Damien Marie AtHope’s Art 

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Scandinavian (Nordic) Bronze Age Ritualistic Petroglyphs

“Scandinavian rock art comprises two categories: The first dates to the Nordic Stone Age (in Norway from between 8,000-1,800 BCE or around 10,020 to 3,820 years ago), and usually depicts animals, there are also examples of boats, humans, and various geometrical figures. A popular interpretation is “hunting magic” art or clan animal totems as well as a possibility these animals could have been believed as spiritual/supernatural animals seen in a trance. This also highlights not only cultic rituals but also as source material for cultural history and potentially social hierarchies. The second dates to the Nordic Bronze Age (1,700-500 BCE or around 3,720 to 2,520 years ago). This second kind of Scandinavian rock art was made by farmers, usually in the Nordic Bronze Age, the Pre-Roman Iron Age and the Roman Iron Age (in Norway 1800 BCE until AD 400). The most common motifs are the cup mark (cupule), boats, horses, people (often brandishing weapons), foot soles, wagons, and many kinds of abstract geometrical symbols (such as spirals, concentric circles etc.) Interpretations of this kind of art has usually been that of a fertility cult, with the ship being a mythical ship that is sometimes seen pulling abstract representations of the sun.” refref

“The Nordic Bronze Age is often considered ancestral to the Germanic peoples, a successor of the Corded Ware culture 2,900-2,350 BCE or around 4,920 to 4,370 years ago in southern Scandinavia and Northern Germany. The Corded Ware people carried mostly Western Steppe Herder ancestry and were closely related to the people of the Yamna culture (or Yamnaya), “documenting a massive migration into the heartland of Europe from its eastern periphery,” the Eurasiatic steppes. The Corded Ware culture may have disseminated the Proto-Germanic and Proto-Balto-Slavic Indo-European languages. The Corded Ware Culture also shows a genetic affinity with the later Sintashta culture, where the Proto-Indo-Iranian language may have originated. The Nordic Bronze Age could be a fusion of elements from the Corded Ware culture and the preceding Pitted Ware culture 3,200-2300 BCE or around 5,220 to 4,320 years ago a hunter-gatherer culture.” ref, ref, ref, ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Baltic Reindeer Hunters: Swiderian, Lyngby, Ahrensburgian, and Krasnosillya cultures 12,020 to 11,020 years ago are evidence of powerful migratory waves during the last 13,000 years and a genetic link to Saami and the Finno-Ugric peoples.

Archaeology shows both the common culture and genetics of the earliest Indo-Europeans in Europe were forming from the 8,000-6,020 years ago, due to migration of the Western Baltic Mesolithic population linked with Poland. Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers: mix of Western and Eastern Hunter-Gatherers beginning around 13,000 years ago.

Baltic Reindeer Hunters: Swiderian, Lyngby, Ahrensburgian, and Krasnosillya cultures 12,020 to 11,020 years ago are evidence of powerful migratory waves during the last 13,000 years and a genetic link to Saami and the Finno-Ugric peoples. Two Different Bone Point Phases: fine-barbed 11,200–10,100 years ago and larger-barbed 9,658–8,413 years ago.

12,000 – 2,000 Years Ago – Indigenous-Scandinavians (Nordic)

12,000 – 2,000 Years Ago – Indigenous-Scandinavians (Nordic), found Petroglyphs and archeological findings such as settlements dating from about 12,000 are found in the traditional lands of the Sami. There are significant changes in genetic makeup of North East Europeans through time. In Ice age Eurasia went through two phases of mass extinctions, first 52,000 to 32,000 years ago and by around 40,000-35,000 years ago there is evidence of human presence was discovered in the European Arctic along the western flank of the Ural Mountains. matching human migrations as well, beginning with Aurignacian culture peoples (deep branches in different parts of Europe) dating to around 37,000. Around 34,000 to 26,000 years ago Gravettians displaced Aurignacians and both maybe distinct genetically but connect to the same origin group. And around 27,000 years ago evidence of human presence at a site on the Yana River above the Arctic Circle in Siberia and Europe’s northernmost point include a dart foreshaft. In relation to clement a major cold event expanded ice sheets around 27,000 to 20,000 years ago where much of northern Europe was covered by the Fenno-Scandinavian ice sheet and much of central-southern Europe as well was covered by the Alpine ice sheet.

Around 19,000 – 15,000 Magdalenians related to the Aurignacians migrated and by about 14,000 years ago populations from around Turkey and Greece, spread into Europe seeming to coincide with a larger majority of animals going extinct around 15,000 and 11,000 years ago. With this 14,000-years-old migration blue eyes begin to also spread due to new gene flows and the Middle East and Europe started having closer genetic links. And it would seem likely there was also spreading of religious and other cultural transfer. Therefore, from around 37,000 years ago and 14,000 years ago different groups of Europeans were still largely descended from similar originating monadic hunting groups and began human migrations are thought to be largely linked to changes in the climate, limiting of resources and animal migrations or extinctions. Eurasia is a land consented by the DNA of peoples as well as land stretches from Europe through to the Caucasus, Central Asia/Northern Asia, Siberia and Beringia. 

Around 12,000 to 7,000 years ago in northwest Europe hunter gathers DNA held high frequencies and diversity seen in European hunter-gatherers from Iberia to Scandinavia. As early as 11,000 to 8,000 years ago the glyphs mainly involve hunting and fishing mainly found in Northern Scandinavia (Jamtland center of Sweden, Nord-Trondelag center of Norway and Nordland “Northern Sami” is a county in Norway). Around 13,000 years ago it is thought that the Scandinavia became ice-free although at around 14,500 years ago the Hamburg culture seems to have beed pushing itself at the edge of the ice on Scania, which is at the southernmost part of Sweden. Around 12,000 years ago nomadic hunter gathers are increasingly represented in Scania The Komsa Culture from around 12,000 to 10,000 years ago existed in Northern Norway and whose predecessor possibly links to central and Uralic parts of Russia seen in cultural artifacts links from the Ural Mountains north and north-west into Fenno-Scandinavia. Around 11,800 years ago the Bromme-Ahrensburg culture emerge from and spread with the recession of northerly glaciers and changing of other cultures in the area between 17,000 to 12,000 years ago. This changing of cultures likely has a connection to the extinction of mammoth and other large animals utilized for food a provided need to utilize other forms of food resources this included maritime resources.

Northward migrations also seem to coincide with two warm events first of which is the Bolling event beginning around 14,700 years ago then maxing out at around 14,500 years ago to and Allerod events 14,100 years ago maxing out at around 13,000 years ago and possibly ending around 10,900 years ago. There may a possible link from the people of the Komsa culture to the ancestors of the Sami. Traditional Sami’s shamanistic culture was not an isolate rather it was a part of a larger arctic pattern of shamanistic cultures. This pattern of arctic shamanism seems to generally include reverence for and ceremonies to animals, use of drums and a belief that spirits were generally present in all life forms likely thanking the animal for their life. Shamanistic cultures commonly can be thought to have had a reverence of the ancestors such as in Sami shamanism the Sarahkka (lives under fire and helps during birth) An Akka is a female spirit in Sami shamanism as well as goddess of fertility in Finnish mythology and in Estonian mythology Akka is known as Maan-Emo (Finland) An earth goddess. The wife of Ukko, god of thunder. She prsides over the fertility of women. Furthermore, akka could be seen as a kind of “mother earth spirit”, Mader-akka in Sami shamanism is seen as the first akka mother of the tribe, Sar-akka is the goddess of fertility. Sami shamanism like other similar shamanistic cultures seems to attach to an affinity to mountains seen in the naming of the Ahkka mountain range in northern Sweden likely is connected to Mattar-ahkka “Grandmother/ Mother Earth Spirit” and Sar-ahkka (who lives under the fire and helps in birthing); and Uks-ahkka (helper of newborns). Sami shamanistic/totemistic rock art takes various forms from carvings, engravings and paintings made with red ochre often involving anthropomorphs motifs some of which may represent ancestor or other believed zoomorphic spirits both of which are often found in the depictions on traditional Sami dress, decorative jewelry and drums. And on some of the early historical Sami drums sometimes depicting images of Mattarahkka taking other forms such as a mythical reindeer cow, matching typical female gendered mythical reindeer/elk cow figures (possablly also Earth Mothers) in the rock art of various north Eurasian peoples where they were a hunted animal. Pointing to such a significance is the around 6,000 to 4,000-year-old the 900 feet geoglyph outlying in a shape similar to a mythical reindeer/elk or moose on slopes of the Zyuratkul Mountains in the Southern Urals, Russia. This connecting of migrating is somewhat expressed in the Proto-Finno-Ugric/Uralic speaking peoples who likely having an originating connection to the Gravettian culture around 34,000 year ago that used to hunt big game including bison, horse, reindeer and mammoth though also used nets to hunt small game.

This Gravettian culture who succeeded the Aurignacians had a large expression and thus is found at sites in Italy, France, Spain, Britain, Central Europe, and Russia are thought to have followed the retreating icecap northward, reaching the Baltic and southern area of Finland. Gravettian peoples further developed religious/ cultural iconography with their art expressions such as portable sculptures mainly of women and animals called Venus Figurines made mainly in ivory, stone or even primitive ceramic appearing across Europe. In addition, Gravettian involved refinement in petroglyphs and engravings and appeared in France about 27,000 years ago. Then around 11,000 years ago or earlyer it is thought that the Proto-Sami people may connect to the peoples originated in an area from northern Spain to southeastern France, who had moved northward to Fennoscandia. Likewise, around 11,000 to 10,000 years ago some of the first, ancestors of the Sami are suggested to have reached Fennoscandia from Western Europe along the cast of Norway as part of the expansion of post-Ahrensburgian cultures (Fosna-Hensbacka and Komsa). Furthermore, the diverse Sami may even have some connecting origins in post-Swiderian cultures (Kunda, Veretye, Suomusjarvi), which came from Poland into North East Europe around 12,000 to 10,000 years ago. Sami DNA diversity has been influenced by a combination of presumably multiple founder event(s) and reproductive isolation likely due in some part to the challenging conditions of sub-arctic Europe. Around 10,000 years ago glaciers had receded Finland and presumably allowed the Proto-Sami to travel where it is thought that they encountered/mixed as well as likely had a cultural/religious transfer with the Proto-Finns who were another indigenous group in the area. Interestingly enough both the Fins and the Sami both developed shamanic traditions. Around 9,265 to 9,140 years ago, evidence at the Sujala site in the northernmost borough of Finnish Lapland where the Sami people are the most numerous. Around 9,000-5,000 years ago the Komsa culture in Finland also seems to share similarities with the Suomusjarvi culture (around 10,300-7,000 years ago) spread into Finland from the east.

Moreover, there is evidence of human occupation in southern Finland around 9,300 years ago, evident in a Antrea fishnet found on the Karelian Isthmus close to the Russia-Finland border an area where the comb-ware is dated to about as old as 7,600 years ago. A possible connecting origin of or to this culture is the Jeulmun (Pit-Comb “Comb-patterned” ware) Pottery that has an “Early” phase beginning in Korean around 10,000 years ago. Korea shamans are often female and interestingly enough Korean shamanism has common connections with shamanism in northern Asia including Siberia. Shamanistic stone arrangements 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 “megalithic standing stone tomb.” 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. 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 jewelry, 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. 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. In fact, there are thousands of dolmens above-ground stone burial structures scattered across the Middle East, found in Israel, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Iran and Turkey. Dolmen-like structures occur throughout much of the Levant commonly dating to around 5,000 years ago and one special 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 stylized cattle. 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, India 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).

Most of the dolmens worldwide are dated to around 6,000 to 4,000 years ago but in Japan the oldest late Jomon type of dolmens only date to around 3,500 to 3,000 years ago and in Korea the dolmens are around 2,700 years old seeming to sujest the migration of populations from Europe transferring eventually to Japanese archipelago as well as in to the Korean Peninsula, and of course shared religious beliefs and myths. The genetics in a large number of buried peopes at the up to around 3,000 years ago shell mounds north-eastern Japan also connect to the indigenous peoples of the Primorsky Krai (southeasternmost part of Russian Far East bordered by China, North Korea) thought to have entered Japan from the north at a time not too different from that of the former (M7a) group. The prehistory of Japan when focacing on the origin of the Jomon culture’s peoples (around 16,000–3,000 years ago) were not homogeneous. Some of the Jomon peoples held ganedic similarities with the indigenous peoples of Siberia around 30,000 to 20,000 years ago but the main group came to Japan together with rice farming during the Yayoi period around 2,300 to 1,700 years ago. Therefore, the Japanese people are from intermixing southern Jomon and northern Yayoi which would involve religion as much as other culture and genes from different regions remaining in elements of the Kojiki “Account of Ancient Matters.” Kojiki (written in a form of Chinese with a heavy mixture of Japanese a collection of myths including the Kami (animistic concept), divine beings, spirits or phenomena worshiped in Shinto, a Japanese ethnic religion. Many kami are considered the ancient ancestors of entire clans, and some ancestors became kami upon their death. The Kojiki myths were utilized for Shinto written down around 1,300 years ago containing various songs/poems all written in a form of Chinese with Japanese elements. These Japanese earliest writings seem to express that the “Shinto religion” was unified mix of native beliefs and mythologies.

Moreover, the earliest evidence of Japanese creation myths includes various descriptions of kami, whose earliest roles were mostly as earth-based anthropomorphic “fertility” spirits from early hunter-gatherer groups, that often-worshipped supreme being/gods of mountains, trees, rocks, rivers, and seas. Testing the DNA of Sanganji Jomon individuals seems to show that they are closest to modern Japanese and more specifically held a strongest genetic connection to the Ainu indigenous people of Japan, followed by the Ryukyuan people indigenous peoples of the Ryukyu Islands between the islands of Kyushu and Taiwan. Therefore, the Japanese religion like the Japanese people came about from that kind of intermixing, thus it is likely the myths and records of different regions may have offered elements that were added in the Kojiki. The shinto torii sacred gates seem to have posable connections to India’s torana gates (2,300 years ago) seen in the hindu, buddhist and jain religious architecture. Religious bird perches in Asia, such as the Korean sotdae are commonly found at the entrance of villages with jangseung “totem poles” also similar to sotdae (tall wooden pole or stone pillar with a carved bird on its top) in other shamanistic cultures in China, Mongolia and Siberia. The word shinto (“way of the spirit/essences/gods”) “shin” refers to kami and “to” connects to the Chinese word dao/tao signifying ‘way’, ‘path’, ‘doctrine’ or ‘principle’ utilized within traditional Chinese philosophy/religions is the intuitive knowing of “life” that cannot be fully grasped, supposedly just its “essences” are believed to be known. The word “tao” in confucianism generally expresses moral or ethical usage whereas religious taoism (at least by 2,400 years ago) and the more metaphysical usage of the term used in philosophical taoism/daoism and most forms of Mahayana buddhism.

The Japanese myths are from intermixing of southern Jomon involving a variety of earthly gods/deities (kami), wih are similar to myths found from East Asia to Indonesia. Whereas the northern Yayoi has the characteristics of northern-type myths such as Ninigi-no-Mikoto whose mythology imply he was sent down to earth to plant rice and was claimed to be the great-grandfather of Emperor Jimmu who reportedly descends around 2,711 years ago (on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar) from the sun goddess Amaterasu. Chan Buddhism developed in China from around 1,600 years ago spreading to Vietnam as Thien, to Korea as Seon, and around 700 years ago to Japan as Zen. Chan style is thought to be a predictable evolution of Buddhism (thought to be a barbarian version of Taoism)” under the dominant Taoist religious thinking and it is this Taoist terminology “matching the concepts” that was used in the oldest translations of Buddhist texts. Some elements of Taoism may trace to prehistoric paganism/folk religions in China and Taoist ethics generally emphasize “naturalness” seeming to connect with the School of Yin-yang (“Naturalists” around 2,481 to 2,403 years ago) yin (dark, cold, female, negative) and yang (light, hot, male, positive) which were deeply influenced by one of the oldest texts of Chinese culture, the Yijing/I Ching (beginning around 3,000–years ago). Another Taoist practice “Naturalists” phenomena of the wu that also connected to the shamanic culture of northern China, Wuism likely originating in cultures such as the Hongshan culture. Chinese shamanic traditions are intrinsic to Chinese paganism/folk religion, an overarching term for all the indigenous religions of China.

A torii (bird abode, traditionally made from wood or stone) is a traditional Japanese gate commonly at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine and is similar to symbolic gates widely dispersed throughout Asia, (India, China, Thailand, Korea, and within the indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese peoples found at the Nicobar Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean. The Shompen people closest to that of Indonesians and Austroasiatic people including the Nicobarese who follow the traditional animistic/totemistic religion of the islands believing in spirits, ghosts who are believed to exist all around the islands, which shamans call upon to handle the bad spirits. The prehistory of Korean and Japan become closer linked by steadily increasing contact with the Korean Peninsula beginning around 2,900 years ago. Moreover, Korean prehistoric religious/cultural iconography includes paintings, rock carvings, and stones positioned for religious ceremonies that may connect to the Pit-Comb pottery culture. Likewise, some of the oldest Pit-Comb pottery evidence are found in the remains of Liao civilization/xinglongwa culture found mainly around the Inner Mongolia-Liaoning border in China. The area of southern Liaoning is along north Korean where northern Inner Mongolia is along southern Mongolia. Moreover, this pottery culture was also in northeastern China which had burials under the pit-houses with jade objects as grave goods. The most special of this culture’s graves seems to have involved an around 8,000-year-old ceremonially burial of a male interned with a pair of pigs and jade objects.

A 7,200 years old wooden carving presumably a type of shamanistic totem, was from the Xinle culture (7,500–6,800 years ago) found in northeast China. And while the prehistory of Ceramics seems to begin with the Gravettian culture “Venus of Dolní Vestonice” figurine from the Czech Republic dated to around 29,000 years old. But the oldest usable pottery is from Jiangxi, China dated to around 20,000 years old and as well as Jomon culture in Japan dated to around 18,000 years ago, the oldest pottery from the Russian Far East dates to around 16,000 to 13,000 years ago, showing idea transfer was accruing and likely that involved religion. In Asia pottery came long before farming whereas in the Near East farming appeared before pottery, then when farming spread into Europe it appears in the Pit-Comb Ceramic Culture reflects influences from Siberia, Koria and distant China. Around 7,000-5,200 years ago the two groups both the Proto-Sami and Proto-Finic peoples joined together in the Pit–Comb Ware culture in Finland, Baltic and Russia that had diffused from the east to the Baltic Sea area. Comb Ceramic or Pit-Comb Ware developed in the northern woodlands of Eurasia and was transferred from the Baltic, Finland, south Siberia, Lake Baikal, Mongolian Plateau, Liaodong Peninsula, northeastern China and the Korean Peninsula. Pit-Comb culture transfer is quite extensive demonstrating vast exchange networks in red slate stone tools originating from northern Scandinavia, asbestos stone tools from Lake Saimaa, green slate stone tools from Lake Onega, amber artifacts from the southern shores of the Baltic Sea and flint stone tools from the Valdai area in northwestern Russia.

In Finland, the Pit-Comb peoples involved a maritime culture who probably used teepee but by around 6,000 tend to prefer rectangular timber houses and the burials covered with red ochre. This Pit-Comb culture seems diverse, possibly involving several languages and did produced small burnt clay figurines as well as stone animal heads often involving a reference to bears and moose in addition to many rock paintings which may express a shamanic connection such as that seen at around 100 of which in Finland. Rock painting from Juusjarvi Lake near Helsinki Finland are thought to depict a shaman in a trance possibly with a pike and presumably accompanied with a spirit helper fish. And interestingly, one of the first embryo-shaped figurines connects to the comb-pit culture around 5,000 years ago in the Ishim-Irtysh region in south-central Russia. One piece of supporting one part of the Sami ancestry may be found in how the languages of the Sami and many of the modern inhabitants of the Urals seem to be traced to a common ancestor. The Sami of Fennoscandia share a 9,000-year-old genetic ancestral connection to the Berbers of North Africa. All of Finland was ice-free by around 8,900 years ago and the Heinola sledge dated at 8,800 years ago was found in southern Finland along with the both with parallels in the East Baltic and Northwest Russia. And by around 8,500 years ago the peoples in the ariea become more semi-nomadic and reached northernmost Finland by 8,400 years ago or earlier.

Early Proto-Finnish shamanism seems to connect to Suomusjarvi culture of Finland. It is thought that the Proto-Finns developed a shamanic hunting-gathering-fishing culture similar to peoples across the sub-Arctic Eurasian such as the shamanism of the Evenks of Siberia. Likewise, there is a genetic link with its highest frequency is seen in Russia and among some Sami groups. Around 8,600 years ago, a Fosna culture settlement is found at Foskvattnet along the south Norwegian coast followed by the “Komsa Culture” that also is seen at early dated in arctic Norway and appear to have come from the east. Of special importance is a rock carving at Shiskino at the upper end of the Lena Riverseeming to show that peoples with a large dugout log, with what looks like large rabit ears or maybe ritualized moose/elk ears travelled from Ob River in western Siberia, Russia to Yenisei, to Ankara to the upper Lena Rivers. Part of Sami genetics have ben purposed to be focused at around 7,600 years ago, though the peoples amongst Sami and Finns maybe more around 6,600 years. Moreover, between around 7,500 to 6000 years ago some of the first people in Norway settled in Flatanger and Leka within Nord-Trondelag. Farming started in Denmark and southern Sweden about 6,000 years ago for at least the next few hundred years, settlers from more culturally developed regions of Central Europe and beyond immigrated/migrated introducing agricultural as well as the attributed religious thinking/deities that came with such a cultural transfer. It must be understood that there seems to ha e been long-distance contacts and connections across Eurasia. Which is further exposed by analyzing the genetic links between populations of Yuzhnyy Oleni Ostrov and Popovo (Western Russia 7,500 years ago)/Bol’shoy Oleni Ostrov (Kola Peninsula beyond the Arctic Circle Russian 3,500 years ago) and the populations of Siberia (10,000 to 6,000 years ago). Nomadic peoples travel long-distances and culturally integrated with as well as transferred genetically/culturally/religiously as they trailed and such long-distance connections across Eurasia where quite common. For example, it seems that hunter-gatherer pottery from the North East and East Europe may have originated from early ceramics from the Russian Far East and Siberia. A later migration from the East was associated with the spread of the Imiyakhtakhskaya culture from Yakutia (East Siberia) through northwestern Siberia to the Kola Peninsula during the Early Metal Age (around 4,000 to 3,000 years ago).

The DNA in later migration from the East has differences compared with around 10,000 to 5,000 years ago hunter-gatherer nomads and genetic influx from central/eastern Siberia. Moreover, comparing prehistoric and modern-day North-East Europeans/Sami demonstrates genetic differences. Tests on Bol’shoy Oleni Ostrov showed the highest shared genetics to Central Siberian Tuvinians, East Siberians and an indigenous Buryat indaidual of Central Siberia. Moreover, the genetic distributions in Bol’shoy Oleni Ostrov are similar to those found in all Central/East Siberian, Eurasia, Bashkirs in the Urals, Scandinavian and Baltic populations (Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, Ingrians, Karelians, and the Saami). Bol’shoy Oleni Ostrov genetics are 4,000 years younger and located further North-West than Yuzhnyy Oleni Ostrov and Popovo (7,500 years ago) but they show a large diversity of DNA lineages of Central/East Siberian origin as well as are the most common in northern, central and eastern Asia, which may have originated in eastern Asia and expanded through multiple migrations after 20,000 years ago. The indigenous Sami are all over Sweden were originally nomads/semi-nomadic people, living in teepees during the summer and peat huts during the cold. Sami people indigenous Finno-Ugric people region stretches over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. The teepee making Sami people, share a religion similar to many other indigenous peoples living in the same latitudes such as various Native/Aboriginal peoples and various Siberian peoples, though they had a practice Shamanism/pantheism-polytheism. The Sami Shaman, or noaidi, enabled ritual communication with the supernatural by tools such as drums, chants, and sacred objects. Sami have birth/mother female spirit/grandmother/goddesses as well as death spirit/grandmother/goddesses in addition to Beaivi goddess of the Sun, mother of humanity and her husband Bieggagallis was god of storms as well as the father of humanity. And Horagalles “Thor-man/grandfather” who was god of thunder and Thor was the Norse paganism’s most popular god. Thor was believed to be a supernatural being with a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and hallowing and fertility. Early Sami religion variants the dead as well as animal spirits and utilized natural sacred sites such as mountains, springs, land formations, as well as man-made petroglyphs and labyrinths. Moreover, Sami genetics has conations at moderate frequencies across Europe, from Iberia (Portugal and Spain) to the Ural Mountains western Russia.

This genetic dispersal likely transferred religion as well and is thought to likely comprise ancient hunter migrations following migrating herds from the Central Siberian shifted up to the Tamir Peninsula northernmost part of the mainland of Eurasia, where today lives the Nenets/Samoyeds an indigenous people in northern arctic Russia, and some live at the Taymyr Peninsula. The shamanistic Nganasan people are an indigenous Samoyedic people inhabiting central Siberia, including the Taymyr Peninsula. Nenets with beliefs that involve animistic, totemistic and shamanistic thinking stressing respect for the land and its resources with a clan-based social structure. Nganasan beliefs involve animistic, totemistic and shamanistic, which are thought to be the descendants of Paleo-Siberian peoples who were culturally assimilated by various Samoyedic indigenous peoples of Siberia. The origin of ancient migrations may also be expressed in genetic connections between Bol’shoy Oleni Ostrov (3,500 years ago) and modern-day central Siberian Buryats seems to indicate an early eastern connection with west. In addition, there is DNA that seems to link to migrations from Siberia around the time of the Kama culture aound 8,000 years ago in the southern Urals to the Pechora and Vychegda basins northwest Urals to the modern populations in the Volga-Ural Basin and the Sami which seems to genetically connect to Bol’shoy Oleni Ostrov (3,500 years ago) seemingly expressing migration brought ‘Central/East Siberian’ DNA into North East Europe further dispersing religious thinking as well. The genetic evidence seems to connect Bol’shoy Oleni Ostrov to ancient genetic West Siberia as well as the Altai area.

The Northern Bronze Age of Scandinavian prehistory dates to around 3,700 to 2,500 years ago with sites hold bronze and gold objects were all imported, primarily from Central Europe and rock carvings depict ships, and the large stone burial monuments known as stone ships continuity of a maritime cultures as well as other continuity in religion where men or gods are depicted with erected phallus to express vitality and fertility going back around 7,300 years ago (Ertebolle culture: red ochre and deer antlers in some graves, with women buried with necklaces and belts of animal teeth/shells as well as a Mollegabet  burial in a dugout tree trunk which may express a beginning of Scandinavian boat burials). This intermixing of genetics was mirrored by religious thinking as well such as how at no time was even the Norse religion homogeneous but rather it too was a conglomerate of related customs and beliefs inherited, borrowed, and/or transferred which led to a wide variety of cultural differences in customs, poetic traditions and myths. Though the Norse religion Sacrifice “blot” held a connecting or commonly distributed role in most of the rituals as well as communal feasting on the sacrificed animals, which usually involving beer or mead shamanistic masked dancers, along with music, and singing. Norse pagan “blot” worship with sacrifice to the Norse gods, the spirits of the land, and maybe even someone’s ancestors and could involve horse sacrifice also found in Indo-European people including the Indian, Celtic and Latin. Ancestors constituted as one of the most ancient and widespread types of deity worshipped in the Nordic region.

Even though the Norse paganism is often portrayed as male centric there was wide use of female goddesses as well as fertility and divination rituals expressed in place-names that shown a connection to the goddess Freyja near place names connected to the god Freyr and the Old Norse term for a priest gothi and the Old Norse term for a priest and gyoja for priestess. Though religious development was common connect them seen in how the petroglyphs and engraved bronze razor knifes of the Bronze Age turn into the runestones of the Viking Age. These motifs were gradually included (around 4,000 to 2,000 years ago) with more zoomorphic glyphs or religious themes primarily depict ships, solar and lunar motifs, geometrical spirals and anthropomorphic beings, which seems to possibly mark the beginning of Norse religion. Religious transfer seems thunderstone discoveries found in Viking burials that held thunderstones up to around 5,000 years older than the graves but also thousands of year old Bronze age thunderstone discoveries were also older than the United Kingdom graves that held them. This valuing of prehistoric stones to Vikings may have connection to or from the legends of Thor, possibly believing that Thor’s thunderstone protected the dead. The name Corded Ware culture refers to its pottery the name Battle/Boat Axe culture, is named from its characteristic grave offering to males, a stone boat-shaped battle axe with similarities to the contemporary Beaker culture, that may have contributed to the pan-European spread of that culture.

The earliest “Maritime” Bell Beaker “drinking vessel” design is likely from Iberia, specifically in Portugal around 4,800 to 4,700 years ago, spreading from there to many parts of western Europe initially as the western equivalent of the Corded Ware culture but from around 4,400 years ago the Bell Beaker culture expanded eastwards over parts of Central and Eastern Europe as far east as Poland where Corded Ware was found, which included Scandinavia but not in the British Isles. Corded Ware culture was not a “unified culture,” but was genetically related to the Yamnaya culture suggesting migrations from the Eurasiatic steppes and encompassed a vast area occupying parts of Northern Europe, Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The around 7,300 years ago Ertebolle culture began to expand along the Baltic coast then shortly thereafter it was replaced by the Funnel(neck)beaker culture around 6,300 to 4,800 years ago, divided into northern, south-central, eastern, and western groups. Some burials included ceramic vessels with food, amber jewelry and flint axes oldest graves consisted of wooden chambers but were later stone passage graves and dolmens. Importantly northern Funnelbeaker culture included northern Germany and southern Scandinavia and the appearance of Megalithic tombs and passage graves (around 5,400 years ago in Denmark). Do to the high Northwest African DNA in Funnelbeaker, there is a good chance that Iberian Megalithic people (which had 6,000-year-old Megalithic passage graves, such as the Seven-Stone Antas in Portugal and Spain with large interlocking stones making a large chamber which could been an early astronomical sky gazing structures long before telescopes) inherited genes from Northwest Africans. Northwest Africans were said to “worshipped rocks/worshiped with rocks” so a megalithic culture may have been part of both a cult of the dead or worship of the heavens/star-worship or maybe a passage/portal/gateway for the dead to travel to the heavens/stars.

Capsian culture Northwest Africans had burial covered with ochre on tools and bodies suggesting both a religious belief in afterlives as well as later early religion being relatively connected to cults of the dead as well as fertility cults, that may have focused on a females, goddess or goddesses. These Capsian peoples where part of a Mesolithic culture with common decorative art including figurative and abstract rock art Ostrich eggshells beads and seashells were used for necklaces of the region of western North Africa, which lasted from about 12,000 to 8,000 years ago, with some sites attested in southern Spain to Sicily. Around 7,000 years ago proto-Berber tribes of North Africa primarily descended from the Iberomaurusian and Capsian North African cultures. There may be influences for the Maritime Bell Beaker precursors in northern Africa possibly the result of sea faring contacts between Iberia and North Africa sometime around 5,000 years ago or older. Today, most Berber people live in North Africa, mainly in Libya, Algeria, and Morocco. The Maghreb region in northwestern Africa is believed to have been inhabited by Berbers ancestors from possibly around 12,000 years ago demonstrated in the presence of cave paintings dated to around 12,000 years ago in the Tassili n’Ajjer region of southern Algeria and yet another rock art expression is found in the Libyan desert.

Then between around 6,000 to 2,000 years ago the society involved domestication and subsistence agriculture, developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean region (the Maghreb) where the ancient tombs which held the dead usually buried in a fetal position that where painted with ochre seems to have been primarily a Capsian style industry where the dead sometimes were buried with ostrich egg shells, jewelry, and weapons. Unlike the majority of mainland Berbers, the Guanches mummified the dead and a Libyan thus Burber mummy is older than any comparable Ancient Egyptian mummies. The cult of the dead seems to have been quite popular among the Berbers and it is reported that the Augilae (Modern Awjila in Libya) considered the spirits of their ancestors to be gods. Ancient Berber tombs, mausoleum of Madghacen seems to indicate that the Berbers and their forebears (the Numidians and Mauretanians) all believed in an afterlife. The prehistoric people of northwest Africa first started by buried bodies in little holes only to later start bury the dead in caves, tumuli, tombs in rocks, mounds, and other types of tombs showing an evilution. These tombs evolved from primitive structures to much more elaborate ones, such as the pyramidal tombs spread throughout Northern Africa. The pyramidal Berber tombs with the great Egyptian pyramids on the basis of the etymological and historical data.

The best known of the Berber pyramids, are the around 60 ft. Numidian pyramid of the Medracen and the around 100 ft. Mauretanian pyramid. In general, polytheistic Africans are thought to in a since worship the rocks or in another since worship with rocks. The megalithic culture may have been part of a cult of the dead or of star-worship and cultural religious transfer was likely between the ancient Egyptians and their neighbors the Berbers. Moreover, it likewise seems possible that some deities were originally worshipped by both the Ancient Egyptians and the Ancient Libyans (Berbers). Egyptian deities worshipped by the ancient Eastern Berbers at least involved Isis and Set. The Egyptians considered some Egyptian deities to have had a Libyan (Berbers) origin, such as Neith who has been considered, by Egyptians, to have emigrated from Libya to establish her temple at Sais in the Nile Delta. Neith/Nit/Net/Neit served as a protector or guardian goddess and was an early Egyptian goddess in the patron deity of Sais “Sa El Hagar” an ancient Egyptian town in the Western Nile Delta dated at least as early as the First Egyptian Dynasty around 5,100 to 5,050 years ago. The Temple of Sais like many ancient Egyptian temples was associated with a medical school and particularly the medical school at Sais had many female students as well as women faculty. An inscription from Sais dated around a similar time roughly reads, “I have studied at the Sais woman’s school where the divine mothers have taught me how to cure diseases.”

Some legends tell that Neith was born around Lake Tritons (in modern Tunisia). Furthermore, some Egyptian deities were depicted with Berber (ancient Libyan) characters such as the goddess Ament which was portrayed with two feathers, the normal ornaments of the Ancient Libyans but were drawn by the Ancient Egyptians. Ammon identified with the Egyptian supreme deity Amun so was also a common deity of the Egyptians as well as the Berbers and possibly one of the greatest ancient Berber gods. Moreover, the Lydian (western Turkey) king Croesus (2,560-2,546 years ago) is seem to have offered sacrifices to the god Ammon thus seemingly the cult had begun to spread outside North Africa spreading to the Greek world at least by around 2,522 to 2,445 years ago the first Greeks to visit the Ammon shrine are seen to have called him the god Zeus Ammon. Berber meaning “barbaric” and the first known reference of the term “barbarian” to describe Numidia. He was honored by the Ancient Greeks in Cyrenaica, and was united with the Phoenician god Baal due to Libyan influence. Early depictions of rams (related possibly to an early form of the cult of this deity) across North Africa have been dated to between around 9,600 to 7,500 years ago. The time at which the most recent common ancestor of the Berber DNA is about 3,700 years ago time that the Green Sahara era.

Saharan rock paintings and engravings, which we now know date back to the African Humid Period, a humid phase across North Africa which peaked between around 9,000 and 6,000 years ago. This would imply a male dominated migration, likely bringing the current Berber languages as well, just before the dawn of the historic era in Egypt and well after the likely ethnogenesis of the Chadic people around 5,700 years ago whose DNA corresponds well with the archaeologically calibrated date of origin of these peoples. Some human remains (some with animal bones: crocodiles, fish, clams, turtles, and hippos) are buried with clay potsherds, beads, and stone tools. Such animal remains suggests a Green Sahara. While it may seem strange today the Sahara about 12,000 years ago became green after being dry for around 70,000 years due to a sway in the Earth’s axis bringing rains to new areas turning the area green thus attracting different animals and eventually people. The 10,000-year-old Gobero site is the oldest known graveyard in the Sahara Desert located in Niger north Western Africa. From around 9,500 to 8,200 years ago and is characterized by a wet climate and the first evidence of Kiffians (with highs as much as 6-foot 8-inches) occupation a hunter-fisher-gatherer group the Kiffians vanished approximately 8,000 years ago, when the desert became very dry for a long while.

Then from 7,200 to 4,200 years ago the second main occupation by the Tenerians. Tenerians were considerably shorter in height had different skeletal configurations, which was less robust than the earlier Kiffians. The Berber “Moors” tribal nomadic and semi-nomadic lifestyle populations of antiquity are known as Numidians and later as Mauri in classical antiquity. These are umbrella terms that would include populations whose self-designation was a variety of tribal names, although Strabo asserts that Mauri was also used indigenously. The Libu of ancient Egyptian sources, eponymous of the name Libya may also have been an early Berber or Proto-Berber population. The tightly bundled burials date to around 9,000 years ago in the middle of the Kiffian era and smaller but evolved “sleeping” skeletons date to around 6,000 years old years ago within the Tenerian period. Unique burials involve a Tenerian woman posed facing two young children with their hands interlaced laid on a bed of flowers and another male buried with a finger in his mouth. Another burial of seeming importance was as elaborate ritualized grave had been interred inside a frame of disarticulated human bones and yet another involved an adult male with partially burnet bones buried with a boar tusk and a crocodile ankle bone with his head resting on a clay pot.

There was ceremonial jewelry offered as part of some grave goods, including a young girl wearing a bracelet made from the hippo tusk and a man buried with the carapace of a turtle. And most interesting is a likely family grave was also found, with a woman and two children buried on their sides, facing each other and with hands entwined. They were buried with four hollow based points, and there was pollen evidence found at the probable family burial, suggesting that flowers decorated the grave. Burber genetics found in West Africans and Tibetans evidence of some back migration from Eurasia and this is generally true for North Africans as well as most Ethiopians and Somolians that tend to have DNA connecting them with West Eurasia.

Most other sub-Saharan Africans have almost no West Eurasian DNA. Beaker-people of Iberia Portugal and Spain seemed to have had some kind of relations with the Atlantic coast of North Africa, with evidence of Beakers found at a few sites in Morocco and there are other forms of pottery such as the lemon-shaped vases found in both Spain and North Africa. Early dates for Bell Beaker phenomenon are found in Portugal and Cerro de la Virgen in Spain around 5,900 to 4,500 although instead of ‘battle-axes’ seen in the similar Swedish-Norwegian Battle Axe culture/Boat Axe culture, the Bell Beaker culture used copper daggers. Speaking of how the Beaker culture tended to use copper a Palmela (Portugal) style tanged dagger that seems to have been a ritual object was as old as 5,500 years ago from North Africa. Moreover, from North Africa other finds involve Palmela points, axes, and awls and a rectangular axe that may be from Spain. Tongue-daggers, Palmela points, axes, and awls where found in burials from Portugal. Palmela points from the Iberian Peninsula and southern France are a common grave good rather than a tool found in structures thus seems to have been ritual objects that are thought to originate during the Bell-Beaker Period and last until the Early Bronze Age.

Funnelbeaker Rock carving from Sotetorp Sweden show a sailing vessel with a dragon/horse head in the bow, holding 13 men and two mythical figures with horned or elk/moose eared helmets as well as holding big axes and matching large phallus’. Similarly, there is evidence of religious meaning in horned helmets found in two horned bronze helmets in Denmark are obviously unfit for fighting and must have been used in religious ceremonies and are believed to be like those seen in many Bronze Age rock carvings as well as are also common in the south of Europe possibly even originating there. From rock carvings of mythical beings with horned helmets and large axes are seen in several petroglyph depictions. Like the ceremonial horned helmets there have been found ceremonial axes are made of thin fragile bronze unfit for fighting and with erect penis which could relate to the god Freyr pictured as a phallic fertility deity and one of the most important gods of Norse religion. The name Freyr derives from the Proto-Norse frawjaz meaning “lord” and is associated with a sacred religious/political kingship.

Moreover, the Funnelbeaker culture maybe a precursor of the Bell-beaker ceramic that would spread across the western half of Europe from around 4,800 years ago. And it was followed by The Swedish-Norwegian Battle Axe culture/Boat Axe culture in the north still using some of the practices from the previous Funnelbeaker culture showing a connectivity of transfer. This connected but evolved is seen in how the Funnelbeaker culture had collective megalithic graves with collective sacrifices, whereas the Battle Axe culture has individual graves with individual sacrifices. The Swedish-Norwegian Battle Axe culture appeared around 4,800 years ago and is known from about 3000 graves from Scania to Uppland and Trondelag. Around 5,000 to 4,350 years ago Corded Ware Culture/the Battle Axe culture/Single Grave culture is associated with the diffusion of Proto-Germanic and Proto-Balto-Slavic speakers and was a blend of cultural elements of the earlier Funnelbeaker culture and with the PIE steppe culture (Yamna). DNA studies of Yamnaya and Corded Ware Culture burials shows that a genetic transformation took place where the DNA from around 12,000 to 6,000 was heavily reduced by the new Yamnaya DNA (Yamnaya culture also known as the Pit Grave culture or Ochre Grave culture dates to around 5,500 to 4,000).

This genetic group seems to show that the first farmers in Central Europe stems from a significant religio-cultural as well as genetic transfer via migration, beginning in Turkey and the Near East; where farming originated and only after is seen in Germany around 7500 years ago. Around 4,800 years ago involved a time of changes in Jutland and areas east of Denmark when the Single Grave Culture’s neighbor to the east was called the Battle Axe Culture/Boat(shaped)Axe Culture and are thought to have spoken Proto-Indo-European with burials generally date between 4,800–4,200 years ago found in central, northern, and Eastern Europe. Similar cultural discussion may be involved as the Single Grave Culture in Denmark, Holland and North Germany, the Battle Axe Culture of Sweden, Norway and Finland, and the Fatjanovo Culture in Russia expressed in a wide geographic distribution of similar cultural sharing/adapting. This new Yamnaya/Yamna Pit-Ochre Grave culture’s genetic presence provided much of the genetic material for contemporary European populations. About 5,000 years ago Saqqaq culture Paleo-Eskimo Paleo-Eskimo wave of migration from Siberia into the Arctic region that occurred producing “Saqqaq man,” settlement in eastern Greenland about 4,000 years ago. Interestingly enough, both Saqqaq Paleo-Eskimo and modern-day Eskimo’s each have DNA linking them to eastern Siberia but with differing genetic lineages. Saqqaq Paleo-Eskimo Siberian Far East genetic lineages connecting to the Nganasans, the Chukchis, and closest to the Koryaks as well as Aleuts (a native people of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska).

There is commonly some amount of religious localization differences after connected original religious transfer. Seen in how new religious uses are applied to difference practices, such as how the Aleuts have a style of expressing their animism/totemistic/shaminism tattoos and piercings, believing body art attributed spiritual authority and could please the animal spirits or fend off evil. Similarly, believing body piercing placing nose, mouth, and ears could fend off evil spirits (khoughkh) entering through the nose, mouth, and ears. Body art also enhanced their beauty, social status, and spiritual authority. The Koryaks who are indigenous people of the Russian Far East, north of the Kamchatka Peninsula in coastlands of the Bering Sea. The Koryaks practice animism/shamanism centralizing on Quikil (Big-Raven/supernatural shaman), that is believed to have been the first man and protector of the Koryak. Similar big raven myths are also found on Haida indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. occupied Haida Gwaii British Columbia, Canada since at least the 12,500 years ago, possibly as much as over 17,000 years. Among the Tlingit, Tsimshian, and other Alaskan natives and Northwest Coast Amerindians and the Aleuts and different from contemporary Eskimos DNA did not resemble the present-day Eskimos or the Na-Dene population, ancestors of most Native Americans. and was independent of both the Native American and Inuit expansions into the Americas. Saqqaq man’s closest living relatives were the Chukchis, people who live at the easternmost tip of Siberia. Moreover, Saqqaq man’s ancestors split apart from Chukchi or Chukchee people of Russia some 5,500 years ago. It should be understood, that religion as well as its love of gods, must be seem for what they are, which beyond their pomp and circumstance are exposed as little more than indoctrinated cultural products, the conspiracy theories of reality no one should believe today in our world of science. Simply, religion and its gods are the leftovers of an ignorant age trying to explain and control a fearful world which seems now favored by the uninformed, misinformed, emotional/physical/social support seekers and conmen.

References:

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Animism: Respecting the Living World by Graham Harvey 

“How have human cultures engaged with and thought about animals, plants, rocks, clouds, and other elements in their natural surroundings? Do animals and other natural objects have a spirit or soul? What is their relationship to humans? In this new study, Graham Harvey explores current and past animistic beliefs and practices of Native Americans, Maori, Aboriginal Australians, and eco-pagans. He considers the varieties of animism found in these cultures as well as their shared desire to live respectfully within larger natural communities. Drawing on his extensive casework, Harvey also considers the linguistic, performative, ecological, and activist implications of these different animisms.” ref

My thoughts on Religion Evolution with external links for more info:

“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 talks about fires because they burn people and they care to stop them. We atheists too often feel a need to help the victims of mental slavery, held in the bondage that is the false beliefs of gods and the conspiracy theories of reality found in religions.

“Understanding Religion Evolution: Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, Paganism & Progressed organized religion”

Understanding Religion Evolution:

“An Archaeological/Anthropological Understanding of Religion Evolution”

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.

 

Quick Evolution of Religion?

Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago) pre-religion is a beginning that evolves into later Animism. So, Religion as we think of it, to me, all starts in a general way with Animism (Africa: 100,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in supernatural powers/spirits), then this is physically expressed in or with Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago) (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 (Siberia/Russia: 30,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in access and influence with spirits through ritual), and then there is the further employment of myths and gods added to all the above giving you Paganism (Turkey: 12,000 years ago) (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). Progressed organized religion (Egypt: 5,000 years ago)  with CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago).

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.

I wish people fought as hard for the actual values as they fight for the group/clan names political or otherwise they think support values. Every amount spent on war is theft to children in need of food or the homeless kept from shelter.

Here are several of my blog posts on history:

I am not an academic. I am a revolutionary that teaches in public, in places like social media, and in the streets. I am not a leader by some title given but from my commanding leadership style of simply to start teaching everywhere to everyone, all manner of positive education. 

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref 

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Low Gods “Earth” or Tutelary deity and High Gods “Sky” or Supreme deity

“An Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth. Earth goddesses are often associated with the “chthonic” deities of the underworldKi and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corresponding to Roman Terra, Indic Prithvi/Bhūmi, etc. traced to an “Earth Mother” complementary to the “Sky Father” in Proto-Indo-European religionEgyptian mythology exceptionally has a sky goddess and an Earth god.” ref

“A mother goddess is a goddess who represents or is a personification of naturemotherhoodfertilitycreationdestruction or who embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. In some religious traditions or movements, Heavenly Mother (also referred to as Mother in Heaven or Sky Mother) is the wife or feminine counterpart of the Sky father or God the Father.” ref

Any masculine sky god is often also king of the gods, taking the position of patriarch within a pantheon. Such king gods are collectively categorized as “sky father” deities, with a polarity between sky and earth often being expressed by pairing a “sky father” god with an “earth mother” goddess (pairings of a sky mother with an earth father are less frequent). A main sky goddess is often the queen of the gods and may be an air/sky goddess in her own right, though she usually has other functions as well with “sky” not being her main. In antiquity, several sky goddesses in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Near East were called Queen of Heaven. Neopagans often apply it with impunity to sky goddesses from other regions who were never associated with the term historically. The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky.” ref

“In comparative mythology, sky father is a term for a recurring concept in polytheistic religions of a sky god who is addressed as a “father”, often the father of a pantheon and is often either a reigning or former King of the Gods. The concept of “sky father” may also be taken to include Sun gods with similar characteristics, such as Ra. The concept is complementary to an “earth mother“. “Sky Father” is a direct translation of the Vedic Dyaus Pita, etymologically descended from the same Proto-Indo-European deity name as the Greek Zeûs Pater and Roman Jupiter and Germanic Týr, Tir or Tiwaz, all of which are reflexes of the same Proto-Indo-European deity’s name, *Dyēus Ph₂tḗr. While there are numerous parallels adduced from outside of Indo-European mythology, there are exceptions (e.g. In Egyptian mythology, Nut is the sky mother and Geb is the earth father).” ref

Tutelary deity

“A tutelary (also tutelar) is a deity or spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of “tutelary” expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the genius, functions as the personal deity or daimon of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) iKorean shamanismjangseung and sotdae were placed at the edge of villages to frighten off demons. They were also worshiped as deities. Seonangshin is the patron deity of the village in Korean tradition and was believed to embody the SeonangdangIn Philippine animism, Diwata or Lambana are deities or spirits that inhabit sacred places like mountains and mounds and serve as guardians. Such as: Maria Makiling is the deity who guards Mt. Makiling and Maria Cacao and Maria Sinukuan. In Shinto, the spirits, or kami, which give life to human bodies come from nature and return to it after death. Ancestors are therefore themselves tutelaries to be worshiped. And similarly, Native American beliefs such as Tonás, tutelary animal spirit among the Zapotec and Totems, familial or clan spirits among the Ojibwe, can be animals.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Austronesian beliefs such as: Atua (gods and spirits of the Polynesian peoples such as the Māori or the Hawaiians), Hanitu (Bunun of Taiwan‘s term for spirit), Hyang (KawiSundaneseJavanese, and Balinese Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology and this spiritual entity, can be either divine or ancestral), Kaitiaki (New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land), Kawas (mythology) (divided into 6 groups: gods, ancestors, souls of the living, spirits of living things, spirits of lifeless objects, and ghosts), Tiki (Māori mythologyTiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne and represents deified ancestors found in most Polynesian cultures). ” ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref

Mesopotamian Tutelary Deities can be seen as ones related to City-States 

“Historical city-states included Sumerian cities such as Uruk and UrAncient Egyptian city-states, such as Thebes and Memphis; the Phoenician cities (such as Tyre and Sidon); the five Philistine city-states; the Berber city-states of the Garamantes; the city-states of ancient Greece (the poleis such as AthensSpartaThebes, and Corinth); the Roman Republic (which grew from a city-state into a vast empire); the Italian city-states from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, such as FlorenceSienaFerraraMilan (which as they grew in power began to dominate neighboring cities) and Genoa and Venice, which became powerful thalassocracies; the Mayan and other cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (including cities such as Chichen ItzaTikalCopán and Monte Albán); the central Asian cities along the Silk Road; the city-states of the Swahili coastRagusa; states of the medieval Russian lands such as Novgorod and Pskov; and many others.” ref

“The Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BCE; also known as Protoliterate period) of Mesopotamia, named after the Sumerian city of Uruk, this period saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia and the Sumerian civilization. City-States like Uruk and others had a patron tutelary City Deity along with a Priest-King.” ref

Chinese folk religion, both past, and present, includes myriad tutelary deities. Exceptional individuals, highly cultivated sages, and prominent ancestors can be deified and honored after death. Lord Guan is the patron of military personnel and police, while Mazu is the patron of fishermen and sailors. Such as Tu Di Gong (Earth Deity) is the tutelary deity of a locality, and each individual locality has its own Earth Deity and Cheng Huang Gong (City God) is the guardian deity of an individual city, worshipped by local officials and locals since imperial times.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Hinduism, personal tutelary deities are known as ishta-devata, while family tutelary deities are known as Kuladevata. Gramadevata are guardian deities of villages. Devas can also be seen as tutelary. Shiva is the patron of yogis and renunciants. City goddesses include: Mumbadevi (Mumbai), Sachchika (Osian); Kuladevis include: Ambika (Porwad), and Mahalakshmi. In NorthEast India Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism) of Manipur, there are various types of tutelary deities, among which Lam Lais are the most predominant ones. Tibetan Buddhism has Yidam as a tutelary deity. Dakini is the patron of those who seek knowledge.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or daimonion:

You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign which comes to me … . This sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice which comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything, and this is what stands in the way of my being a politician.” ref

“Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperial cult. An emperor might also adopt a major deity as his personal patron or tutelary, as Augustus did Apollo. Precedents for claiming the personal protection of a deity were established in the Republican era, when for instance the Roman dictator Sulla advertised the goddess Victory as his tutelary by holding public games (ludi) in her honor.” ref

“Each town or city had one or more tutelary deities, whose protection was considered particularly vital in time of war and siege. Rome itself was protected by a goddess whose name was to be kept ritually secret on pain of death (for a supposed case, see Quintus Valerius Soranus). The Capitoline Triad of Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva were also tutelaries of Rome. The Italic towns had their own tutelary deities. Juno often had this function, as at the Latin town of Lanuvium and the Etruscan city of Veii, and was often housed in an especially grand temple on the arx (citadel) or other prominent or central location. The tutelary deity of Praeneste was Fortuna, whose oracle was renowned.” ref

“The Roman ritual of evocatio was premised on the belief that a town could be made vulnerable to military defeat if the power of its tutelary deity were diverted outside the city, perhaps by the offer of superior cult at Rome. The depiction of some goddesses such as the Magna Mater (Great Mother, or Cybele) as “tower-crowned” represents their capacity to preserve the city. A town in the provinces might adopt a deity from within the Roman religious sphere to serve as its guardian, or syncretize its own tutelary with such; for instance, a community within the civitas of the Remi in Gaul adopted Apollo as its tutelary, and at the capital of the Remi (present-day Rheims), the tutelary was Mars Camulus.” ref 

Household deity (a kind of or related to a Tutelary deity)

“A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit into two types; firstly, a specific deity – typically a goddess – often referred to as a hearth goddess or domestic goddess who is associated with the home and hearth, such as the ancient Greek Hestia.” ref

“The second type of household deities are those that are not one singular deity, but a type, or species of animistic deity, who usually have lesser powers than major deities. This type was common in the religions of antiquity, such as the Lares of ancient Roman religion, the Gashin of Korean shamanism, and Cofgodas of Anglo-Saxon paganism. These survived Christianisation as fairy-like creatures existing in folklore, such as the Anglo-Scottish Brownie and Slavic Domovoy.” ref

“Household deities were usually worshipped not in temples but in the home, where they would be represented by small idols (such as the teraphim of the Bible, often translated as “household gods” in Genesis 31:19 for example), amulets, paintings, or reliefs. They could also be found on domestic objects, such as cosmetic articles in the case of Tawaret. The more prosperous houses might have a small shrine to the household god(s); the lararium served this purpose in the case of the Romans. The gods would be treated as members of the family and invited to join in meals, or be given offerings of food and drink.” ref

“In many religions, both ancient and modern, a god would preside over the home. Certain species, or types, of household deities, existed. An example of this was the Roman Lares. Many European cultures retained house spirits into the modern period. Some examples of these include:

“Although the cosmic status of household deities was not as lofty as that of the Twelve Olympians or the Aesir, they were also jealous of their dignity and also had to be appeased with shrines and offerings, however humble. Because of their immediacy they had arguably more influence on the day-to-day affairs of men than the remote gods did. Vestiges of their worship persisted long after Christianity and other major religions extirpated nearly every trace of the major pagan pantheons. Elements of the practice can be seen even today, with Christian accretions, where statues to various saints (such as St. Francis) protect gardens and grottos. Even the gargoyles found on older churches, could be viewed as guardians partitioning a sacred space.” ref

“For centuries, Christianity fought a mop-up war against these lingering minor pagan deities, but they proved tenacious. For example, Martin Luther‘s Tischreden have numerous – quite serious – references to dealing with kobolds. Eventually, rationalism and the Industrial Revolution threatened to erase most of these minor deities, until the advent of romantic nationalism rehabilitated them and embellished them into objects of literary curiosity in the 19th century. Since the 20th century this literature has been mined for characters for role-playing games, video games, and other fantasy personae, not infrequently invested with invented traits and hierarchies somewhat different from their mythological and folkloric roots.” ref

“In contradistinction to both Herbert Spencer and Edward Burnett Tylor, who defended theories of animistic origins of ancestor worship, Émile Durkheim saw its origin in totemism. In reality, this distinction is somewhat academic, since totemism may be regarded as a particularized manifestation of animism, and something of a synthesis of the two positions was attempted by Sigmund Freud. In Freud’s Totem and Taboo, both totem and taboo are outward expressions or manifestations of the same psychological tendency, a concept which is complementary to, or which rather reconciles, the apparent conflict. Freud preferred to emphasize the psychoanalytic implications of the reification of metaphysical forces, but with particular emphasis on its familial nature. This emphasis underscores, rather than weakens, the ancestral component.” ref

William Edward Hearn, a noted classicist, and jurist, traced the origin of domestic deities from the earliest stages as an expression of animism, a belief system thought to have existed also in the neolithic, and the forerunner of Indo-European religion. In his analysis of the Indo-European household, in Chapter II “The House Spirit”, Section 1, he states:

The belief which guided the conduct of our forefathers was … the spirit rule of dead ancestors.” ref

“In Section 2 he proceeds to elaborate:

It is thus certain that the worship of deceased ancestors is a vera causa, and not a mere hypothesis. …

In the other European nations, the Slavs, the Teutons, and the Kelts, the House Spirit appears with no less distinctness. … [T]he existence of that worship does not admit of doubt. … The House Spirits had a multitude of other names which it is needless here to enumerate, but all of which are more or less expressive of their friendly relations with man. … In [England] … [h]e is the Brownie. … In Scotland this same Brownie is well known. He is usually described as attached to particular families, with whom he has been known to reside for centuries, threshing the corn, cleaning the house, and performing similar household tasks. His favorite gratification was milk and honey.” ref

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ref, ref

Hinduism around 3,700 to 3,500 years old. ref

 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 Khirbet Qeiyafa is the site of an ancient fortress city overlooking the Elah Valley. And many believe the religious Jewish texts were completed around 2,500) ref, ref

Judaism is around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (“Paleo-Hebrew” 3,000 years ago and Torah 2,500 years ago)

“Judaism is an Abrahamic, its roots as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Some scholars argue that modern Judaism evolved from Yahwism, the religion of ancient Israel and Judah, by the late 6th century BCE, and is thus considered to be one of the oldest monotheistic religions.” ref

“Yahwism is the name given by modern scholars to the religion of ancient Israel, essentially polytheistic, with a plethora of gods and goddesses. Heading the pantheon was Yahweh, the national god of the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah, with his consort, the goddess Asherah; below them were second-tier gods and goddesses such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte, all of whom had their own priests and prophets and numbered royalty among their devotees, and a third and fourth tier of minor divine beings, including the mal’ak, the messengers of the higher gods, who in later times became the angels of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Yahweh, however, was not the ‘original’ god of Israel “Isra-El”; it is El, the head of the Canaanite pantheon, whose name forms the basis of the name “Israel”, and none of the Old Testament patriarchs, the tribes of Israel, the Judges, or the earliest monarchs, have a Yahwistic theophoric name (i.e., one incorporating the name of Yahweh).” ref

“El is a Northwest Semitic word meaning “god” or “deity“, or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ‘ila, represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-, meaning “god”. Specific deities known as ‘El or ‘Il include the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Mesopotamia’s Early Dynastic Period. ʼĒl is listed at the head of many pantheons. In some Canaanite and Ugaritic sources, ʼĒl played a role as father of the gods, of creation, or both. For example, in the Ugaritic texts, ʾil mlk is understood to mean “ʼĒl the King” but ʾil hd as “the god Hadad“. The Semitic root ʾlh (Arabic ʾilāh, Aramaic ʾAlāh, ʾElāh, Hebrew ʾelōah) may be ʾl with a parasitic h, and ʾl may be an abbreviated form of ʾlh. In Ugaritic the plural form meaning “gods” is ʾilhm, equivalent to Hebrew ʾelōhîm “powers”. In the Hebrew texts this word is interpreted as being semantically singular for “god” by biblical commentators. However the documentary hypothesis for the Old Testament (corresponds to the Jewish Torah) developed originally in the 1870s, identifies these that different authors – the Jahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and the Priestly source – were responsible for editing stories from a polytheistic religion into those of a monotheistic religion. Inconsistencies that arise between monotheism and polytheism in the texts are reflective of this hypothesis.” ref

 

Jainism around 2,599 – 2,527 years old. ref

Confucianism around 2,600 – 2,551 years old. ref

Buddhism around 2,563/2,480 – 2,483/2,400 years old. ref

Christianity around 2,o00 years old. ref

Shinto around 1,305 years old. ref

Islam around 1407–1385 years old. ref

Sikhism around 548–478 years old. ref

Bahá’í around 200–125 years old. ref

Knowledge to Ponder: 

Stars/Astrology:

  • 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.

“Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Different cultures have employed forms of astrology since at least the 2nd millennium BCE, these practices having originated in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Most, if not all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky, and some—such as the HindusChinese, and the Maya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCE Mesopotamia, from where it spread to Ancient GreeceRome, the Islamicate world and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person’s personality and predict significant events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems.” ref 

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 Logics is 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

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.

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 were completed

Myths: 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.

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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, a Greek philosopher 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.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

While hallucinogens are associated with shamanism, it is alcohol that is associated with paganism.

The Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries Shows in the prehistory series:

Show one: Prehistory: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” the division of labor, power, rights, and recourses.

Show two: Pre-animism 300,000 years old and animism 100,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”

Show tree: Totemism 50,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”

Show four: Shamanism 30,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”

Show five: Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”

Show six: Emergence of hierarchy, sexism, slavery, and the new male god dominance: Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves!

Show seven: Paganism 5,000 years old: progressed organized religion and the state: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Kings and the Rise of the State)

Show eight: Paganism 4,000 years old: Moralistic gods after the rise of Statism and often support Statism/Kings: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism)

Prehistory: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” the division of labor, power, rights, and recourses: VIDEO

Pre-animism 300,000 years old and animism 100,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO

Totemism 50,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO

Shamanism 30,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO

Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Pre-Capitalism): VIDEO

Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves: VIEDO

Paganism 5,000 years old: progressed organized religion and the state: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Kings and the Rise of the State): VIEDO

Paganism 4,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism): VIEDO

I do not hate simply because I challenge and expose myths or lies any more than others being thought of as loving simply because of the protection and hiding from challenge their favored myths or lies.

The truth is best championed in the sunlight of challenge.

An archaeologist once said to me “Damien religion and culture are very different”

My response, So are you saying that was always that way, such as would you say Native Americans’ cultures are separate from their religions? And do you think it always was the way you believe?

I had said that religion was a cultural product. That is still how I see it and there are other archaeologists that think close to me as well. Gods too are the myths of cultures that did not understand science or the world around them, seeing magic/supernatural everywhere.

I personally think there is a goddess and not enough evidence to support a male god at Çatalhöyük but if there was both a male and female god and goddess then I know the kind of gods they were like Proto-Indo-European mythology.

This series idea was addressed in, Anarchist Teaching as Free Public Education or Free Education in the Public: VIDEO

Our 12 video series: Organized Oppression: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of power (9,000-4,000 years ago), is adapted from: The Complete and Concise History of the Sumerians and Early Bronze Age Mesopotamia (7000-2000 BC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szFjxmY7jQA by “History with Cy

Show #1: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Samarra, Halaf, Ubaid)

Show #2: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Eridu “Tell Abu Shahrain”)

Show #3: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Uruk and the First Cities)

Show #4: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (First Kings)

Show #5: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Early Dynastic Period)

Show #6: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (King/Ruler Lugalzagesi)

Show #7: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Sargon and Akkadian Rule)

Show #8: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Naram-Sin, Post-Akkadian Rule, and the Gutians)

Show #9: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Gudea of Lagash and Utu-hegal)

Show #10: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Third Dynasty of Ur / Neo-Sumerian Empire)

Show #11: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Amorites, Elamites, and the End of an Era)

Show #12: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Aftermath and Legacy of Sumer)

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The “Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries”

Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ Atheist Leftist @Skepticallefty & I (Damien Marie AtHope) @AthopeMarie (my YouTube & related blog) are working jointly in atheist, antitheist, antireligionist, antifascist, anarchist, socialist, and humanist endeavors in our videos together, generally, every other Saturday.

Why Does Power Bring Responsibility?

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 reach its height of empathy? I as everyone, earns our justified respect by our actions, that are good, ethical, just, protecting, and kind. Do I have enough self-respect to put my love for humanity’s flushing, over being brought down by some of its bad actors? May we all be the ones doing good actions in the world, to help human flourishing.

I create the world I want to live in, striving for flourishing. Which is not a place but a positive potential involvement and promotion; a life of humanist goal precision. To master oneself, also means mastering positive prosocial behaviors needed for human flourishing. 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.

Cory and I will talk about prehistory and theism, addressing the relevance to atheism, anarchism, and socialism.

At the same time as the rise of the male god, 7,000 years ago, there was also the very time there was the rise of violence, war, and clans to kingdoms, then empires, then states. It is all connected back to 7,000 years ago, and it moved across the world.

Cory Johnston: https://damienmarieathope.com/2021/04/cory-johnston-mind-of-a-skeptical-leftist/?v=32aec8db952d  

The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist (YouTube)

Cory Johnston: Mind of a Skeptical Leftist @Skepticallefty

The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist By Cory Johnston: “Promoting critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics by covering current events and talking to a variety of people. Cory Johnston has been thoughtfully talking to people and attempting to promote critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics.” http://anchor.fm/skepticalleft

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Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ @Skepticallefty Evidence-based atheist leftist (he/him) Producer, host, and co-host of 4 podcasts @skeptarchy @skpoliticspod and @AthopeMarie

Damien Marie AtHope (“At Hope”) Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist. Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Poet, Philosopher, Advocate, Activist, Psychology, and Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Historian.

Damien is interested in: Freedom, Liberty, Justice, Equality, Ethics, Humanism, Science, Atheism, Antiteism, Antireligionism, Ignosticism, Left-Libertarianism, Anarchism, Socialism, Mutualism, Axiology, Metaphysics, LGBTQI, Philosophy, Advocacy, Activism, Mental Health, Psychology, Archaeology, Social Work, Sexual Rights, Marriage Rights, Woman’s Rights, Gender Rights, Child Rights, Secular Rights, Race Equality, Ageism/Disability Equality, Etc. And a far-leftist, “Anarcho-Humanist.”

I am not a good fit in the atheist movement that is mostly pro-capitalist, I am anti-capitalist. Mostly pro-skeptic, I am a rationalist not valuing skepticism. Mostly pro-agnostic, I am anti-agnostic. Mostly limited to anti-Abrahamic religions, I am an anti-religionist. 

To me, the “male god” seems to have either emerged or become prominent around 7,000 years ago, whereas the now favored monotheism “male god” is more like 4,000 years ago or so. To me, the “female goddess” seems to have either emerged or become prominent around 11,000-10,000 years ago or so, losing the majority of its once prominence around 2,000 years ago due largely to the now favored monotheism “male god” that grow in prominence after 4,000 years ago or so. 

My Thought on the Evolution of Gods?

Animal protector deities from old totems/spirit animal beliefs come first to me, 13,000/12,000 years ago, then women as deities 11,000/10,000 years ago, then male gods around 7,000/8,000 years ago. Moralistic gods around 5,000/4,000 years ago, and monotheistic gods around 4,000/3,000 years ago. 

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope (Said as “At” “Hope”)/(Autodidact Polymath but not good at math):

Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist, Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Jeweler, Poet, “autodidact” Philosopher, schooled in Psychology, and “autodidact” Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Pre-Historian (Knowledgeable in the range of: 1 million to 5,000/4,000 years ago). I am an anarchist socialist politically. Reasons for or Types of Atheism

My Website, My Blog, & Short-writing or QuotesMy YouTube, Twitter: @AthopeMarie, and My Email: damien.marie.athope@gmail.com

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