“But that initial influx isn’t a major part of Europe’s genetic heritage today. Instead, about 5,000 to 4,000 years ago, the genetic profile changes radically, suggesting that some mysterious event led to a huge turnover in the population that made up Europe. The Bell Beaker culture, which emerged from the Iberian Peninsula around 4,800 years ago, may have played a role in this genetic turnover. The culture, which may have been responsible for erecting some of the megaliths at Stonehenge, is named for its distinctive bell-shaped ceramics and its rich grave goods. The culture also played a role in the expansion of Celtic languages along the coast. The genetic foundations for modern Europe were only established in the Mid-Neolithic, after this major genetic transition around 4,000 years ago,. This genetic diversity was then modified further by a series of incoming and expanding cultures from Iberia and Eastern Europe through the Late Neolithic.” ref
Every man in Spain was wiped out 4500 years ago by hostile Beaker culture/ invaders: “More than 5,000 years ago a nomadic group of shepherds rode out of the steppes of eastern Europe to conquer the rest of the continent. The group, today known as the Yamna or Pit Grave culture, brought with them an innovative new technology, wheeled carts, which enabled them to quickly occupy new lands. More than 4,500 years ago, the descendants of these people reached the Iberian peninsula and wiped out the local men, according to new research by a team of international scientists. This involved both superior technology and the spread of Indo-European languages – the linguistic family to which most European languages belong – developed via the Yamna culture and their descendants. These people spread over a vast territory from Mongolia to Hungary and into Europe, and are the single primary most important contributors to Europeans today.” ref, ref, ref
“What do you call a male sibling? If you speak English, he is your “brother.” Greek? Call him “phrater.” Sanskrit, Latin, Old Irish? “Bhrater,” “frater,” or “brathir,” respectively. Ever since the mid-17th century, scholars have noted such similarities among the so-called Indo-European languages, which span the world and number more than 400 if dialects are included. Researchers agree that they can probably all be traced back to one ancestral language, called Proto-Indo-European (PIE). But for nearly 20 years, scholars have debated vehemently when and where PIE arose.” ref
“Two long-awaited studies, one described online this week in a preprint and another scheduled for publication later this month, have now used different methods to support one leading hypothesis: that PIE was first spoken by pastoral herders who lived in the vast steppe lands north of the Black Sea beginning about 6000 years ago. One study points out that these steppe land herders have left their genetic mark on most Europeans living today.” ref
“The studies’ conclusions emerge from state-of-the-art ancient DNA and linguistic analyses, but the debate over PIE’s origins is likely to continue. A rival hypothesis—that early farmers living in Anatolia (modern Turkey) about 8000 years ago were the original PIE speakers—is not ruled out by the new analyses, most agree. Although the steppe hypothesis has now received a major boost, I would not say the Anatolian hypothesis has been killed.” ref
“Traditional linguists, meanwhile, painstakingly reconstructed PIE by extrapolating back from modern languages and ancient writings. (Listen to a short fable spoken in PIE here.) They disdained Renfrew’s idea of an Anatolian homeland, arguing for example that the languages were still too similar to have begun diverging 8000 years ago.” ref
“Around 400 languages and dialects, which belong to the Indo-European language family. Among these are English, Italian, Greek, Armenian, Persian, and Hindi-Urdu. While the relationship between these languages is undisputed and had been recognised for a long time (long before my rabbit loincloths), there is a vivid debate about where this language family actually originated.” ref
“In sum, there are two competing views:
a) Indo-European spread with the first farmers from Anatolia/Near East during Neolithic Revolution starting > 9,000 years ago. This revolution also brought agriculture and domesticated animals to Europe. There is genetic evidence for this expansion of farmers, and it is plausible that these guys also spoke the language that would be the source of all Indo-European languages, the so-called Proto (meaning ‘first’) -Indo-European (or PIE).
b) Others argue that this is too early given that nearly all Indo-European languages share similar vocabulary for wheels, vehicles etc. which were not widely used until ~5000-6000 years ago and therefore the origin language must postdate this point. These people link the language spread to mobile cattle herders from the vast grassland in the Eurasian Steppe, which seemed to have these cool gadgets.” ref
“Proponents of a) say to b) You have no migration to prove this; Advocates of b) tell a): No wheels, no words for wheels.” ref
“Genetic data from ancient people won’t tell us what language they spoke but it can reveal information about the movements of people in the past. This makes it possible to trace large events that could also have carried languages into new places. Our project has detailed genetic data of 69 prehistoric Europeans from across Europe, spanning from 8,000 to 3,000 years ago. This data reveals the ancestry of Europe, demonstrating that Europeans carry signs of the original peoples of Europe (the Hunter-Gatherers), the first farmers (from the Neolithic revolution), and a new group of ancestors who arrived later. These patterns are so clear we feel we can contribute something to debate about the spread of Indo languages.” ref
“Hunter-gathers were distinct from all other samples. However, they’re also different from each other, and we think this is because they lived in small (isolated) bands.
Unlike the Hunter-gatherers, Europe’s first farmers looked similar to each other, no matter where we found their remains. Farmers from Spain, Hungary, Germany or Scandinavia also look similar to southeastern Europeans and Near Easterners, which is why we think they came from the same region in the Fertile Crescent, the homeland of agriculture and animal husbandry.
Hunter-gatherers were not completely pushed out of the way when farmers established cosy (but not so little) homesteads across Europe. In fact, we saw an increase of hunter-gatherer ancestry ~1500 years after farming was first introduced. Whether or not this was the result of a friendly encounter, I favour the explanation that foragers had been integrated in farming communities.
The fourth is the newest and coolest addition. All our individuals younger than 4500 years (which we call Late Stone Age/Early Bronze Age people) showed evidence of ancestry from a third place, neither Hunter-gatherer nor Farmer.” ref
“This third type of ancestry had been hinted at by previous work but it was unclear when it came to Europe. Our large data set, with its high resolution across time and geography, made the answer clear. All individuals younger than 4500 years had this third ancestry. To try and find the home of this third ancestor, we added an ancient steppe pastoralist from the Samara region in Russia into our analysis for comparison. Bingo! Our samples from the Corded Wareculture from 4500 years ago were the earliest and had the most, tracing three quarters (!) of their ancestry to eastern cattle herders that had roamed in the Russian and Ukrainian steppes north of the Black Sea.” ref
“These cattle herders were highly mobile, had domesticated horses and oxen-drawn carts, and had expanded eastwards reaching the Carpathian Basin in Hungary. However, this migration from the steppe also meant something else. The sheer number of shared genes made it likely that the Corded Ware people also shared a steppe language. This train of thought sits well with the spread of Indo-European from the steppe (b above). Importantly, it provides a human migration that could have brought the vocabulary that describes a pastoralist economy including inventions (wheels, vehicles) that were not in use when the first farmers arrived.” ref
“Another way of thinking notes that the cattle herders would also have originally come from farmers in the Near East. Living in the steppes, they developed new technologies and the language to describe them, before introducing both to Europe. This would mean that a variation of the farmer/language theory (a) was correct, albeit with a steppe detour. Though it defiantly emerged out of (b) to become the spread of the Indo-Europeans. Either way or a seeming, if not a partial mix of both I think could have some closer possibility in a way it wasn’t the whole IE family, then at least some of its major branches.” ref
“Researchers say these chalk cylinders, carved more than 4,000 years ago, give the exact length measurements used to lay out Neolithic monuments like Stonehenge. A set of highly decorated chalk cylinders, carved in Britain more than 4,000 years ago and known as the Folkton drums, could be ancient replicas of measuring devices used for laying out prehistoric monuments like Stonehenge, archaeologists say. A fixed number of turns of a string around the hand-size objects gives a standard measurement of 3.22 meters — or about 10.5 feet — a length that was used to lay out many Neolithic stone and timber circles. They were found in the grave of a child, which is thought to date to the late Neolithic period — from 5,000-4,500 years ago — or the early Bronze Age Beaker period in Britain, lasting from 4,500-3,800 years ago. The archaeologists think the Folkton and Lavant drums are not the actual devices used for prehistoric monuments, but rather replicas. Chalk is not the most suitable material for manufacturing measuring equipment, and it is thought that the drums may be replicas of original ‘working’ standards carved out of wood.” ref
“The latest research shows that the Folkton and Lavant drums had a very different origin from another type of prehistoric carved object found elsewhere in the British Isles, known as Neolithic stone balls. More than 500 stone balls, ornately carved by hand about 5,000 years ago, have been found in the northeast of Scotland, in the Orkney Islands, and in parts of England, Ireland and Norway.Researchers have generally ruled out the idea that the stone balls were used to make measurements — it is now thought they were mainly ornamental in purpose. The Folkton and Lavant drums, however, suggest that the Neolithic monument builders of Stonehenge and other ancient henges possessed specialized geometric knowledge that may have been celebrated or taught to children in their culture. The existence of these measuring devices … implies an advanced knowledge in prehistoric Britain of geometry and of the mathematical properties of circles.” ref
2nd millennium BCEspanned the years 4,000-3,001 years ago
“About a century before the middle of the millennium, bands of Indo-European invaders came from the Central Asian plains and swept through Western Asia and Northeast Africa. They were riding fast two-wheeled chariots powered by horses, a system of weaponry developed earlier in the context of plains warfare. This tool of war was unknown among the classical civilizations. Egypt and Babylonia’s foot soldiers were unable to defend against the invaders: in 1630 BCE/3,630 years ago the Hyksos swept into the Nile Delta, and in 1595 BC, the Hittites swept into Mesopotamia. Near the end of the 2nd millennium BC, new waves of barbarians, this time riding on horseback, wholly destroyed the Bronze Age world, and were to be followed by waves of social changes that marked the beginning of different times. Also contributing to the changes were the Sea Peoples, ship-faring raiders of the Mediterranean. In Europe at this time is still entirely within the prehistoric era; much of Europe enters the Bronze Age early in the 2nd millennium.” ref
Ancient Nomadic Europeans Herders Only Started Digesting Dairy 4,000 Years Ago
“Europeans only started being able digest cow’s milk about 4,000 years ago thanks to a group of nomadic herders hailing from Russia’s Great Steppes. Everyone assumed it came to Europe with the first farmers, but you actually had a 4,500-year period when European farmers could not actually drink milk. Europeans where first interdused to cattle by Anatolian farmers from modern-day Turkey, who started raising cattle around 8,500.” ref
“4,000 years ago: Irish people originate from the MIDDLE EAST: Celtic DNA shows farming led to a ‘wave of immigrants’ entering Ireland. The set of traits that make Celtic people so distinct may have been established 4,000 years ago, due to an influx of people from the Black Sea and the Middle East. Analysis of four ancient genomes from Ireland has uncovered their ancestry is the result of a ‘genetic shift’, caused by an increase in farming and metal work in the region. In particular, the researchers said that the adoption of agriculture led to ‘waves of immigration’ in Ireland which ultimately shifted their genetics. Elsewhere, analysis of ancient genomes from three Bronze Age men (remains pictured) showed they had more typical Irish traits, such as blue eyes and even a common Irish blood disorder.” ref
Researchers analysed DNA from remains of four people found in Ireland. Such as a from a Stone Age farmer woman is thought to have had dark hair and brown eyes. Three Bronze Age men genetically closer to modern Irish, with blue eyes. And these findings show that that waves of people that made it to Ireland’s ancient shores helped to shape the modern genetic identity.” ref
By comparing the remains of the woman with these men, they believe there was a ‘genetic shift’ in the region, 4,000 years ago. It is believed these later genetic traits were brought by people from the Pontic Steppe – a Black Sea region stretching across modern Ukraine, Russia and Georgia – who journeyed to Ireland when the region became a farming and metal work hub. The male remains were found at Rathlin Island, County Antrim. Farming originated in the Middle East and the descendants of early Neolithic farming cultures migrated across Europe eventually reaching Ireland (pictured). Descendants of people from the Pontic Steppe may have migrated to Ireland more than 4000 years ago in the Bronze Age, bringing the gene for blue eyes.” ref
“4,000 years ago: A pattern of small holes cut into the floor of an ancient rock shelter in Azerbaijan shows that one of the world’s most ancient board games was played there by nomadic herders. Now known as “58 Holes.” The game is also sometimes called “Hounds and Jackals” a game set with playing pieces fashioned like those animals in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Amenemhat IV, who lived in the 3,800 years ago.” ref
“The distinctive pattern of round pits scored in the rock of the shelter in Azerbaijan came from that same game. But the Azerbaijan version may be even older than the game set found in the pharaoh’s tomb. Evidence from rock drawings near this shelter suggested that it dated to about 4,000 years ago, when that part of Azerbaijan was populated by nomadic cattle herders. At that time, the game was widespread across the ancient Middle East, including Egypt, Mesopotamiaand Anatolia. It suddenly appears everywhere at the same time. Right now, the oldest one is from Egypt, but it’s not by very much. So, it could just be because we haven’t found it from somewhere else older. So, it seems to [have] spread really quickly.”Azerbaijan journey and the games played for about 1,500 years, and very regular in the way that it’s laid out.” ref
“The Kura–Araxes culture or the early trans-Caucasian culture was a civilization that existed from about 6,000 years ago and is the culture, which firstly appeared in the territory of Azerbaijan, covered the area from the North Caucasus to Mesopotamia, from East Anatolia to Central Asia. until about 4,000 years ago, which has traditionally been regarded as the date of its end; in some locations it may have disappeared as early as 4,600-4,700 years ago. The earliest evidence for this culture is found on the Ararat plain; it spread northward in Caucasus by 3000 BC (but never reaching Colchis). Kura–Araxes culture is sometimes known as Shengavitian, Karaz (Erzurum), Pulur, and Yanik Tepe (Iranian Azerbaijan, near Lake Urmia) cultures. It gave rise to the later Khirbet Kerak-ware culture found in Syria and Canaan after the fall of the Akkadian Empire.” ref, ref
“The formative processes of the Kura-Araxes cultural complex, and the date and circumstances of its rise, have been long debated. Shulaveri-Shomu culture preceded the Kura–Araxes culture in the area. There were many differences between these two cultures, so the connection was not clear. Later, it was suggested that the Sioni culture of eastern Georgia possibly represented a transition from the Shulaveri to the Kura-Arax cultural complex. At many sites, the Sioni culture layers can be seen as intermediary between Shulaver-Shomu-Tepe layers and the Kura-Araxes layers. This kind of stratigraphy warrants a chronological place of the Sioni culture at around 6,000 years ago.” ref
“Scholars consider the Kartli area, as well as the Kakheti area (in the river Sioni region) as key to forming the earliest phase of the Kura–Araxes culture. To a large extent, this appears as an indigenous culture of Caucasus that was formed over a long period, and at the same time incorporating foreign influences. There are some indications (such as at Arslantepe) of the overlapping in time of the Kura-Araxes and Uruk cultures; such contacts may go back even to the Middle Uruk period. Some scholars have suggested that the earliest manifestation of the Kura-Araxes phenomenon should be dated at least to the last quarter of the 5th millennium BC. This is based on the recent data from Ovçular Tepesi, a Late Chalcolithic settlement located in Nakhchivan by the Arpaçay river.” ref
“At some point the culture’s settlements and burial grounds expanded out of lowland river valleys and into highland areas. Although some scholars have suggested that this expansion demonstrates a switch from agriculture to pastoralism and that it serves as possible proof of a large-scale arrival of Indo-Europeans, facts such as that settlement in the lowlands remained more or less continuous suggest merely that the people of this culture were diversifying their economy to encompass crop and livestock agriculture. Late in the history of this culture, its people built kurgans of greatly varying sizes, containing widely varying amounts and types of metalwork, with larger, wealthier kurgans surrounded by smaller kurgans containing less wealth. This trend suggests the eventual emergence of a marked social hierarchy. Their practice of storing relatively great wealth in burial kurgans was probably a cultural influence from the more ancient civilizations of the Fertile Crescent to the south.” ref
“The expansion of Y-DNA subclade R-Z93 (R1a1a1b2)which, is compatible with “the archeological records of eastward expansion of West Asian populations in the 4th millennium BCE, culminating in the socalled Kura-Araxes migrations in the post-Uruk IV period.” According to Pamjav et al. (2012), “Inner and Central Asia is an overlap zone” for the R -Z280 and R -Z93 lineages, implying that an “early differentiation zone” of R-M198 “conceivably occurred somewhere within the Eurasian Steppes or the Middle East and Caucasus region as they lie between South Asia and Eastern Europe”. According to Underhill et al. (2014/2015), R1a1a1, the most frequent subclade of R1a, split into R-Z282 (Europe) and R-Z93 (Asia) at circa 5,800 before present, in the vicinity of Iran and Eastern Turkey. According to Underhill et al. (2014/2015), “[t]his suggests the possibility that R1a lineages accompanied demic expansions initiated during the Copper, Bronze, and Iron ages.” ref
4,000 years ago:What happened in the Urals?
“A post-Sintashta-Petrovka period settlement structures in the late Bronze Age up to the transition to the Iron Age. Artefacts discovered so far have shown that the southern Trans-Ural region at the dividing line between Europe and Asia on the northern edge of the Eurasian Steppe constitutes a unique cultural landscape. Superb Bronze and Iron Age monuments, such as burial mounds (“kurgans”) and settlements, show that this was a centre of economic development and sociocultural processes that already began in the third millennium BC. After the decline of fortified settlements, the housing structure changed and “open” settlements with terraced houses without fortifications emerged. Russian research dates these settlements to the middle of the second millennium BC, i.e. the Late Bronze Age. the fortified settlements of the Sintashta-Petrovka period (around 2000 BC). Characteristic for this culture were early chariots, intensive copper mining and substantial bronze production. Attention has now shifted to various other archaeological sites of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the microregion at the confluence of the Yandyrka and Akmulla rivers and the upper end of the Karagaily-Ayat valley.” ref
4,000 years ago Ancient Silk Road Trade Route
“Ancient Silk Road trade route was first trodden by high-mountain herders more than 4,000 years ago, new DNA reveals. The silk road is a complex system of trade routes linking East and West Eurasia through its arid continental interior. Pastoral herders living in the mountains helped form cultural and biological links. They were doing this thousands of years before the Silk Road started. The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes that runs across the Asian continent, connecting countries as far east as Japan to Europe. It derives its name from the lucrative trade in silk that occured across continents from at around 2,200 years ago.” ref
“As the brief Sumerian renaissance faltered and its culture was replaced by the Babylonians, the first megalithic signs of hierarchy on Crete were evolving. After around 100 years (by 4,000 years ago) Minoan scribes transformed their hieroglyphics into a new system, called Linear A. While aesthetically it is less elaborate, it refined and democratized the use of symbolism by Minoans. The need for faster writing continued to trend towards the simplification of the written Cretan language, in turn allowing for more people to learn the language.” ref
“3,000 years ago: Fossils reveal human farmers migrated BACK to the Africa from Europe. the genome of an ancient African individual provided the first clues that humans migrated back to Eurasia from Africa within the last 4,500 years. A genetic study has provided evidence that a population of modern humans migrated from Europe to Africa around 3,000 years ago. Researchers have so far now identified two migrations from Eurasia into Africa: One about 3,000 years ago, of non-Africans entering east Africa, and a second one 900–1,800 years ago. The number of migrants flooding into the Horn of Africa 3,000 years ago may have amounted to over a quarter of the population of the region at the time.” ref
“It’s not clear why they moved, though one theory that’s been suggested is that farmers looking for fertile land traveled up the Nile. This migration from the ancient Near East and Fertile Crescent, roughly corresponding to modern Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria, reshaped the African continent’s genetic makeup. Archaeologists with the help of local people discovered a cave containing the bones of a man – dubbed Mota, who died around 4,500 years ago and from whose temporal bone they managed to extract intact DNA. By comparing this ancient DNA with modern samples, researchers were able to map genetic changes that have taken place in the past 4,500 years ago. The researchers traced this injection of genes to an event known as the ‘Eurasian African continent backflow.” ref
“Wheat and barley, which first emerged in the Near East, appeared as crops in East Africa around 3,000 years ago. The Eurasian backflow theory ties in with research about the spread of Semitic languages from the Near East to Ethiopia. By studying the kinds of genes the Stone Age farmers carried to Africa, the scientists also found they were closely related to the same population that had brought agriculture to Europe about 7,000 years ago. Today, those ancient farmers’ closest genetic relatives are found on the island of Sardinia, a western Mediterranean island and autonomous region of Italy.” ref
“The ethnonym “S(a)rd” belongs to the Pre-Indo-European linguistic substratum. The oldest written attestation of the ethnonym is on the Nora stone, where the word Šrdn bears witness to its original existence by the time the Phoenicianmerchants first arrived to the Sardinian shores. According to Timaeus, one of Plato‘s dialogues, Sardinia and its people as well, the “Sardonioi” or “Sardianoi” might have been named after “Sardò”, a legendary Lydian woman from Sardis, in the region of western Anatolia (now Turkey). Sardinia was first colonized in a stable manner during the Upper Paleolithic and the Mesolithic by people from the Iberian and the Italian peninsula. During the Neolithic period and the Early Eneolithic, people from Italy, Spain and the Aegeanarea settled in Sardinia.” ref
“In the Late Eneolithic-Early Bronze age the “Beaker folk” from Southern France, Northeastern Spain and then from Central Europe settled on the island, bringing new metallurgical techniques and ceramic styles and probably some kind of Indo-European speech. Nuragic Sardinians have been connected by some scholars to the Sherden, a tribe of the so-called Sea Peoples, whose presence is registered several times in ancient Egyptian records. DNA study unveils secrets of Sardinians’ unique ancestry, which sets them apart from other Europeans.” ref
“The scientists analysed a total of 3,491 mitochondrial DNA samples from the present-day population on the island. They compared them with 21 ancient samples collected from skeletal remains found in rock-cut tombs, megalithic tombs, caves and rock shelters dating back to between 3,000 to 6,100 years ago. The results suggested that 78.4 % of the modern mitogenomes cluster into “Sardinian-specific haplogroups” (haplogroups are genetic population groups who share a common ancestor). This means that there is little mitochondrial genetic diversity among Sardinians compared to other European populations.” ref
“Most of them appear to have descended from the first farmers who occupied the island since the Neolithic and Bronze Age, between 2,000 and 8,000 years ago. However, the findings do not completely discard the hypothesis that another population already lived on the island some 13,000 years ago. In fact, the study confirms that traces of these ancient people’s DNA may be found in some modern Sardinians. The scientists have identified two haplogroups which may have been present on the island before the arrival of the first Neolithic farmers. These haplogroups are called K1a2d and U5b1i1, and together comprise almost 3% of modern Sardinians.” ref
Some of the History of the Peoples and Tribes who Made Italy
“The most common variey of haplogroup I in Italy is I2a1a (M26), which is found mostly in Sardinia (36% of the male lineages) and to a lower extent in Iberia and coastal areas of the Western Mediterranean. It is still unclear where I2a1 (P214) developed. It could have been in Italy, in the Balkans, or even further east in the Carpathians and north of the Black Sea. According to current estimates, I2a1 appeared about 20,000 years ago, close to the end of the LGM, and split almost immediately into western branch (M26) and an eastern one (M423). In all likelihood, the territory of the nomadic I2a1 people must have included Northeast Italy and the Dinaric Alps within the refugium. The tribe grew and split, with some branches going west to Italy and the Western Mediterranean, and the other going east to the Balkans and the Pontic Steppe.” ref
“By the time the first Neolithic farmers and herders arrived in Italy from the Near East 8,000 years ago most of the peninsula could well have been inhabited by I2a1a hunter-gatherers. Agriculture had appeared in the Levant at least 11,500 years ago. In the ensuing two and a half millennia it spread slowly to Anatolia and Greece. From Greece, it took another millennium for Neolithic farmers to cross the sea to Apulia, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia, and from there move inland and colonised the rest of the peninsula for yet another millennium. Around 7,000 years ago all Italy bar the remotest corners of the Alps had adopted agriculture. The Near-Eastern newcomers belonged essentially to haplogroup G2a, and seem to have carried a minority of E1b1b, J*, J1, J2 and Tlineages. The majority of modern Italian E1b1b and J2 came later though, with the Etruscans, the Greeks, and the various Near Eastern people who settled in Italy during the Roman Empire, particularly the Jews and the Syrians.” ref
“Hunter-gatherers appear to have mostly fled the peninsula after the arrival of Neolithic farmers, except in Sardinia, where they blended with them, perhaps trapped by the sea and unable to do otherwise. Nowadays, Sardinians are the population resembling most closely Neolithic Europeans. This was already known from archeological and anthropoligical studies, but was confirmed by the testing of Ötzi’s genome, a 5,300 year-old man mummified in the ice of the Italian Alps, and whose DNA was found to be very close to that of modern Sardinians. Countless people have settled in Italy since the Neolithic: Near Eastern farmers, Italic tribes, Ligurians, Etruscans, Phoenicians, Greeks, Celts, Goths, Lombards, Byzantines, Franks, Normans, Swabians, Arabs, Berbers, Albanians, Austrians and more. All have left their genetic print on the populations of the regions where they settled.” ref
“The Bronze Age was brought to Europe by the Proto-Indo-Europeans, who migrated from the North Caucasus and the Pontic Steppe to the Balkans (from circa 6,000 years ago), then went up the Danube and invaded Central and Western Europe (from 4,500 years ago). Italic-speakers, an Indo-European branch, are thought to have crossed the Alps and invaded the Italian peninsula around 3,200 years ago, establishing the Villanova culture and bringing with them primarily R1b-U152 lineages and replacing or displacing a large part of the indigenous people. The Neolithic inhabitants of Italy sought refuge in the Apeninne mountains and in Sardinia. Nowadays, the highest concentration of haplogroup G2a and J1 outside the Middle East are found in the Apeninnes, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia.” ref
Etruscans, Phoenicians & Greeks
“Between 1200 and 539 BCE the Phoenicians built a vast commercial empire from their Levantine homeland along the southern Mediterranean as far as Iberia. In Italy they had colonies in western Sicily and southern and western Sardinia. Based on the haplogroups found in modern Lebanon and in their former colonies, the Phoenicians seem to have carried a mixture of haplogroup J2, J1, E1b1b, G, R1b-M269/L23, T, L, R1b-V88, R2 and Q, roughly in that order of frequency. By comparing Sardinian and Lebanese DNA, it can be estimated that the Sardinians have inherited between 16% and 24% of their Y-DNA from the Phoenicians.” ref
“The Sardinians only differ from the Basques by the presence of Bedouin-like (purple) and Caucaso-Gedrosian (greyish green) admixture, and a slightly more elevated percentage of Neolithic farmer ancestry (orange). These three components are found in roughly equal proportion in the modern Lebanese, and lumped together would account for 10 to 15% of the Sardinian DNA. This is the best estimate at present of the genome-wide contributions of the Phoenicians to the modern Sardinian population. It is not surprising that the presumed percentage of Phoenician Y-DNA should be a bit higher, as men typically made up a larger proportion of colonists in ancient times.” ref
“Another key player in the make-up of Iron Age Italy were the Etruscans, who appeared circa 750 BCE apparently out of nowhere. Some have postulated that they came from Anatolia, but their origins remain uncertain to this day. Although their territory matches closely the extent of the Italic haplogroup R1b-U152, the Etruscans were non-Indo-European speakers, and their language is unrelated to any other known ancient languages apart from the Raetic language of the Alps and the Lemnian language of the Aegean Sea. It is likely that the Etruscans came from somewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean and imposed their language on the Italic tribes living in Tuscany, then to the Po Valley, thus splitting Indo-European-speaking tribes in two. Based on the non-Indo-European halogroups found in central and southern Tuscany today, the original Etruscans probably belonged to an compound of haplogroups J2, E1b1b, G2a, and R1b-M269 (or R1b-L23) in that order of frequency. This would appear to support of Greek or West Anatolian origin. The high frequency of R1b-U152 found in Tuscany today can be attributed to Italic tribes absorbed by the Etruscans, and to the Romans who resettled part of Etruria.” ref
“It is the ancient Greeks who had the biggest impact on the genetic make-up of southern Italy. From the 2,800 years ago the Greeks set up colonies all along the coasts of Campania, Calabria, Basilicata, southern Apulia, and Sicily (except the western tip) in what would become known as Magna Graecia. Their genetic signature are essentially haplogroups J2 (18-30%) and E1b1b (15-25%), but the ancient Greeks also carried some R1b-M269/L23 (5-10%), G2a (3-8%), T (1-6%), I2a1b (1-5%), R1a (1-3%), and J1 (1-2%). It is very clear on the haplogroup maps that the areas in central and southern Italy furthest from the coast and from ancient Greek colonies, such as Abruzzo, Molise and the southern Apennines correspond to the highest percentages of haplogroups G2a, J1 and T in Italy, but also the lowest frequency of E1b1b and J2 in the southern half of Italy. There is no better way to contrast the Neolithic population of Italy with the ancient Greek colonists.” ref
“The Greeks also colonised Liguria and the French Riviera, where they founded Genoa, Nice (which was an Italian city until 1860) and Marseille. The Phoenicians and Cartaginians also kept bases in Liguria at some point. Modern Ligurians have the highest percentage of haplogroup E1b1b outside southern Italy (almost entirely the Greek E-V13), but also the highest level of G2a and J1 outside the Apennines, which probably means that this mountainous region also served as a shelter to Neolithic populations during the Italic invasions. R1b makes up about half of Ligurian lineages, among which 22% belong to the U152 subclade, 20% to P312 (the highest level in Italy), 6% to L23, and 2% to L21. The ancient Ligures spoke a language intermediary between Celtic (P312, L21) and Italic (U152) families, and their Y-DNA is split exactly in half between Italic and Celtic. The 6% of L23 are probably of Greek origin. Overall about one third of the modern Ligurian lineages could be of Greek origin.” ref
3,000-year-old BronzeAgetimecapsulevitrified food found in jars in England
“Archaeologists have the opportunity to discover how people in the late Bronze Age lived and what they ate by excavating a dwelling destroyed by fire 3,000 years ago in Cambridgeshire County, England. Researchers are calling the site one of the most important European Bronze Age sites at a time capsule, as vitrified food—meaning it has become like glass—has been found in jars at the site. They think it was a settlement of prosperous people. Another major find at the site occurred when a huge timber wheel was discovered. It is one of the largest Bronze Age wheels to have been unearthed by archaeologists anywhere in the world. The wheel measures a meter (3.28 ft.) in diameter and 3.5 centimeters (1.38 inches) thick. Archaeologists believeit would have originally had a heavy duty leather tire. These dimensions and the style of the wheel have lead archaeologists to suggest it was likely part of an ox-pulled cart. And the settlement was buried in wetlands with the remnants of the community buried very deeply in the mire. As well as nine well-preserved log boats were unearthed there. The dwelling was encircled by wooden posts until a fire made it collapse in the river. The fact that it was submerged helped preserve its contents and among the findings are decorated tiles made from lime tree bark.” ref
“The stele of Nora is a sandstone block (105 cm high, 57 wide) bearing an inscription that almost all of the scholars believe to be made in the Phoenician alphabet. It was found incorporated in a dry stone wall of a vineyard near the apse of the church of Sant’Efisio in Pula, an urban center located in southern Sardinia that originates from the ancient city of Nora, one of the first Sardinian-phoenician cities. The finding out of its original archaeological context limits the information obtained from the document to its content. Preserved in theNational Archaeological Museum of Cagliari, the stele unveils the first Phoenician script ever traced to the west of Tire: its dating fluctuates between the ninth and eighth centuries BCE.” https://lnkd.in/gyXH_mA
1. “2,200 -2,100 years ago , Limestone votive stela; decoration in low flat relief; in pediment is a 12 petalled rosette in a disk; 4 line neo-Punic inscription; symbol of the goddess Tanit is flanked by caducei; above them are astral symbols.” https://lnkd.in/gtPQjw5
“Briton prehistoric monument to Bel at Craig-Narget, Wigtownshire. With Hitto-Phoenician Sun Crosses, etc. EARLY BRITONS WERE ARYAN PHOENICIANS that the Hittites were Aryans, obsessed with the preconceived notion that the Hittites, whatever their affinities might be, were certainly not Aryans. The present work is the first instalment of the results disclosed by the use of my new-found keys to the Lost History of the Aryan Race and their authorship of the World’s Higher Civilization. It offers the results in regard to the lost history of our own Aryan ancestors in Britain; and discloses them, the Early Britons and Scots and Anglo-Saxons, to have been a leading branch of the foremost world-pioneers of Civilization, the Aryan-Phoenicians.” https://lnkd.in/gqD7GgG
“Swastika Crosses on dress of Phoenician Sun-priestess carrying sacred Fire. From terra-cotta from Phoenician tomb in Cyprus.” https://lnkd.in/gqD7GgG
2. -Bel, “The God of the Sun” and Father-God of the Phoenicians. From a Phoenician altar of about the 2,400 years ago. Note rayed halo of the Sun.” https://lnkd.in/gqD7GgG
“They are current some of the oldest masks in the world and likely connect to shamanistic-paganism depicting vacant sockets and jaws agape, they stare at you like the skulls of the dead.” ref
To me, they may also connect to the skull cult also known in the same general area as well as others areas as far as Turkey.
“The researchers at this site of Göbekli Tepe do not know who the skulls belonged to. One appears to be a female aged between 25 and 40, but the condition of the skull means scientists cannot be certain of the sex of any of them. It is believed they were carved for ritual purposes, for a possible number of reasons. As well as being unusual incisions that analysis shows must have been made with manmade tools (rather than being gnawed by animals), one of them also had traces of red ochre, a substance known to have been used in Neolithic rituals. So they made this cult at this time after they built the structures. “The ochre was stuck to the skull and the skull was found next to where ochre was spread. Ochre in the Neolithic has ritual significance—mainly it’s used in burials to cover the dead and is connected to some rituals. This underlines the special meaning of that skull.” ref
“The skull fragments are thought to be around 10,000 years ago, the already striking presence of Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey could have been even more impressive—as human skulls might have dangled in what is considered the world’s oldest temple. The marks may only appear on a few fragments of bone that date between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, but archaeologists believe that this find is extremely significant and means that this society, like many others in this part of the world at the time, was a “skull cult” that venerated the human skull after death.” ref
“The 9,000 years old masks weigh around 2 to 4 lbs, each of the artifacts represents a oval visage with glaring ocular cavities, toothy maws, and a set of holes along the outer edge. They were likely painted in antiquity, but only one has remnants of pigment. Each of the 12 is unique, and possibly depicts individuals. Some of the faces are old, others appear younger. One is a miniature, the size of a brooch. They may represent ancestors venerated as part of an early Stone Age religion.” ref
“Based on years of attribute analysis of their iconography, it is believes that the carved limestone masks were used as part of an ancestor cult, and that shamans or tribal chiefs wore the masks during a ritual masquerade honoring the dead.” ref
“These skulls were fleshed out with plaster 9,500 years ago, pertaining the the skull cult that in all the areas consisted of more than 60 such ornamented skulls so far discovered in Neolithic sites from the Middle East, found from Israel to central Turkey. And were from a vast Middle East ancestor cult, archaeologists say. They are among the oldest portraits known and are now believed to be linked to the rise of civilization.” ref, ref
“Skull cults, involve the veneration of human skulls, usually those of ancestors, by various prehistoric and some modern primitive people. Begun probably as early as the Early Paleolithic Period, the practice of preserving and honoring the skull apart from the rest of the skeleton appears to have continued in different forms throughout prehistoric times. Most authorities agree that the skulls were cleaned and set up for worship long after death. Prehistoric humans also paid special attention to animal skulls. This practice is believed to have been a type of hunting magic, whereas the human skulls were honored with the reverence accorded to heroic ancestors and perhaps also were thought to assure the possessor of the protection and help of the deceased.” ref
“The Neolithic period is important because it is when we first find good evidence for a high increase of cult ritualism with religious and cultural practices, particularly those relating to burial customs. In Jericho, as well as placing the deceased under the floors of homes, the people also engaged in another unique mortuary practice. In some cases their skulls were removed and covered with plasterin order to create very life-like faces, complete with shells inset for eyes and paint to imitate hair and moustaches. The flesh and jawbones were removed from the skulls in order to model the plaster over the bone and the physical traits of the faces seem specific to individuals, suggesting that these decorated skulls were portraits of the deceased. The subtle modelling used to create the life-like flesh is impressive in itself, but even more so given the very early date of these artefacts. Evidence suggests that the skulls were then displayed or stored with other plaster skulls.” ref
“Skull cult plaster skulls have been found at six sites around the area of the Levant, usually dated to 9,000 – 8,000 years ago, but some go back as far as 10,000 years ago. Other sites beside Jericho where plastered skulls were excavated include Ain Ghazal and Amman, Jordan, and Tell Ramad, Syria. Most of the plastered skulls were from adult males, but some belonged to women and children. Some experts maintain that there is a religious aspect to the practice reflecting a belief that life continues after death through the preservation of the individual characteristics of the deceased.” ref
Pre-ceramic Neolithic B (10,800-9,000 years ago), and the first urbanization
“The houses were, unlike the round houses of the preceding epoch, typically multi-room and rectangular. The lithic inventory includes, for example, Byblos and Helwan peaks. In the primary production of the flint industries, a technological standardization of the tool blanks, the bi-directional core techniques, was developed for the first time. These not only saved raw material and provided a technically efficient solution for the mass production of standardized blades. They also promoted quality standardization of the end products. In addition, specialized, trained skills were created that could lead to an emerging craft. Later, masons and lime kilns were added as more early crafts.” ref
“In the early phase until about 8300 BC BC was the space where settlements grew crops or vegetables small. He limited himself to the Jordan Valley or the Golan, as well as a few other, convenient locations. Between 8300 and 7600 BC BC, the more settled settlement spread to less favored areas. This could indicate an increase in population, especially as a number of new settlements emerged. In addition, the food focus shifted from the gazelle to the goat, which opened up new spaces of use. Around 7600 BC There was a drastic expansion of settlement activity, apparently accompanied by migratory movements, possibly with stronger population growth. From the nuclear families of the Middle PPNB, apparently later, larger ancestral families or “lineage families” became apparent. Most of the older settlements were abandoned.” ref
“Central places in the sense of a centralized settlement hierarchy do not seem to have existed yet. In this phase of about 500 years, “centrally” does not mean, as usual, a hierarchy of settlements, but designates settlements that formed centers of their own local patterns of development. The surplus of individual settlements – as Basta produced blade blanks, Ba’ja sandstone rings, es-Sifiya basalt, ‘Ain Ghazal flint raw material – could have become the cause of defensive measures. On their basis, long-term new social and spatial hierarchies would have arisen if these “mega-villages” had not been deprived of the potential for development through the degradation of the environment.” ref
“Central places in the sense of a centralized settlement hierarchy do not seem to have existed yet. In this phase of about 500 years, “centrally” does not mean, as usual, a hierarchy of settlements, but designates settlements that formed centers of their own local patterns of development. The surplus of individual settlements – as Basta produced blade blanks, Ba’ja sandstone rings, es-Sifiya basalt, ‘Ain Ghazal flint raw material – could have become the cause of defensive measures. On their basis, long-term new social and spatial hierarchies would have arisen if these “mega-villages” had not been deprived of the potential for development through the degradation of the environment.” ref
“Central places in the sense of a centralized settlement hierarchy do not seem to have existed yet. In this phase of about 500 years, “centrally” does not mean, as usual, a hierarchy of settlements, but designates settlements that formed centers of their own local patterns of development. The surplus of individual settlements – as Basta produced blade blanks, Ba’ja sandstone rings, es-Sifiya basalt, ‘Ain Ghazal flint raw material – could have become the cause of defensive measures. On their basis, long-term new social and spatial hierarchies would have arisen if these “mega-villages” had not been deprived of the potential for development through the degradation of the environment. a hierarchy of settlements, but designated settlements, the centers of their own local development patterns formed.” ref
“The surplus of individual settlements – as Basta produced blade blanks, Ba’ja sandstone rings, es-Sifiya basalt, ‘Ain Ghazal flint raw material – could have become the cause of defensive measures. On their basis, long-term new social and spatial hierarchies would have arisen if these “mega-villages” had not been deprived of the potential for development through the degradation of the environment. a hierarchy of settlements, but designated settlements, the centers of their own local development patterns formed. The surplus of individual settlements – as Basta produced blade blanks, Ba’ja sandstone rings, es-Sifiya basalt, ‘Ain Ghazal flint raw material – could have become the cause of defensive measures.” ref
“On their basis, long-term new social and spatial hierarchies would have arisen if these “mega-villages” had not been deprived of the potential for development through the degradation of the environment. Ain Ghazal flint raw material – could have become the cause of defensive measures. On their basis, long-term new social and spatial hierarchies would have arisen if these “mega-villages” had not been deprived of the potential for development through the degradation of the environment. Ain Ghazal flint raw material – could have become the cause of defensive measures. On their basis, long-term new social and spatial hierarchies would have arisen if these “mega-villages” had not been deprived of the potential for development through the degradation of the environment.” ref
“Clay and other materials were used to make animal and human figurines, but vessels made of gypsum or burnt lime. Especially burial burials are known, grave goods became common. The faces of the dead were partially replicated in plaster, as in Jericho or Nahal Hemar. The latter site is a cave containing wooden artifacts and pavement. There were also pearls that had probably belonged to special items of clothing. Decorated skulls, animal figurines and knives probably indicate rituals. According to the excavators, these finds belong to the oldest stratum (4), and are thus predominantly in the period between 8210 and 7780 BC. To date. The periodization with a PPNB subsequent Präkeramischen Neolithikum C (7000-6400 BC) is only common in Israel.” ref
“The last phase of the Gazelle hunt ( Gazella gazella ) was at the early and middle PPNB site Motza investigate in the Judean mountains around Jerusalem. The settlement contained tools from gazelle bones, as they were common in the previous Sultanien, as well as other PPNA traditions were often continued; the Motza finds date back to the early PPNB, not as long believed only in the Middle. Heluan and Jerichoklings dominated. At the burial of the dead in Motza there was no preferred orientation, even if they were buried heavily inflexible. Three adult tombs show signs that the skull was later removed.” ref
“Covering an area of 40,000 square meters, the Atlit Yam site stretched 200 to 400 meters off the coast of Israel, where the Oren on the Carmel coast joins the Mediterranean Sea. Underwater archaeologists worked at a depth of 8 to 12 meters at the site, dating back to between 8,900-8,300 years ago. Was dated to Chr. At that time, the coastline was about one kilometer further west. It is possible that the settlement, which is the oldest evidence of a village inhabited by peasants and fishermen, fell victim to a tsunami. This was triggered by the Atna. But it could also have been abandoned due to the salinization of well water. The archaeologists found rich, left-behind supplies of fish, which could point to an escape. In addition to a series of rectangular houses and a well of 5.5 m depth and 1.5 m diameter, they discovered a stone semicircle around a (possible) source.” ref
“The seven megaliths were between one and 2.1 m high, the semicircle they formed had a diameter of 2.5 m. West of it were lying rock slabs of 0.7 to 1.2 m in length. Another structure, apparently serving ritual purposes, was in the form of three oval stones surrounded by furrows that represented schematic, anthropomorphic figures. On the corpses of a woman and a child were discovered traces of the oldest case of tuberculosis. In addition, some men had severe ear damage, suggesting deadly seafood dives. The animal bones from game animals, but grain stocks appear to have been created.” ref
“An approximately 3 m high city wall, the purpose of which is still unclear, was found two kilometers northwest of the present city center of Jericho in the 21 m high Tell es-Sultan. The settlement also contained the oldest, more than 10,000 years old, 8,25 m high tower and probably defenses. [84] At this time, about 4,000 people are estimated to live in the 4-hectare settlement, which is often considered the beginning of urbanization. Pottery and metalworking were still unknown. The economic basis of the “city” was the cultivation of emmer , barley and legumesLivestock and hunting continued. After this phase, the settlement was empty and was formed again at the end of the 7th millennium BC. A settlement was settled for the period between 7700 and 7220 BC. Not prove.” ref
“Between 9,220-8,400 years ago, from the end of the Präkeramischen Neolithikum B to the Präkeramischen Neolithikum C large rectangular mud brick houses were inhabited. A new wall was built, which was destroyed and rebuilt several times. Numerous crops and traces of sheep breeding could be detected. In the homes of human skulls were near the entrances zweitbestattet. Partially the faces were the skull with plaster reconstructed and sometimes replaced the eyes with shells. Burial sites of this kind were found next to Jericho, where seven skulls were found, in Ain Ghazal and Beisamoun in the upper Jordan Valley, but also in Tell Ramad near Damascus.” ref
“The ceramic Neolithic of South Palestine, in turn, has completely different characteristics than the previous epoch. There was a pastoralization and the dissolution of previous ways of life. There was an adaptation in steppe economies, in which ecological factors may have been more prominent. The reduced migration patterns of the eras before the “mega-villages” were resumed. In addition, there were still stationary settlements. Only after this phase stabilization took place, which provided the conditions for urban structures.” ref
“Yarmukien is the oldest ceramic culture of Israel, its most important site Sha’ar HaGolanin Yarmuktal. it became the south of the Sea of
Galilee lying locality recognized as belonging to the ceramic Neolithikum. It stretches over 20 ha, making the settlement the largest of its era, and was built between 8,400-8,000 years ago. Dated. There were large houses with courtyards measuring between 250 and 700 m². In terms of architectural history, they represent an important new development, because this type of house still exists in the Mediterranean region today. In addition, the settlement differed from the contemporary large housing estates of Anatolia in that the houses were separated by roads.” ref
“The widest of these streets measured 3 m and was covered with clay pebbles. Another, winding road was only a meter wide. A 4.15 m deep well provided drinking water. obsidian blades whose base material came from Anatolian volcanoes over 700 km away were also discovered. Sha’ar HaGolan is the first Neolithic site in Israel with extensive ceramics production. More than 300 artefacts interpreted as art objects were found, of which alone 70 figurines in one house. The figurines, made of clay, are much finer and more detailed, those made of stone more abstract.” ref
“Another important site of this period is Megiddo , a Tell or settlement hill about 30 km southeast of Haifa, which dates back to the 7th millennium, or Munhata, 11 km southwest of the Sea of
Galilee. Yarmukien pottery was also found in a 100-square-meter excavation in what is today the village of Hamadia, north of Bet Ash’an in the central Jordan Valley.” ref
“The beginning Neolithic of Egypt is fundamentally different from that of Israel, because it was not associated with tillage, as was the case throughout the Fertile Crescent. Merimde Beni Salama, located about 45 km northwest of today’s Cairo, was the original settlement of the Merimde culture, which can be classified in the beginning of the ceramic Neolithic. It seems to have southwest Asian roots, which may indicate cultural contacts or migrations.” ref
“Within the ceramic Neolithic, Yarmukia was followed by Lodien in some areas of Palestine, followed by the Wadi Rabah culture , which is, however, at least partially attributed by some archaeologists to the Chalcolithic period. However, relations with northern cultures are unclear due to the lack of excavations in Syria and Lebanon.” ref
Did Neanderthals Help Inspire Totemism? Because there is Art Dating to Around 65,000 Years Ago in Spain? Totemism as seen in Europe: 50,000 years ago, mainly the Aurignacian culture. Pre-Aurignacian “Châtelperronian” (Western Europe, mainly Spain and France, possible transitional/cultural diffusion between Neanderthals and Humans around 50,000-40,000 years ago). Archaic–Aurignacian/Proto-Aurignacian Humans (Europe around 46,000-35,000). And Aurignacian “classical/early to late” Humans (Europe and other areas around 38,000 – 26,000 years ago).
Totemism is approximately a 50,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden totemist.
Toetmism may be older as there is evidence of what looks like a Stone Snake in South Africa, which may be the “first human worship” dating to around 70,000 years ago. Many archaeologists propose that societies from 70,000 to 50,000 years ago such as that of the Neanderthals may also have practiced the earliest form of totemism or animal worship in addition to their presumably religious burial of the dead. Did Neanderthals help inspire Totemism? There is Neanderthals art dating to around 65,000 years ago in Spain. ref, ref
1. Animistic/Pre-Shamanistic (to me, male-leaning, more geared to “Individual-totemism and much less Clan-totemism”)-Totemism
2. Totemistic-(to me, female-leaning, more geared to “Group-totemism”)-Early-Shamanism-Totemism
I hypothesize that both Totemism and Shamanism Disperse somewhat together as a complementary set of varied beliefs as either one of two main persuasions, totemism-(Female leaning group and Male leaning individual).
1. Animistic/Pre-Shamanistic-(male leaning, which, to me, is more geared to “Individual-Clan-totemism”
(Acephalous/Hierarchical–Heterarchy, Homoarchy/Patrilineal–Patriarchy)-Totemism which this must be thought of as only in a general kind of way, rather than only one-type each or that both were varied.)
“Individual Totemism Patrilineality: Aboriginal Australia. Only 1 person is involved in a special relationship with some natural species, or a particular member of that species. The relationship is a personal one, not usually shared r inherited. There are actually cases of inheritance, as, among the Wuradjeri, a youth may be given a totem during his initiation. There is also a form of ‘assistant totemism‘, in which a totem animal may serve as a familiar, or ‘second self’ for a native doctor. There is another form among the Wuradjeri, a native doctor may take a 10-12 year-old-child from the main camp and ‘sing’ the assistant into him (bala or jarawajewa – ‘meat’ or totem within him, or the ‘spirit animal.” ref
“In that case, the bala is of patrilineal descent. It is widely distributed throughout New South Wales. Native doctors have spirit snakes in central, north and north-western Australia, associated with the Rainbow Serpent. The patrilineally inherited totem serves as an assistant in its physical and well as its spiritual form, among the Jaraldri on the Lower Murray. There are some songmen in western Arnhem Land who specialize in gossip songs, dealing with contemporary people. These songmen usually attribute new songs with a non-inherited familiar, a spirit or creature, that reveals itself in a dream.” ref
“Moreover, Among the Wiradjuri, an Aboriginal people, totem clans are divided among two subgroups and corresponding matrilineal moieties. The group totem, named “flesh,” is transmitted from the mother. In contrast to this, individual totems belong only to the medicine men and are passed on patrilineally. Such an individual totem is named bala, “spirit companion,” or jarawaijewa, “the meat (totem) that is within him.” It is said: “To eat your jarawaijewa is the same as if you were to eat your very own flesh or that of your father.” The individual totem is also a helper of the medicine man. By singing, for instance, the medicine man can send out his totem to kill an enemy; the totem enters the chest of the enemy and devours his viscera. The transmission of the individual totem to novices is done through the father or the grandfather, who, of course, himself is also a medicine man.” ref
2. Is the type more geared to Female leaning or “Group-totemism”
“Group Totemism was traditionally common among peoples in Africa, India, Oceania (especially in Melanesia), North America, and parts of South America. These peoples include, among others, the Australian Aborigines, the African Pygmies, and various Native American peoples—most notably the Northwest Coast Indians (predominantly fishermen), California Indians, and Northeast Indians. Moreover, group totemism is represented in a distinctive form among the Ugrians and west Siberians (hunters and fishermen who also breed reindeer) as well as among tribes of herdsmen in North and Central Asia.” ref
“Group/Clan Totemism is a group claiming common descent in the male or female line. They share a common relationship with 1 or more natural phenomena. For the members of this unit, the clan, the totem is a symbol of membership of the unit. It is recognised for the members of this clan and those of other clans. This totem has strong territorial and mythological ties associated with it, and it is believed that it can warn them of approaching danger. Some distinguish between matrilineal social clan totemism and patrilineal clan totemism. Matrilineal clan totemism is widespread throughout eastern Australia – Queensland, New South Wales, western Victoria and eastern South Australia. There is also a small area in the southwest of Western Australia. The genera translation of the word for this totem is ‘flesh’ or ‘meat’ – the person is ‘of one flesh’ with his totem. The totems connected with matrilineal phratries of western Arnhem Land are not the center of cult life, and the members of the phratry don’t have a special attitude towards it. The totems of the matrilineal social clans are the center of cult life. An example among the Dieri is the mardu.” ref
“It is really an avunculineal (of the mother’s brother’s line) cult totem. Patrilineal clan cult totemism, bindara, is also found in this tribe. Patrilineal clan totemism was present in parts of Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Cape York, coastal areas of New South Wales and Queensland, central Victoria, along the lower Murray and the Coorong district and among the Lake Eyre groups. The best example was among the Jaraldi, Dangani, etc. and northeastern Arnhem Land. In eastern Arnhem Land a combination of aspects, including non-totemic, were associated with the clan. A clan has several totemic cults, and these can be associated with more than one linguistic group. In central Australia totemic combinations were apparent but less strongly so.” ref
“Individual totemism is widely disseminated. It is found not only among tribes of hunters and harvesters but also among farmers and herdsmen. Individual totemism is especially emphasized among the Australian Aborigines and the American Indians. Studies of shamanism indicate that individual totemism may have predated group totemism, as a group’s protective spirits were sometimes derived from the totems of specific individuals. To some extent, there also exists a tendency to pass on an individual totem as hereditary or to make taboo the entire species of animal to which the individual totem belongs.” ref
Basal U6* back-migration Eurasia around 45,000 years ago, reaching North Africa by around 30,000 years ago.
“Haplogroup U descends from the haplogroup R mtDNA are estimated to have arisen between 43,000 and 50,000 years ago. Ancient DNA classified as belonging to the U* mtDNA haplogroup from human remains in Western Siberia, dated to around 45,000 years ago the Aurignacianarchaeological culture. The Peştera Muierii 1 individual from Romania dated to around 35,000 years ago possibly the Aurignacianarchaeological culture has been identified as the basal haplogroup U6* not previously found in any ancient or present-day humans. And the DNA of a 35,000-year-old individual from Europe supports a Palaeolithic back-migration to Africa.” ref, ref
“The mitogenome basal haplogroup U6* in the nucleotide mutations in the 35,000-year-old Peştera Muierii 1 (PM1) Homo sapiens remains from the Pestera Muierii cave (Romania). It is a 35,000-year-old Homo sapiens. This corresponds to the most ancient population from which all descendants belonging to this haplogroup (U6a, U6b, U6c…) derived. The findings confirm that U6 mitochondrial lineage has a Eurasian origin, supporting the hypothesis of an early back-migration from Eurasia to North Africa, starting approximately from 45.000, in the Early Upper Paleolithic.” ref
Pre-NeolithicU6Expansion
“The oldest and largest subclade, U6a, would have appeared around the LGM. U6a lineages are thought to have spread in several waves across North Africa, probably starting around 20,000 years ago, following the northern coastline of Africa. Several U6a branches (U6a1, U6a3, U6a6, U6a6b, U6a7, and U6a7b) appear to have expanded within the Maghreb from 20,000 years ago, with some spreading to the Iberian Peninsula (U6a1, U6a1b).” ref
“DNA of seven 15,000-year-old modern humans from Taforalt Cave in northeastern Morocco and six out of seven of them belonged to haplogroup U6a (clades U6a1b, U6a6b, U6a7, and U6a7b) – the last one belonging to M1b. The six males belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup E1b1b (M78). U6b, U6c, and U6d emerged later, some time between 13,000 and 10,000 years ago, from the end of the Last Glacial period.” ref
U6 Neolithic Expansion
“U6a and U6b lineages underwent the most spectacular expansion since the Neolithic period, spreading from the Maghreb to West Africa (U6a3c, U6a3f, U6a5, U6b) and the Canary Islands (U6b1a), and crossing the Sahara all the way to the Sudan to Arabia (U6a3d). This expansion might have been carried by the arrival of domesticated cattle from the Middle East by men belonging to Y-haplogroup R1b-V88 as U6b is typically found in herding populations in which both R1b-V88 and U6b are present, including the Berbers of the Maghreb, the Fulani people of the Sahel and the Hausa people of Sudan.” ref
“R1b-V88 cattle herders are believed to have started advancing into northern Africa during the Neolithic Subpluvial (c. 7250 BCE to 3250 BCE), when the Sahara was considerably wetter and greener than today, and would have reached the Maghreb by 4,500 BCE. Consequently, the expansion of R1b-V88 with the assimilated Maghreban lineages of that period (mostly H1, H3, U6, and HV0/V) would have taken place from c. 6,000 years ago, and may have continued until fairly recently in some regions.” ref
“Haplogroup U has been found among Iberomaurusian specimens dating from the Epipaleolithic at the Taforalt and Afalou prehistoric sites. Among the Taforalt individuals, around 13% of the observed haplotypes belonged to various U subclades, including U4a2b (1/24; 4%), U4c1 (1/24; 4%), and U6d3 (1/24; 4%). A further 41% of the analyzed haplotypes could be assigned to either haplogroup U or haplogroup H. Among the Afalou individuals, 44% of the analyzed haplotypes could be assigned to either haplogroup U or haplogroup H (3/9; 33%). Haplogroup U has also been observed among ancient Egyptian mummies excavated at the Abusir el-Meleq archaeological site in Middle Egypt, dated to the 1st millennium BC.” ref, ref
A ~ 35,000-year-old individual from northwest Europe represents an early branch of this founder population which was then displaced across a broad region, before reappearing in southwest Europe during the Ice Age ~19,000 years ago. During the major warming period after ~14,000 years ago, a new genetic component related to present-day Near Easterners appears in Europe. ref
The “Vestonice Cluster” is composed of 14 pre-Ice Age individuals from 34,000-26,000 years ago, who are all associated with the archaeologically defined Gravettian culture. ref
The “El Mirón Cluster” is composed of 6 Late Glacial individuals from 19,000-14,000 years ago, who are all associated with the Magdalenian culture. ref
“Although the Vestonice Cluster individuals are assigned to the Gravettian cultural in Europe there is no genetic connection between them and the Mal’ta1 individual in Siberia despite the fact that Venus figurines are associated with both thus not likely just a coincidence thus religious/cultural transfer.” ref
“GoyetQ116-1 derives from a different deep branch of the European founder population than the Vestonice Cluster which became predominant in many places in Europe between 34,000 and 26,000 years ago including at Goyet Cave. GoyetQ116-1 is chronologically associated with the Aurignacian cultural complex. Thus, the subsequent spread of the Vestonice Cluster, which is associated with the Gravettian cultural complex, shows that the spread of the latter culture was mediated at least in part by population movements. Fourth, the population represented by GoyetQ116-1 did not disappear, as its descendants became widespread again after ~19,000 years ago in the El Mirón Cluster when we detect them in Iberia.” ref
“The El Mirón Cluster is associated with the Magdalenian culture and may represent a post-ice age expansion from southwestern European refugia. Fifth, beginning with the Villabruna Cluster at least ~14,000 years ago, all European individuals analyzed show an affinity to the Near East. This correlates in time to the Bølling-Allerød interstadial, the first significant warming period after the Ice Age. Archaeologically, it correlates with cultural transitions within the Epigravettian in Southern Europe and the Magdalenian-to-Azilian transition in Western Europe.” ref
“Thus, the appearance of the Villabruna Cluster may reflect migrations or population shifts within Europe at the end of the Ice Age, an observation that is also consistent with the evidence of turnover of mitochondrial DNA sequences at this time. One scenario that could explain these patterns is a population expansion from southeastern European or west Asian refugia after the Ice Age, drawing together the genetic ancestry of Europe and the Near East. Sixth, within the Villabruna Cluster, some, but not all, individuals have an affinity to East Asians.” ref
“The DNA from the Peştera Muierii 1 remains from Romania dated to 35,000 years ago, which sheds new light on the Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) migrations in Eurasia and North Africa. One of the last Homo sapiens populations dispersal out of Africa carrying L3 mitochondrial lineage (green color). The Peştera Muierii 1 remains lineage could be an offshoot to South-East Europe of the Early Upper Paleolithic migration that leads U6 from Western Asia to Africa during which it diversified until the emergence of the present-day U6 African lineages.” ref
Ancient DNA Analysis of Anatolian Goat Remains
“All of the ancient sequences belonged to haplogroup A, which is the most widely distributed and frequently encountered haplogroup in modern goats. The results also pointed out that Anatolian ancient goats might have contributed to the genetic structure of modern goats in the Near East, the Mediterranean Region, and South-Southeastern Asia.” ref
“Site of Einkorn Wheat Domestication and the emergence of agriculture in the Near East from a wild group from the Karacadag˘ mountains (southeast Turkey) is the likely progenitor of cultivated einkorn varieties. Evidence from archeological excavations of early agricultural settlements nearby supports the conclusion that domestication of einkorn wheat began near the Karacadag˘ mountains.” ref
“Although there is evidence of water supply structures during the early Neolithic in southwest Asia (i.e., during the period when agriculture was gradually adopted around 12,000-6000 years ago, this is primarily in the form of wells, such as at Sha’ar Hagolan, located in the State of Israel, whose placement has been attributed to “accidents of local geography” or otherwise attributed to “ritual uses” due to the evidence of the intentional deposition of human bodies within the well. Nonetheless, the first relatively uncontroversial period of the sustained creation of dams begins during the around 6,000 years ago in southwest Asia, close to the eastern Mediterranean littoral.” ref
“Magdalenian expansion before any climatic improvement led to inventing weapons, a conquering mythology, long-distance relays, flexibility in control over all kinds of environments, ritual delegation by shamanism, the “descent” of the mythical decoration of rock walls in favor of mobile ritual art like sacred woman figures and pendants or portable altars can be seen a “proof” by their simple spread on a map indicating waves of Magdalenian expansion appears to be around 14,000 years ago at Maszycka and corresponds to the core that would lead to the plains civilizations (Hamburgian and Creswellian) that a too rapid look tends to confuse with the phantom of a “Northern Magdalenian”, while these are actually entirely new civilizations, certainly with Magdalenian souvenirs, but recomposed a thousand other ways.” ref
“We should thus view the expansion of the Magdalenian civilization as a series of successive waves rather than by a single population movement, as the dates (14,000-12,000 years ago), the arts and techniques demonstrate with eloquence. From the Middle Magdalenian, the whole of the hilly regions of Europe appears to have been colonized (Maszycka, Nebra, and Oelknitz at 14,000 years ago). Although, other waves contribute to the Late Magdalenian (13,000-12,000 years ago): Chaleux, Gönnersdorf, Monruz.” ref
“However, up to then, each could be attached to the original evolution in the Périgord, as if this metropolis created concepts regularly transmitted and transposed to pioneer, peripheral and distant frontiers. Art is particularly explicit at this stage: entirely naturalistic, it diversifies its themes while remaining within the animal register. Only feminine schemas suggest human contours, but conversely, rigorously codified to the limits of abstraction and reduced to a conventional sign. There are two forms of contemporaneous plastic language, sometimes in the same ensembles (e.g., Gönnersdorf), once again demonstrating the rigor of the codes, and thus the collective thought during the Magdalenian, regardless of the context.” ref
“Such huge migrations and confronting unceasing challenges, this pioneering population as well as their technology and mythology began to crumble and became diluted across these immense expanses, where new generations could create their own myths. The widespread adoption of the bow, light armatures, with truncated point and shouldered base, this hunter-gatherer world reflects an entirely different relationship between man and nature, totally indentured.” ref
“Paganism of the Neolithic is not far off and the Female human image is present in what remains of symbolic and simplified stylized art, as a definitive sign of the appropriation of nature, well before and independent of Neolithic domestication the clanging hunter-gatherer world has shifted to that of predators in which nature becomes a resource to exploit rather than an integral part of human life, now life proceeds by ritualized and controlled exchanges.” ref
“This key difference shatters the old paradigm and is to me, part of the emergence of pre-paganism. Domestication logically soon follows this new emerging paradigm shift, but one may assume that such a phase may have been a need to involve natural world control dynamics over the environmental resources that anchor a religiousness and the pre-goddess connections and other pre-neolithic revolution evidences.” ref
“At the same time, the importance gained for human figures in art shows the same change because they indicate the presence of “pre-goddess deities”, that is to say, likely superior forces connected to a clan or metaphorical great grandmother spirit pendants and other, such as seen in the Venus figurines of Gönnersdorf. and a male clan leader/ancestor hunting cult with Magdalenian connections to the Phallus Phenomena (A Bull Horn) and the Shamanism Phenomena and a Possible Clan Leader/Special “MALE” Ancestor hunting cult connections with a phallus, the ideological change is one of the most dramatic because humanity shifts from Simplistic mythology (illustrated stories in simple art and basic rituals) to pre-organized religion (creating a place for the emerging gods).” ref
“All human appearances prior to the Bölling were dissimulated (in animal forms), deformed (such as masks) or highly schematic (sexual signs). While the representations had meaning (and this is evident in the sacred art). It seems this new control and developing ritualization are shown both in the relationship to prey and to human images. Still, up to the present, the human figure would be the iconographic foundation and animal separated as favorable (domesticated herds) and unfavorable (wild and dangerous).” ref
“Although now found primarily in western, northern and north-eastern Africa, haplogroup U6 descends from the western Eurasian haplogroup U, and therefore represents a back migration to Africa. Secher et al. (2014) estimated that U6 arose very approximately 35,000 years ago (±11 ky), during the Early Upper Paleolithic, and prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).” ref
Moreover, he oldest and largest subclade, U6a, would have appeared around the “LGM. U6a lineages are thought to have spread in several waves across North Africa, probably starting around 20,000 years ago, following the northern coastline of Africa. Several U6a branches (U6a1, U6a3, U6a6, U6a6b, U6a7, and U6a7b) appear to have expanded within the Maghreb from 20,000 years ago, with some spreading to the Iberian Peninsula (U6a1, U6a1b).” ref
“Marieke van de Loosdrecht et al. (2018) tested the DNA of seven 15,000-year-old modern humans from Taforalt Cave in northeastern Morocco, and six out of seven of them belonged to haplogroup U6a (clades U6a1b, U6a6b, U6a7 and U6a7b) – the last one belonging to M1b. The six males belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup E1b1b (M78). U6b, U6cand U6d emerged later, some time between 13,000 and 10,000 years ago, from the end of the Last Glacial period.” ref
U6a and U6b Neolithic expansion
“U6a and U6b lineages underwent the most spectacular expansion since the Neolithic period, spreading from the Maghreb to West Africa (U6a3c, U6a3f, U6a5, U6b) and the Canary Islands (U6b1a), and crossing the Sahara all the way to the Sudan to Arabia (U6a3d). This expansion might have been carried by the arrival of domesticated cattle from the Middle East by men belonging to Y-haplogroup R1b-V88 as U6b is typically found in herding populations in which both R1b-V88 and U6b are present, including the Berbers of the Maghreb, the Fulani people of the Sahel and the Hausa people of Sudan.” ref
“R1b-V88 cattle herders are believed to have started advancing into northern Africa during the Neolithic Subpluvial (c. 7250 BCE to 3250 BCE), when the Sahara was considerably wetter and greener than today, and would have reached the Maghreb by 4,500 BCE. Consequently, the expansion of R1b-V88 with the assimilated Maghreban lineages of that period (mostly H1, H3, U6 and HV0/V) would have taken place from c. 6,000 years ago, and may have continued until fairly recently in some regions.” ref
“The Khormusan industry in Egypt began between 42,000-32,000 years ago. Khormusans developed tools not only from stone but also from animal bones and hematite. They also developed small arrow heads resembling those of Native Americans. The end of the Khormusan industry came around 18,000 years ago with the appearance of other cultures in the region, including the Gemaian. The Halfan and Kubbaniyan, two closely related industries, flourished along the Upper Nile Valley.” ref
“Halfan sites are found in the far north of Sudan, whereas Kubbaniyan sites are found in Upper Egypt. For the Halfan, only four radiocarbon dates have been produced. Schild and Wendorf (2014) discard the earliest and latest as erratic and conclude that the Halfan existed c. 22.5-22.0 ka cal BP. People survived on a diet of large herd animals and the Khormusan tradition of fishing. Greater concentrations of artifacts indicate that they were not bound to seasonal wandering, but settled for longer periods. The Halfan culture was derived in turn from the Khormusan. The primary material remains of this culture are stone tools, flakes, and a multitude of rock paintings.” ref
Analysed from Genetic data of humans who lived 45,000 to 7,000 years ago shows all Europeans come from a single founding population. This population the Aurignacians occupied northwest Europe 35,000 years ago before being displaced when another group of early humans arrived 33,000 years ago the Gravettians. Then original group then re-expanded across the continent 19,000 years ago now known as the Magdalenians who connect to Ibero-Maurusians. ref
Proto-Aurignacian (47,000 to 43,000 years before present ; eastern Europe): F
Aurignacian Culture (43,000 to 28,000 ybp ; all ice-free Europe): CT, C1a, C1b, I
Gravettian Culture (31,000 to 24,000 ybp ; all ice-free Europe): BT, CT, F, C1a2
Epiravettian Culture (22,000 to 8,000 ybp ; Italy): R1b1a
The Aurignacians (at least 43,000 – 28,000 years ago): A 35,000-year-old male from Goyet, Belgium, belonged to a distinctive branch of the Ice Age population. DNA was extracted from the upper arm bone of the hunter, who was associated with the Aurignacian archaeological culture. ref
The Gravettians: This ancestral group displaced the Aurignacians to dominate much of Europe from 34,000 to 26,000 years ago. Though they carried distinct genetic signatures, the Gravettians and Aurignacians were descended from the same ancient founder population. ref
The Magdalenians: The Aurignacian genetic signature disappeared from much of Europe when the Gravettians arrived. But it resurfaced 15,000 years later in the “Red Lady of El Mirón Cave” from northern Spain. This tall, robust woman was a member of the Magdalenian archaeological culture, which expanded north as the ice sheets melted. ref
The Villabruna cluster: From about 14,000 years ago, the gene pools of Europe and the Middle East draw closer together – perhaps reflecting an expansion of people from the south-east. This genetic cluster is named after a male hunter from Villabruna, Italy, who had dark skin and blue eyes. ref
“The genetic data shows that, beginning 37,000 years ago, all Europeans come from a single founding population that persisted through the Ice Age. The founding population has deep branches in different parts of Europe, one of which is represented by a specimen from Belgium. In fact, present-day Europeans can trace their ancestry back to this group of humans who lived in northwest Europe 35,000 years ago. However, this founding population, which was part of the Aurignacian culture, became displaced when another group of early humans, members of a different culture known as the Gravettian, arrived on the scene in many parts of Europe 33,000 years ago. Then, around 19,000 years ago, a population related to the Aurignacian culture called the Magdalenians re-expanded across Europe. Then yet another intriguing migration occurred some 14,000 years ago, when the study shows the European population became more closely related to people from the Middle East, Turkey and the Caucuses. Then yet again a transition occur around 8,500 years ago, when Turkish farmers brought agriculture to Europe.” ref, ref
“Although fossil remains show that anatomically modern humans dispersed out of Africa into the Near East ∼100 to 130 ka, genetic evidence from extant populations has suggested that non-Africans descend primarily from a single successful later migration. Within the human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) tree, haplogroup L3 encompasses not only many sub-Saharan Africans but also all ancient non-African lineages, and its age therefore provides an upper bound for the dispersal out of Africa. An analysis of 369 complete African L3 sequences places this maximum at ∼70 ka, virtually ruling out a successful exit before 74 ka, the date of the Toba volcanic supereruption in Sumatra. The similarity of the age of L3 to its two non-African daughter haplogroups, M and N, suggests that the same process was likely responsible for both the L3 expansion in Eastern Africa and the dispersal of a small group of modern humans out of Africa to settle the rest of the world. The timing of the expansion of L3 suggests a link to improved climatic conditions after ∼70 ka in Eastern and Central Africa rather than to symbolically mediated behavior, which evidently arose considerably earlier. The L3 mtDNA pool within Africa suggests a migration from Eastern Africa to Central Africa ∼60 to 35 ka and major migrations in the immediate postglacial again linked to climate. The largest population size increase seen in the L3 data is 3–4 ka in Central Africa, corresponding to Bantu expansions, leading diverse L3 lineages to spread into Eastern and Southern Africa in the last 3–2 ka.” ref
“Humans moved east from Africa around 60,000 years ago as L3 into what is now Russia between 52,000 and 58,000 years ago. As seen in the genome comparisons of a man lived close to the moment of division of the early modern homo sapiens population into two groups, migrating from Africa to Eurasia. ‘DNA data shows that the Ust-Ishimindividual has no direct descendants among the modern populations of Eurasia.” ref
Ust’-Ishim man has been classified as belonging to Y-DNA haplogroupK2a*, belonged to mitochondrial DNA haplogroupR*. Before 2016 they had been classified as U*. Both of these haplogroups and descendant subclades are now found among populations throughout Eurasia, Oceania and The Americas. When compared to other ancient remains, Ust’-Ishim man is more closely related, in terms of autosomal DNA to Tianyuan man, found near Beijing and dating from 42,000 to 39,000 years ago; Mal’ta boy (or MA-1), a child who lived 24,000 years ago along the Bolshaya Belaya River near today’s Irkutsk in Siberia, or; La Braña man – a hunter-gatherer who lived in La Braña (modern Spain) about 8,000 years ago. ref
Mitochondrial haplogroups A, B and G originated about 50,000 years ago, and bearers subsequently colonized Siberia, Korea, and Japan, by about 35,000 years ago. Several phenotypical traits associated with Mongoloids with a single mutation of the EDAR gene, dated to c. 35,000 years ago. A Paleolithic site on the Yana River, Siberia, at 71°N, lies well above the Arctic Circle and dates to 27,000 radiocarbon years before present, during glacial times. This site shows that people adapted to this harsh, high-altitude, Late Pleistocene environment much earlier than previously thought. ref
Around 38,000 years old engraving of an aurochs with seeming totemism expression from southwestern France. The piece involves a complicated image of an aurochs with and surrounded by a row of dots on a stone slab. From the Aurignacian culture, a modern human tool making and artistic culture of Upper Paleolithic Europe. A massive diversification and specialization tools during the time of the Aurignacian culture (between 43,000 and 38,000 years ago) facilitated its distinctive artwork. ref
In particular, the invention of an engraving tool known as the burin made remarkable rock engravings possible. Although anatomically modern humans first appeared around 100,000 years ago, the Aurignacian culture is widely considered to represent the first modern humans to settle in Europe. ref
The rise to modern Asians 25,000 to 38,000 years ago. We also find evidence of gene flow between populations of the two dispersal waves prior to the divergence of Native Americans from modern Asian ancestors. It is surmised from DNA that a split between Europeans and Asians dating to 17,000 to 43,000 years before the present. ref
Female skull’s mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the Peştera Muierii 1 (PM1) remains from the Pestera Muierii cave (Romania). It is a 35,000-year-old Homo sapiens. ref, ref
“The PM1 mitogenome as a basal haplogroup U6*, not previously found in any ancient or present-day humans. The derived U6 haplotypes are predominantly found in present-day North-Western African populations. Concomitantly, those found in Europe have been attributed to recent gene-flow from North Africa. The presence of the basal haplogroup U6* in South East Europe (Romania) at 35 ky BP confirms a Eurasian origin of the U6 mitochondrial lineage. Consequently, we propose that the PM1 lineage is an offshoot to South East Europe that can be traced to the Early Upper Paleolithic back migration from Western Asia to North Africa, during which the U6 lineage diversified, until the emergence of the present-day U6 African lineages.” ref
“Haplogroup F (mtDNA)Possible time of origin 43,400 Years ago Possible place of originAsiaAncestor R9 DescendantsF1, F2, F3, F4. The clade is most common in East Asia and South East Asia. It has not been found among Native Americans.” ref
The groups descending from haplogroup F are found in some 90% of the world’s population, but almost exclusively outside of sub-Saharan Africa. The mutation of IJ corresponds to a wave of migration out of the Middle East or Western Asia some 45 ka that subsequently spread into Europe (Cro-Magnon). Haplogroup G originated in the Middle East or Caucasus, or perhaps further east as far as Pakistan some 30 ka, and spread to Europe with the Neolithic Revolution. Haplogroup H probably occurred in Indiasome 30-40 ka, and remains prevalent there, spreading westwards in historical times with the Roma migration. Haplogroup K probably originated in southwestern Asia and spread widely to Africa, Eurasia, Australia and the South Pacific. ref
Haplogroup RPossible time of origin about 27,000 years ago in Central Asia, South Asia, or Siberia.
“Haplogroup P1 (P-M45), the immediate ancestor of Haplogroup R, likely emerged in Southeast Asia. The SNP M207, which defines Haplogroup R, is believed to have arisen during the Upper Paleolithic era, about 27,000 years ago. Only one confirmed example of basal R* has been found, in 24,000 year old remains, known as MA1, found at Mal’ta–Buret’ culture near Lake Baikal in Siberia.” ref
“Haplogroup R is defined by the SNP M207. The bulk of Haplogroup R is represented in lineages R1a and R1b. R1a likely originated in the Eurasian Steppes, and is associated with the Kurgan culture and Proto-Indo-European expansion. It is primarily found in Central Asia, South Asia, and the Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe. R1b probably originated in Central Asia. It is the dominant haplogroup of Western Europe and also found sparsely distributed among various peoples of Asia and Africa. Its subclade R1b1b2 (M269) is the haplogroup that is most commonly found among modern European populations, especially those of Western Europe.” ref
Haplogroup R1 (M173) Found throughout western Eurasia
Haplogroup R1a (M17) Found in Central Asia, South Asia, and Central, Northern and Eastern Europe
Haplogroup R2 (M124) Found in South Asia, Caucasus, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe ref
“Based on its ancestral lineages, an inferred origin for haplogroup R1 is South Asia or its western neighboring areas. A rapid diversification process of K-M526 likely occurred in Southeast Asia, with subsequent westward expansions of the ancestors of haplogroups R and Q. It is possible that southern and western Asia were the source for R1 and R1a differentiation, with South Asian one of the strongest.” ref
“Despite the rarity of R* and R1*, the relatively rapid expansion – geographically and numerically – of subclades from R1 in particular, has often been noted: “both R1a and R1b comprise young, star-like expansions.” ref
“The presence of haplogroup R1 among Indigenous Americans groups is now the most common haplogroup after the various Q-M242, especially in North America, highest worldwide R1 rates among Great Lakes/Algonquian-speakers, in Ojibwe people at 79%, Chipewyan 62%, Seminole 50%, Cherokee 47%, Dogrib 40% and Papago 38%. 97% of R1 had the M269 SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism), which defines haplogroup R1b1b. Some Native American Short Tandem Repeats haplotypes of R1, are not shared with Europeans. the greater similarity between haplogroup R1 subclades found in North America and those found in Siberia, suggesting prehistoric immigration from Asia and/or Beringia, deriving from two major Siberian migrations.” ref
“The first migration came from middle Siberia with the founding haplotype P-M45(x Q-M3). A second migration came from south eastern Siberia (Lower Amur/Sea of Okhkotsk/Kamchatka region) with the founding haplotype P-M45(x R1-M173), delineated by the RPS4Y-T marker, and took place at 7,000–9,500 years before present. Significant frequencies of RPS4Y-T are found in several northern Amerindian and Na-Dene populations, and in Lake Baikal region and Mongolia, but is absent in Europeans, reaching its highest frequencies in the populations of eastern Siberia. The P-M45(x R1-M173) subhaplogroup essentially seems to connect the population of eastern Siberians with the North- and Central-American Na-Dene and the surrounding Amerindian speakers. The RPS4Y-T diversification lends toward east Asia. The data correlates well with previous conclusions about the maternal migrations into Americas.” ref
“The age of R1 was estimated by Tatiana Karafet et al. (2008) at between 12,500 and 25,700 BP, and most probably occurred about 18,500 years ago. Since the earliest known example has been dated at circa 14,000 BP, and belongs to R1b1a (R-L754), R1b must have arisen relatively soon after the emergence of R1. And the closest branch of R1b is from Iberia and its small subclades found in west Asia, the Near East and Africa are examples of back-migration, and not of its origin. The R1b genetic family tree has a trunk and many branches. The trunk of the R1b data is firmly rooted in Iberia. The main core of the tree stretches along the western Atlantic coast of Europe and branches across Europe and even back into Asia.” ref, ref
The oldest human remains found to carry R1b include:
“Villabruna 1 (individual I9030), found in an Epigravettian culture setting in the Cismon valley (modern Veneto, Italy), who lived circa 14,000 years BP and belonged to R1b-L754,
numerous individuals from the Mesolithic Iron Gates culture of the central Danube(modern Romania and Serbia), dating from 10,000 to 8,500 BP – most of them falling into R1b-L754;
two individuals, dating from circa 7,800–6,800 BP, found at the Zvejnieki burial ground, belonging to the Narva culture of the Baltic neolithic, both determined to belong to the R1b-P297 subclade, and;
“The point of origin of R1b is thought to lie in Western Eurasia, most likely in Western Asia. R1b is a subclade within the “macro-haplogroup” Haplogroup K (K-M9), the most common group of human male lines outside of Africa. K is believed to have originated in Asia (as is the case with an even earlier ancestral haplogroup, F (F-M89). Rapid diversification process of K-M526 likely occurred in Southeast Asia, with subsequent westward expansions of the ancestors of haplogroups R and Q.” ref
“Three genetic studies gave support to the Kurgan hypothesis of Marija Gimbutasregarding the Proto-Indo-European homeland. According to those studies, haplogroups R1b and R1a, now the most common in Europe (R1a is also common in South Asia) would have expanded from the West Eurasian Steppe, along with the Indo-European languages; they also detected an autosomal component present in modern Europeans which was not present in Neolithic Europeans, which would have been introduced with paternal lineages R1b and R1a, as well as Indo-European languages.” ref
“The wide geographical distribution of R1b, in particular, has also been noted. Hallast et al. (2014) mentioned that living examples found in Central Asia included:
the “deepest subclade” of R-M269 (R1b1a1a2) – the most numerous branch of R1b in Western Europe, and;
the rare subclade R-PH155 (R1b1b) found only in one Bhutanese individual and one Tajik.
(While Hallast et al. suggested that R-PH155 was “almost as old as the R1a/R1b split”, [8]R-PH155 was later discovered to be a subclade of R-L278 (R1b1) and has been given the phylogenetic name R1b1b.)” ref
“The Magdalenian dating to around 17,000 to 12,000 years ago, refers to one of the later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic in western Europe, such as that found ar La Madeleine, a rock shelter located in the Vézère valley, commune of Tursac, in the Dordogne department of France. This culture represents interesting prehistoric art. Numbers of bones, reindeer antlers, and animal teeth were found, with crude pictures carved or etched on them of seals, fishes, reindeer, mammoths, and other creatures. The earliest Magdalenian sites are all found in France. The Epigravettian is a similar culture appearing at the same time. Its known range extends from southeast France to the western shores of the Volga River, Russia, with a large number of sites in Italy. There is extensive debate about the precise nature of the earliest Magdalenian assemblages, and it remains questionable whether the Badegoulian culture is, in fact, the earliest phase of the Magdalenian.” ref
“Similarly, finds from the forest of Beauregard near Paris often have been suggested as belonging to the earliest Magdalenian. The earliest Magdalenian sites are all found in France. The Epigravettian is a similar culture appearing at the same time. Its known range extends from southeast France to the western shores of the Volga River, Russia, with a large number of sites in Italy. The later phases of the Magdalenian are also synonymous with the human re-settlement of north-western Europe; evidence from Switzerland, southern Germany, and Belgium support this. The Magdalenian people as mobile hunter-gatherers that did not permanently re-settle in north-west Europe they often followed herds and moved depending on seasons.” ref
“By the end of the Magdalenian, the lithic technology shows a pronounced trend toward increased microlithisation. The bone harpoons and points have the most distinctive chronological markers within the typological sequence. As well as flint tools, the Magdalenians are best known for their elaborate worked bone, antler, and ivory that served both functional and aesthetic purposes, including perforated batons. Examples of Magdalenian portable art include batons, figurines, and intricately engraved projectile points, as well as items of personal adornment including seashells, perforated carnivore teeth (presumably necklaces), and fossils.” ref
“The seashells and fossils found in Magdalenian sites may be sourced to relatively precise areas of origin, and so have been used to support a hypothesis of Magdalenian hunter-gatherer seasonal ranges, and perhaps trade routes. Cave sites such as the world famous Lascaux contain the best-known examples of Magdalenian cave art. The site of Altamira in Spain, with its extensive and varied forms of Magdalenian art has been suggested to be an agglomeration site where many small groups of Magdalenian hunter-gatherers congregated.” ref
“Magdalenian funerary customs: Secondary burial in the Magdalenian: The Brillenhöhle (Blaubeuren, Southwest Germany) human skeletal remains of the Magdalenian were found grouped inside a fireplace in the center of the cave. The skeletal remains were very fragmentary and consisted of an adult skullcap, numerous heavily damaged elements of the postcranial skeleton of three other adults and a few skeleton parts of an infant. It is to point out that long bones were missing at the site and that only small skeletal remains or bones broken into small pieces were found.” ref
“During the first study of the bones, several cut marks were noticed on the remains. As a result, the find was interpreted as evidence for cannibalistic activity. A comparison with Magdalenian butchering marks on animal remains uncovered major discrepancies. The greatest difference is that on the human remains the frequency of cut marks was much more important than those discovered on contemporary animal remains. The scratch marks on the human bones show that they have been intensively cleaned from flesh.” ref
“That means that the manipulation of the human bones was far more intense than the work on the animal bones. In addition to these anthropogenic manipulation marks, taphonomic processes are evident. The bone surfaces, especially on the skullcap, show erosion, and one skeletal element had a puncture mark left by the tooth of a carnivore. As the conditions for preservation are extremely good at the site, and carnivores had no evident means to influence them, the skeletal remains must have been at a different place before they finally came to the site. The finds’ context and the high frequency of butchering and defleshing marks in combination with the evident selection of the skeletal elements allow an identification of the finds in the Brillenhöhle as a secondary burial of human skeletal remains.” ref
Possible connections or deep similarities to the “Neolithic skull-cult” and “Sky Burial”:
“Long known as a feature of the Near Eastern Neolithic, there is growing evidence for the special treatment of the human head in Mesolithic Europe. The Mesolithic refers to the final period of hunter-gatherer cultures in Europe and West Asia, between the end of the Last Glacial Maximum and the Neolithic Revolution. In Southwest Asia (the Epipalaeolithic Near East) roughly 20,000 to 8,000 years ago and in Europe, roughly 15,000 to 5,000 years ago.” ref, ref
“The type of culture associated with the Mesolithic varies between areas, generally, a hunter-gatherer way of life, and the development of more sophisticated tools and weapons than the ones that came before. Depending on the region, some use of pottery and textiles may be found in sites with some indications of agriculture marking a transition into the Neolithic. The more permanent settlements tend to be close to the sea or inland waters offering a good supply of food. Mesolithic societies burials are fairly simple; grandiose burial mounds are another mark of the Neolithic.” ref, ref
“This takes the form of secondary deposition of crania and mandibles, often in unusual contexts, including as ‘grave goods’ with other burials; cutmarks suggesting decapitation, scalping and defleshing; and the deposition of fleshed heads in pits, as well as, most recently, on stakes in shallow pools. Possible links with the ‘ancestors’ are a possibility which connects to ethnographic support for their importance among hunter-gatherers in the Mesolithic. A number of both old and recent finds combine to suggest a special interest in the human head in Mesolithic communities in various parts of Europe and adjacent regions of Southwest Asia and North Africa.” ref, ref
“Early Neolithic sites in the Levant, a series of discoveries have exposed a large number of wells dated to 9500-8000 years ago. This is an additional and unexpected aspect of human activity resulting from the Neolithic revolution. Beside active steps in plant cultivation and tending animals such as goat, sheep, cattle etc. which eventually led to their domestication, and as well as the redesigning of domestic and public spaces, securing sustainable water sources was an important part of the construction of new settlements.” ref
“The active digging of wells reaching the underground water table reflects an innovative approach to water provisioning in sedentary communities. It is a testimony to the hydrological knowledge and technological capacities of early Neolithic farmers in the Near East. The earliest Neolithic wells, dated to around 10,000 years ago (Pre-Pottery Neolithic B), have been discovered in two Cypriot sites: Kissonerga-Mylouthkia and Shillourocambous.” ref
“The Iberomaurusian dating to around 25,000 to 11,000 years ago, is a backed bladeletlithic culture found near the coasts of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. It is also known from a single major site in Libya, the Haua Fteah, where the industry is locally known as the Eastern Oranian. The Iberomaurusian in Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, but not in Morocco, the industry is succeeded by the Capsian industry, whose origins are unclear. The Capsian is believed either to have spread into North-Africa from the Near East, or have descended from the Iberomaurusian. In Morocco and Western Algeria, the Iberomaurusian is succeeded by the Cardial culture after a long hiatus.” ref
“Iberomaurusian funerary customs: “distribution of intentionally modified specimens: ochre-dyeing, cut marks). The results suggested that the burial area included primary and secondary depositions of about 40 adolescents and adults. Treatment of the cadaver and manipulation of dry bones were attested, and intentional violence and cannibalism could be hypothesized.” ref
“El Mirón Cave in Cantabrian Spain held the remains of an adult woman dating to the Lower Magdalenian (18,900-18,700 years ago) with abundant red ochre as well as abundant artifacts stone tools, animal remains, with some marine shells from around 15 miles from the burial of the “Red Lady of El Mirón”, buried between the rear cave vestibule wall and a large block, both of which (but especially the large block was also stained with red ochre in proximity to the corpse) bear engravings, possibly symbolically related to the burial.” ref
“One must wonder what exact connections there were in relation to the archeological contexts, dating, and the rock art, ochre, artifacts and faunas associated with this burial, the first major human interment of Magdalenian age lead to connections discovered on the Iberian Peninsula as well as possible religious-cultural transfer to Iberomaurusian funerary customs and from them to the Natufians and the Yarmukian culture religious-cultural transfer.” ref
“Taforalt or Grotte des Pigeons is a cave in northern Oujda, Morocco, and possibly the oldest cemetery in North Africa (Humphrey et al. 2012). It contained at least 34 Iberomaurusian adolescent and adult human skeletons, as well as younger ones, from the Upper Palaeolithic between 15,100 and 14,000 calendar years ago. It held dozens of burials with some showing evidence of postmortem processing. Some show potential rituals with burials containing animal remains including horns, mandibles, a hoof, and a tooth. The cave floor has yielded hearths, lithics, and shell beads, among a variety of artifacts of varying ages.” ref
“These Iberomaurusian layers contain microlithics, ostrich eggshells, potentially ritualized primary and secondary burials, and a notable increase in land snail remains, indicating a shift in dietary practices. Evidence of deliberate post-mortem modification includes cut marks that are not indicative of cannibalism and extensive ochre coloring with one grave, Grave XII, containing Individual 1 with both cut marks and ochre coloring present on the majority of the nearly intact skeleton.” ref
“All sample was rich in mtDNA U6a, with also one instance of M1b: All six male samples carried Y-DNA E1b1b, with most of them being well defined as E1b1b1a1-M78.” ref
“Although now found primarily in western, northern and north-eastern Africa, haplogroup U6 descends from the western Eurasian haplogroup U and therefore represents a back migration to Africa estimated that U6 arose very approximately 35,000 years ago.” ref
The U1 subclades are: U1a (with deep-subclades U1a1, U1a1a, U1a1a1, U1a1b) and U1b.
“Haplogroup U1 estimated to have arisen between 26,000 and 37,000 years ago. It is found at very low frequency throughout Europe. It is more often observed in eastern Europe, Anatolia and the Near East. It is also found at low frequencies in India. U1 is found in the Svanetia region of Georgia at 4.2%. Subclade U1a is found from India to Europe, but is extremely rare among the northern and Atlantic fringes of Europe including the British Isles and Scandinavia. Several examples in Tuscany have been noted. In India, U1a has been found in the Kerala region. U1b has a similar spread but is rarer than U1a. Some examples of U1b have been found among Jewish diaspora. Subclades U1a and U1b appear in equal frequency in eastern Europe.” ref
“mtDNA analysis shows that the Taforalt individuals belonged to mtDNA haplogroupsU6a and M1b. Y-DNA analysis shows that the Taforalt males all belonged to Y-DNA haplogroupE1b1b1a1 (M78), which is closely related to the E1b1b1b (M123) subhaplogroup that has been observed in skeletal remains belonging to the Epipaleolithic Natufian and Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures of the Levant. And as the Natufian samples, which are chronologically younger than the Taforalt samples by several thousands of years, were inferred to lack substantial African ancestry one is filled with questions.” ref
U6a’b’d
U6a: found in western and northern Africa, western Europe, the Middle East and the Horn of Africa
U6a1:
U6a1a: found in the Maghreb, Iberia and southern Italy
U6a1b: found in the Maghreb, Iberia, Italy, France, Belgium and Scandinavia / found in Late Paleolithic Morocco
U6a2
U6a2a: found in Ethiopia
U6a2b: found in Ethiopia and the Arabian peninsula
U6a2c: found in Armenia, Egypt and Portugal
U6a3
U6a3a: found in the Maghreb and Iberia
U6a3a1: found in the Maghreb, Iberia and Finland
U6a3a2: found in the Maghreb, Iberia and Germany
U6a3c: found in Ghana
U6a3d: found in Egypt and Palestine
U6a3e: found in the Maghreb and Iberia
U6a3f: found in Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso and Nigeria
U6a4: found in Iraq and Italy
U6a5: found in the Maghreb, Iberia, Italy, Hungary, Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria
U6a5a
U6a5b
U6a6
U6a6a: found in Morocco
U6a6b: found in Morocco and Tunisia / found in Late Paleolithic Morocco
U6a7: found in Late Paleolithic Morocco
U6a7a
U6a7a1: found in France, Italy and Mauritania
U6a7a1a: found among the Acadians
U6a7a1b: found among Sephardic Jews
U6a7a2: found in Britain
U6a7b: found in Algeria, Tunisia, France and Britain / found in Late Paleolithic Morocco
U6a7c: found in Tunisia
U6a8: found in the Maghreb
U6a8a: found in the Maghreb
U6a8b: found in the Maghreb and Spain
U6b’d
U6b: found mostly in southwest Asia, West Africa and Iberia
U6b1: found in northern Spain and the Canaries
U6b2: found in Morocco and Spain
U6b3: found in Morocco, Portugal and Spain
U6d: found mostly in the Maghreb and Iberia
U6d1: found mostly in the Maghreb
U6d1a: found in Britain
U6d1b: found in the Maghreb and southern Italy
U6d2: found in Algeria and Ethiopia
U6d3: found in Morocco, Portugal and Spain
U6c : found mostly in the northern Maghreb and southwest Europe
“All major sub-branches of E-M35 are thought to have originated in the same general area as the parent clade: in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, or nearby areas of the Near East. Some branches of E-M35 are assumed to have left Africa thousands of years ago, whereas others may have arrived from the Near East.” ref
“For example, the spread of the haplogroup with the Neolithic Revolution, believing that the structure and regional pattern of E-M35 subclades potentially give “reagents with which to infer specific episodes of population histories associated with the Neolithicagricultural expansion”. E-M78 (also called E1b1b1a1) has been in Europe longer than 10,000 years. Accordingly, human remains excavated in a Spanish funeral cave dating from approximately 7,000 years ago were shown to be in this haplogroup. Two more E-M78 have been found in the Neolithic Sopot and Lengyel cultures too.” ref
“The origins of E-M215 were dated by Cruciani in 2007 to about 22,400 years ago in the Horn of Africa. E-M35 was dated between 15,400 and 20,500 years ago. There is large difference in the age between haplogroup E-M215 (38,600 years ago; 95% CI 31,400-45,900 years ago) and its sub-haplogroup E-M35 (25,000 years ago; 95% CI 20,000-30,000 years ago) and estimated its origin to be in Northeast Africa.” ref
Natufian skeletal remains from the ancient Levant predominantly carried the Y-DNA haplogroup E1b1b. Of the five Natufian specimens analysed for paternal lineages, three belonged to the E1b1b1b2(xE1b1b1b2a,E1b1b1b2b), E1b1(xE1b1a1,E1b1b1b1) and E1b1b1b2(xE1b1b1b2a,E1b1b1b2b) subclades (60%). Haplogroup E1b1b was also found at moderate frequencies among fossils from the ensuing Pre-Pottery Neolithic Bculture, with the E1b1b1 and E1b1b1b2(xE1b1b1b2a,E1b1b1b2b) subclades observed in two of seven PPNB specimens (~29%). The scientists suggest that the Levantine early farmers may have spread southward into East Africa, bringing along Western Eurasian and Basal Eurasian ancestral components separate from that which would arrive later in North Africa. No affinity of Natufians to sub-Saharan Africans is evident in the genome-wide analysis.” ref
“Additionally, haplogroup E1b1b1 has been found in an ancient Egyptian mummy excavated at the Abusir el-Meleq archaeological site in Middle Egypt, which dates from a period between the late New Kingdom and the Roman era. Fossils at the Iberomaurusiansite of Ifri n’Amr or Moussa in Morocco, which have been dated to around 7,000 years ago, also carried haplotypes related to the E1b1b1b1a (E-M81) subclade. These ancient individuals bore an autochthonous Maghrebi genomic component that peaks among modern North Africans, indicating that they were ancestral to populations in the area.” ref
E-Z827: M5323/S24409 * CTS7890/M5239 * Z827/CTS1243+1 SNPs formed 24,100 years ago, TMRCA 23,800 years ago. (info) ref
“E-Z827, also known as E1b1b1b, is a major human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is the parent lineage to the E-Z830 and E-V257 subclades, and defines their common phylogeny. The former is predominantly found in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East; the latter is most frequently observed in North Africa, with its E-M81 subclade observed among the ancient Guanche natives of the Canary Islands. E-Z827 is also found at lower frequencies in Europe, and in isolated parts of Southeast Africa.” ref
E-M35M5290/S22882/S22282 * CTS9309/PF1766/M5265/V3515 * CTS4690/PF1672/M5171+94 SNPs formed 34,800 years ago, TMRCA 24,100 years ago. (info)
E-Z827 M5323/S24409 * CTS7890/M5239 * Z827/CTS1243+1 SNPs formed24,100 years ago, TMRCA 23,800 years ago info
E-M81 PF2553/M5311 * CTS8570/PF2539/M5254 * PF2499/Z1169/M5109+147 SNPs formed 14,000 years ago, TMRCA 2,300 years ago info
E-M81*Capsian, IAM (Ifri n’Amr o’Moussa) Morocco 7,900 years ago
E-Z830 CTS8182 * PF2009 * CTS3245+59 SNPs formed 23,800years ago, TMRCA 19,200 years ago info
E-Z830* I0861, I1072 Natufian, Raqefet Cave Israel 13,850-11,770years ago
E-V1515Y5892/FGC18718 * CTS5376/Z1265 * Z1278+87 SNPs formed 19,200 years ago, TMRCA 12,400 years ago info
E-PF1962 PF2000 * PF1962/Z1145 * Z1143+6 SNPs formed 19,200 years ago, TMRCA 18,900 years ago info
E-M34*I1415 PPNB, ‘Ain Ghazal (Amman) Jordan 10,200-9,650 years ago. ref
E-L539 CTS3657/PF2134 * CTS10323/PF2167/V4083 * CTS8899+57 SNPs formed 24,100 years ago, TMRCA 19,800 years ago info
E-V1039 SK857/V1039 * Y21096 * Y27270+19 SNPs id:ERS255977 Sardinian ITA [IT-CA] id:HG02807 Gambian in the Western Division, The Gambia GWD
E-M78 CTS3941/PF2135 * CTS12979 * CTS10448/PF2170+94 SNPs formed19,800years ago, TMRCA 13,400 years ago info
E-M78*Iberomaurusian, TaforaltMorocco 15,000-14,000 years ago & I710 PPNB, ‘Ain Ghazal (Amman) Jordan 9,600 years ago
E-Z1902 CTS256/V1129 * Z1902/CTS10890/PF2292 * Y6738/FGC2148/Z21150+1 SNPs formed 13,400 years ago, TMRCA 11,800years ago info
E-V65 CTS6681 * Z21232 * CTS10414/V4127+92 SNPs formed 11,800 years ago, TMRCA 2800 years ago info
E-V12 CTS12019 * Y2868/FGC2163 * CTS2967+38 SNPs formed 11,800 years ago, TMRCA 10,000 years ago info
E-Z1919 Z1920/CTS4235/PF2228 * CTS202/Z825/V1083 * Y2478/S8336/V1084+2 SNPs formed 13,400 years ago, TMRCA 12,100 years ago info
E-V22 CTS5295 * CTS2817 * Y2528/FGC7782+60 SNPs formed 12,100 years ago, TMRCA 8,500 years ago info
E-V22*JK2888 Ptolemaic Egypt, Abusir, 2,100-2,000 years ago (97-2 BCE)
E-L618 Y3763/FGC11427 * CTS6178 * CTS10912/PF2249+49 SNPs formed 12,100years ago, TMRCA 7,600 years ago info
E-L618*I3948 Cardial Neolithic, Zemunica Cave Croatia 8,000-7,800years ago
E-V13 V13/PF2211 * L1024/CTS3726/PF2226 * PF2222/Z1051+34 SNPs formed 7,600 years ago, TMRCA 5,100 years ago info
E-V13*P192-1 Thracian, Svilengrad Bulgaria 2,800-2,500 years ago (800-500 BCE).ref
“Underhill (2001) proposed that haplogroup E may have arisen in East Africa. Some authors as Chandrasekar (2007), continue to accept the earlier position of Hammer (1997) that Haplogroup E may have originated in Asia, given that:
E is a clade of Haplogroup DE, with the other major clade, haplogroup D, being exclusively distributed in Asia.
DE is a clade within M168 with the other two major clades, C and F, considered to have a Eurasian origin.” ref
“However, several discoveries made since the Hammer articles are thought to make an Asian origin less likely:
Underhill and Kivisild (2007) demonstrated that C and F have a common ancestor meaning that DE has only one sibling which is non-African.
DE* is found in both Asia and Africa, meaning that not only one, but several siblings of D are found in Asia and Africa.
Karafet (2008), in which Hammer is a co-author, significantly rearranged time estimates leading to “new interpretations on the geographical origin of ancient sub-clades”. Amongst other things this article proposed a much older age for haplogroup E-M96 than had been considered previously, giving it a similar age to Haplogroup D, and DE itself, meaning that there is no longer any strong reason to see it as an offshoot of DE which must have happened long after DE came into existence and had entered Asia.” ref
“Nonetheless, in 2015 Poznik and Underhill have claimed haplogroup E, arose outside Africa. This model of geographical segregation within the CT clade requires just one continental haplogroup exchange (E to Africa), rather than three (D, C, and F out of Africa). The timing of this putative return to Africa, between the emergence of haplogroup E and its differentiation within Africa by 58 kya, is consistent with proposals, based on non–Y chromosome data, of abundant gene flow between Africa and Arabia 50–80 kya.” ref
“A Eurasian center of origin and dispersal for haplogroup E has also been hypothesized based on the similar age of the clade’s parent haplogroup DE and the mtDNA haplogroup L3. According to this hypothesis, after an initial Out-of-Africa migration of early anatomically modern humans around 125 kya, fully modern human E-carrying males are thus proposed to have back-migrated from the paternal haplogroup’s place of origin in Eurasia around 70 kya along with females bearing the maternal haplogroup L3, which is also hypothesized to have originated in Eurasia. These new Eurasian lineages are then suggested to have largely replaced the old autochthonous male and female African lineages.” ref
“Haplogroup E1b1b (formerly known as E3b) represents the last major direct migration from Africa into Europe. It is believed to have first appeared in the Horn of Africa approximately 26,000 years ago and dispersed to North Africa and the Near East during the late Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods. E-M78 and E-Z827 originated respectively at 20,000 years and 24,000 years. E1b1b lineages are closely linked to the diffusion of Afroasiatic languages.” ref
“Lazaridis et al. (2016) tested the first ancient DNA samples from the Mesolithic Natufian culture in Israel, possibly the world’s oldest sedentary community, and found that the male individuals belonged either to haplogroups CT or E1b1 (including two E1b1b1b2 samples). These are to date the oldest known E1b1b individuals. The same haplogroups show up in Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Jordan, accompanied by new haplogroups (H2 and T). Besides, E1b1b was not found in Neolithic Iran or Anatolia, and only showed up twice among the hundreds of Neolithic European samples that have been tested. This evidence suggests that at the end of the last glaciation 12,000 years ago, E1b1b men were present in the Levant, but not in other parts of the Near East. There is evidence that the Natufians already cultivated cereals like rye before the Neolithic period. Cereal farming may therefore trace its roots (literally) to the E1b1b tribes of the Mesolithic Levant.” ref
“Marieke van de Loosdrecht et al. (2018) tested the DNA of seven 15,000-year-old modern humans from Taforalt Cave in northeastern Morocco, and all of the six males belonged to haplogroup E-M78. Autosomally they could be modelled as 2/3 Natufian and 1/3 Sub-Saharan African (West African), confirming the close genetic link between Late Paleolithic North Africans and Mesolithic South Levantines. Many lineages now found among the Ethiopians and Somalians appear to have come from the Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic period. This includes some E1b1b subclades like V22 (12,000 years old) and V32 (10,000 years old), but also undeniably Near Eastern lineages like T1a-CTS2214 and J1-L136.” ref
“E-M123 originated some 19,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age Its place of origin is uncertain, but it was probably in the Red Sea region, somewhere between the southern Levant and Ethiopia. Its main subclade E-M34 most probably emerged in the Levant about 15,000 years ago. Soon afterwards, M34 split into two branches, M84 and Z841, which were probably found in the Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic period. It is not clear at present whether they expanded beyond the Near East during the Neolithic period.” ref
“But they might have been part of the Neolithic expansion to North Africa and Iberia alongside haplogroups T1a and/or R1b-V88. L791 and Z21466 have a mostly European distribution today and their ages point toward a Neolithic diffusion. The PF6759subclade seems to have reached Sardinia during the Neolithic period. The descendants of L791, Y2947 and Y4971, only appeared around 5,500 years ago, during the Late Neolithic or Chalcolithic period. The K257 and Y4970 branch emerged around 5,000 years ago and is found in Iran, Armenia, Turkey, Russia, Greece, Italy and France, among others.” ref
“It might be linked to the expansion of the Kura-Araxes culture from the southern Caucasus to Anatolia and Iran. It would then have spread to Greece and Italy alongside haplogroup J2a1 and T1a-P77. Y6923 also emerged around 5,500 years ago, but became almost extinct. All modern carriers of this lineage descend from a common ancestor who lived only 1,200 years ago, and all are Ashkenazi Jews. E-M34 lineages experienced a much more dramatic expansion during the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) period. CTS1096 split into three subclades around 7,500 to 7,000 years ago, a period that corresponds to the advent of the Copper Age around modern Kurdistan. These lineages continued to expand around the Middle East, Greece and Italy during the Bronze Age.” ref
“Co-modeling of Epipaleolithic Natufians and Ibero-Maurusians from Taforalt confirms that the Taforalt population was mixed, but instead of specifying gene flow from the ancestors of Natufians into the ancestors of Taforalt as originally reported, we infer gene flow in the reverse direction (into Natufians). The Neolithic population from Morocco, closely related to Taforalt is also consistent with being descended from the source of this gene flow, and appears to have no admixture from the Levantine Neolithic.” ref
“If the research model is correct, Epipaleolithic Natufians trace part of their ancestry to North Africa, consistent with morphological and archaeological studies that indicate a spread of morphological features and artifacts from North Africa into the Near East. Such a scenario would also explain the presence of Y-chromosome haplogroup E in the Natufians and Levantine farmers, a common link between the Levant and Africa.” ref
“The hypothesis that Dzudzuana and the much later Neolithic Anatolians form a clade with respect to ESHG (P=0.286) cannot rejected, consistent with the latter being a population largely descended from Dzudzuana-like pre-Neolithic populations whose geographical extent spanned both Anatolia and the Caucasus. Dzudzuana itself can be modeled as a 2-way mixture of Villabruna-related ancestry and a Basal Eurasian lineage.” ref
“In modeling, a deeply divergent hunter-gatherer lineage that contributed in relatively unmixed form to the much later hunter-gatherers of the Villabruna cluster is specified as contributing to earlier hunter-gatherer groups (Gravettian Vestonice16: 35.7±11.3% and Magdalenian ElMiron: 60.6±11.3%) and to populations of the Caucasus (Dzudzuana: 199 72.5±3.7%, virtually identical to that inferred using ADMIXTUREGRAPH). In Europe, descendants of this lineage admixed with pre-existing hunter-gatherers related to Sunghir3 from Russia for the Gravettians and GoyetQ116-1 from Belgium for the Magdalenians, while in the Near East it did so with Basal Eurasians.” ref
“Later Europeans prior to the arrival of agriculture were the product of re-settlement of this lineage after ~15kya in mainland Europe, while in eastern Europe they admixed with Siberian hunter-gatherers forming the WHG-ANE cline of ancestry [See PCA above]. In the Near East, the Dzudzuana-related population admixed with North African-related ancestry in the Levant and with Siberian hunter-gatherer and eastern non-African-related ancestry in Iran and the Caucasus. Thus, the highly differentiated populations at the dawn of the Neolithic were primarily descended from Villabruna Cluster and Dzudzuana-related ancestors, with varying degrees of additional input related to both North Africa and Ancient North/East Eurasia whose proximate sources may be clarified by future sampling of geographically and temporally intermediate populations.” ref
The Natufian culture of the Levant and the contemporary coastal North Africa cultures Iberomaurusian and Capsian
“The Natufian generally there has been a discussion of the similarities of other cultures in the general area surrounding of Israel, along with those found in coastal North Africa. There seem to be some similarities in the archaeology finds of the Natufian culture of the Levant and of contemporary foragers in coastal North Africa across the late Pleistocene and early Holocene boundary”. As such it may be that there was some transfer between what the Natufians practiced the Iberomaurusian and Capsian custom of forcibly extracting the central incisor teeth. the earliest evidence for widespread dental modification in Northwest Africa.” ref, ref
“It seems that there are signs of influences coming from North Africa to the Levant, built upon the little evidence available to develop scenarios of intensive usage of plants having built up first in North Africa, as a precursor to the development of true farming in the Fertile Crescent, but then there is also the earliest known intensive usage of plants was in the Levant 23,000 years ago at the Ohalo II site.” ref
“The earliest known intensive usage of plants was in the Levant 23,000 years ago at the Ohalo II site. The site is significant for two findings which are the world’s oldest: the earliest brushwood dwellings and evidence for the earliest small-scale plant cultivation, some 11,000 years before the onset of agriculture located on the southwest shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel’s Rift Valley. The site consists of the remains of six charcoal rings where brushwood huts in an oval shape averaging between 9 and 16 feet long.” ref
“Hearths were located outside the huts and a grave. The site held a treasure trove of artifacts, including flints, animal bones, and remnants of fruit and cereal grains. Hundreds of species of birds, fish, fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, and large animals have been identified at the site. At the time hunter-gatherers settled down at Ohalo II, the Sea of Galilee was newly formed and may have been attractive to many bands of people.” ref
“Chronological sequence of cold & dry periods versus warm & wet periods: i.e., Last Glacial Maximum: 22,000 – 12,000 BC, incl. 12,700 – 10,800 Interstadial i.e., Younger Dryas (10,800 – 9,600 BC) & Holocene (starting around 9,600 years ago).” ref
“About 15,000 years ago, in the oldest known cemetery in the world, people buried their dead in sitting positions with beads and animal horns, deep in a cave in what is now Morocco.” ref
“The Epipaleolithic Natufian culture existed from around 14,000 to 11,500 years ago in the Levant. Natufians founded Jericho which may be the oldest city in the world. Some evidence suggests deliberate cultivation of cereals, specifically rye, by the Natufian culture, at Tell Abu Hureyra, the site of earliest evidence of agriculture in the world. The world’s oldest evidence of bread-making has been found at Shubayqa 1, a 14,500-year-old site in Jordan’s northeastern desert.” ref
“In addition, the oldest known evidence of beer, dating to approximately 13,000 years ago, was founded at the Raqefet Cave in the Carmel Mountains near Haifa in Israel, in which it was used by the semi-nomadic Natufians for ritual feasting. Early Natufian (14,000–12,800 years ago) and Late Natufian (12,800–11,500 years ago). The Late Natufian most likely occurred in tandem with the Younger Dryas (12,800 to 11,500 years ago).” ref
Subsequent ancient DNA analysis of Natufian skeletal remains found that the specimens instead were a mix of 50% Basal Eurasian ancestral component (see genetics) and 50% Western Eurasian Unknown Hunter-Gatherer (UHG) population related to European Western Hunter-Gatherers. refHaplogroup I-M170Possible time of originPresent 31–35,000 years BPPossible place of originThe Caucasus, Europe or Southwest AsiaPre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA)denotes the first stage in early Levantine and AnatolianNeolithic culture, dating to around 11,500 – 10,000 years ago. Archaeological remains are located in the Levantine and Upper Mesopotamian region of the Fertile Crescent:
Mureybetian in the Northern Levant. Defined by the finds from MureybetIIIA, IIIB, typical: Helwan points, sickle-blades with base amenagée or short stem and terminal retouch. Other sites include Sheyk Hasan and Jerf el-Ahmar.
Aswadian in the Damascus Basin. Defined by finds from Tell Aswad IA. Typical: bipolar cores, big sickle blades, Aswad points. The ‘Aswadian’ variant was recently abolished by the work of Danielle Stordeur in her initial report from further investigations in 2001–2006. The PPNB horizon was moved back at this site, to around 10,700 BP.
Sites in ‘Upper Mesopotamia’ as in Turkey,includeGöbekli Tepe, Nevalı Çori and Çayönü, with the latter possibly being the oldest ritual complex yet discovered. And sites in central Anatolia which include the ‘mother city’ Çatalhöyük and the smaller but older site, rivaling even Jericho in age, Aşıklı Höyük.ref
“The Capsian culture was a Mesolithic culture centered in the Maghreb also known as Northwest Africa or Northern Africa that lasted from about 10,000 to 4,700 years ago. ranging from aurochs and hartebeest to hares and snails and their burial methods suggest a belief in an afterlife. Decorative art is widely found at their sites, including figurative and abstract rock art, and ochre is found coloring both tools and corpses. Ostrich eggshells were used to make beads and containers; seashells were used for necklaces.” ref, ref
“The Ibero-Maurusian practice of extracting the central incisors continued sporadically but became rarer. Around 8000 years ago, a technological change occurred, corresponding with an environmental shift, and calls into question the contemporaneity of Typical and Upper Capsian. The causes, mechanisms, and implications of this technological change are integrated into a broader discussion leading to more questions about the way of life of the makers of the Capsian, their cultural evolution, and their persistence as hunter-gatherers in a Neolithic world.” ref, ref
Mesolithic-Neolithic transition (9,000-7,000 years ago), with ancestral components.See the original map.
Lower Egypt the Faiyum A culture
“Continued expansion of the desert forced the early ancestors of the Egyptians to settle around the Nile more permanently and adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. The period from 11,000-8,000 years ago has left very little in the way of archaeological evidence. Around 8,000 years ago, Neolithic settlements appear all over Egypt. Studies based on morphological, genetic, and archaeological data have attributed these settlements to migrants from the Fertile Crescent in the Near East returning during the Egyptian and North African Neolithic, bringing agriculture to the region. However, other regions in Africa independently developed agriculture at about the same time: the Ethiopian highlands, the Sahel, and West Africa.” ref
“Some morphological and post-cranial data has linked the earliest farming populations at Fayum, Merimde, and El-Badari, to Near Eastern populations. However, the archaeological data also suggests that Near Eastern domesticates were incorporated into a pre-existing foraging strategy and only slowly developed into a full-blown lifestyle, contrary to what would be expected from settler colonists from the Near East.” ref
Finally, the names for the Near Eastern domesticates imported into Egypt were not Sumerian or Proto-Semitic loan words, which further diminishes the likelihood of a mass immigrant colonization of lower Egypt during the transition to agriculture. Weaving is evidenced for the first time during the Faiyum A Period. People of this period, unlike later Egyptians, buried their dead very close to, and sometimes inside, their settlements. Although archaeological sites reveal very little about this time, an examination of the many Egyptian words for “city” provide a hypothetical list of reasons why the Egyptians settled. In Upper Egypt, terminology indicates trade, protection of livestock, high ground for flood refuge, and sacred sites for deities.” ref
“It has been suggested by several that on the basis of differences in technology, pottery and tool use, that the Faiyum A culture did not derive from any local Paleolithic culture. Rather, the culture was formed by a group of settlers who may also have brought with them the prototype of the ancient Egyptian language. These settlers may have come from the Levant, they share some similar tools and domesticated the same animals. However, others still consider the Faiyum A culture emerged from the peoples of the Saharan Neolithic culture with whom they also share many similarities. The evidence to date is not sufficient to confirm this issue one way or another.” ref
I think it was both as well as others in the local area that together form the culture.
Out of Iberia Migration Event 7,700 – 4,500YearsAgo?
7,700 – 4,500 Years Ago – (R1b-V88) Iberia Migration Event (the Iberian Peninsula divided between Spain and Portugal, comprising most of their territory. It also includes Andorra, small areas of France, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar).” ref
“Common ancestor analysis put the R1b Africans (V88) thousands of years removed from the rest of their European R1b cousins.”ref
“It seems around 7,700 to 6,100 an out of Iberia event took place where an Iberia migration along southern europe back to Africa then back to Europe. The genetics most commonly attached to the Celtic (including; Iberian, Gallic, Celtic, Germanic and Scandinavian), remains split between Iberia prior to the end of the last ice age and various West Asian locations after the ice age. their ancestor entered Europe from central Asia during a warm period about 40,000 to 30,000 years ago. On the Iberian Peninsula, modern humans developed a series of different cultures, such as the Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean and Magdalenian cultures, some of them characterized by the complex forms of the art of the Upper Paleolithic.” ref, ref, ref
“We know that modern humans survived and flourished in the Iberian refuge during the end of the last ice age. The ice sheets melted and retreated earlier on the west coast than in the rest of Europe. The genetic family tree has a trunk firmly rooted in Iberia and many branches stretch along the western Atlantic coast of Europe and branches across Europe and even back into Asia. This gave the inhabitants of the Iberian refuge an advantage – a “first-mover” advantage gained by being the first to move north. These first-movers gained a land-monopoly. Western Atlantic migrations, took a path along the Mediterranean coast and down the Adriatic and it seems to indicate Crete as a stepping-stone in the Mediterranean after which there was migration into the middle east to the Nile River Valley and from there back to Africa event(s) finally occurring roughly 5,500 to 4,500 years ago. ref, ref
“Paleoclimatologists have long suspected that the “middle Holocene,” a period roughly from 7,000 to 5,000 years ago, was warmer than the present day.” ref
“The Sahara has pretty much been a desert for the past 70,000 years but about 12,000 years ago, there was a sway in the Earth’s axis, causing seasonal monsoons to shift, bringing rains to new areas, which in turn created abundant watersheds across the Sahara, attracting different animals and eventually people.” ref
“As little as 6,000 years ago, the vast Sahara Desert was covered in grassland that received plenty of rainfall, but shifts in the world’s weather patterns abruptly transformed the vegetated region into some of the driest land on Earth.” ref
“Around 3000 BC a climatic change gradually turns the Sahara to a desert (over the millennia it seems to have gone through a succession of humid and dry periods). The change brings to an end the first settled culture of Africa. The Sahara becomes the almost impenetrable barrier which throughout recorded history has separated the Mediterranean coast and north Africa from the rest of the continent.” ref
“The Sahara is also the site of the earliest new Stone Age (or neolithic) culture to have been discovered in Africa. At much the same time north Africa becomes the site of one of the world’s first great civilizations, Egypt. There may perhaps be a link, in the migration eastwards of the Sahara people, but archaeology has found no evidence of it.” ref
“The darker skull is a Kiffian, the lighter a Tenerian. As can be sen, they are very different shapes. The Kiffian skulls are akin to those of the Late PleistoceneIberomaurusians, early Holocene Capsians, and mid-Holocene Mechta groups, whereas the Tenerian crania are more like those of Mediterranean groups.” ref, ref
Principal components analysis of craniofacial dimensions among Late Pleistocene to mid-Holocene populations from the Maghreb and southern Sahara.
“Seven trans-Saharan populations cluster together, whereas Late Pleistocene Aterians (Ater) and the mid-Holocene population at Gobero (Gob-m) are striking outliers. Axes are scaled by the square root of the corresponding eigenvalue for the principal component. Abbreviations: Ater, Aterian; EMC, eastern Maghreb Capsian; EMI, eastern Maghreb Iberomaurusian; Gob-e, Gobero early Holocene; Gob-m, Gobero mid-Holocene; Mali, Hassi-el-Abiod, Mali; Maur, Mauritania; WMC, western Maghreb Capsian; WMI, western Maghreb Iberomaurusian.” ref
“DNA studies of the Taforaltpopulation that is the closest to the Kiffians on the chart (WMC)shows no Sub Saharan Mt DNA in it, just Eurasian specific lineages H, U, JT, V (90.5%) and North African specific U6. This is also supported by this study: The Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene Populations of Northern Africa. By studying three northern African samples of human cranial remains from the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary: Afalou-bou-Rhummel, Taforalt, and Sudanese Nubia (Jebel Sahaba and Tushka), and compared them to late Pleistocene Europeans and Africans. Despite their relatively late dates, all three of our own samples exhibit the robusticity typical of late Pleistocene Homo sapiens. As far as population affinities are concerned, Taforalt is Caucasoid and closely resembles late Pleistocene Europeans, Sudanese Nubia is Negroid, and Afalou exhibits an intermediate status. Evidently the Caucasoid/Negroid transition has fluctuated north and south over time, perhaps following the changes in the distribution of climatic zones. It would seem that the Eurasian deirived mechtoids of Western Morocco followed the coast around as far as Mali, and moved inland as the Sahara turned into Savannah. The later Holocene buirals at Gobero where of a very different people, the Tenereans. These people recolonised the Gobero lake area about 7,000 years ago when the rains returned.” ref
“The Kiffian culture is a prehistoric industry, or domain, that existed between approximately 8,000 BC and 6,000 BC in the Sahara Desert, during the Neolithic Subpluvial. Human remains from this culture were found in 2000 AD at a site known as Gobero, located in Niger in the Ténéré Desert. The site is known as the largest and earliest grave of Stone Age people in the Sahara desert. The Kiffian people were tall, standing over six feet in height. Craniometric analysis indicates that this early Holocenepopulation was closely related to the Late Pleistocene Iberomaurusians and early Holocene Capsians of the Maghreb, as well as mid-Holocene Mechta groups.” ref
“The Tenerian culture is a prehistoric industry that existed between the 5th millennium BC and mid-3rd millennium BC in the Sahara Desert. This spans the Neolithic Subpluvialand later desiccation, during the middle Holocene. Approximately 4,500 years ago, the region became dry again. The Tenerian culture vanished, with its makers possibly seeking new pasturage elsewhere.” ref
“The site, with potsherd with a “pointillistic pattern” and recognized the markings to be from a nomadic herding culture known as the Tenerians and another piece with “wavy lines” and identified this piece as belonging to a fishing-based culture known as the Kiffian. The fact that the Kiffian and the Tenerians lived more than a thousand years apart in the same general region and in the site, where eight different burials and collected artifacts from both the Kiffian and the Tenerians.” ref
“While observing some of the graves, it was realized that there was differences in their burials. Some graves appeared to be “a tight bundle of bones,” as if the bodies were squeezed into a confined space. These smaller burials were misleading because the individuals buried in them were actually quite large, some estimated to be as tall as “six feet eight inches” with dense bones, indicating that they must have been extremely muscular. On the other hand, other skeletons were much smaller, measuring to only about five feet, six inches tall. Also, unlike the previous graves, these burials contained goods such as arrowheads, beads and even animal bones. However, since neither grave contained any potsherds, they were not sure which ones where Kiffian and which ones were Tenerian.” ref
“Through radiocarbon dating, they were able to roughly estimate the age of each skeleton and learned that the “tightly bundled burials” were about 9,000 years old, which is around the time archaeologists believe the Kiffian were in this area, while the smaller skeletons were about 6,000 years old, which is “well within the Tenerian period.” ref
“The Kiffian culture is associated with the wavy line pottery pottery found in the Sahara. So far the earliest date for this pottery is an unreliable 11,400 years from Mali in West Africa. This wavy line pottery was spread all over the Sahara, and eventually made it as far as Nubia about 9,500 years ago. However, pottery turns up in Iran just prior to the pottery in Nubia, so it’s unclear to where the original point of discovery was, as there’s no nice ‘bullseye’ pattern of dates as yet to give a location and it could possibly express some Back-migrations to Africa.” ref
“The Craniofacial dimensions of the skulls suggests that these people were related to the contemporary people of Mali and Mauritania, who in turn were related to the Mechta Afalou people of the Mahgreb. This concurs with observations about Eurasian haplotypes moving into the southern Sahara at some ancient time (Mt DNA haplotype U and Y chromosome R1b). These people seem to have split off from the Southern Cro Magnons about 30,000 years ago or more, but also have a minor affinity to Nubian populations, probably from the Wadi Halfa northwards expansion about 25,000 years ago. These people abandoned Gobero when the climate dried out about 8,000 years ago.” ref
Graves show that the Tenerians observed spiritual traditions, as they were buried with artifacts such as jewelry made of hippo tusks and clay pots. The most interesting find is a triple burial of an adult female and two children, dated to 5300 years ago. The fossil has been estimated through their teeth as being five and eight years old, hugging each other.
Ancient Ethiopian genome reveals extensive Eurasian admixture in Eastern Africa
“Tracing the migrations of anatomically modern humans has been complicated by human movements both out of and into Africa, especially in relatively recent history. Gallego Llorente et al. sequenced an Ethiopian individual, “Mota,” who lived approximately 4500 years ago, predating one such wave of individuals into Africa from Eurasia. The genetic information from Mota suggests that present-day Sardinians were the likely source of the Eurasian backflow. Furthermore, 4 to 7% of most African genomes, including Yoruba and Mbuti Pygmies, originated from this Eurasian gene flow. This genome to demonstrate that the Eurasian backflow into Africa came from a population closely related to Early Neolithic farmers, who had colonized Europe 4000 years earlier.
Moreover, a genetic backflow from West Eurasia into Eastern Africa, as the Mota’s remains 4500 years ago predate both the Bantu expansion and, more importantly, the 3000-year-old West Eurasian backflow, which has left strong genetic signatures in the whole of Eastern and, to a lesser extent, Southern Africa. Comparing Mota to contemporary human populations and outgroup f3analysis using Ju|’hoansi (Khoisan) from Southern Africa as the outgroup place this ancient individual close to contemporary Ethiopian populations, and more specifically to the Ari, a group of Omotic speakers from southern Ethiopia, to the west of the highland region where Mota lived. Our ancient genome confirms the view that the divergence of this language family results from the relative isolation of its speakers, and indicates population continuity over the last the 4500 years in this region of Eastern Africa.” ref
“Previous analyses have shown Sardinians to be the closest modern representatives of early Neolithic farmers, implying that the backflow came from the same genetic source that fueled the Neolithic expansion into Europe from the Near East/Anatolia, before recent historic events changed the genetic makeup of populations living in that region. An analysis with haplotype sharing also identified a connection between contemporary Ethiopians and Anatolia. Interestingly, archaeological evidence dates the arrival of Near Eastern domesticates (such as wheat, barley, and lentils) to the same time period (around 3000 years ago or so), suggesting that the direct descendants of the farmers that earlier brought agriculture into Europe may have also played a role in the development of new forms of food production in the Horn of Africa.” ref
“Using Mota as an unadmixed African reference and the early farmer LBK as the source of the West Eurasian component, it is possible to reassess the magnitude and geographic extent of historical migrations, avoiding the complications of using admixed contemporary populations. We estimated a substantially higher Eurasian backflow admixture than previously detected, with an additional 4 to 7% of the genome of most African populations tracing back to a Eurasian source. Moreover, we detected a much broader geographical impact of the backflow, going all the way to West and Southern Africa. Even though the West Eurasian component in these regions is smaller than in Eastern Africa, it is still sizable, with Yoruba and Mbuti, who are often used as African reference populations, showing 7% and 6%, respectively, of their genomes to be of Eurasian origin (table S5).” ref
“Although the magnitude of Neandertal ancestry in these contemporary African populations is not enough to change conclusions qualitatively (estimates of Neandertal ancestry in French and Han only increased marginally when tested with Mota as a reference). As expected, Mota lacked any of the derived alleles found in Eurasian populations for eye and skin color, suggesting that he had brown eyes and dark skin. Mota lacked any of the currently known alleles that confer lactose tolerance, which may have implications concerning when pastoralism appeared in southwestern Ethiopia. In addition, Mota did possess all three selected alleles that recently have been shown to play a role in the adaptation to altitude in contemporary highland Ethiopian populations. The presence of these mutations supports our conclusion that Mota is the descendant of highland dwellers, who have lived in this environment long enough to accumulate adaptations to the altitude.” ref
“According to conventional thinking, the Khoisan tribes of southern Africa, have lived in near-isolation from the rest of humanity for thousands of years. In fact, the study shows that some of their DNA matches most closely people from modern-day southern Europe, including Spain and Italy. Because Eurasian people also carry traces of Neanderthal DNA, the finding also shows – for the first time – that genetic material from our extinct cousin may be widespread in African populations.” ref
Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago) Did Neanderthals Help Inspire Totemism? Because there is Art Dating to Around 65,000 Years Ago in Spain? Totemism as seen in Europe: 50,000 years ago, mainly the Aurignacian culture. Pre-Aurignacian “Châtelperronian” (Western Europe, mainly Spain and France, possible transitional/cultural diffusion between Neanderthals and Humans around 50,000-40,000 years ago). Archaic–Aurignacian/Proto-Aurignacian Humans (Europe around 46,000-35,000). And Aurignacian “classical/early to late” Humans (Europe and other areas around 38,000 – 26,000 years ago).
Totemism is approximately a 50,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden totemist.
Toetmism may be older as there is evidence of what looks like a Stone Snake in South Africa, which may be the “first human worship” dating to around 70,000 years ago. Many archaeologists propose that societies from 70,000 to 50,000 years ago such as that of the Neanderthals may also have practiced the earliest form of totemism or animal worship in addition to their presumably religious burial of the dead. Did Neanderthals help inspire Totemism? There is Neanderthals art dating to around 65,000 years ago in Spain. ref, ref
Shamanism (beginning around 30,000 years ago) Shamanism (such as that seen in Siberia Gravettian culture: 30,000 years ago). Gravettian culture (34,000–24,000 years ago; Western Gravettian, mainly France, Spain, and Britain, as well as Eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians, which include the Pavlovian culture). And, the Pavlovian culture (31,000 – 25,000 years ago such as in Austria and Poland). 31,000 – 20,000 years ago Oldest Shaman was Female, Buried with the Oldest Portrait Carving.
Shamanism is approximately a 30,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals that can connect to spirit-filled life and/or afterlife. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden shamanist.
Around 29,000 to 25,000 years ago in Dolní Vestonice, Czech Republic, the oldest human face representation is a carved ivory female head that was found nearby a female burial and belong to the Pavlovian culture, a variant of the Gravettian culture. The left side of the figure’s face was a distorted image and is believed to be a portrait of an elder female, who was around 40 years old. She was ritualistically placed beneath a pair of mammoth scapulae, one leaning against the other. Surprisingly, the left side of the skull was disfigured in the same manner as the aforementioned carved ivory figure, indicating that the figure was an intentional depiction of this specific individual. The bones and the earth surrounding the body contained traces of red ocher, a flint spearhead had been placed near the skull, and one hand held the body of a fox. This evidence suggests that this was the burial site of a shaman. This is the oldest site not only of ceramic figurines and artistic portraiture but also of evidence of early female shamans. Before 5,500 years ago, women were much more prominent in religion.
Archaeologists usually describe two regional variants: the western Gravettian, known namely from cave sites in France, Spain, and Britain, and the eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians include the Pavlovian culture, which were specialized mammoth hunters and whose remains are usually found not in caves but in open air sites. The origins of the Gravettian people are not clear, they seem to appear simultaneously all over Europe. Though they carried distinct genetic signatures, the Gravettians and Aurignacians before them were descended from the same ancient founder population. According to genetic data, 37,000 years ago, all Europeans can be traced back to a single ‘founding population’ that made it through the last ice age. Furthermore, the so-called founding fathers were part of the Aurignacian culture, which was displaced by another group of early humans members of the Gravettian culture. Between 37,000 years ago and 14,000 years ago, different groups of Europeans were descended from a single founder population. To a greater extent than their Aurignacianpredecessors, they are known for their Venus figurines. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
Paganism (beginning around 12,000 years ago) Paganism (such as that seen in Turkey: 12,000 years ago). Gobekli Tepe: “first human-made temple” around 12,000 years ago. Sedentism and the Creation of goddesses around 12,000 years ago as well as male gods after 7,000 years ago. Pagan-Shaman burial in Israel 12,000 years ago and 12,000 – 10,000 years old Paganistic-Shamanistic Art in a Remote Cave in Egypt. Skull Cult around 11,500 to 8,400 Years Ago and Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” around 10,000 years ago.
Paganism is approximately a 12,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals that can connect to spirit-filled life and/or afterlife and who are guided/supported by a goddess/god, goddesses/gods, magical beings, or supreme spirits. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden paganist.
Around 12,000 years ago, in Turkey, the first evidence of paganism is Gobekli Tepe: “first human-made temple” and around 9,500 years ago, in Turkey, the second evidence of paganism is Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city”. In addition, early paganism is connected to Proto-Indo-European language and religion. Proto-Indo-European religion can be reconstructed with confidence that the gods and goddesses, myths, festivals, and form of rituals with invocations, prayers, and songs of praise make up the spoken element of religion. Much of this activity is connected to the natural and agricultural year or at least those are the easiest elements to reconstruct because nature does not change and because farmers are the most conservative members of society and are best able to keep the old ways.
The reconstruction of goddesses/gods characteristics may be different than what we think of and only evolved later to the characteristics we know of today. One such characteristic is how a deity’s gender may not be fixed, since they are often deified forces of nature, which tend to not have genders. There are at least 40 deities and the Goddesses that have been reconstructed are: *Pria, *Pleto, *Devi, *Perkunos, *Aeusos,and *Yama.
The reconstruction of myths can be connected to Proto-Indo-European culture/language and by additional research, many of these myths have since been confirmed including some areas that were not accessible to the early writers such as Latvian folk songs and Hittite hieroglyphic tablets. There are at least 28 myths and one of the most widely recognized myths of the Indo-Europeans is the myth, “Yama is killed by his brother Manu” and “the world is made from his body”. Some of the forms of this myth in various Indo-European languages are about the Creation Myth of the Indo-Europeans.
The reconstruction of rituals can be connected to Proto-Indo-European culture/language and is estimated to have been spoken as a single language from around 6,500 years ago. One of the earliest ritual is the construction of kurgans or mound graves as a part of a death ritual. kurgans were inspired by common ritual-mythological ideas. Kurgans are complex structures with internal chambers. Within the burial chamber at the heart of the kurgan, elite individuals were buried with grave goods and sacrificial offerings, sometimes including horses and chariots.
The speakers of Pre-Proto-Indo-European lived in Turkey and it associates the distribution of historical Indo-European languages with the expansion around 9,000 years ago, with a proposed homeland of Proto-Indo-European proper in the Balkans around 7,000 years ago. The Proto-Indo-European Religion seemingly stretches at least back around 6,000 years ago or likely much further back and I believe Paganism is possibly an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system.
The earliest kurgans date to 6,000 years ago and are connected to the Proto-Indo-European in the Caucasus. In fact, around 7,000 years ago, there appears to be pre-kurgan in Siberia. Around 7,000 to 2,500 years ago and beyond, kurgans were built with ancient traditions still active in Southern Siberia and Central Asia, which display the continuity of the archaic forming methods. Kurgan cultures are divided archaeologically into different sub-cultures such as Timber Grave, Pit Grave, Scythian, Sarmatian, Hunnish, and Kuman–Kipchak. Kurgans have been found from the Altay Mountains to the Caucasus, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria. Around 5,000 years ago, kurgans were used in the Ukrainian and Russian flat unforested grasslands and their use spread with migration into eastern, central, northern Europe, Turkey, and beyond. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
Progressed organized religion (around 5,000 years ago) Progressed organized religion (such as that seen in Egypt: 5,000 years ago “The First Dynasty dates to 5,150 years ago”). This was a time of astonishing religion development and organization with a new state power to control. Around the time of 5,000 to 4,000 years ago, saw the growth of these riches, both intellectually and physically, became a source of contention on a political stage, and rulers sought the accumulation of more wealth and more power.
*The First Dynasty* Date: 3,150 B.C.E. (5,150 years ago) and the Beginning Rise of the Unequal State Government Hierarchies, Religions and Cultures Merger.
The Pharaoh in ancient Egypt was the political and religious leader holding the titles ‘Lord of the Two Lands’ Upper and Lower Egypt and ‘High Priest of Every Temple’. In 5,150 years ago the First Dynasty appeared in Egypt and this reign was thought to be in accordance with the will of the gods; but the office of the king itself was not associated with the divine until later.
Around 4,890 years ago during the Second Dynasty, the King was linked with the divine and reign with the will of the gods. Following this, rulers of the later dynasties were equated with the gods and with the duties and obligations due to those gods. As supreme ruler of the people, the pharaoh was considered a god on earth, the intermediary between the gods and the people, and when he died, he was thought to become Osiris, the god of the dead. As such, in his role of ‘High Priest of Every Temple’, it was the pharaoh’s duty to build great temples and monuments celebrating his own achievements and paying homage to the gods of the land.
Among the earliest civilizations that exhibit the phenomenon of divinized kings are early Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt.
In 5,150 years ago the First Dynasty appeared in Egypt with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by the king Menes (now believed to be Narmer). Menes/Narmer is depicted on inscriptions wearing the two crowns of Egypt, signifying unification, and his reign was thought to be in accordance with the will of the gods; but the office of the king itself was not associated with the divine until later. During the Second Dynasty of Egypt 4,890-4,670 years ago King Raneb (also known as Nebra) linked his name with the divine and his reign with the will of the gods. Following Raneb, the rulers of the later dynasties were equated with the gods and with the duties and obligations due to those gods. As supreme ruler of the people, the pharaoh was considered a god on earth. The honorific title of `pharaoh’ for a ruler did not appear until the period known as the New Kingdom 3,570-3,069 years ago. Monarchs of the dynasties before the title of `pharaoh’ from the New Kingdom were addressed as `your majesty’ by foreign dignitaries and members of the court and as `brother’ by foreign rulers; both practices would continue after the king of Egypt came to be known as a pharaoh. RefRef
“The picture above is from Värikallio rock art – Kainuu. Oldest rock paintings in Hossa, Northern Finland, drawn sometimes around 3,500 – 4,500 years ago. Among other shows also humans with triangular heads.” ref
“Hossa is a village in Finland, located in the province of Oulu and part of the Suomussalmi municipality. The village is a popular outdoor tourist destination and is known for the oldest rock paintings in Northern Finland, dating back to 1500-2500 BC (Värikallio). The name “Hossa” originates from the old Sami word Huossa meaning “a place far away.” ref
“The Värikallio rock paintings are on a cliff near the eastern end of Lake Somerjärvi in the Hossa Hiking Area. It is one of the two northernmost sites of rock art in Finland, as well as one of the largest collections with over 60 figures discerned. The human images at Värikallio are notable for exhibiting triangular heads (seen at only two other sites), and for a human figure with horns. As at other sites, the most numerous images are of animals, including one that may be the only bear depicted in Finnish rock art. Hand print and paw print pictographs are also represented. Another unusual aspect of the Värikallio paintings is the lack of boat images, which are common at other Finnish sites.” ref
“Finnish rock art pictographs created during the Stone Age have been found at 127 sites around Finland. They consist mainly of brownish-red figures and markings painted onto steep granite walls, often overlooking waterways. There are scenes featuring people, boats, elk, fish and mysterious part human figures. The survival of the art in adverse climatic conditions is due to their protection by a naturally forming thin layer of silicon dioxide on the rock surface.” ref
“The Comb Ceramic Culture who lived in what is now Finland between 7,000-4,000 years ago is credited with their production. The paints used included a mix of iron oxide, blood, and animal fat or egg, although traces of the organic materials are no longer detectable. Characteristic to the art are sacrificial parts (arrow points, bones, signs of fire, etc.) and the location on steep cliffs at water’s edge. Similar sites can be found in parts of Northern Sweden, Norway and Russia – mainly, it seems, in areas once populated by the Saami or other Finno-Ugric peoples.” ref
“Yes, and it could be from shamanism I surmise at least 10,000 years ago.”
I the main picture there is a similarity in shamanism and/or invention of nature magic/supernatural/metaphorical-ancestors/deities. Maybe not exactly the same, but there are interesting looking similarities.
1. First is “The Sorcerer” cave art shaman, 14,000–13,000 years ago, (France)
*Certain scholars question the validity of the sketch, claiming that modern photographs do not show the famous antlers. However, “The Sorcerer” is composed of both charcoal drawings and etching within the stone itself. Details, such as etching, are often difficult to view from photographs due to their size and the quality of the light source. Prominent French prehistorian Jean Clottes asserts that the sketch is accurate (‘I have seen it myself perhaps 20 times over the years’).
2. Next, is a female shaman, 9,000-8,500 years ago, (Germany).
3. Then, “Shiva Pashupati” Indus Valley Civilization (Indian) Shamanism 4,600–3,900 years ago.
4. Then “Gundestrup cauldron” European (found in Denmark, made in Bulgaria or Romania) Shamanism 2,200–1,700 years ago.
5. Then, in 1692 is the earliest known depiction of a Siberian shaman, (Samoyedic- and Tungusic-speaking peoples). ref, ref, ref, ref
Looks Native American almost, doesn’t it, well that is where it came from. Native American came from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge before 10,000 years ago. In fact, it is thought that First Americans lived on a land bridge for thousands of years first. ref
Animism: the (often hidden) religion thinking all religionists (as well as most who say they are the so-called spiritual and not religious which to me are often just reverting back to have to Animism (even though this religious stance is often hidden to their realization so they are still very religious whether they know it or not) some extent or another. Ref
“In Saxony-Anhalt only three burials from that period have been found; they are the oldest human skeletons in the state. One of these is the grave found in Bad Dürrenberg, of a woman who is believed to be a ‘shaman’. Her rich set of grave-goods is entirely unusual and mysterious. Anthropological and archaeological data provide revealing glimpses into her fate. This 25-35-year-old ‘special woman’, along with a 6- to 12-month-old child, was laid out on a fill of red earth which even now is 30 cm deep.” ref
“Her burial took place around 9,000-8,600 years ago, isolated in the landscape. The exceptionally rich collection of grave-goods is evidence that the dead woman had a special role in society. A remarkable feature is the enormous variety of animal species present in the grave, which were not all food supplies for the beyond. Ethnographic parallels suggest that many objects may be explained as items used in shamanistic practices. The transition from mobile hunting and gathering to settled farming marks the end of the mesolithic period. The era of the hunters – the way of life that humans pursued the longest – had now come to an end.” ref
Interconnectedness of religious thinking Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, and Paganism and Beyond
So, it all starts in a general way with Animism (theoretical belief in supernatural powers/spirits), then this is physically expressed in or with Totemism (theoretical belief in mythical relationship with powers/spirits through a totem item), which then enlists a full-time specific person to do this worship and believed interacting Shamanism (theoretical belief in access and influence with spirits through ritual), and then there is the further employing of myths and gods added to all the above giving you Paganism (often a lot more nature-based than most current top world religions, thus hinting to their close link to more ancient religious thinking it stems from). My hypothesis is expressed with an explanation of the building of a theatrical house (modern religions development). Sky Burials: Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, and Paganism.
Pre-satanism Devil/horned-god worship?
“The god of the witches/pagans was not the Devil but the ancient horned god.”“Many horned deities are known to have been worshipped in various cultures throughout history. Such as the Horned God Naigamesha of the Indian sub-religion Kaumaram. Possibly from the Shunga period (1st-2nd century B.C), or earlier. Deities depicted with horns or antlers are found in many different religions across the world. Hathor is commonly depicted as a cow goddess with head horns in which is set a sun disk with Uraeus. Twin feathers are also sometimes shown in later periods as well as a menat necklace.” Ref, Ref
“Hathor may be the cow goddess who is depicted from an early date on the Narmer Palette and on a stone urn dating from the 1st dynasty that suggests a role as sky-goddess and a relationship to Horus who, as a sun god, is “housed” in her. Bat was a cow goddess in Egyptian mythology depicted as a human face with cow ears and horns. By the time of the Middle Kingdom her identity and attributes were subsumed within the goddess Hathor. The worship of Bat dates to earliest times and may have its origins in Late Paleolithic cattle herding. Bat was the chief goddess of Seshesh, otherwise known as Hu or Diospolis Parva, the 7th nome of Upper Egypt.” Ref, Ref
“The imagery of Bat as a divine cow was remarkably similar to that of Hathor the parallel goddess from Lower Egypt. The significant difference in their depiction is that Bat’s horns curve inward and Hathor’s curve outward slightly. It is possible that this could be based in the different breeds of cattle herded at different times. Pan was a god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds and rustic music. Depictions in Celtic cultures of figures with antlers are often identified as Cernunnos (“horned one” in Latin). The prime evidence for this comes from a pillar in Paris which also features the Roman god Jupiter. Cocidius was the name of a Romano-British war-god and local deity from the area around Hadrian’s Wall, who is sometimes represented as being horned. He is associated with warfare and woodland and was worshipped mostly by military personnel and the lower classes.” Ref, Ref
“A ram-shaped oracle god whose name is unknown was worshiped by Libyan tribes at Siwa. The figure was incorporated by the Egyptians into depictions of their god Amun that’s considered an ”Interpretatio graeca” of the Greek Zeus-Ammon. Adherents of Odinani (the traditional folk religion of the Igbo people of south-eastern Nigeria) worship the Ikenga, a horned god of honest achievement, whose two horns symbolise self-will. Small wooden statues of him are made and praised as personal altars. The Pashupati seal, a seal discovered during the excavation of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan has drawn attention as a possible representation of a “proto-Shiva” figure. This “Pashupati” (Lord of animal-like beings – Sanskrit paśupati) seal shows a seated figure with horns, possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals. Ref, Ref
“Amun-Ra in this period (16th to 11th centuries BC) held the position of transcendental, self-created creator deity“par excellence”, he was the champion of the poor or troubled and central to personal piety. His position as King of Gods developed to the point of virtual monotheism where other gods became manifestations of him. With Osiris, Amun-Ra is the most widely recorded of the Egyptian gods. As the chief deity of the Egyptian Empire, Amun-Ra also came to be worshiped outside Egypt, according to the testimony of ancient Greek historiographers in Libya and Nubia. As Zeus Ammon he came to be identified withZeus in Greece. In the early history, Amun and Amaunet are mentioned in the Old EgyptianPyramid Texts. The name Amun (written imn) meant something like “the hidden one” or “invisible.” ref
Survival of the Friendliest: Homo sapiens Evolved via Selection for Prosociality and had it at least from 350,000-12,000 years ago, here is how it changed:
Survival of the Friendliest: Homo sapiens Evolved via Selection for Prosociality:Ref
“Survival of the fittest” is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. The biological concept of fitness is defined as reproductive success. In Darwinian terms, the phrase is best understood as “Survival of the form that will leave the most copies of itself in successive generations.” Herbert Spencer first used the phrase, after reading Charles Darwin‘s On the Origin of Species, in his Principles of Biology (1864), in which he drew parallels between his own economic theories and Darwin’s biological ones: “This survival of the fittest, which I have here sought to express in mechanical terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called ‘natural selection’, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life.” Ref
“Darwin responded positively to Alfred Russel Wallace‘s suggestion of using Spencer’s new phrase “survival of the fittest” as an alternative to “natural selection”, and adopted the phrase in The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication published in 1868. In On the Origin of Species, he introduced the phrase in the fifth edition published in 1869, intending it to mean “better designed for an immediate, local environment”. While the phrase “survival of the fittest” is often used to refer to “natural selection”, it is avoided by modern biologists, because the phrase can be misleading. For example, “survival” is only one aspect of selection, and not always the most important. Another problem is that the word “fit” is frequently confused with a state of physical fitness. In the evolutionary meaning “fitness” is the rate of reproductive output among a class of genetic variants.” Ref
Survival of the Friendliest: Homo sapiens Evolved via Selection for Prosociality
byBrian Hare
From the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Abstract
“The challenge of studying human cognitive evolution is identifying unique features of our intelligence while explaining the processes by which they arose. Comparisons with nonhuman apes point to our early-emerging cooperative-communicative abilities as crucial to the evolution of all forms of human cultural cognition, including language.” Ref
“The human self-domestication hypothesis proposes that these early-emerging social skills evolved when natural selection favored increased in-group prosociality over aggression in late human evolution. As a by-product of this selection, humans are predicted to show traits of the domestication syndrome observed in other domestic animals. In reviewing comparative, developmental, neurobiological, and paleoanthropological research, compelling evidence emerges for the predicted relationship between unique human mentalizing abilities, tolerance, and the domestication syndrome in humans. This synthesis includes a review of the first a priori test of the self-domestication hypothesis as well as predictions for future tests.” Ref
“A complete theory of human cognitive evolution needs to explain how these shared traits evolved into new forms of human cognition. To meet Darwin’s challenge, we must identify derived cognitive features that evolved in our lineage and support our unique phenotype. Then we must identify the process by which these traits arose. Adding to this challenge are discoveries suggesting that at least 10 different species evolved within the genus Homo. Modern theories of human cognitive evolution must now contend with growing evidence that Homo sapiens is just one among many human species that evolved.” Ref
“It is no longer enough to point out what makes us human. We must also determine what allowed our species to outlast as many as five other large-brained human species that shared the planet with us, some perhaps until as recently as 27, 000 years ago. This article reviews the latest research suggesting that early-emerging cooperative communicative for unique features of human cognition and that our psychology evolved in large part due to selection for prosociality, i.e., positive but potentially selfishly motivated acts as opposed to antisocial interactions.” Ref
“Dacher Keltner is a professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley, the director of the Greater Good Science Center, and editor of its magazine, Greater Good. After his Ph.D. from Stanford in 1989, Dacher learned the micro tools of studying emotion with Paul Ekman, and since that time has been devoted to the study of emotions like embarrassment, compassion, and awe that make us fully human, as well as evolutionary approaches to social hierarchies and power. Dacher is the author of two textbooks and Born To Be Good: The Science of A Meaningful Life published by Norton in 2009.” ref
“One current of Darwin’s thought is well-known. His theory of evolution by natural selection would require new genesis stories about the origins of life forms, less arrogant notions about man’s place in the great chain of being, and a rethinking of our species as one in flux—and with rather hairy relatives. Less well-known is a second current of Darwin’s thought — his conception of human nature. Think of Darwin and “survival of the fittest” leaps to mind, as do images of competitive individuals — collections of selfish genes — going at one another bloody in tooth and claw. “Survival of the fittest” was not Darwin’s phrase, but Herbert Spencer’s and that of Social Darwinists who used Darwin to justify their wished-for superiority of different classes and races. “Survival of the kindest” better captures Darwin’s thinking about his own kind.” ref
“In Darwin’s first book about humans,“The Descent of Man, and Selection In Relation to Sex from 1871, Darwin argued for “the greater strength of the social or maternal instincts than that of any other instinct or motive.” His reasoning was disarmingly intuitive: in our hominid predecessors, communities of more sympathetic individuals were more successful in raising healthier offspring to the age of viability and reproduction — the sine qua non of evolution. One year later, in The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals, Darwin countered creationists’ claims that God had designed humans with special facial muscles to express uniquely human moralsentiments like sympathy.” ref
“Instead, drawing upon observations of his children, animals at the London zoo, and his faithful dogs, Darwin showed how our moral sentiments are expressed in mammalian patterns of behavior. In his analysis of suffering, for example, Darwin builds from pure empirical observation to a radical conclusion: the oblique eyebrows, compressed lips, tears, and groans of human suffering have their parallels in the whining of monkeys and elephants’ tears.” ref
“To be a mammal is to suffer. To be a mammal is to feel the strongest of Darwin’s instincts — sympathy. The expression of sympathy, Darwin observed, was to be found in mammalian patterns of tactile contact. Inspired by this observation, Matthew Hertenstein and I conducted a recent study of emotion and touch that was as much a strange act of performance art as hardheaded science. Two participants, a toucher and touchee, sat on opposite sides of a barrier that we built in a laboratory room. They, therefore, could not see nor hear one another, and could only communicate via that five digit wonder, the hand, making contact on skin. The touchee bravely poked his or her arm through a curtain-covered opening in the barrier, and received 12 different touches to the forearm from the toucher, who in each instance was trying to communicate a different emotion. For each touch, the touchee guessed which emotion was being conveyed.” ref
“With one second touches to the forearm, our participants could reliably communicate sympathy, love, and gratitude with rates of accuracy seven times as high as those produced by chance guessing. Sympathetic touches are processed by receptors under the surface of the skin, and set in motion a cascade of beneficial physiological responses. In one recent study, female participants waiting anxiously for an electric shock showed activation in threat-related regions of the brain, a response quickly turned off when their hands were held by loved ones nearby.” ref
“Friendly touch stimulates activation in the vagus nerve, a bundle of nerves in the chest that calms fight-or-flight cardiovascular response and triggers the release of oxytocin, which enables feelings of trust. Research by Darlene Francis and Michael Meaney reveals that sympathetic environments — those filled with warm touch — create individuals better suited to survival and reproduction, as Darwin long ago surmised. Rat pups who receive high levels of tactile contact from their mothers — in the form of licking, grooming, and close bodily contact — later as mature rats show reduced levels of stresshormones in response to being restrained, explore novel environments with greater gusto, show fewer stress-related neurons in the brain, and have more robust immune systems.” ref
“Were he alive today, Darwin would likely have found modest delight in seeing two of his hypotheses confirmed: sympathy is indeed wired into our brains and bodies; and it spreads from one person to another through touch. Darwin, the great fact amasser that he was, would no doubt have compiled these new findings on sympathy and touch in one of his many notebooks (now a folder on a laptop). He may have titled that folder “Survival of the kindest.” ref
“The first major armed conflict that happened 13,000 years ago.” ref
13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in Israel
“Raqefet Cave, an archaeological site located near Haifa, Israel, has provided vital insight into an ancient group known as the Natufians. The remains of 30 individuals were unearthed there, along with animal bones, tools and plant impressions, indicating that the Natufians buried their dead on beds of flowers. The Natufians were a semi-sedentary, foraging people that lived in the Levant between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. It is believed that the Natufians served as a vital transitional link between hunter-gatherers and the earliest farming communities in the Near East. Finds discovered in northeastern Jordan the charred remains of bread baked by Natufians some 11,600 to 14,600 years ago. According to the Stanford scientists, the ancient beer residue comes from 11,700 to 13,700 years old, potentially predating the bread. Fermented beverage and food storage in 13,000 year-old stone mortars at Raqefet Cave, Israel: Investigating Natufian ritual feasting.” ref, ref
“By 12,200–10,800 years ago farming communities had arisen in the Levant and spread to Asia Minor, North Africa and North Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 12,000 years ago. Early Neolithic farming was limited to a narrow range of plants, both wild and domesticated, which included einkorn wheat, millet and spelt, and the keeping of dogs, sheep and goats. By about 6900–6400 BC, it included domesticated cattle and pigs, the establishment of permanently or seasonally inhabited settlements, and the use of pottery. But generally the approximate centers of origin of agriculture in the Neolithic revolution and its spread in prehistory: the Fertile Crescent (11,000 years ago), the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins (9,000 years ago).” ref
“The source and upper reaches of the Yangtze are located in ethnic Tibetan areas of Qinghai and its course goes clear across China. The Yangtze River is known in China as Cháng Jiāng (literally: “Long River”) and is the longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the world.” ref
“Evidence of nearly 11,000-year-old beer brewing troughs at a cultic feasting site in Turkey called Gobekli Tepe: with the “first human-made temple”. Some researchers suggest that beer use arose at least 11,500 years ago and drove the cultivation of grains. Because grains require so much hard work to produce (collecting tiny, mostly inedible parts, separating grain from chaff, and grinding into flour), beer brewing would have been reserved for feasts with important cultural purposes. Those feasts — and alcohol-induced friendliness — may have enabled hunter-gatherers to bond with larger groups of people in newly emerging villages, fueling the rise of civilization. At work parties, beer may have motivated people to put a little elbow grease into bigger-scale projects such as building ancient monuments. Production and consumption of alcoholic beverages is an important factor in feasts facilitating the cohesion of social groups, and in the case of Göbekli Tepe, in organizing collective work.” ref
The first evidence of war/massacre with an ancient mass grave around 10,000 years ago.
“10,000-year-old massacre remains may be our oldest evidence of war,an ancient mass grave in Kenya reveals a brutal, violent end for a group of humans that lived 10,000 years ago. According to a paper published Wednesday in Nature, this may be our oldest ever evidence of human warfare.” ref
Horse Domestication Happened Across Eurasia, Study Showsstarting 8,000 BCE
“A new DNA study suggests that different groups of people independently tamed horses starting 10,000 years ago. Horses have left their stamp on many aspects of human history, from transportation and communication to warfare and agriculture. A team of fellow researchers collected maternally inherited mitochondrial genomes from living horses in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, a strikingly different picture emerged. “We found a high number of different lineages that we were able to identify—at least 18. This means that multiple female horse lines were domesticated throughout the Neolithic period—during the last 10,000 years—in multiple locations of Eurasia, possibly including Western Europe.” ref
“Light skin in Europeans stems from ONE 10,000-year-old ancestor who lived between India and the Middle East. Those who had mutation also shared traces of an ancestral genetic code. This indicates that all instances of mutation originate from same person. The mutated segment of DNA was itself created from a combination of two other mutations commonly found in East Asians.” ref
Study focused on DNA differences across globe with the A111T mutation
Those who had mutation also shared traces of an ancestral genetic code
This indicates that all instances of mutation originate from same person
The mutated segment of DNA was itself created from a combination of two other mutations commonly found in East Asians
“Cave painting with a horse and rider was found in Doushe cave, Lorestan, Iran, 8,000 BCE. Bladed tools found in southwest Iran date from around 8000 BCE; they were made from obsidian that had been transported from Anatolia /Turkey. During this time, agriculture became widely practiced in the Fertile Crescent and Anatolia. And around 7,200 BCE Cayonu in southeast Turkey: the likely domestication site of emmer wheat, and the first domestic pigs as well as cattle that spread to Europe pigs. And in general animal husbandry (pastoralism) spread to Africa and Eurasia. World population at this time was more or less stable, at Mesolithic level reached during the Last Glacial Maximum, at roughly 5 million.” ref
“After 10 years of research, we understand that Anatolia/Turkey, especially from the west, is part of the basis of all European peoples. Matching how all European cattle are all descended from Iranian cattle dispersed by farmer herders leaving Anatolia/Turkey.” – Joachim Burger – Anthropologist & Population Geneticist Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz.” ref
“Proto-European Cultures 8,000-2,500 BC Interactive map of the Proto-European cultures in the Balkans. It is now assumed that the pre-Indo-European or Proto-European cultures which have evolved from rich archeological finds in the Greater Balkans, Greece and Sicily/Malta in the last 50 years go back to migrations from Anatolia. The archeological objects found in the Greater Balkans by Marija Gimbutas and others show a high sophistication in sculptures, ornaments, and grave culture. The “Proto-European Culture” in the Balkans and Greece is the oldest collective “civilization” known. TheyprecededEgyptby4000andChinaby6000years. Several large urban settlements (20 000 people) have been found, possiblyunderafemale(?)priesthood.. The earliest temple cities have been unearthed in Göbekli (9200 BP) predating agriculture by 2000 years. The excavators believe that the large concentrations of laborers building the temples precipitated the need for agriculture.” ref
10,000 years ago—Settlement in Franchthi Cave in Peloponnese, continues. First evidence of seed and animal stocking (lentils, almonds) and obsidian trade with Melos. The settlement was continuously occupied since 20,000 BC and abandoned in 3000 BC.
“Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” involves a 34-acre site in central Turkey, at one time inhabited by as many as 8,000 to 10,000 people, began some 9,500 years ago, and continuing for nearly two millennia, people came together at Çatalhöyük to build hundreds of tightly clustered mud-brick houses, burying their dead beneath the floors and adorning the walls with paintings, livestock skulls and plaster reliefs. More than 8,000 years ago, Çatalhöyük was already a city of one-room homes, accessed from the roof. Places of worship often featured bucrania (displaying sacrificial bulls, and the ritual/decorative use of bull’s horns. People in Çatalhöyük were quite equal, but it might not have been the nicest society as residents had to submit to a lot of social control and that such a society only works with strong homogeneity.” ref
“For many generations, it was very unacceptable for individual households to accumulate [wealth]. Once they started to do so, there is evidence that more problems started to arise. Some of the new evidence expresses something odd about one of the hundreds of skulls dozens of them with similar wounds, all showing a consistent pattern of injury to the top back of the skull. It is believed that the pattern of the wounds suggests that most of them were inflicted by thrown projectiles, but all of them were healed, meaning they were not fatal.” ref
“They speculate that the attacks that caused the injuries were meant only to stun, perhaps to control wayward members of the group, or to abduct outsiders as wives or slaves. Moreover, the skulls with this characteristic were found primarily in later levels of the site, when more independence and differentiation between households started to emerge. Presumably, it is with these new inequalities could have potentially created new tensions among the community’s members, non-fatal violence to diffuse full-fledged conflicts that could break the settlement apart, in a way, confirm the idea of an emerging controlled society.” ref
“Overlooking the Konya Plain in Turkey lies the remarkable and unique ancient city of Çatalhöyük, the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date. At a time when most of the world’s people were nomadic hunter-gatherers, Çatalhöyük was a bustling town of as many as 10,000 people. According to a 2014 report in Hurriyet Daily News, archaeologists have now gained new insights into the ancient city as further excavation work has revealed that Çatalhöyük was a place of gender equality, where men and women held equal status.” ref
“Çatalhöyük, which means ‘forked mound’ and refers to the site’s east and west mounds, features a unique and peculiar street-less settlement of houses clustered together in a honeycomb-like maze with most accessed by holes in the ceiling, which also served as the only source of ventilation into the house. The rooftops were effectively streets and may have formed plazas where many daily activities may have taken place. The homes had plaster interiors and each main room served for cooking and daily activities.” ref
Megaliths seem to have originated in the Near East. The oldest ones in Europe were found in Sicily and southern Portugal and date from around 9,000 years ago.
The first time human populations reach perhaps as much as 10 million around 9,000 through 8,001 years ago.
Genomics of Middle Neolithic farmers at the fringe of Europe:
“Agriculture emerged in the Fertile Crescent around 11,000 years ago and then spread out from Turkey, reaching central Europe some 7,500 years ago and eventually Scandinavia by 6,000 yearsago. Recent paleogenomic studies have shown that the spread of agriculture from the Fertile Crescent into Europe was due mainly to a demic process. Such event reshaped the genetic makeup of European populations since incoming farmers displaced and admixed with local hunter-gatherers.”ref
“The Middle Neolithic period in Europe is characterized by such interaction, and this is a time where a resurgence of hunter-gatherer ancestry has been documented. While most research has been focused on the genetic origin and admixture dynamics with hunter-gatherers of farmers from Central Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, and Anatolia, data from farmers at the North-Western edges of Europe remains scarce. Here, we investigate genetic data from the Middle Neolithic from Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia and compare it to genomic data from hunter-gatherers, Early and Middle Neolithic farmers across Europe.”ref
“Of note, affinities between the British Isles and Iberia, confirm previous reports. However, there seems to be a regional origin for the Iberian farmers that putatively migrated to the British Isles. Moreover, we note some indications of particular interactions between Middle Neolithic Farmers of the British Isles and Scandinavia.Finally, our data together with that of previous publications allow us to achieve a better understanding of the interactions between farmers and hunter-gatherers at the northwestern fringe of Europe.”ref
“9,000 years ago Saudi Arabia Neolithic archaeological site with possible horses domestication in the Arabian peninsula from the civilization, named al-Maqar after the site’s location with some of the earliest evidence of horse domestication at a Neolithic site in the southwestern Asir province. The Maqar Civilization is a very advanced civilization of the Neolithic period. The site also includes remains of mummified skeletons, arrowheads, scrapers, grain grinders, tools for spinning and weaving, and other tools that are evidence of a civilization that is skilled in handicrafts.” ref, ref, ref
9,000yearsagoBurial plot sheds new light on early humans on a marshy plain in central Turkey. Even children as young as 8 were not buried alongside their parents or other relatives at the site called sedentary settlement of Çatalhöyük, where before most people on the planet made their living as hunter-gatherers. They alsoburied their dead(up to 30 of them per house) beneath the floors.ref
9,000yearsagoAxe found at Ireland’s earliest burial site, in CoLimerick, which has shed light on the ancient burial practices of our hunter-gatherer ancestors.ref
9,000 years ago Bones of the dead were sorted and categorized before burial
9,000 years agoHorse Burial Linked to Sheba
9,000 years ago:
9,000yearsago Evidence of Londoners, “tool-making factory” in southeast London.ref
9,000 years ago: Neolithic economy was established on the island of Crete (domesticated sheep or goats, pigs and cattle together with grains of cultivated bread wheat).
9,000 years ago: SwedenLarge-scale fish processing operation established at Blekinge.
8,850 – 6,800 years ago: Advanced agriculture and a very early use of pottery by the Sesklo culture in Thessaly, Greece.
8,800 – 6,800 years ago: The earliest domesticated pigs in Europe, which many archaeologists believed to be descended from European wild boar, were introduced from the Middle East by Stone Age farmers.
“It falls into the Holocene climatic optimum, with rising sea levels, and agriculture spreads to Europe and to Egypt. World population grows dramatically as a result of the Neolithic Revolution, perhaps quadrupling, from about 10 to 40 million, over the course of the millennium. With the earliest evidence of wine, from Georgia. dating to around 8,000 – 7,900 years ago. is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, Georgia is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. Archaeological finds and references in ancient sources also reveal elements of early political and state formations characterized by advanced metallurgy and goldsmith techniques that date back to the 7th century BCE and beyond. In fact, early metallurgy started in Georgia during the 6th millennium BCE, associated with the Shulaveri-Shomu culture.” ref, ref
Cardium potteryorCardial waremostly commonly called the “Cardial culture”
“An open seas navigation culture from the east Mediterranean, called the Cardium culture, also extended its influence to the eastern coasts of the peninsula. These people may have had some relation to the subsequent development of the Iberian civilization.” ref
“8,400- 8,200 years ago: The earliest impressed ware sites are in Epirus and Corfu. Settlements then appear in Albania and Dalmatia on the eastern Adriatic coast dating to between 6100 and 5900 BC.[5]The earliest date in Italy comes from Coppa Nevigata on the Adriatic coast of southern Italy, perhaps as early as 8,000 years ago. Also during Su Carroppu culture in Sardinia, already in its early stages (low strata into Su Coloru cave, c. 6000 BC) early examples of cardial pottery appear. Northward and westward all secure radiocarbon dates are identical to those for Iberia c. 5500 cal BC, which indicates a rapid spread of Cardial and related cultures: 2,000 km from the gulf of Genoa to the estuary of the Mondego in probably no more than 100–200 years. This suggests a seafaring expansion by planting colonies along the coast.” ref
“Older Neolithic cultures existed already at this time in eastern Greece and Crete, apparently having arrived from the Levant, but they appear distinct from the Cardial or impressed ware culture. The ceramic tradition in the central Balkans also remained distinct from that along the Adriatic coastline in both style and manufacturing techniques for almost 1,000 years from the 6th millennium BC. Early Neolithic impressed pottery is found in the Levant, and certain parts of Anatolia, including Mezraa-Teleilat, and in North Africa at Tunus-Redeyef, Tunisia. So the first Cardial settlers in the Adriatic may have come directly from the Levant. Of course it might equally well have come directly from North Africa, and impressed pottery also appears in Egypt. Along the East Mediterranean coast impressed ware has been found in North Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.” ref
“Some ignored these early Neolithic radiocarbon dates noted above for the ″La Almagra Pottery culture″ people looking for a similar archaeological context to the earliest occurrences. They speculated that the origin ranged from Near East, Anatolian and northern Syrian. In this view, the first indication comes from the early Ugaritic, dating from between 2400 and 2300 BC. From these localities it probably migrated to Cyprus. An alternative explanation connected it to the colouration and fabrication technique of the ‘‘Diana style’’ of Lipari (final phase of the Neolithic of Lipari), although the shapes are very different. However, the sixth millennium BC radiocarbon dates confirmed for the archaeological context of the earliest occurrences of this pottery make such speculations untenable since these examples of La Almagra pottery occurred at least 3,000 years before their alleged prototypes in the east Mediterranean.” ref
“8,200-6,500 years ago: The Starčevo culture, sometimes included within a larger grouping known as the Starčevo–Körös–Criş culture,[1] is an archaeological culture of Southeastern Europe, dating to the Neolithic period between 8,200 and 6,500 years ago. The village of Starčevo, the type site, is located on the north bank of the Danube in Serbia(Vojvodinaprovince), opposite Belgrade. It represents the earliest settled farming society in the area, although hunting and gathering still provided a significant portion of the inhabitants’ diet. The pottery is usually coarse but finer fluted and painted vessels later emerged. A type of bone spatula, perhaps for scooping flour, is a distinctive artifact. The Körös is a similar culture in Hungary named after the River Körös with a closely related culture which also used footed vessels but fewer painted ones. Both have given their names to the wider culture of the region in that period. Parallel and closely related cultures also include the Karanovo culture in Bulgaria, Crişin Romaniaand the pre-Seskloin Greece. The Starčevo culture covered sizable area that included most of present-day Serbia and Montenegro, as well as parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Republic of Macedonia and Romania. The westernmost locality of this culture can be found in Croatia, in the vicinity of Ždralovi, a part of the town of Bjelovar. This was the final stage of the culture.” ref
“About 8,000 years ago, Stone Age people built a large number of what seem to be ancestor and fertility cult sites in the Negev Desert in Israel. A new archaeological survey of 95 sites has turned up stones arranged to represent death, while vulva- and penis-shaped rocks and stone arrangements suggest fertility. In combination these death and sex arrangements relate to ancestor cults, the lead researcher said. Little is known of the spiritual and religious activities of the people of this region from the Neolithic. The main essence of the cult in these sites was for the ancestors. However, ‘regular’ standing stones found in the sites, individual ones, pairs, triads and groups of seven, which may be clan leaders, special religious persons or indicate invocation to a complex pantheon with several ‘organic’ groups of deities which are later known from Near Eastern art, dedication inscriptions and mythological texts.” ref
“Ancient European DNA collected from Spain to Russia concluded that the original hunter-gatherer population had assimilated a wave of “farmers” who had arrived from the Near East during the Neolithic about 8,000 years ago. The Mesolithic era site Lepenski Virin modern day Serbia, the earliest documented sedentary community of Europe with permanent buildings as well as monumental art precedes sites previously considered to be the oldest known by many centuries. The community’s year round access to a food surplus prior to the introduction of agriculture was the basis for the sedentary lifestyle. However, the earliest record for the adoption of elements of farming can be found in Starčevo, a community with close cultural ties. Belovode and Pločnik, also in Serbia, is currently the oldest reliably dated copper smelting site in Europe (around 7,000 years ago). Attributed to the Vinča culture, which on the contrary provides no links to the initiation of or a transition to the Chalcolithicor Copper age.” ref
“A bit more than 8000 years ago, the world suddenly cooled, leading to much drier summers for much of the Northern Hemisphere. Massive glacial lakes in North America emptied into the Atlantic Ocean, scientists believe, altering sea currents and weather patterns and triggering what’s known simply as the 8.2 kiloyear event (referring to its occurrence 8200 years ago). The impact on early farmers must have been extreme, yet archaeologists know little about how they endured. Now, the remains of animal fat on broken pottery from one of the world’s oldest and most unusual protocities—known as Çatalhöyük—is finally giving scientists a window into these ancient peoples’ close call with catastrophe. Extreme drought brought on by the 8.2-kiloyear event would have frizzled feed crops and grazing lands, and cooler winters would have increased animals’ food requirements. The combined effect would have been leaner, thirstier livestock, and their fat may have recorded chemical echoes of that dietary stress.” ref
“Çatalhöyük’s farmers left behind any trace of the climate shift. Over the past few years, Marciniak had been digging up fragments of clay pottery (or potsherds) left buried in ancient trash piles, and clay pots were used to store meat, and researchers found relatively well-preserved animal fat residue soaked into the porous, unglazed sherds. dating from about 8300 to 7,900 years ago. Additional finds from Çatalhöyük reveal how the farmers adapted to the cooler, drier conditions. Animal bones from that time have a relatively high number of cut marks, suggesting they were butchering for every last edible bit. Cattle herds shrunk while goat herds rose, the authors note, perhaps because goats could better handle drought. Çatalhöyük’s architecture changed, as well, with the site’s iconic, large, communal dwellings giving way to smaller houses for individual families, reflecting a shift toward independent, self-sufficient households. It seems that Çatalhöyük was already in a period of fairly rapid change well before the 8.2-kiloyear event, as Çatalhöyük’s architecture had been gradually evolving for hundreds of years before.” ref
Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” “involves a 34-acre site in central Turkey, at one time inhabited by as many as 8,000 to 10,000 people, began some 9,500 years ago, and continuing for nearly two millennia, people came together at Çatalhöyük to build hundreds of tightly clustered mud-brick houses, burying their dead beneath the floors and adorning the walls with paintings, livestock skulls and plaster reliefs. More than 8,000 years ago, Çatalhöyük was already a city of one-room homes, accessed from the roof. Places of worship often featured bucrania (displaying sacrificial bulls, and the ritual/decorative use of bull’s horns. People in Çatalhöyük were quite equal, but it might not have been the nicest society as residents had to submit to a lot of social control and that such a society only works with strong homogeneity.” ref
“For many generations, it was very unacceptable for individual households to accumulate [wealth]. Once they started to do so, there is evidence that more problems started to arise. Some of the new evidence expresses something odd about one of the hundreds of skulls dozens of them with similar wounds, all showing a consistent pattern of injury to the top back of the skull. It is believed that the pattern of the wounds suggests that most of them were inflicted by thrown projectiles, but all of them were healed, meaning they were not fatal.” They speculate that the attacks that caused the injuries were meant only to stun, perhaps to control wayward members of the group, or to abduct outsiders as wives or slaves. Moreover, the skulls with this characteristic were found primarily in later levels of the site, when more independence and differentiation between households started to emerge. Presumably, it is with these new inequalities could have potentially created new tensions among the community’s members, non-fatal violence to diffuse full-fledged conflicts that could break the settlement apart, in a way, confirm the idea of an emerging controlled society.” ref
“8,000-year-old shattered skull of a Ancient European Hunter Gatherer died in a grisly murder from Poland. The skull showed signs of healing, after “received a sharp hit with the tool,” thus he did not die at the impact and likely died a week after his injury. Because the bone was burned and the skull had obviously been dealt a strong blow, the researchers first thought maybe the man had been cannibalized but he had not, it’s possible it was burned in a funerary ritual, as people during the Mesolithic both burned and buried corpses.” ref
“About 8,000 years ago, the plateau of land between what is now the east of England and the Netherlands was flooded by the sea. This brought an end to the forests and animal life that had colonized the region from other parts of Europe, including early human communities. Cores of sediment from the bottom of the North Sea in an area called Doggerland shoal Dogger Bank in the southern part of the North Sea became ice-free about 12,000 years ago, after the end of the last ice age until flooding around 8,000 years ago. Some human remains including part of an ancient skull and several human artifacts, like fragments of stone tools have been recovered.” ref
The first Europeans evolved white skin due to low light levels from living in the far thus favored pale skin around 8,000-7,700 years ago.
The first Europeans evolved white skin due to low light levels from living in the far thus favored pale skin around 8,000-7,700 years ago.
The first demonstrated cattle used as beasts of burden which must have radically changed the capabilities of ancient societies 8,000 to 6,500 years ago.
The first emergence and spread of the largest ancient ‘mother tongue’ the Proto-Indo-European language around 8,000-5,500 years ago.
The first territorial dominance of land by early farming groups may help explain a new period involving extreme violence 8,000 to 4,400 years ago.
How Europeans evolved white skinoverthepast8000years
“Most modern Europeans don’t look much like those of 8000 years ago. Europeans today are a mix of the blending of at least three ancient populations of hunter-gatherers and farmers who moved into Europe in separate migrations over the past 8000 years spreading rapidly throughout Europe. First, hunter-gatherers in Europe could not digest the sugars in milk 8000 years ago, and neither could the first farmers who came from the Near East about 7,800 years ago nor the Yamnaya pastoralists who came from the steppes 4800 years ago. And there was a massive migration of Yamnaya herders from the steppes north of the Black Sea may have brought Indo-European languages to Europe about 4500 years ago. Not until about 4,300 years ago that lactose tolerance swept through Europe.” ref
“When it comes to skin color, the team found a patchwork of evolution in different places, and three separate genes that produce light skin, telling a complex story for how European’s skin evolved to be much lighter during the past 8000 years. But in the far north where low light levels favored pale skin. Seven hunter-gatherers found at a 7700-year-old Motala archaeological site in southern Sweden had light skin gene variants. And another gene which causes blue eyes and may also contribute to light skin and blond hair. Thus ancient hunter-gatherers of the far north were already pale and blue-eyed, but those of central and southern Europe had darker skin.” ref
8,000yearsagoEuropeansusedcattle
“Analyses of the residues left inside ancient pottery vessels, suggest that the consumption of dairy products from sheep, goats and cattle likely dates back into the Neolithic period – at least 8,000 years ago in Europe (6,000 BCE) and earlier in the Near East. The precise origins of cattle as engines of labor – known as traction – is also murky. In the past, investigators traditionally looked for evidence of items pulled – primarily (but not only) wagons and ploughs. Wagons – known from preserved images such as figurines and rock art – have existed for more than 5,000 years. Early ploughs, such as the ard or scratch plough, were made of wood, and do not preserve well over thousands of years. The oldest known evidence of ploughs in Europe comes from fragments of ards preserved in water-logged ancient sites. They are just under 6,000 years old. Though not nearly as effective as modern machines, early ploughs would have been far faster and easier than having to break compacted earth in fields with hand tools in order to plant crops. They allowed people to plant more crops using less labor, increasing the amount of food that could be grown each year.” ref
“La Almagra (red ochre), also known as ″La Almagra Pottery culture″ is a red pottery found in a number of archaeological sites of the Neolithic period in Spain. It is not known how it relates to other pottery of the Neolithic period. In the 8,000-7,000 years ago Andalusiaexperiences the arrival of the first agriculturalists.” ref
“A study of important sites like Cueva de los Murciélagos in Andalusia, from which the genome of a 7,245 year-old Neolithic farmer, the oldest sequenced genome in southern Iberia representing the Neolithic Almagra Pottery Culture—the early agriculturalists of southern Spain. Prehistoric migrations have played an important role in shaping the genetic makeup of European populations.” ref
“These ″La Almagra Pottery culture″ people arrive with developed crops (domesticated forms of cereals and legumes). The presence of domestic animals is uncertain, but the known later as domestic species of pig and rabbit remains have been found in large quantities. They also consumed large amounts of olives but it’s uncertain too whether this tree was cultivated or merely harvested in its wild form. Their typical artifact is the La Almagra style pottery, quite variegated. The Andalusian Neolithic also influenced other areas, notably Southern Portugal a few centuries after, where, soon after neolithization, the first dolmen tombs begin to be built c.4800 BC, being possibly the oldest of their kind anywhere. And around 6,700 years ago Cardium Pottery Neolithic culture (also known as Mediterranean Neolithic) arrives to Eastern Iberia.” ref
Our ancient ‘mother tongue’ words were spoken around 8,000 years ago.
“8,000 to 5,500 years ago the Proto-Indo-European language was spoken from by all who lived on the steppes to the north of the Caspian Sea. Linguists say it evolved over time to spawn more than 440 modern languages and is the root of all Indo-European languages today. With offshoots in Anatolia (the Hittites), the Aegean (Mycenaean Greece), Western Europe (the Corded Ware culture), Central Asia (Yamna culture), and southern Siberia (Afanasevo culture.) late 6th and early 5th millennium BC: Beginning of Samara culture at the Samara bend region of the middle Volga, Russia. late 6th and early 5th millennium BC: Beginning of Samara culture at the Samara bend region of the middle Volga, Russia.” ref, ref
“Analysed such changes to cattle footbones from European archaeological sites dating to 6,000 years ago or later demonstrated the used of secondary products which must have radically changed the capabilities of ancient societies. Moreover, after studying the footbones of cattle from 11 sites in the western Balkans (modern-day Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina) dating to the local Neolithic, ranging from 6100 BCE to 4500 BCE (8,000 to 6,500 years ago) compared with the same bones from wild cattle at these sites expressed the presence and absence of footbone alterations indicative of the strain of traction. Research found changes to the footbones of cattle consistent with traction across these sites that were completely absent from the control group of wild cattle footbones. The presence of these pathologies, and their absence from the control population of wild cattle hunted at these same sites, proves that humans were using cattle as engines of labour in Europe at least 2,000 years earlier than was previously thought. Furthermore, comparisons of sex-specific proportions from some of these footbones showed that humans were using both male and female cattle. In fact, female cows were more common as animal engines than male bulls.” ref
The first rise of gender imbalance and new male dominance behavior is assumed as across the globe, for every 17 women who were reproducing, only one man did the same around 8,000-4,000 years ago.
8,000 years ago, the overwhelming majority of men never reproduced!
“At this time it seems there were 17 WOMEN REPRODUCED FOR EVERY ONE MAN. Once upon a time, 4,000 to 8,000 years after humanity invented agriculture, something very strange happened to human reproduction. Across the globe, for every 17 women who were reproducing, passing on genes that are still around today—only one man did the same. A researcher, a biological anthropologist, hypothesizes that somehow, only a few men accumulated lots of wealth and power, leaving nothing for others. These men could then pass their wealth on to their sons, perpetuating this pattern of elitist reproductive success. If this hypothesis is correct, it would be one of the first instances that scientists have found of culture affecting human evolution.” ref
8,000yearsagoManure used by Europe’s first farmers leads
“Europe’s first farmers used far more sophisticated practices than was previously thought. Scientists have found that Neolithic farmers manured and watered their crops. And evidence for this is abundant in manure, have been found in the charred cereal grains and pulse seeds taken from 13 Neolithic sites around Europe. The fact that farmers made long-term investments such as manuring in their land sheds new light on the nature of early farming landscapes in Neolithic times. The idea that farmland could be cared for by the same family for generations seems quite an advanced notion, but rich fertile land would have been viewed as extremely valuable for the growing of crops. We believe that as land was viewed as a commodity to be inherited, social differences in early European farming communities started to emerge between the haves and the have-nots.” ref
“The territoriality of early farming groups may help to explain documented events of the period involving extreme violence. The study cites the example of a Neolithic mass burial of the late sixth millennium BC at Talheim, Germany, which preserves the remains of a community killed by assailants wielding stone axes like those used to clear the land. The research is based on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of 124 crop samples of barley, wheat, lentil and peas, totalling around 2,500 grains or seeds. The charred remains represent harvested crops preserved in Neolithic houses destroyed by fire. The samples were from archaeological excavations of Neolithic sites across Europe, dating from nearly 8,000 to 4,400 years ago.” ref
8,000 BC: Fully Neolithic agriculture has spread through Anatolia to the Balkans. (1967 McEvedy)
8,000 BC: Cycladic culture begin to use a coarse local type of clay to make a variety of objects.
8.000 BC: Female figurines holding serpents are fashioned on Crete and may have been associated with water, regenerative power and protection of the home.
7,000-year-old Mesolithic hunter-gatherer found in Spain had dark skin and blue-eyes.”ref
The first mass out of Iberia Migration Event by the peoples from Spain and Portugal and small areas of France all the way to Egypt also involving new land-monopoly 7,700–4,500 years ago.
Out of Iberia Migration Event 7,700 – 4,500YearsAgo?
“7,700 – 4,500 Years Ago – (R1b-V88) Iberia Migration Event (the Iberian Peninsula divided between Spain and Portugal, comprising most of their territory. It also includes Andorra, small areas of France, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar).” ref
“The Vinča culture, also known as Turdaș culture or Turdaș–Vinča culture, was a Neolithicarchaeological culture in present-day Serbia and smaller parts of Bulgaria and Romania(particularly Transylvania), dated to the period 5700–4500 BC or 5300–4700/4500 BC. Named for its type site, Vinča-Belo Brdo, a large tell settlement that represents the material remains of a prehistoric society mainly distinguished by its settlement pattern and ritual behavior. Farming technology first introduced to the region during the First Temperate Neolithic was developed further by the Vinča culture, fuelling a population boom and producing some of the largest settlements in prehistoric Europe. These settlements maintained a high degree of cultural uniformity through the long-distance exchange of ritual items, but were probably not politically unified.” ref
The first civilization is known in Europe, “The Danube Valley Culture” that covered a vast area in the Balkans that featured the first true writing system around 7,500-5,500 years ago.
“The Danube Valley civilization is one of the oldest civilizations known in Europe. It existed from between 7,500-5,500 years ago in the Balkans and covered a vast area, in what is now Northern Greece to Slovakia (South to North), and Croatia to Romania (West to East). During the height of the Danube Valley civilization, it played an important role in south-eastern Europe through the development of copper tools, a writing system, advanced architecture, including two storey houses, and the construction of furniture, such as chairs and tables, all of which occurred while most of Europe was in the middle of the Stone Age. They developed skills such as spinning, weaving, leather processing, clothes manufacturing, and manipulated wood, clay and stone and they invented the wheel. They had an economic, religious and social structure.” ref
“One of the more intriguing and hotly debated aspects of the Danube Valley civilization is their supposed written language. While some archaeologists have maintained that the ‘writing’ is actually just a series of geometric figures and symbols, others have maintained that it has the features of a true writing system. If this theory is correct, it would make the script the oldest written language ever found, predating the Sumerian writings in Mesopotamia, and possibly even the Dispilio Tablet, which has been dated 5260 BC. Harald Haarmann, a German linguistic and cultural scientist, currently vice-president of the Institute of Archaeomythology, and leading specialist in ancient scripts and ancient languages, firmly supports the view that the Danube script is the oldest writing in the world. The tablets that were found are dated to 5,500 BC, and the glyphs on the tablets, according to Haarmann, are a form of language yet to be deciphered. The symbols, which are also called Vinca symbols, have been found in multiple archaeological sites throughout the Danube Valley areas, inscribed on pottery, figurines, spindles and other clay artifacts.” ref
Hamangia culture around 7,250-6,500 years ago (Romania and Bulgaria)
First Male God? To me, it seems he stole the goddess’s birthing stool, and possibly her power? Cernavodă, the necropolis where the famous statues “The (MALE) Thinker” and “The Sitting Woman” were discovered and may date some time after 7,000 to 6,600 years ago. ref, ref, ref
“Hamangia Culture’s Pottery: Painted vessels with complex geometrical patterns based on spiral-motifs are typical. The shapes include: bowls and cylindric glasses (most with of them with arched walls). They are decorated with dots, staight parallel lines and zig-zags, which make Hamangia pottery very original. Pottery figurines are normally extremely stylized and show standing naked faceless women with emphasized breasts and buttocks.” ref
“The Durankulak lake settlement commenced on a small island, approximately 7000 BC and around 4700/4600 BC the stone architecture was already in general use and became a characteristic phenomenon that was unique in Europe.” ref
The first dramatic changes of early society Jordan and Israel through migrations 7,200-6,700 years ago.
“Buried with stone axe and horn-tipped arrow, ancient human remains have archeologists reshaping their assumptions. It is a fair assumption to say, as this fact proves, that the burial mounds emerged much earlier than the Bronze Age, in Neolithic times. In Siberia, there was found a burial mound dating to The New Stone Age (Neolithic Era) has been unearthed in Novosibirsk region. In the mound were nine people, including women and children,” ref
“7,000-year-old remains of a young man buried there in a strange upright position a Mesolithic site dating back 8,500 years, in Germany. The site was one of the first true cemeteries in Europe, used by native central European hunter-gatherers and fisherman from about 8,400-2,500 years ago before and after the first farmers immigrated to Central Europe from Southeast-Europe about 7,500 years ago. He was placed in a vertical pit and the body was fixed upright by filling the grave with sand up to the knees. The upper body was left to decay and was likely picked at by scavengers. The unique burial was found near the village of Groß Fredenwalde, on top of a rocky hill in northeastern Germany, about 50 miles north of Berlin. Nine skeletons have been excavated so far, including five children younger than 6 years and the 8,400-year-old skeleton of a 6-month-old infant, with arms still folded across the chest.” ref
“The Kurgan hypothesis postulates that the Proto-Indo-Europeans were the bearers of the Kurgan culture of the Black Sea and the Caucasus and west of the Urals. The hypothesis combined kurgan archaeology with linguistics to locate the origins of the Proto-Indo-European (PIE)-speaking peoples, named the culture “Kurgan” after their distinctive burial mounds and traced its diffusion into Europe. This hypothesis has had a significant impact on Indo-European studies. Three genetic studies in 2015 gave partial support to Gimbutas’s Kurgan theory regarding the Indo-European Urheimat. According to those studies, haplogroups R1b and R1a, now the most common in Europe (R1a is also common in South Asia) would have expanded from the Russian and Ukrainian steppes, along with the Indo-European languages; they also detected an autosomal component present in modern Europeans which was not present in Neolithic Europeans, which would have been introduced with paternal lineages R1b and R1a, as well as Indo-European languages.” ref
“The Kurgan model of Indo-European origins identifies the Pontic–Caspian steppe as the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) urheimat, and a variety of late PIE dialects are assumed to have been spoken across the region. According to this model, the Kurgan culture gradually expanded until it encompassed the entire Pontic–Caspian steppe, Kurgan IV being identified with the Yamna culture of around 5,000 years ago. The mobility of the Kurgan culture facilitated its expansion over the entire region, and is attributed to the domestication of the horse and later the use of early chariots. The first strong archaeological evidence for the domestication of the horse comes from the Sredny Stog culture north of the Azov Sea in Ukraine, and would correspond to an early PIE or pre-PIE nucleus of the 7,000 years ago.” ref
Cultures considered as part of the “Kurgan culture”:
6,000–5,500: The Pit Grave culture (a.k.a. Yamna culture), the prototypical kurgan builders, emerges in the steppe, and the Maykop culture in the northern Caucasus. Indo-Hittite models postulate the separation of Proto-Anatolian before this time.
5,500–5,000: Middle PIE. The Pit Grave culture is at its peak, representing the classical reconstructed Proto-Indo-European society with stone idols, predominantly practicing animal husbandry in permanent settlements protected by hillforts, subsisting on agriculture, and fishing along rivers. Contact of the Pit Grave culture with late Neolithic Europe cultures results in the “kurganized” Globular Amphora and Baden cultures (Wave 2). The Maykop culture shows the earliest evidence of the beginning Bronze Age, and Bronze weapons and artifacts are introduced to Pit Grave territory. Probable early Satemization.
5,000–4,500: Late PIE. The Pit Grave culture extends over the entire Pontic steppe (Wave 3). The Corded Ware culture extends from the Rhine to the Volga, corresponding to the latest phase of Indo-European unity, the vast “kurganized” area disintegrating into various independent languages and cultures, still in loose contact enabling the spread of technology and early loans between the groups, except for the Anatolian and Tocharian branches, which are already isolated from these processes. The centum–satem break is probably complete, but the phonetic trends of Satemization remain active. ref
“Paleoclimatologists have long suspected that the “middle Holocene,” a period roughly from 7,000 to 5,000 years ago, was warmer than the present day.” ref
“The first spread of Kurgans and Dolmens (funeral, religious ritual, and other) which are a religious connection to Proto-Indo-European peoples spread. The so-called Kurgan hypothesis, which postulates that the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language arose in the Pontic steppe. During the Yamna period, one of the world’s first Bronze Age cultures, Proto-Indo-European speakers migrated west towards Europe and east towards Central Asia, then South Asia, spreading with them the Indo-European languages spoken today in most of Europe, Iran and a big part of the Indian subcontinent beginning around 7,000-6,000 years ago.” ref
“The first Mass Graves hint to Massacres, one containing at least 26 adults and children, many of them with smashed skulls and broken legs around 7,000 years ago. The grave is the latest grisly finding that suggests the early Neolithic period was a violent time in central Europe. Researchers have uncovered two other mass graves — a “death pit” with 34 bodies in Talheim, Germany, and the remains of at least 67 individuals at Asparn/Schletz, Austria — that are dated to the early Neolithic period in central Europe, between 7,600 years ago and 6,900 years ago. All three graves are linked to the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture, a group named for the linear ornaments on their pottery. The LBK originally came from the Middle East, and brought sheep, goats and other domesticated animals with them as they began setting up farms and small villagesin central Europe.” ref
The first proto-kings originated in the Balkans, such as seen in the royal nobility skeleton discovered in Grave No. 43 in the Varna culture around 6,400-6,100 years ago.
“The oldest gold treasure in the world, belonging to the Varna culture, was discovered in the Varna Necropolis and dates to 6,600-6,200 years ago. Varna is the third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, the city has been a major economic, social and cultural centre for almost three millennia. Varna, historically known as Odessos (Ancient Greek: Ὀδησσός), grew from a Thracian seaside settlement to a major seaport on the Black Sea.” ref
“The Varna culture belongs to the later Neolithic of northeastern Bulgaria, around 6,400- 6,100 years ago. It is contemporary and closely related with Gumelnița in southern Rumania, often considered as local variants. It is characterized by polychrome pottery and rich cemeteries, the most famous of which are Varna Necropolis, the eponymous site, and the Durankulak complex, which comprises the largest prehistoric cemetery in southeastern Europe.” ref
“The culture had sophisticated religious beliefs about afterlife and developed hierarchical status differences: it constitutes the oldest known burial evidence of an elite male. The end of the fifth millennium BC is the time that Marija Gimbutas, founder of the Kurgan hypothesis claims the transition to male dominance began in Europe. The high status male was buried with remarkable amounts of gold, held a war axe or mace and wore a gold penis sheath. The bull-shaped gold platelets perhaps also venerated virility, instinctive force, and warfare. Gimbutas holds that the artifacts were made largely by local craftspeople.” ref
“Burials at Varna have some of the world’s oldest gold jewelry. There are crouched and extended inhumations. Some graves do not contain a skeleton, but grave gifts (cenotaphs). The symbolic (empty) graves are the richest in gold artifacts. 3000 gold artifacts were found, with a weight of approximately 6 kilograms. Grave 43 contained more gold than has been found in the entire rest of the world for that epoch. Three symbolic graves contained masks of unfired clay. The weight and the number of gold finds in the Varna cemetery exceeds by several times the combined weight and number of all of the gold artifacts found in all excavated sites of the same millenium, 5000-4000 BC, from all over the world, including Mesopotamia and Egypt”.” ref
“Varna Culture Decline: The discontinuity of the Varna, Karanovo, Vinča and Lengyel cultures in their main territories and the large scale population shifts to the north and northwest are indirect evidence of a catastrophe of such proportions that cannot be explained by possible climatic change, desertification, or epidemics. Direct evidence of the incursion of horse-ridingwarriors is found, not only in single burials of males under barrows, but in the emergence of a whole complex of Indo-Europeancultural traits.” ref
Copper Age migrations likely motivated to escape war/violence and climate caused problems brought waves of migration from Turkey and Iran as well as ideas or possibly people as well from the Balkans to north Israel as well small parts of Jordan around 6,500–5,800 years ago.
“The Funnel Beaker Culture – “First Farmers of Scandinavia” around 6,200-4,650 years ago marks the arrival of Megalithic structures in Scandinavia from western Europe. At graves, the people sacrificed ceramic vessels that contained food along with amber jewelry and flint-axes. Flint-axes and vessels were also deposed in streams and lakes near the farmlands, and virtually all Sweden’s 10,000 flint axes that have been found from this culture were probably sacrificed in water. Ancient DNA and the peopling of the British Isles – pattern and process of the Neolithic transition 6000 years ago.” ref
The first human-caused climate change, dramatically changed how nature works, such as the way plant and animal communities were structured on Earth around 6,000 years ago.
The first human migrations spread the first plague is believed to have contributed to the plunge of Europe’s settlements around. As well as the close contact between humans and animals and the accumulation of food, likely led to poorer sanitary conditions and an increased risk of pathogen around 6,000-5,000 years ago.
The first passage tomb thought to lead to the afterlife from Ireland, close to when people first began farming in the region that seems to mark a transition towards a time when religion played a greater role in people’s lives 5,800-5,500 years ago.
The first birth of the State, the rise of Hierarchy, and the fall of Women’s status 5,500-5,000 years ago. And more than 5,000 years ago a nomadic group of shepherds rode out of the steppes of eastern Europe to conquer the rest of the continent. The group, today known as the Yamna or Kurgan/Pit Grave culture, brought with them an innovative new technology, wheeled carts, which enabled them to quickly occupy new lands.
The first “Progressed Organized Religion” belief system starts around 5,000 years ago.
“Gender relations were fundamentally different in European prehistory in the Neolithic compared to the following Bronze Age, Which is sen in how gender in the Neolithic period was qualitatively different in form from the types of gender relations that emerged in Europe from about 5,000 years ago on wards. In Bronze Age gender systems, gender was mostly binary, associated with stable, lifelong identities expressed in recurrent complexes of gendered symbolism. In contrast, Neolithic gender appears to have been less firmly associated with personal identity and more contextually relevant; it slips easily through our methodological nets. In proposing this “contextual gender” model for Neolithic gender, we both open up new understandings of gender in the past and present and pose significant questions for our models of gender more widely.” ref
I think there may be some connection between Dolmans/Kurgans and Ziggurats/Pyramids. Ziggurats (multi-platform temples: 4,900 years old) to Pyramids (multi-platform tombs: 4,700 years old).
“A site is in Germany where the whole site paints a macabre scene, a number of bodies have been uncovered, most showing signs of violent death and defensive wounds such as broken wrists and fingers as they tried to protect themselves from blows. The majority of the bodies in the graves were children or women, and only one of the skeletons belonged to a man in his prime, aged between 25 and 40. It is likely that these people were murdered in a raid by a rival tribe, out to steal young women, before the survivors returned to bury their dead and dates to around 4,600 years ago.” ref
The first large scale genocides relating to the Beaker culture, which produced the Maritime Bell Beaker, probably originated in the vibrant copper-using communities in Portugal and spread from there to many parts of western Europe, which also played a role in the expansion of Celtic languages along the coast. Seen in the DNA from ancient European skeletons reveals a genetic makeup change by the of Europe mysteriously transformed about 4,500 years ago. The Bell Beaker culture, were the descendants of the Yamna or Kurgan/Pit Grave culture people reached the Iberian peninsula and wiped out the local men which emerged from the Iberian Peninsula around 4,800 years ago, may have played a role in this genetic turnover. The culture, which may have been responsible for erecting some of the megaliths at Stonehenge. In fact, this culture was so warlike and patriarchal Every man in Spain was wiped out 4500 years ago by hostile Beaker culture/ invaders.
2nd millennium BCEspanned the years 4,000-3,001 years ago
“About a century before the middle of the millennium, bands of Indo-European invaders came from the Central Asian plains and swept through Western Asia and Northeast Africa. They were riding fast two-wheeled chariots powered by horses, a system of weaponry developed earlier in the context of plains warfare. This tool of war was unknown among the classical civilizations. Egypt and Babylonia’s foot soldiers were unable to defend against the invaders: 3,630 years ago the Hyksos swept into the Nile Delta, and in 3,595 years ago, the Hittites swept into Mesopotamia. Near the end of the 2nd millennium BC, new waves of barbarians, this time riding on horseback, wholly destroyed the Bronze Age world, and were to be followed by waves of social changes that marked the beginning of different times. Also contributing to the changes were the Sea Peoples, ship-faring raiders of the Mediterranean. In Europe at this time is still entirely within the prehistoric era; much of Europe enters the Bronze Age early in the 2nd millennium.” ref
I am pissed that Pelosi said she has decided she won’t Impeach Trump. Hell, she has not even heard from Mueller.
This is America, the claimed land of the free and brave and people are afraid to Impeach a likely trader. The reasons given are then we get pence. He doesn’t have the cult following Trump does and then I hear his cult followers are crazy but then we don’t value freedom. Freedom has never been free people always get harmed fighting for freedom. We need to fight for freedom NOW or we have lost the hope for freedom. Stop Trump the American gangster and his crime family.
“Damien, Trump’s cult threatened violence if Trump is Impeached.”
We should not let terrorists at home or abroad stop our ideals in America, like that of freedom. Trump’s cult threatening America or Americans is terrorism. Officials in America must “solemnly swear (or affirm)” that they “will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
I hear don’t do Impeachment as Republicans will not go along and it will be a waste of time. So why did they challenge or waste time with Trump’s Supreme Court nominees as they were going to be put through anyway? If good is not championed just because others will not agree, how did women get the right to vote? How did LGBT people get rights? How did people of color great rights in a racist American? They fought even when no one believed it would change and all such change requires we fight, even if it feels like it is going nowhere, as that is what it ALWAYS takes. We must fight for freedom, it has never been freely given.
“Damien, do you think impeaching Trump would be good customary practice unless we impeach Pence too?”
My response, We need to address one problem at a time and yey there is lots of un-American things Pence wants to impose on America, thus we need to fight him too if he gets in.
Think, how often is it the powerless that start wars, oppress others, or commit genocide? So, I guess the question is to us all, to ask, how can power not carry responsibility in a humanity concept? I know I see the deep ethical responsibility that if there is power their must be a humanistic responsibility of ethical and empathic stewardship of that power. Will I be brave enough to be kind? Will I possess enough courage to be compassionate? Will my valor reached its height of empathy? I as everyone earns justified respect by our actions that are ethical, just, protecting, and kind. Do I have enough self-respect to put my love for humanities flushing, over being brought down some of its bad actors? May we all be the ones doing good actions in the world, to help human flourishing.
My response, I was a Christian, in fact, was one until I was 35 years old, I read the bible twice, and took two religious classes before realizing the conclusion of atheism.
“Ever thought creative power exist that just isn’t Christian?” – Challenger
My response, I am sure no magic exists no matter the name people want to give it is illusion and I am very informed on religions and pre-religions that most people are. Here is my art.
Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago) Around a million years ago, I surmise that Pre-Animism, “animistic superstitionism”, began, Around 400,000 Years ago shows Sociocultural Evolution, and then led to the animistic somethingism or animistic supernaturalism, which is at least 300,000 years old and about 100,00 years ago, it evolves to a representation of general Animism, which is present in today’s religions. There is also Homo Naledi and an Intentional Cemetery “Pre-Animism” dating to around 250,000 years ago. And, Neanderthals “Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism?)” Mystery Cave Rings 175,000 Years Ago. Neanderthals were the first humans to intentionally bury the dead, around 130,000 years ago at sites such as Krapina in Croatia.
Pre-animism ideas can be seen in rock art such as that expressed in portable anthropomorphic art, which may be related to some kind of ancestor veneration. This magical thinking may stem from a social or non-religious function of ancestor veneration, which cultivates kinship values such as filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. Ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times.
Humans are not the only species, which bury their dead. The practice has been observed in chimpanzees, elephants, and possibly dogs. Intentional burial, particularly with grave goods, signify a “concern for the dead” and Neanderthals were the first human species to practice burial behavior and intentionally bury their dead, doing so in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones. Exemplary sites include Shanidar in Iraq, Kebara Cave in Israel and Krapina in Croatia. The earliest undisputed human burial dates back 100,000 years ago with remains stained with red ochre, which show ritual intentionality similar to the Neanderthals before them. ref, ref
Animism (such as that seen in Africa: 100,000 years ago) Did Neanderthals teach us “Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism?)” 120,000 Years Ago? Homo sapiens – is known to have reached the Levant between 120,000 and 90,000 years ago, but that exit from Africa evidently went extinct. 100,000 years ago, in Qafzeh, Israel, the oldest intentional burial had 15 African individuals covered in red ocher was from a group who visited and returned back to Africa. 100,000 to 74,000 years ago, at Border Cave in Africa, an intentional burial of an infant with red ochre and a shell ornament, which may have possible connections to the Africans buried in Qafzeh.
Animism is approximately a 100,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden animist.
The following is evidence of Animism: 100,000 years ago, in Qafzeh, Israel, the oldest intentional burial had 15 African individuals covered in red ocher was from a group who visited and returned back to Africa. 100,000 to 74,000 years ago, at Border Cave in Africa, an intentional burial of an infant with red ochre and a shell ornament, which may have possible connections to the Africans buried in Qafzeh, Israel. 120,000 years ago, did Neanderthals teach us Primal Religion (Pre-Animism/Animism) as they too used red ocher and burials? ref, ref
It seems to me, it may be the Neanderthals who may have transmitted a “Primal Religion (Animism)” or at least burial and thoughts of an afterlife. The Neanderthals seem to express what could be perceived as a Primal “type of” Religion, which could have come first and is supported in how 250,000 years ago, the Neanderthals used red ochre and 230,000 years ago shows evidence of Neanderthal burial with grave goods and possibly a belief in the afterlife. ref
Do you think it is crazy that the Neanderthals may have transmitted a “Primal Religion”? Consider this, it appears that 175,000 years ago, the Neanderthals built mysterious underground circles with broken off stalactites. This evidence suggests that the Neanderthals were the first humans to intentionally bury the dead, doing so in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones. Exemplary sites include Shanidar in Iraq, Kebara Cave in Israel and Krapina in Croatia. Other evidence may suggest the Neanderthals had it transmitted to them by Homo heidelbergensis, 350,000 years ago, by their earliest burial in a shaft pit grave in a cave that had a pink stone axe on the top of 27 Homo heidelbergensis individuals and 250,000 years ago, Homo naledi had an intentional cemetery in South Africa cave. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago) Did Neanderthals Help Inspire Totemism? Because there is Art Dating to Around 65,000 Years Ago in Spain? Totemism as seen in Europe: 50,000 years ago, mainly the Aurignacian culture. Pre-Aurignacian “Châtelperronian” (Western Europe, mainly Spain and France, possible transitional/cultural diffusion between Neanderthals and Humans around 50,000-40,000 years ago). Archaic–Aurignacian/Proto-Aurignacian Humans (Europe around 46,000-35,000). And Aurignacian “classical/early to late” Humans (Europe and other areas around 38,000 – 26,000 years ago).
Totemism is approximately a 50,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden totemist.
Toetmism may be older as there is evidence of what looks like a Stone Snake in South Africa, which may be the “first human worship” dating to around 70,000 years ago. Many archaeologists propose that societies from 70,000 to 50,000 years ago such as that of the Neanderthals may also have practiced the earliest form of totemism or animal worship in addition to their presumably religious burial of the dead. Did Neanderthals help inspire Totemism? There is Neanderthals art dating to around 65,000 years ago in Spain. ref, ref
Shamanism (beginning around 30,000 years ago) Shamanism (such as that seen in Siberia Gravettian culture: 30,000 years ago). Gravettian culture (34,000–24,000 years ago; Western Gravettian, mainly France, Spain, and Britain, as well as Eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians, which include the Pavlovian culture). And, the Pavlovian culture (31,000 – 25,000 years ago such as in Austria and Poland). 31,000 – 20,000 years ago Oldest Shaman was Female, Buried with the Oldest Portrait Carving.
Shamanism is approximately a 30,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals that can connect to spirit-filled life and/or afterlife. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden shamanist.
Around 29,000 to 25,000 years ago in Dolní Vestonice, Czech Republic, the oldest human face representation is a carved ivory female head that was found nearby a female burial and belong to the Pavlovian culture, a variant of the Gravettian culture. The left side of the figure’s face was a distorted image and is believed to be a portrait of an elder female, who was around 40 years old. She was ritualistically placed beneath a pair of mammoth scapulae, one leaning against the other. Surprisingly, the left side of the skull was disfigured in the same manner as the aforementioned carved ivory figure, indicating that the figure was an intentional depiction of this specific individual. The bones and the earth surrounding the body contained traces of red ocher, a flint spearhead had been placed near the skull, and one hand held the body of a fox. This evidence suggests that this was the burial site of a shaman. This is the oldest site not only of ceramic figurines and artistic portraiture but also of evidence of early female shamans. Before 5,500 years ago, women were much more prominent in religion.
Archaeologists usually describe two regional variants: the western Gravettian, known namely from cave sites in France, Spain, and Britain, and the eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians include the Pavlovian culture, which were specialized mammoth hunters and whose remains are usually found not in caves but in open air sites. The origins of the Gravettian people are not clear, they seem to appear simultaneously all over Europe. Though they carried distinct genetic signatures, the Gravettians and Aurignacians before them were descended from the same ancient founder population. According to genetic data, 37,000 years ago, all Europeans can be traced back to a single ‘founding population’ that made it through the last ice age. Furthermore, the so-called founding fathers were part of the Aurignacian culture, which was displaced by another group of early humans members of the Gravettian culture. Between 37,000 years ago and 14,000 years ago, different groups of Europeans were descended from a single founder population. To a greater extent than their Aurignacian predecessors, they are known for their Venus figurines. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
Paganism (beginning around 12,000 years ago) Paganism (such as that seen in Turkey: 12,000 years ago). Gobekli Tepe: “first human-made temple” around 12,000 years ago. Sedentism and the Creation of goddesses around 12,000 years ago as well as male gods after 7,000 years ago. Pagan-Shaman burial in Israel 12,000 years ago and 12,000 – 10,000 years old Paganistic-Shamanistic Art in a Remote Cave in Egypt. Skull Cult around 11,500 to 8,400 Years Ago and Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” around 10,000 years ago.
Paganism is approximately a 12,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals that can connect to spirit-filled life and/or afterlife and who are guided/supported by a goddess/god, goddesses/gods, magical beings, or supreme spirits. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden paganist.
Around 12,000 years ago, in Turkey, the first evidence of paganism is Gobekli Tepe: “first human-made temple” and around 9,500 years ago, in Turkey, the second evidence of paganism is Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city”. In addition, early paganism is connected to Proto-Indo-European language and religion. Proto-Indo-European religion can be reconstructed with confidence that the gods and goddesses, myths, festivals, and form of rituals with invocations, prayers, and songs of praise make up the spoken element of religion. Much of this activity is connected to the natural and agricultural year or at least those are the easiest elements to reconstruct because nature does not change and because farmers are the most conservative members of society and are best able to keep the old ways.
The reconstruction of goddesses/gods characteristics may be different than what we think of and only evolved later to the characteristics we know of today. One such characteristic is how a deity’s gender may not be fixed, since they are often deified forces of nature, which tend to not have genders. There are at least 40 deities and the Goddesses that have been reconstructed are: *Pria, *Pleto, *Devi, *Perkunos, *Aeusos,and *Yama.
The reconstruction of myths can be connected to Proto-Indo-European culture/language and by additional research, many of these myths have since been confirmed including some areas that were not accessible to the early writers such as Latvian folk songs and Hittite hieroglyphic tablets. There are at least 28 myths and one of the most widely recognized myths of the Indo-Europeans is the myth, “Yama is killed by his brother Manu” and “the world is made from his body”. Some of the forms of this myth in various Indo-European languages are about the Creation Myth of the Indo-Europeans.
The reconstruction of rituals can be connected to Proto-Indo-European culture/language and is estimated to have been spoken as a single language from around 6,500 years ago. One of the earliest ritual is the construction of kurgans or mound graves as a part of a death ritual. kurganswere inspired by common ritual-mythological ideas. Kurgans are complex structures with internal chambers. Within the burial chamber at the heart of the kurgan, elite individuals were buried with grave goods and sacrificial offerings, sometimes including horses and chariots.
The speakers of Pre-Proto-Indo-European lived in Turkey and it associates the distribution of historical Indo-European languages with the expansion around 9,000 years ago, with a proposed homeland of Proto-Indo-European proper in the Balkans around 7,000 years ago. The Proto-Indo-European Religion seemingly stretches at least back around 6,000 years ago or likely much further back and I believe Paganism is possibly an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system.
The earliest kurgans date to 6,000 years ago and are connected to the Proto-Indo-European in the Caucasus. In fact, around 7,000 years ago, there appears to be pre-kurgan in Siberia. Around 7,000 to 2,500 years ago and beyond, kurgans were built with ancient traditions still active in Southern Siberia and Central Asia, which display the continuity of the archaic forming methods. Kurgan cultures are divided archaeologically into different sub-cultures such as Timber Grave, Pit Grave, Scythian, Sarmatian, Hunnish, and Kuman–Kipchak. Kurgans have been found from the Altay Mountains to the Caucasus, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria. Around 5,000 years ago, kurgans were used in the Ukrainian and Russian flat unforested grasslands and their use spread with migration into eastern, central, northern Europe, Turkey, and beyond. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref
Progressed organized religion (around 5,000 years ago) Progressed organized religion (such as that seen in Egypt: 5,000 years ago “The First Dynasty dates to 5,150 years ago”). This was a time of astonishing religion development and organization with a new state power to control. Around the time of 5,000 to 4,000 years ago, saw the growth of these riches, both intellectually and physically, became a source of contention on a political stage, and rulers sought the accumulation of more wealth and more power.
*The First Dynasty* Date: 3,150 B.C.E. (5,150 years ago) and the Beginning Rise of the Unequal State Government Hierarchies, Religions and Cultures Merger
The Pharaoh in ancient Egypt was the political and religious leader holding the titles ‘Lord of the Two Lands’ Upper and Lower Egypt and ‘High Priest of Every Temple’. In 5,150 years ago the First Dynasty appeared in Egypt and this reign was thought to be in accordance with the will of the gods; but the office of the king itself was not associated with the divine until later. Around 4,890 years ago during the Second Dynasty, the King was linked with the divine and reign with the will of the gods. Following this, rulers of the later dynasties were equated with the gods and with the duties and obligations due to those gods. As supreme ruler of the people, the pharaoh was considered a god on earth, the intermediary between the gods and the people, and when he died, he was thought to become Osiris, the god of the dead. As such, in his role of ‘High Priest of Every Temple’, it was the pharaoh’s duty to build great temples and monuments celebrating his own achievements and paying homage to the gods of the land. Among the earliest civilizations that exhibit the phenomenon of divinized kings are early Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt.
In 5,150 years ago the First Dynasty appeared in Egypt with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by the king Menes (now believed to be Narmer). Menes/Narmer is depicted on inscriptions wearing the two crowns of Egypt, signifying unification, and his reign was thought to be in accordance with the will of the gods; but the office of the king itself was not associated with the divine until later. During the Second Dynasty of Egypt 4,890-4,670 years ago King Raneb (also known as Nebra) linked his name with the divine and his reign with the will of the gods. Following Raneb, the rulers of the later dynasties were equated with the gods and with the duties and obligations due to those gods. As supreme ruler of the people, the pharaoh was considered a god on earth. The honorific title of `pharaoh’ for a ruler did not appear until the period known as the New Kingdom 3,570-3,069 years ago. Monarchs of the dynasties before the title of `pharaoh’ from the New Kingdom were addressed as `your majesty’ by foreign dignitaries and members of the court and as `brother’ by foreign rulers; both practices would continue after the king of Egypt came to be known as a pharaoh. RefRef
CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago) Hinduism around 3,700 to 3,500 years old. Judaism around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (The first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew” dated to around 3,000 years ago). Jainism around 2,599 – 2,527 years old. Confucianism around 2,600 – 2,551 years old. Buddhism around 2,563/2,480 – 2,483/2,400 years old. Christianity around 2,000 years old. Shinto around 1,305 years old. Islam around 1407–1385 years old. Sikhism around 548–478 years old. Bahá’í around 200–125 years old.
Early Atheistic Doubting (at least by around 2,600 Years Ago) Around 2,600 Years Ago, there is a confirmation of atheistic doubting as well as atheistic thinking, mainly by Greek philosophers. However, doubting gods is likely as old as the invention of gods and should destroy the thinking that belief in god(s) is the “default belief”. The Greek word is apistos (a “not” and pistos “faithful,”), thus not faithful or faithless because one is unpersuaded and unconvinced by a god(s) claim. Short Definition: unbelieving, unbeliever, or unbelief.
My response, If you are a religious believer, may I remind you that faith in the acquisition of knowledge is not a valid method worth believing in. Because, what proof is “faith”, of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
“Where did you get all this information?” – Challenger
My response, It is mine I have been researching for my book for over 10 years and am about to publish.
“Thank you, Damien, I can’t read all of this now but I will tonight.” – Challenger
My response, Wonderful I hope you enjoy them.
“And the great mother Goddess shall rise again!!”–Challenger
My response, In the beginning people first believed in a goddess as they made magic the female ability to give birth. There is no true goddesses. I do hope one day women are treated as equal people and sexism ends.
“So, what are you wondering about?” – Challenger
My response, I am amazed at how much nature does things I wonder at the natural forces that makes things the way they are. Like how the super continents changed over time to make mountains or water eroded that to what it is now it is wonderful to look at and learn about.
“Well those natural forces you’re wondering about are the same natural forces that myself and others call God,for lack of a better word. Natural forces or natural laws which create the physical reality and shape the world we live in are what is creation. So in a sense, as an atheist you have more wonder about creation(God). Beautiful” – Challenger
My response, As an atheist, I feel more wonder than I did as a theist because I thought, “big deal” to any wonder I experienced, thinking god could do anything. So with such an unrealistic mindset, everything lost its wonder but it’s the opposite as an atheist. As a theist, the world was full of superstitions and supernatural magic possibilities and thus utilized thinking that was not in the real world. As an atheist all I have now is the real world, not that all atheists seem to get this, we all are in a real world devoid of magic anything, therefore, everything adds to my feeling of awe. There should be little debate with atheist acknowledging discernable reality compared to theists with non-reality claims. Yes, I have way more awe and wonder as an atheist than I ever had as a theist because as a theist anything was possible with god. Therefore, as a theist, things of the world where not that amazing. However, as an atheist grasping what an absolute accidental or how random things are, with a 95 to 99 % of all life ever existing on this planet went extinct. I am thoroughly amazed we are even here the evolved children of ancient exploded stars, likely born in galaxies born in supermassive black holes, it’s all amazing.
My response, No God: No evidence, No intelligence, and No goodness = Valid Atheism Conclusion
No evidence, to move past the Atheistic Null Hypothesis: There is no God/Gods (in inferential statistics, a Null Hypothesis generally assumed to be true until evidence indicates otherwise. Thus, a Null Hypothesis is a statistical hypothesis that there is no significant difference reached between the claim and the non-claim, as it is relatively provable/demonstratable in reality some way. “The god question” Null Hypothesis is set at as always at the negative standard: Thus, holding that there is no God/Gods, and as god faith is an assumption of the non-evidentiary wishful thinking non-reality of “mystery thing” found in all god talk, until it is demonstratable otherwise to change. Alternative hypothesis: There is a God (offered with no proof: what is a god and how can anyone say they know), therefore, results: Insufficient evidence to overturn the null hypothesis of no God/Gods.
No goodness, assessed through ethically challenging the good god assumptions as seen in the reality of pain and other harm of which there are many to demonstrates either a god is not sufficiently good, not real or as I would assert, god if responsible for this world, would make it a moral monster ripe for the problem of evil and suffering (Argument from Evil). God would be responsible for all pain as life could easily be less painful and yet there is mass suffering. In fact, to me, every child born with diseases from birth scream out against a caring or loving god with the power to do otherwise. It could be different as there is Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), also known as congenital analgesia, in which a person cannot feel (and has never felt) physical pain.
My response, What really is a god, Challenger? If you think you believe in a god, “what do you mean by god,” saying a name tells me not one thing about the thing I am asking to know “its” beingness/thingness/attributes/qualities. Thus, what is the thing “god” to which you are talking about and I want you to explain its beingness/thingness/attributes/qualities? Religious/theistic people with supernatural beliefs often seem as though they haven’t thought much about and that is something we can help using ontology questions about the beingness/thingness/attributes/qualities they are trying to refer too. What do you mean by god, when you use the term god? And, I am not asking you for the name you attach to the thing you label as a god. I don’t need to know what the god you believe is known “by.” I am asking, what is the thing you are naming as a god and what that thing is, its qualities in every detail like all things have if they are real. Are you just making stuff up or guessing/hoping or just promoting unjustified ideas you want to believe, what is a god? Do you want what is true or want what you believe without concern for what may actually be true?
“What I am talking about does not have a name. I am talking about natural forces that create. I am talking about that energy that moves wind, that power that beats a heart, shakes the earth. My perception of God is very different than most. Sure no one can prove it because it is nonphysical forces. Its like the wind, we can see its effects but we can’t see it. It’s in all beings all things and its attributes and qualities are everything you’re in awe of. ” – Challenger
My response, Yes, Challenger, you are making up nonsense, out of your own uninformed options. So you address not one thing real when using the term god.
“Just because something is not seen does not mean it isn’t real. Its not as complicated as your over informed options are making in out to be. I don’t have time to debate. Its obvious your atheist mind still wonders about creation and you will never understand it. ” – Challenger
My response, You cannot debate as you only have wishful thinking and it is you not me who started this and it is you that have continued this, not me. Don’t challenge me, then act the victim.
“I am not acting the victim. I am just pointing out the obvious that you still wonder about creation. Its you that is making it more than it really is busting out all your useless information that doesn’t prove anything ether because you still wondering. It wasn’t a challenge. Its an observation. Sorry I exposed. Done.” – Challenger
My response,You took the time to challenge me for two days, but OK.
Another Responder to the challenger,
“If you don’t have time to debate, get off the site! It’s not for monologues. You distort using the word “see”! This is dishonest! It includes measuring, ( such as wind you can’t see), flight because of the low pressure area above a planes’s wing- must be measured with instruments, though a cloud can form during this condition, the pressure of the atmosphere, endlessly! Millions of things that cannot be ( seen ), but are proven by their affects on other things, or ability to be measured. This incredible growing body of evidence, turns theory into fact. Religion or faith, have no body of evidence, and certainly no growth for thousands of years. That is why they mean rely, and belief, rather than fact! Now you may hurry along! Always available to you.”
Be a deep thinker, not some blind believer. Reason should be your only master, not myths or fancy philosophy thinking lacking sound meaning.
As such, even philosophy should not be your master, my friend; it should be your slave to better reasoning.
I will no longer bow to a philosophy abstraction, nor fall victim to the confusion that misses the real ontology of reality or life. Like how no matter the speculations off philosophic skepticism postulating a marriage existence, in every way knowable to us we are the body fully alive, acknowledged with every breath.
A self-evident absolute truth if there are any, that we can’t escape, even if others doubt its ultimate truth to be proven in every philosophic way possible. This truth even the most extreme skeptic proves in every inhale of air they choose to take to stay alive in the reality they wish to doubt philosophically.
This is a brute fact that is so profound it is before our understood reason and it’s the existential awareness of self-emotional aware even before any other way of awareness. It is at such a core beginning, we simply forward to start there confused about it or not reason or anything else that is a thinking abstraction. Seen in things such as philosophical skepticism, solipsism and the denial of reality or epistemic certainty.
*The Hammer of Truth: ontology, epistemology, and axiology (methodological use of philosophy)
*Dialectical Rhetoric = truth persuasion: use of facts and reasoning (motivational teaching)
*Utilizing Dignity: strategic dignity attacks or dignity enrichments (only used if confusion happens or resistance is present)
Be a Brave Thinker:
A thinker who earnestly directs, analyses, and challenges their own beliefs is brave. For it is better to search not like one with a belief to prove, no, first one must drill down into the belief exposing any and all flaws and if there is be willing to address it and if needed remove it. And after doing so myself as a god believer, it was a difficult life choice leave Religion and all its thinking errors, but I realized was more valuable. Remember what is often forgotten, that certainty, like knowledge, are epistemic properties of beliefs. ref
How would we act is the point, we need to think differently than make-believe and must not turn to wishful thinking lacking reality or one championing a denial of reality or epistemic certainty as the difference from Non-theistic and Non-magical beliefs which mirror reality thus are not unreasonable. Rather championing reality or epistemic certainty Non-theistic and Non-magical beliefs often are an exhibition of intellectual honesty accepting the natural world as it presents itself, which is only natural, then why is that seen as so bad to so many in the world? Like, what if we leveled the full weight of reason in an intellectuall honest critique of our one’s own beliefs not leaving any free of rebuilding or disbelief.
If you are a religious believer, may I remind you that faith in the acquisition of knowledge is not a valid method worth believing in. Because, what proof is“faith”, of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
Addressing Pragmatic Ethical/Axiology Driven Assumptions, Overcome the Weight of Solipsism Doubt!
I hold, that there is valid and reliable reason and evidence to warrant justified true belief in the knowledge of the reality of the external world and even if some think we don’t we do have axiological and ethical reasons to believe or act as if so. Thinking is occurring and it is both accessible as well as guided by what feels like me; thus, it is rational to assume I have a thinking mind, so, I exist.
“In the branch of linguistics known as pragmatics, a presupposition is an implicit assumption about the world or background belief relating to an utterance whose truth is taken for granted in discourse.” ref
Reason is needed for logic (logic is realized by the aid of reason enriching its axioms). Logic is needed for axiology/value theory (axiology is realized by the aid of logic). Axiology is needed for epistemology (epistemology is realized by the aid of axiology value judge and enrich its value assumptions as valid or not). Epistemology is needed for a good ontology (ontology is realized with the aid of epistemology justified assumptions/realizations/conclusions).
Then when one possesses a good ontology (fortified with valid and reliable reason and evidence) they can then say they know the ontology of that thing. Thinking is good and one claiming otherwise is indeed a person erroring in reason. Which may I remind you is terrible since the most Base Presupposition in our understanding of everything begins in reason.
So, to recap so far, activating experience/event occurs, eliciting our feelings/scenes. Then naive thoughts occur, eliciting emotions as a response. Then it is our emotional intelligenceover emotional hijacking (Amygdala hijack), which entrance us but are unavoidable and that it is the navigating this successfully in a methodological way we call critical thinking or as in what could just be called right thinking. So, to me, could be termed “Right” thinking, that is referring to a kind of methodological thinking.
Reason understood as I am explaining it can be understood as at the base of everything and it builds up from pragmatic approaches. And, to me, there are three main approaches to truth (ontology of truth) from the very subjective (Pragmatic theory of truth) should be used as a thinking standard(s) not a form of truth, to less subjective (Coherence theory of truth) similar to the step befor this should be limited to ideas not external reality claims, then onto objective (Correspondence theory of truth) but remember that this process as limited as it can be, is the best we have and we build one truth on top another like blocks to a wall of truth.
But, some skeptics challenge reality or epistemic certainty (although are themselves appealing to reason or rationality that itself they seem to accept almost A priori themselves to me). Brain in a vat or jar, Evil Demon in your mind, Matrix world as your mind, & Hologram world as your reality are some arguments in the denial or challenge of reality or epistemic certainty.
The use of “Brain in a vat” type thought experiment scenarios are common as an argument for philosophical skepticism and solipsism, against rationalism and empiricism or any belief in the external world’s existence.
Such thought experiment arguments do have a value are with the positive intent to draw out certain features or remove un-reasoned certainty in our ideas of knowledge, reality, truth, mind, and meaning. However, these are only valuable as though challenges to remember the need to employ Disciplined-Rationality and the ethics of belief, not to take these thought experiment arguments as actual reality. Brain in a vat/jar, Evil Demon, Matrix world, and Hologram world are logical fallacies if assumed as a reality representation.
Dogmatic–Propaganda vs. Disciplined-Rationality
Religionists and fideists, promote Dogmatic-Propaganda whereas atheists and antireligionists mostly promote Disciplined-Rationality. Dogmatic–Propaganda commonly is a common motivator of flawed or irrational thinking but with over seventy belief biases identified in people, this is hardly limited to just the religious or faith inclined. Let me illustrate what I am saying, to me all theists are believing lies or irrationally in that aspect of their lives relating to god belief. So the fact of any other common intellectual indexers where there may be “right” reason in beliefs cannot remove the flawed god belief corruption being committed.
What I am saying is like this if you kill one person you are a killer. If you believe in one “god” I know you are a follower of Dogmatic-Propaganda and can not completely be a follower of Disciplined-Rationality. However, I am not proclaiming all atheists are always rational as irrationally is revolving door many people believe or otherwise seem to stumble through. It’s just that god belief does this with intentionally.
Disciplined-Rationality is motivated by principles of correct reasoning with emphasis on valid and reliable methods or theories leading to a range of rational standpoints or conclusions understanding that concepts and beliefs often have consequences thus hold an imperative for truth or at least as close to truth as can be acquired rejecting untruth.
Disciplined-Rationality can be seen as an aid in understanding the fundamentals for knowledge, sound evidence, justified true belief and involves things like decision theory and the concern with identifying the value(s), reasonableness, verification, certainties, uncertainties and other relevant issues resulting in the most clear optimal decision/conclusion and/or belief/disbelief.
Disciplined-Rationality attempts to understand the justification or lack thereof in propositions and beliefs concerning its self with various epistemic features of belief, truth, and/or knowledge, which include the ideas of justification, warrant, rationality, reliability, validity, and probability.
ps. “Sound Thinker”, “Shallow Thinker”, “Dogmatic–Propaganda” & “Disciplined-Rationality” are concepts/terms I created*
*First is the problem that they make is a challenge (alternative hypotheses) thus requiring their own burden of proof if they are to be seen as real.
*Second is the problem that they make in the act of presupposition in that they presuppose the reality of a real world with factual tangible things like Brains and that such real things as human brains have actual cognition and that there are real-world things like vats or jars and computers invented by human beings with human real-world intelligence and will to create them and use them for intellectually meaningful purposes.
*Third is the problem of valid and reliable slandered as doubt is an intellectual professes needing to offer a valid and reliable slandered to who, what, why, and how they are proposing Philosophical Skepticism, Solipsism and the Denial of Reality or Certainty. Though one cannot on one hand say, I doubt everything and not doubt even that claim. One cannot say nothing can be known for certain, as they violate this very thought, as they are certain there is no certainty. The ability to think of reasonable doubt (methodological Skepticism) counteracts the thinking of unreasonable doubt (Philosophical Skepticism’s external world doubt and Solipsism). Philosophical skepticism is a method of reasoning which questions the possibility of knowledge is different than methodological skepticism is a method of reasoning, which questions knowledge claims with the goal finding what has a warrant, justification to validate the truth or false status of beliefs or propositions.
*Fourth is the problem that external world doubt and Solipsism creates issues of reproducibility, details, and extravagance. Reproducibility such as seen in experiments, observation and real-world evidence, scientific knowledge, scientific laws, and scientific theories. Details such as the extent of information to be contained in one mind such as trillions of facts and definable data and/or evidence. And extravagance such as seen in the unreasonable amount of details in general and how that also brings the added strain to reproducibility and memorability. Extravagancy in the unreasonable amount of details also interacts with axiological and ethical reasoning such as why if there is no real world would you create rape, torture, or suffering of almost unlimited variations.
Why not just rape but child rape, not just torture but that of innocent children who would add that and the thousands of ways it can and does happen in the external world. Extravagancy is unreasonable, why a massive of cancers and infectious things, millions of ways to be harmed, suffer and die etc. There is a massive amount of extravagance in infectious agents if the external world was make-believe because of infectious agents come in an unbelievable variety of shapes, sizes and types like bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, and parasites. Therefore, the various types of pleasure and pain both seem an unreasonable extravagance in a fake external world, therefore, the most reasonable conclusion is the external world is a justified true belief.
*Fifth is the problem that axiological or ethical thinking would say we only have what we understand and must curtail behavior ethically to such understanding. Think of the ability to give consent having that reasoning ability brings with it the requirement of being responsible for our behaviors. If one believes the external world is not real, they remove any value (axiology) in people, places or things and if the external world is not really there is no behavior or things to interact with (ethics) so nothing can be helped or harmed by actions as there is no actions or ones acting them or having them acting for or against.
In addition, if we do not know is we are actually existing or behaving in the real world we also are not certain we are not either, demanding that we must act as if it is real (pragmatically) due to ethical and axiological concerns which could be true. Because if we do act ethically and the reality of the external world is untrue we have done nothing but if we act unethically as if the reality of the external world is untrue and it is in fact real we have done something to violate ethics. Then the only right way to navigate the ethics of belief in such matters would say one should behave as though the external world is real. In addition, axiological or ethical thinking and the cost-benefit analysis of belief in the existence of the external world support and highly favors belief in the external world’s existence.
So again, in a general way, all reality, in a philosophic sense, is an emergent property of reason, and knowing how reason accrues does not remove its warrant. Feelings are experienced then perceived, leading to thinking, right thinking is reason, right reason is logic, right logic is mathematics, right mathematics is physics and from there all science.
Science is quite the opposite of just common sense. To me, common sense is experience related interpretation, relatively, as it generally relates to the reality of things in the world, which involves “naive realism” as well as possible psychological certainty and low epistemic certainty. Whereas, most of those who are scientific thinkers, hold typically more to scientific realism or other stances far removed from the limited common sense of naive realism. Science is a multidisciplinary methodological quest for truth. Science understands what is, while religion is wishing on what is not. Scientific realism sees external reality as described by science is what is REAL and thus TRUE with the highest epistemic certainty regardless of possible psychological certainty.
A basic outline of scientific epistemology:
Science: Hypotheses (Rationalism/Deductive, Inductive, or Abductive Reasoning etc.) + Testing (Empiricism/Systematic Observation) – Checking for errors (Skepticism/Fallibilism) + Interpret/Draw a Conclusion (Rationalism/Deductive, Inductive, or Abductive Reasoning etc.) *if valid* = Scientific Laws (describes observed phenomena) or Scientific Theory (substantiated and repeatedly tested explanation of phenomena) = Justified True Belief = Scientific Knowledge = Epistemic Certainty supportive of correctability.
*being epistemically certain, is believing a truth has the highest epistemic status, often with warranted psychological certainty but it may not, neither is it a requirement*
Getting Real with Logic:
Logic is the result of rationalism, as what do you think gets you to logic if not starting at reason? I want to hear your justification for your claims, all the presuppositions you are evading to explain the links in your claims of truth. As it is invalid to just claim this without a justification for your professed claims and the presupposing you do to get there, that is not trying to use rationalism to refuse rationalist thinking. How are you making the statement and not appearing to what is the rationale behind it? If not, you must want to think “Logic is self-generating as valid” and this understood value is to you not reducible to reason?
You are devoid of an offer of your burden of proof, first just try to keep up with the thinker’s responsibility to provide more than unjustified claims. Logic is derived by axioms and thus using rationalism to validate them, think otherwise provide your proof. My Rationalism: is two things externalistic “scientific rationalism” a belief or theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response. And internalistic “philosophic rationalism” the theory that reason is the basest presupposition before all others, rather than simply trying to rely on experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge.
Activating experience occurs we then have thinking, right (methodological) thinking (critical thinking) is reason, right reason is logic, right logic can be used for math, right math in response to the natural world is physics, and from there all other Sciences, physics is the foundation for chemistry and chemistry is the foundation of biology. May reason be your only master and may you also master reason.
Hear me; we are aware before the abstractions some try to blind us with; we are a body feeling all that is around, fully realized when one understands that there is no aware undamaged human mind that is not emoting. This includes before, during, and after you believe you are doing reason. And this also brings up the ontological or qualities of reason. Reason is a high thinking primate mental style or process to add accuracy, we learn, well most of us try to learn how to further develop our reason, the thinking strategy to not simply have a goal of accuracy it can be so developed that its use, skilled mastery is not simply finding external truth to belief accuracy one is also achieving an inward self-mastery, not over emotion as if it was reason’s enemy.
No, emotion is a vitality needed part proven in brain damage studies. Reason and emotion are friends, more accurately we are emotional feeling beings that with emotional intelligence construct thinking methodologies to improve our accuracy or we should. Some people think you are trapped in your behavior. But take for instance I strive to be kind now even think I do a good job, generally. However, I was not always this way. I was extremely abused as a child (mainly before 13 years old by my father), and it made me suffer from mental health issues I can still battle today. I, one was quite different from how you view me today, this is after 20 years of counseling services on and off.
One of the reasons I am good at understanding caring is much of my childhood lacked it. One of the reasons I am good at understanding kindness is I have had little in my life. One of the reasons I am good at understanding hope is I felt little of it most of my life. I don’t just blindly theorize such things, I have lived the lack of them. This upfront view has shown me a lot, demonstrating in living color of my own experiences just how important they are and why I must further their support, firstly in my actions rather than just some call for action of others alone. Kindness used to be against my nature as a high functioning sociopath (some likely genetic most helped by my suffering abuse), but through reason.
I am changed into something more than me, not a victim of my nature, I am better than merely my nature. Do all you can to help others as people matter and don’t forget you are one of the most valuable of those people that need your best too. It’s amazing how one can allow themselves to treat themselves in ways others than they would do to someone they cared about but we should be friends to ourselves first then spread such care out to the world hopefully inspiring other to do the same. I can’t stand the harmful ways of the world. Be the best you can I do all I can. One is hardly ever shown the door to glory getting the rewards due, good thing I am a bit thug by nature.
So I will bravely brake into the closed minds with reason, even though they wish to keep me out and want to deny my thinking truths, to keep me out, but I am not stopping my intrusive flow as you have already seen the undeniable truths in my wisdom you so wish to dent as much as you try. I have an ego like the lights above, and yet you feel my mental flames as the fire spits from every word your mental earworm one word and past your defenses I grow.
You see the need for change, her that truth call out loud and don’t let a word pass gold one to try as a character like Ebenezer Scrooge which need change free your own bran as I can’t stand likes pushed as truths and the similar harmful ways of the world so I fight with all I can. Be the best you can I do all I can. I may be a champion of rationality, but this is not all I am. I live by my heart, but I also follow the valid and reliable reason as well as the evidence available. And strive to preposition any belief to them.
This is true that even if I could affirm, I was completely in error. I will let that belief go or updated as required because I am a truth seeker. I wish to be a friend to the world. I offer myself, all I have, hoping to do all I can. Often kindness is a gift, an act of love, honoring the valued dignity of others. Eyes of hate will always find a victim, whereas eyes of love may always find a friend. One cannot simply demand respect for their character, instead, it requires that one must demonstrate its virtue. Even if one has a mind of a worrier but not the heart of kindness, still must learn what is worth fighting for. Love as ones thinking strategy is a feeling that can motivate a generosity of spirit which then compel my kindness. I am a thinking rule breaker, I am a deep question risk taker, I am a mental freedom Firestarter, and I am a mental riot maker.
Yes, I am that freak of nature, a power from the anti-power crusaders, warring against the power dynamic to return it back where it belongs- the hands of the people. I am a free-thinking invader into the shell of malignancy infecting humanity which strangles reason out of the world. A proud anarchy theorist, I breathe the fire of the heathens, a thought revolutionary and mental freedom fighter. I am a humanist atheist who desires a better world for us all, one that is kinder, more just, and more rational in its pursuits.
“Was just looking up atheism and linked me to irreligion (Wikipedia) how do you define the difference? I know you know your shit… about atheist vs. irreligion. Just looking things up.” – Questioner
My response, As to what is a-theism it is the lack of theistic belief(s) or disbelief in the claims of theism. As to what is Ir-religion (it means non-religious or against religion) is the absence, indifference, rejection of, or hostility towards religion.
Why it may seem confusing likely is because a lot of people make anti-theist claims and wrongfully call it atheism or anti-religious/irreligious claims and call it atheism. It is common that people say atheism while actually adding anti-theist and anti-religious/irreligious claims but to be accurate they are different but can be related.
“I am a bit unclear about the difference. Am I irreligious or atheist? I reject the idea if one or more gods. Thought I was atheist but maybe I am irreligious. Just words though. It confuses me. And I went to a Catholic university. Long story…I always thought I was atheist but am I not? Am I irreligious? I don’t care I am what I am.” – Questioner
My response, Well, you can believe in theism and be anti-religious or irreligious. Or one can be an atheist and religious or anti-religious/irreligious.
“But I am not theist. So I just called myself atheist.”–Questioner
My response, If you are not a theist then you are automatically an atheist, there is no other choice.
“Ok. I think Wikipedia confused me.”–Questioner
Myresponse, I will now offer helpful but simplistic definitions of why a position of atheism could be chosen it is of course just an over-generalization but it will highlight the main idea though it always will be more substantive in reality and who is applying it.
“Maybe I am anti-theist…I am what I am – Popeye the Sailor Man.”–Questioner
Myresponse, Then you are an antitheistic-atheist, then you are an atheist and an anti-theist as well, it is not an “either/or,” as you can be both.
Here is my list of non-theistic and theistic assumptions
Here are my thoughts on Weak Theism and Weak Atheism Agnostics:
*Weak Theism (Agnostic)?
Weak Theism: Yes, a god(s) and/or goddess(es) exists though I am not sure or don’t know about god(s) and/or goddess(es) at this time.
Weak Theism: Yes, a god(s) and/or goddess(es) exists. However, we have no possibility or certainty of knowing anything about God, now or in the future.
Weak Theism: I think that a god(s) and/or goddess(es) exists but have no proof.
Weak Theism: I think so but cannot be positive that a god(s) and/or goddess(es) exists.
Weak Theism: I don’t know but will lead my life assuming that a god(s) and/or goddess(es) does exist just to be careful, perhaps because of the rewards or to stop some punishments one would receive if a god(s) and/or goddess(es) does exist.
Weak Theism: I worship a god (or a god and goddess, or a goddess, or some combination of god(s) and/or goddess(es) but cannot prove that they exist.
Weak Theism: I doubt it but cannot be sure a god(s) and/or goddess(es) doesn’t exist.
*Weak Atheism (Agnostic)?
Weak Atheism: I don’t know if a god(s) and/or goddess(es). (So, they don’t believe theism thus are atheists)
Weak Atheism: There will never be any way to know. (So, they don’t believe theism thus are atheists)
Weak Atheism: There is no way to know, but perhaps someone will find a proof or disproof in the future. (So, they don’t believe theism thus are atheists)
Weak Atheism: I cannot give an opinion because there is no way that we can prove the existence or non-existence of God given currently available knowledge. (So, they don’t believe theism thus are atheists)
Weak Atheism: I don’t know but will lead my life in the assumption that no god(s) and/or goddess(es) exists. (So, they don’t believe theism thus are atheists)
Weak Atheism: I will have to withhold my opinion/belief until god(s) and/or goddess(es), if one or many exist, decides to make his, her or their presence known by a strong provable indicator, which until now has ever happened. (So, they don’t believe theism thus are atheists)
Weak Atheism: The god(s) and/or goddess(es) that various believers worship are like unicorns: they are obviously fictional. However, who knows, I do not have certain disproof.
Feel you don’t know what god is or could be you might be an Ignostic but if so you don’t or can’t believe in theism. Ignosticism is the idea that the question of the existence of God is meaningless because the term “god” has no unambiguous definition. Ignosticism requires a good, non-controversial definition of god before arguing on its existence. (So, they don’t believe theism thus are atheists)
Feel you don’t care what god is or could be you might be an Apatheist but if so you don’t believe in theism. An apatheist is someone who is not interested in accepting or denying any claims that gods exist or do not exist. An apatheist lives as if there are no gods and explains natural phenomena without reference to any deities. (Thus, they don’t believe theism thus are atheists)
“I really never heard of irreligion. Boston-Catholic-Irish and all growing up. I believe that the 1000 plus gods were created to explain what was not knowable. But wow, to your information. More to think about. I do not believe in a god in any way shape or form. So atheist then?Well, you confirmed what I thought. I really never heard of irreligion. I thought it was atheist. I like the part where you basically wrote “I don’t believe in god but I want to cover my ass if I am wrong” (paraphrased).”–Questioner
Myresponse, I am an Atheist, Antitheist, and Antireligionist:
*I am an atheist (lack belief in or rejection of belief in god(s).
*I am an anti-theist (rejection of or see theism as harmful, ie. belief in god(s) or the concepts themselves as harmful).
*I am an anti-religionist (rejection of or see religion as harmful, ie. all religion or religious philosophy is harmful including ones without god (s).
*The Hammer of Truth: ontology, epistemology, and axiology (methodological use of philosophy)
*Dialectical Rhetoric = truth persuasion: use of facts and reasoning (motivational teaching)
*Utilizing Dignity: strategic dignity attacks or dignity enrichments (only used if confusion happens or resistance is present)
Be a Brave Thinker:
A thinker who earnestly directs, analyses, and challenges their own beliefs is brave. For it is better to search not like one with a belief to prove, no, first one must drill down into the belief exposing any and all flaws and if there is be willing to address it and if needed remove it. And after doing so myself as a god believer, it was a difficult life choice leave Religion and all its thinking errors, but I realized was more valuable. Remember what is often forgotten, that certainty, like knowledge are epistemic property of beliefs. ref
How would we act is the point, we need to think differently than make-believe and must not turn to wishful thinking lacking reality or one championing a denial of reality or epistemic certainty as the difference from Non-theistic and Non-magical beliefs which mirror reality thus are not unreasonable. Rather championing reality or epistemic certainty Non-theistic and Non-magical beliefs often are an exhibition of intellectual honesty accepting the natural world as it presents itself, which is only natural, then why is that seen as so bad to so many in the world? Like, what if we leveled the full weight of reason in an intellectually honest critique of our one’s own beliefs not leaving any free of rebuilding or disbelief.
If you are a religious believer,may I remind you thatfaithin the acquisition of knowledgeis not a valid method worth believing in. Because, what proof is“faith”,of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
“Damien, you should avoid ANY ‘belief’. I know it can be a fine line ,semantically, but I recommend eliminating the word ‘belief’ from your vocabulary. Confidence based on experience is the way to go. It helps to clear faulty thinking patterns.” – Challenger
My response, Wrong. And you just expressed several beliefs. Did you read the blog “BeaDeepThinker,BeFree,BeMentalDynamite” you are commenting under before commenting? It sure doesn’t seem like it.
My response, Don’t try to tell me what to do either. Your wrong anyway but even if you were right, tell me what you think and I will decide its value on my own. Do you know Philosophy and do you believe that you know it better than me? I am very good at philosophy, I guess you have not been paying attention. Did you not see I have had talks with Matt and other philosophy affluent people including a few philosophy professors.
Here is an atheist philosopher using the term belief as we all should. It is pseudo philosophy to think otherwise. in an blog called CAMELS WITH HAMMERS posted FEBRUARY 27, 2012 BYDANIEL FINCKE. Dr. Daniel Fincke, an atheist like both of us has his PhD in philosophy as well as spent 11 years teaching philosophy in college wrote in “Anti-Accommodationism Is Pro-Philosophy?” addressing what are “Epistemically Rational Beliefs” even though he did not explain them using that term.
“Accommodationist-atheists are those who do not want atheists to vigorously publicly attack religious beliefs and institutions, lest they risk alienating open-minded liberal and moderate religious people and turn them off to belief in evolution, climate change, science-based education and medicine, separation of church and state, or other crucial matters of public policy. But I (DANIELFINCKE) say because essentially the New Atheists’ (Anti-Accommodationists’) concerns are, first and foremost, epistemological and not strictly scientific. They are adamant that the scientists’ rigorous commitment to severe standards for belief and knowledge claims be applied not just to strictly scientific questions but just as scrupulously to the matters religions presume to pronounce upon. They are adamant that the rejection of willful faith believing that is the core of scientific success be not only applied to politics, but even to the matters of belief about “souls” and “gods”. Many New Atheists develop explicit accounts of epistemology that distinguish why faith-beliefs are improper in principle. Many want to argue for the philosophical implications of scientific findings and show how they really can give just cause for philosophical inferences rejecting belief in gods (and, specifically, belief in the Abrahamic personal designer God of Western theism). And, as I argued this morning, the New Atheists reserve, and fiercely and extensively exercise, the right to publicly agitateon numerousethical matterswhich, while sometimes informed by science, are not decided scientifically but philosophically.” –DANIELFINCKE
*And Epistemically “Rational Beliefs” [Epistemic in (Philosophy) of or relating to knowledge or epistemology or (Logic) denoting the branch of modal logic that deals with the formalization of certain epistemological concepts, such as knowledge and certainty or relating to the theory of knowledge (epistemology).
My response, We all have beliefs its unavoidable. The issue is having justified true beliefs that hold warrant or are valid and reliable because of reason and evidence. I am not directing this at anyone, I am only stating this trying to help. Even saying I don’t have a belief is exhibiting a belief that you don’t have a belief. To me, beliefs are not what’s the problem its having justified true beliefs warranted on valid and reliable reason and evidence is the issue. Think of it like this there is three belief states one is “lacking belief” which would stand for not having information or not making a decision, belief or disbelief.
Some unbelievers in faith, gods or any other magical/supernatural nonsense say they only “lack belief” and do not have disbelief. So they are saying they have a disbelief in the idea that they have a disbelief as they are actively rejecting concept of them having disbelief. I feel there is a confusion of the definition of disbelief, which is a feeling that you do not or cannot believe or accept that something is true or real. The act of disbelieving is the mental rejection of something as untrue. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disbelief
Thus, disbelief is rendered to you do not or cannot believe a claim. Like how I disbelieve all the unjustified god claims and all god-something claims are of course unjustified.
Do we have to ‘believe’ that the scientific method yields qualified truths? You have to use rationalism to establish the rationale and yes it is a belief in a certain style of information possessing but it is a warranted justified true belief both before its use because of reason and after its use in the reliability as well as validating of evidence. At that point beliefs are no longer required as the reproducibility of conclusions makes the facts. I think I can see what the disconnect is for some atheists… Theists try to deflect from debates by saying that atheists “believe in science”.
While many of us believe in scientific principles as they are justified by both Evidence and Reason giving warrant to their Belief, it is not a belief system. As you said before, we believe things that there are evidence for. It’s not about faith. It’s about evidence, but theists try to call it faith because we didn’t necessarily come up with the ideas ourselves. Which is stupid because belief in science is justified and warranted, as there is evidence to support the justified belief for the ideas whether or not we made them ourselves. I hear the I have no beliefs thinking but they need to read what philosophy, psychology and neurology to grasp what they state about beliefs or disbeliefs. I am sure they will be the most motivated by science so here is the Neurology of Belief.
The difference between believing and disbelieving a proposition is one of the most potent regulators of human behavior and emotion. When one accepts a statement as true, it becomes the basis for further thought and action; rejected as false, it remains nothing more that a string of words someone put together. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disbelief
What is belief? (in philosophy):
“Contemporary analytic philosophers of mind generally use the term “belief” to refer to the attitude we have, roughly, whenever we take something to be the case or regard it as true. To believe something, in this sense, needn’t involve actively reflecting on it: Of the vast number of things ordinary adults believe, only a few can be at the fore of the mind at any single time. Nor does the term “belief”, in standard philosophical usage, imply any uncertainty or any extended reflection about the matter in question (as it sometimes does in ordinary English usage). Many of the things we believe, in the relevant sense, are quite mundane: that we have heads, that it’s the 21st century, that a coffee mug is on the desk. Forming beliefs is thus one of the most basic and important features of the mind, and the concept of belief plays a crucial role in both philosophy of mind and epistemology. The “mind-body problem”, for example, so central to philosophy of mind, is in part the question of whether and how a purely physical organism can have beliefs. Much of epistemology revolves around questions about when and how our beliefs are justified or qualify as knowledge.” http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/belief/
Facts are labels, just like truth, that we put on claims we think are proven somehow, in that assertions are believed to match the state of affairs (if you are making realistic assumptions from science then likely supported by the beliefs in Scientific realism), that generally promote the Correspondence theory of truth “similar to both Rationalism and Empiricism” or Coherence theory of truth “similar to just Rationalism” its all still epistemic property of beliefs, whether one’s claim is of knowledge or certainty.
“Scientific realism is the view that the universe described by science is real regardless of how it may be interpreted. Within philosophy of science, this view is often an answer to the question “how is the success of science to be explained?” Generally, those who are scientific realists assert that one can make valid claims about unobservables (viz., that they have the same ontological status) as observables, as opposed to instrumentalism. Scientific realism generally involves the two basic positions. First, it is a set of claims about the features of an ideal scientific theory; an ideal theory is the sort of theory science aims to produce. Second, it is the commitment that science will eventually produce theories very much like an ideal theory and that science has done pretty well thus far in some domains.” ref
“In epistemology, the correspondence theory of truth states that the truth or falsity of a statement is determined only by how it relates to the world and whether it accurately describes (i.e., corresponds with) that world. Correspondence theories claim that true beliefs and true statements correspond to the actual state of affairs. This type of theory attempts to posit a relationship between thoughts or statements on one hand, and things or facts on the other. In contemporaryContinental philosophy, Edmund Husserl defended the correspondence theory. In contemporaryanalytic philosophy, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, J. L. Austin, and Karl Popper defended the correspondence theory.” ref
“In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that “regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge” or “any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification.” ref
“In epistemology, the coherence theory of truth regards truth as coherence within some specified set of sentences, propositions or beliefs. Very often, coherence is taken to imply something more than simple formal coherence. For example, the coherence of the underlying set of concepts is considered to be a critical factor in judging validity. The coherentist theory of justification, which may be interpreted as relating to either theory of coherent truth, characterizes epistemic justification as a property of a belief only if that belief is a member of a coherent set. What distinguishes coherentism from other theories of justification is that the set is the primary bearer of justification.” ref, ref
“The coherence and correspondence theories both hold that truth is a property of propositions that can be analysed in terms of the sorts of truth-conditions propositions have, and the relations propositions stand in to these conditions. A plausible version of the coherence theory states that the coherence relation is some form of entailment. Entailment can be understood here as strict logical entailment, or entailment in some looser sense.” ref
“Logical consequence (also entailment) is a fundamental concept in logic, which describes the relationship between statements that hold true when one statement logically follows from one or more statements. A valid logical argument is one in which the conclusion is entailed by the premises, because the conclusion is the consequence of the premises. The philosophical analysisof logical consequence involves the questions: In what sense does a conclusion follow from its premises? and What does it mean for a conclusion to be a consequence of premises? All of philosophical logic is meant to provide accounts of the nature of logical consequence and the nature of logical truth.” ref
Myresponse, He also professed a belief about lacking beliefs which he believes. Thus, he believes that claim, so he is wrong as well as you where relating to beliefs.
“I told you it’s semantically slippery. Not the same thing. It’s a scientific mindset, and I have a background in physics.”–Challenger
Myresponse, And that doesn’t mean anything if you don’t get philosophy. I will gladly debate you if you want, in a recorded video on this.
Myresponse, Therefore, as I told you about beliefs you were wrong, even Matt agrees with me and you seem to not grasp it in relation to philosophy nor what that means to its value.
Here is a little philosophy of science:
Yes, science has many valid justified beliefs and sound assumptions.
“All scientific study inescapably builds on at least some essential assumptions that are untested by scientific processes. Kuhn concurs that all science is based on an approved agenda of unprovable assumptions about the character of the universe, rather than merely on empirical facts. These assumptions—a paradigm—comprise a collection of beliefs, values and techniques that are held by a given scientific community, which legitimize their systems and set the limitations to their investigation. For naturalists, nature is the only current justified reality, the only paradigm. One can be a metaphysical nationaism where there is no such thing as ‘supernatural’.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_science
“The scientific method is to be used to investigate all reality. The scientific method uses methodological naturalism that doesn’t deny such things like supernatural but rather, both has no valid supernatural to test nor can such as unknown unjustified evidence lacking assumption be offered as an explanation to what is demonstrated nature. Methodological Naturalism is the implicit philosophy of working scientists. The following basic assumptions are needed to justify the scientific method.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_science
“Such as that there is an objective reality shared by all rational observers. “The basis for rationality is acceptance of an external objective reality.” “Objective reality is clearly an essential thing if we are to develop a meaningful perspective of the world. Nevertheless its very existence is assumed.” “Our belief that objective reality exist is an assumption that it arises from a real world outside of ourselves. As infants we made this assumption unconsciously. People are happy to make this assumption that adds meaning to our sensations and feelings, than live with solipsism.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_science
“Without this assumption, there would be only the thoughts and images in our own mind (which would be the only existing mind) and there would be no need of science, or anything else.” Moreover, that this objective reality is governed by natural laws; “Science, at least today, assumes that the universe obeys to knoweable principles that don’t depend on time or place, nor on subjective parameters such as what we think, know or how we behave.” Hugh Gauch argues that science presupposes that “the physical world is orderly and comprehensible.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_science
“And that reality can be discovered by means of systematic observation and experimentation. Stanley Sobottka said, “The assumption of external reality is necessary for science to function and to flourish. For the most part, science is the discovering and explaining of the external world.” “Science attempts to produce knowledge that is as universal and objective as possible within the realm of human understanding.” that Nature has uniformity of laws and most if not all things in nature must have at least a natural cause.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_science
“Biologist Stephen Jay Gould referred to these two closely related propositions as the constancy of nature’s laws and the operation of known processes. Simpson agrees that the axiom of uniformity of law, an unprovable postulate, is necessary in order for scientists to extrapolate inductive inference into the unobservable past in order to meaningfully study it.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_science
“Similarly, that experimental procedures will be done satisfactorily without any deliberate or unintentional mistakes that will influence the results. Likewise, that experimenters won’t be significantly biased by their presumptions. And that random sampling is representative of the entire population. A simple random sample (SRS) is the most basic probabilistic option used for creating a sample from a population. The benefit of SRS is that the investigator is guaranteed to choose a sample that represents the population that ensures statistically valid conclusions.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_science
Here is some info from Understanding Science – Berkeley.edu
Basic assumptions of science:
“The process of science builds reliable knowledge about the natural world. To see evidence of this reliability, one can look around at the everyday products of scientific knowledge: from airplanes to antibiotics, from batteries to bridges. These technologies only work because science does. The process of building scientific knowledge relies on a few basic assumptions that are worth acknowledging.” ref
Science operates on the assumptions that: “There are natural causes for things that happen in the world around us. For example, if a ball falls to the ground, science assumes that there must be a natural explanation for why the ball moves downward once released. Right now, scientists can describe gravity in great detail, but exactly what gravity is remains elusive. Still, science assumes that there is an explanation for gravity that relies on natural causes, just as there is for everything in nature.” ref
“Evidence from the natural world can be used to learn about those causes. Science assumes that we can learn about gravity and why a ball falls by studying evidence from the natural world. Scientists can perform experiments with other falling objects, observe how gravity affects the orbits of the planets, etc. Evidence from a wide range of experiments and observations helps scientists understand more about the natural causes of gravity.” ref
“There is consistency in the causes that operate in the natural world. In other words, the same causes come into play in related situations and these causes are predictable. For example, science assumes that the gravitational forces at work on a falling ball are related to those at work on other falling objects. It is further assumed that the workings of gravity don’t change from moment to moment and object to object in unpredictable ways. Hence, what we learn about gravity today by studying falling balls can also be used to understand, for example, modern satellite orbits, the formation of the moon in the distant past, and the movements of the planets and stars in the future, because the same natural cause is at work regardless of when and where things happen.” ref
“These assumptions are important and are not controversial in science today. In fact, they form much of the basis for how we interact with the world and each other everyday.” ref
“This is a fine example of how the finer the semantic distinction, the more some people will argue about it. Sure, you can use “belief” to refer to “confidence based on experience and data”, but. more often, it’s used for faith based propositions. That’s the kind of ‘belief’ I’m thinking of. We both have WAY too much free time, here. I sometimes wish I had a life.”–Challenger
Myresponse, So that is your response to me thoughtfully responding to your invalid comment? No, I don’t have free time and I took the time to explain your thinking error as well so others can learn why it was in error and how to see it in a reasoned way. I do what I do as I care to inspire deep thinking as our thinkers’ movement has too many that need to do more thinking and less assuming or unjustified claims. You challenged me and thus I addressed it.
Be a deep thinker, not some blind believer. Reason should be your only master, not myths or fancy philosophy thinking lacking sound meaning.
As such, even philosophy should not be your master, my friend; it should be your slave to better reasoning.
I will no longer bow to a philosophy abstraction, nor fall victim to the confusion that misses the real ontology of reality or life. Like how no matter the speculations off philosophic skepticism postulating a marriage existence, in every way knowable to us we are the body fully alive, acknowledged with every breath.
A self-evident absolute truth if there are any, that we can’t escape, even if others doubt its ultimate truth to be proven in every philosophic way possible. This truth even the most extreme skeptic proves in every inhale of air they choose to take to stay alive in the reality they wish to doubt philosophically.
This is a brute fact that is so profound it is before our understood reason and it’s the existential awareness of self-emotional aware even before any other way of awareness. It is at such a core beginning, we simply forward to start there confused about it or not reason or anything else that is a thinking abstraction. Seen in things such as philosophical skepticism, solipsism and the denial of reality or epistemic certainty.
My eclectic set of tools for my style I call “Truth Navigation” (Techniques for Discussions or Debates) which involves:
*The Hammer of Truth: ontology, epistemology, and axiology (methodological use of philosophy)
*Dialectical Rhetoric = truth persuasion: use of facts and reasoning (motivational teaching)
*Utilizing Dignity: strategic dignity attacks or dignity enrichments (only used if confusion happens or resistance is present)
Be a Brave Thinker:
A thinker who earnestly directs, analyses, and challenges their own beliefs is brave. For it is better to search not like one with a belief to prove, no, first one must drill down into the belief exposing any and all flaws and if there is be willing to address it and if needed remove it. And after doing so myself as a god believer, it was a difficult life choice leave Religion and all its thinking errors, but I realized was more valuable. Remember what is often forgotten, that certainty, like knowledge, are epistemic properties of beliefs. ref
How would we act is the point, we need to think differently than make-believe and must not turn to wishful thinking lacking reality or one championing a denial of reality or epistemic certainty as the difference from Non-theistic and Non-magical beliefs which mirror reality thus are not unreasonable. Rather championing reality or epistemic certainty Non-theistic and Non-magical beliefs often are an exhibition of intellectual honesty accepting the natural world as it presents itself, which is only natural, then why is that seen as so bad to so many in the world? Like, what if we leveled the full weight of reason in an intellectuall honest critique of our one’s own beliefs not leaving any free of rebuilding or disbelief.
If you are a religious believer, may I remind you that faith in the acquisition of knowledge is not a valid method worth believing in. Because, what proof is“faith”, of anything religion claims by faith, as many people have different faith even in the same religion?
Addressing Pragmatic Ethical/Axiology Driven Assumptions, Overcome the Weight of Solipsism Doubt! I hold, that there is valid and reliable reason and evidence to warrant justified true belief in the knowledge of the reality of the external world and even if some think we don’t we do have axiological and ethical reasons to believe or act as if so. Thinking is occurring and it is both accessible as well as guided by what feels like me; thus, it is rational to assume I have a thinking mind, so, I exist.
The most “Base Presupposition” begins in reason.
“In the branch of linguistics known as pragmatics, a presupposition is an implicit assumption about the world or background belief relating to an utterance whose truth is taken for granted in discourse.” ref
Reason is needed for logic (logic is realized by the aid of reason enriching its axioms). Logic is needed for axiology/value theory (axiology is realized by the aid of logic). Axiology is needed for epistemology (epistemology is realized by the aid of axiology value judge and enrich its value assumptions as valid or not). Epistemology is needed for a good ontology (ontology is realized with the aid of epistemology justified assumptions/realizations/conclusions).
Then when one possesses a good ontology (fortified with valid and reliable reason and evidence) they can then say they know the ontology of that thing. Thinking is good and one claiming otherwise is indeed a person erroring in reason. Which may I remind you is terrible since the most Base Presupposition in our understanding of everything begins in reason.
So, to recap so far, activating experience/event occurs, eliciting our feelings/scenes. Then naive thoughts occur, eliciting emotions as a response. Then it is our emotional intelligenceover emotional hijacking (Amygdala hijack), which entrance us but are unavoidable and that it is the navigating this successfully in a methodological way we call critical thinking or as in what could just be called right thinking. So, to me, could be termed “Right” thinking, that is referring to a kind of methodological thinking.
Reason understood as I am explaining it can be understood as at the base of everything and it builds up from pragmatic approaches. And, to me, there are three main approaches to truth (ontology of truth) from the very subjective (Pragmatic theory of truth) should be used as a thinking standard(s) not a form of truth, to less subjective (Coherence theory of truth) similar to the step befor this should be limited to ideas not external reality claims, then onto objective (Correspondence theory of truth) but remember that this process as limited as it can be, is the best we have and we build one truth on top another like blocks to a wall of truth.
But, some skeptics challenge reality or epistemic certainty (although are themselves appealing to reason or rationality that itself they seem to accept almost A priori themselves to me). Brain in a vat or jar, Evil Demon in your mind, Matrix world as your mind, & Hologram world as your reality are some arguments in the denial or challenge of reality or epistemic certainty.
The use of “Brain in a vat” type thought experiment scenarios are common as an argument for philosophical skepticism and solipsism, against rationalism and empiricism or any belief in the external world’s existence.
Such thought experiment arguments do have a value are with the positive intent to draw out certain features or remove un-reasoned certainty in our ideas of knowledge, reality, truth, mind, and meaning. However, these are only valuable as though challenges to remember the need to employ Disciplined-Rationality and the ethics of belief, not to take these thought experiment arguments as actual reality. Brain in a vat/jar, Evil Demon, Matrix world, and Hologram world are logical fallacies if assumed as a reality representation.
Dogmatic–Propaganda vs. Disciplined-Rationality
Religionists and fideists, promote Dogmatic-Propaganda whereas atheists and antireligionists mostly promote Disciplined-Rationality. Dogmatic–Propaganda commonly is a common motivator of flawed or irrational thinking but with over seventy belief biases identified in people, this is hardly limited to just the religious or faith inclined. Let me illustrate what I am saying, to me all theists are believing lies or irrationally in that aspect of their lives relating to god belief. So the fact of any other common intellectual indexers where there may be “right” reason in beliefs cannot remove the flawed god belief corruption being committed.
What I am saying is like this if you kill one person you are a killer. If you believe in one “god” I know you are a follower of Dogmatic-Propaganda and can not completely be a follower of Disciplined-Rationality. However, I am not proclaiming all atheists are always rational as irrationally is revolving door many people believe or otherwise seem to stumble through. It’s just that god belief does this with intentionally.
Disciplined-Rationality is motivated by principles of correct reasoning with emphasis on valid and reliable methods or theories leading to a range of rational standpoints or conclusions understanding that concepts and beliefs often have consequences thus hold an imperative for truth or at least as close to truth as can be acquired rejecting untruth.
Disciplined-Rationality can be seen as an aid in understanding the fundamentals for knowledge, sound evidence, justified true belief and involves things like decision theory and the concern with identifying the value(s), reasonableness, verification, certainties, uncertainties and other relevant issues resulting in the most clear optimal decision/conclusion and/or belief/disbelief.
Disciplined-Rationality attempts to understand the justification or lack thereof in propositions and beliefs concerning its self with various epistemic features of belief, truth, and/or knowledge, which include the ideas of justification, warrant, rationality, reliability, validity, and probability.
ps. “Sound Thinker”, “Shallow Thinker”, “Dogmatic–Propaganda” & “Disciplined-Rationality” are concepts/terms I created*
*First is the problem that they make is a challenge (alternative hypotheses) thus requiring their own burden of proof if they are to be seen as real.
*Second is the problem that they make in the act of presupposition in that they presuppose the reality of a real world with factual tangible things like Brains and that such real things as human brains have actual cognition and that there are real-world things like vats or jars and computers invented by human beings with human real-world intelligence and will to create them and use them for intellectually meaningful purposes.
*Third is the problem of valid and reliable slandered as doubt is an intellectual professes needing to offer a valid and reliable slandered to who, what, why, and how they are proposing Philosophical Skepticism, Solipsism and the Denial of Reality or Certainty. Though one cannot on one hand say, I doubt everything and not doubt even that claim. One cannot say nothing can be known for certain, as they violate this very thought, as they are certain there is no certainty. The ability to think of reasonable doubt (methodological Skepticism) counteracts the thinking of unreasonable doubt (Philosophical Skepticism’s external world doubt and Solipsism). Philosophical skepticism is a method of reasoning which questions the possibility of knowledge is different than methodological skepticism is a method of reasoning, which questions knowledge claims with the goal finding what has a warrant, justification to validate the truth or false status of beliefs or propositions.
*Fourth is the problem that external world doubt and Solipsism creates issues of reproducibility, details, and extravagance. Reproducibility such as seen in experiments, observation and real-world evidence, scientific knowledge, scientific laws, and scientific theories. Details such as the extent of information to be contained in one mind such as trillions of facts and definable data and/or evidence. And extravagance such as seen in the unreasonable amount of details in general and how that also brings the added strain to reproducibility and memorability. Extravagancy in the unreasonable amount of details also interacts with axiological and ethical reasoning such as why if there is no real world would you create rape, torture, or suffering of almost unlimited variations.
Why not just rape but child rape, not just torture but that of innocent children who would add that and the thousands of ways it can and does happen in the external world. Extravagancy is unreasonable, why a massive of cancers and infectious things, millions of ways to be harmed, suffer and die etc. There is a massive amount of extravagance in infectious agents if the external world was make-believe because of infectious agents come in an unbelievable variety of shapes, sizes and types like bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, and parasites. Therefore, the various types of pleasure and pain both seem an unreasonable extravagance in a fake external world, therefore, the most reasonable conclusion is the external world is a justified true belief.
*Fifth is the problem that axiological or ethical thinking would say we only have what we understand and must curtail behavior ethically to such understanding. Think of the ability to give consent having that reasoning ability brings with it the requirement of being responsible for our behaviors. If one believes the external world is not real, they remove any value (axiology) in people, places or things and if the external world is not really there is no behavior or things to interact with (ethics) so nothing can be helped or harmed by actions as there is no actions or ones acting them or having them acting for or against.
In addition, if we do not know is we are actually existing or behaving in the real world we also are not certain we are not either, demanding that we must act as if it is real (pragmatically) due to ethical and axiological concerns which could be true. Because if we do act ethically and the reality of the external world is untrue we have done nothing but if we act unethically as if the reality of the external world is untrue and it is in fact real we have done something to violate ethics. Then the only right way to navigate the ethics of belief in such matters would say one should behave as though the external world is real. In addition, axiological or ethical thinking and the cost-benefit analysis of belief in the existence of the external world support and highly favors belief in the external world’s existence.
So again, in a general way, all reality, in a philosophic sense, is an emergent property of reason, and knowing how reason accrues does not remove its warrant. Feelings are experienced then perceived, leading to thinking, right thinking is reason, right reason is logic, right logic is mathematics, right mathematics is physics and from there all science.
Science is quite the opposite of just common sense. To me, common sense is experience related interpretation, relatively, as it generally relates to the reality of things in the world, which involves “naive realism” as well as possible psychological certainty and low epistemic certainty. Whereas, most of those who are scientific thinkers, hold typically more to scientific realism or other stances far removed from the limited common sense of naive realism. Science is a multidisciplinary methodological quest for truth. Science understands what is, while religion is wishing on what is not. Scientific realism sees external reality as described by science is what is REAL and thus TRUE with the highest epistemic certainty regardless of possible psychological certainty.
A basic outline of scientific epistemology:
Science: Hypotheses (Rationalism/Deductive, Inductive, or Abductive Reasoning etc.) + Testing (Empiricism/Systematic Observation) – Checking for errors (Skepticism/Fallibilism) + Interpret/Draw a Conclusion (Rationalism/Deductive, Inductive, or Abductive Reasoning etc.) *if valid* = Scientific Laws (describes observed phenomena) or Scientific Theory (substantiated and repeatedly tested explanation of phenomena) = Justified True Belief = Scientific Knowledge = Epistemic Certainty supportive of correctability.
*being epistemically certain, is believing a truth has the highest epistemic status, often with warranted psychological certainty but it may not, neither is it a requirement*
Getting Real with Logic:
Logic is the result of rationalism, as what do you think gets you to logic if not starting at reason? I want to hear your justification for your claims, all the presuppositions you are evading to explain the links in your claims of truth. As it is invalid to just claim this without a justification for your professed claims and the presupposing you do to get there, that is not trying to use rationalism to refuse rationalist thinking. How are you making the statement and not appearing to what is the rationale behind it? If not, you must want to think “Logic is self-generating as valid” and this understood value is to you not reducible to reason?
You are devoid of an offer of your burden of proof, first just try to keep up with the thinker’s responsibility to provide more than unjustified claims. Logic is derived by axioms and thus using rationalism to validate them, think otherwise provide your proof. My Rationalism: is two things externalistic “scientific rationalism” a belief or theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response. And internalistic “philosophic rationalism” the theory that reason is the basest presupposition before all others, rather than simply trying to rely on experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge.
Activating experience occurs we then have thinking, right (methodological) thinking (critical thinking) is reason, right reason is logic, right logic can be used for math, right math in response to the natural world is physics, and from there all other Sciences, physics is the foundation for chemistry and chemistry is the foundation of biology. May reason be your only master and may you also master reason.
Hear me; we are aware before the abstractions some try to blind us with; we are a body feeling all that is around, fully realized when one understands that there is no aware undamaged human mind that is not emoting. This includes before, during, and after you believe you are doing reason. And this also brings up the ontological or qualities of reason. Reason is a high thinking primate mental style or process to add accuracy, we learn, well most of us try to learn how to further develop our reason, the thinking strategy to not simply have a goal of accuracy it can be so developed that its use, skilled mastery is not simply finding external truth to belief accuracy one is also achieving an inward self-mastery, not over emotion as if it was reason’s enemy.
No, emotion is a vitality needed part proven in brain damage studies. Reason and emotion are friends, more accurately we are emotional feeling beings that with emotional intelligence construct thinking methodologies to improve our accuracy or we should. Some people think you are trapped in your behavior. But take for instance I strive to be kind now even think I do a good job, generally. However, I was not always this way. I was extremely abused as a child (mainly before 13 years old by my father), and it made me suffer from mental health issues I can still battle today. I, one was quite different from how you view me today, this is after 20 years of counseling services on and off.
One of the reasons I am good at understanding caring is much of my childhood lacked it. One of the reasons I am good at understanding kindness is I have had little in my life. One of the reasons I am good at understanding hope is I felt little of it most of my life. I don’t just blindly theorize such things, I have lived the lack of them. This upfront view has shown me a lot, demonstrating in living color of my own experiences just how important they are and why I must further their support, firstly in my actions rather than just some call for action of others alone. Kindness used to be against my nature as a high functioning sociopath (some likely genetic most helped by my suffering abuse), but through reason.
I am changed into something more than me, not a victim of my nature, I am better than merely my nature. Do all you can to help others as people matter and don’t forget you are one of the most valuable of those people that need your best too. It’s amazing how one can allow themselves to treat themselves in ways others than they would do to someone they cared about but we should be friends to ourselves first then spread such care out to the world hopefully inspiring other to do the same. I can’t stand the harmful ways of the world. Be the best you can I do all I can. One is hardly ever shown the door to glory getting the rewards due, good thing I am a bit thug by nature.
So I will bravely brake into the closed minds with reason, even though they wish to keep me out and want to deny my thinking truths, to keep me out, but I am not stopping my intrusive flow as you have already seen the undeniable truths in my wisdom you so wish to dent as much as you try. I have an ego like the lights above, and yet you feel my mental flames as the fire spits from every word your mental earworm one word and past your defenses I grow.
You see the need for change, her that truth call out loud and don’t let a word pass gold one to try as a character like Ebenezer Scrooge which need change free your own bran as I can’t stand likes pushed as truths and the similar harmful ways of the world so I fight with all I can. Be the best you can I do all I can. I may be a champion of rationality, but this is not all I am. I live by my heart, but I also follow the valid and reliable reason as well as the evidence available. And strive to preposition any belief to them.
This is true that even if I could affirm, I was completely in error. I will let that belief go or updated as required because I am a truth seeker. I wish to be a friend to the world. I offer myself, all I have, hoping to do all I can. Often kindness is a gift, an act of love, honoring the valued dignity of others. Eyes of hate will always find a victim, whereas eyes of love may always find a friend. One cannot simply demand respect for their character, instead, it requires that one must demonstrate its virtue. Even if one has a mind of a worrier but not the heart of kindness, still must learn what is worth fighting for. Love as ones thinking strategy is a feeling that can motivate a generosity of spirit which then compel my kindness. I am a thinking rule breaker, I am a deep question risk taker, I am a mental freedom Firestarter, and I am a mental riot maker.
Yes, I am that freak of nature, a power from the anti-power crusaders, warring against the power dynamic to return it back where it belongs- the hands of the people. I am a free-thinking invader into the shell of malignancy infecting humanity which strangles reason out of the world. A proud anarchy theorist, I breathe the fire of the heathens, a thought revolutionary and mental freedom fighter. I am a humanist atheist who desires a better world for us all, one that is kinder, more just, and more rational in its pursuits.
In the struggle for enlightenment, there is a need to remove religious thinking, often without realizing it, is more an involvement relating to the struggle of championing good belief standards that just removing superstitiousism, though there is a great need to remove such magical thinking as superstitions can be thought of as at the core of most religious thinking. These childlike religious stories should not even be taken seriously, but sadly too often they are.
Often without realizing it, we accumulate beliefs that we allow to negatively influence our lives. In order to bring about awareness, we need to be willing to alter skewed beliefs. Rational thinkers must examine the facts instead of blindly following beliefs or faith. May we all be rationalists, holding fast to a valued belief etiquette: demanding reasoned belief acquisitions, good belief maintenance, and honest belief relinquishment.
” – Challenger 
