Predictive History - The Story of "Civilization" Civilization #2: Religion and the Dawn of Society
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Oct 7, 2025 Discover how Ice Age cave paintings reveal the early integration of art and spirituality in human life. The significance of rituals performed in these sacred spaces is explored, along with their acoustics and communal gatherings. Delve into animism as a foundational religion and its connections to nature and balance. Hear about shamans, disabled individuals valued in society, and the evolution of religious belief from egalitarian practices to more structured monotheism. Finally, reflect on how these ancient beliefs influenced the development of agriculture and community.
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Paintings Found In Ritual Spaces
- Many cave paintings occur in acoustically rich cave chambers and coexist with flutes, implying ritual performance.
- The paintings likely functioned as part of communal religious festivals, not private art for art's sake.
Caves As Portals And Moral Logic
- Paleolithic people likely conceived souls as portable entities coming from other worlds through portals like wombs and caves.
- That cosmology made caves sacred places to mediate with animal souls and restore balance after killing.
Animism As First Religion
- Animism likely predates organized gods and treats all living things as soulful and interconnected.
- That worldview justified reciprocity rituals after killing animals to maintain harmony with a mother goddess.
