My Speech on the Evolution of Religion & Religious Sexism

Around 500,000 – 233,000 years ago, Oldest Anthropomorphic art (Pre-animism) is Related to Female

The Berekhat Ram (anthropomorphic Repersinitive art is related to female) sculpture, has a groove around the neck and on the sides which have been shown to be deliberate modifications absent from other scoria found in the area. The archaeologist Alexander Marshak examined the pebble using an electron microscope. He concluded that it had been made, or enhanced, by hominid hand, the hominins who found and worked on their respective pieces would have been unaware of their future significance.

The Venus of Berekhat Ram is a pebble found at Berekhat Ram on the Golan Heights, Israel. The base object is an anthropomorphic red tufic pebble, 35 mm (1.4 in) long, which has had at least three grooves, possibly incised on it by a sharp-edged stone. One is a deep groove that encircles the narrower, more rounded end of the pebble, two shallower, curved grooves run down the sides. These grooves can be interpreted as marking the neck and arms of a figure. Because it was found between two layers of ash, it has been dated by tephrochronology to at least 230,000 years before the present but is at a range of 500,000 – 233,000 Years Ago. Moreover, lf the artifact was intended to replicate a female figure, it would be the earliest example of representational art in the archaeological record. Rather than being made by modern humans, it would have been made by Neanderthals or perhaps by Homo erectus, hunter-gatherers and Acheulean tool users.

There is some other evidence of an aesthetic sensibility during the period although compelling examples do not appear in the archaeological record until the emergence of behaviorally modern humans around 50,000 years ago. The venus of Berekhat Ram is a red stone figure with symbolic intent and possibly intended to represent an anthropomorphic female figure. The surface is a bright high red with a large hole lined with black volcanic glass is at the approximate position of a ‘navel.’ Venus figurines are often found in different elements or mediums from limestone, serpentine, ivory, clay, and bone ash and are dispersed from western Europe to Siberia.

These figurines are often faceless with downturned heads, large breasts, buttocks (many-extreme fat), some possibly pregnant, several stuck into the ground, and found near cave walls or in hearths. So what are the possible explanations of Venus figurines? They could be some kind of good luck charms (evidence of polish), symbols of fertility, cult objects, art, Paleolithic porn, or representations of women by women or men (some look like modern pregnant bodies and some very skinny) but overall there may be no one reason. These figurines may have been created for several different reasons depending on time, place, and people but we just do not know. Though calling them all goddesses or venus is at least misleading if not outright uncalled for because of mythologizing motivated by current projections and this is true even if a few were seen as some kind of goddesses.

However, the venus of Berekhat Ram even if just anthropomorphic art (i.e. ascribing human form or attributes to a thing not human) could be seen as possibly the earliest known archaeological manifestations of any kind of elements that later become more defined religious belief systems. This is reasonable because anthropomorphic character design in art is a symbolic use of design to portray personality and thus, natural objects resembling the human body (or parts of it) which have received minor amounts of intentional modification in order to bring out the similarity further for the desired purpose. One could possibly even surmise that for some, there may have been a character that can play a possible part in telling stories.

Thus, anthropomorphic art, such as Venus figurines, may connect or be a larger growing fantasy of symbolism, superstitions, and supernaturalism thus to socio-cultural-religious transformations or evolution. Although one cannot at present rule out a purely fortuitous association with the venus of Berekhat Ram and the piece can hardly be described as artistic, the possibility remains that it can be placed in the figures category as unambiguous indicators of early symbolism, let alone ritual, and we should not write it off as casual ‘lithic art’. Instead, the appearance of precocious lithic technologies such as end-scrapers and stone chisels at Berekhat Ram, symbolism (and by extension perhaps ritual) drifted in and out of use over evolutionary time. Ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref

Read more in the Art of the Ice Age section: Link

40,000 years ago “first seeming use of a Totem” ancestor, animal, and possible pre-goddess worship?

40,000 – 35,000 years ago “first seeming use of a Totem” ancestor and possible pre-goddess worship? There is, to me, evidence of possible ‘ancestor and possible pre-goddess worship’ at Hohles Fels cave Site, such as a small bird figurine around 33,000 years old is one of three carvings important as well as relatable to later times, which had been cited as evidence of shamanism, the belief that spirits can be influenced by priests known as shamans. A female fertility figurine ( pre-goddess Venus of Hohle Fels), a bird in addition to bird-bone flute— from a griffon vulture wing dated to around 35,000 years ago as well as around 40,000 years old mammoth-ivory flutes and the 40,000 years old the Lion man of the Hohlenstein Stadel. as well as “first seeming use of a Totem” as the female fertility figurine may have been worn as an amulet, along with seeming ancestor, animal, and possible pre-goddess worship. (the oldest known wooden sculpture Shigir Idol “totem pole” 17 feet high and approximately 11,500 years old and the Shigir Idol’s decoration has been thought by scholars to be similar to that of the oldest known monumental stone ruins, at Gobekli Tepe in Turkey.) ref

31,000 – 20,000 years ago Oldest Shaman was Female, Buried with the Oldest Portrait Carving

31,000 – 20,000 years ago, Oldest Shaman was Female (Dolni Vestonice, Czech Republic) Buried with the Oldest Portrait Carving. Dolní Věstonice (often without diacritics as Dolni Vestonice) refers to an Upper Paleolithic archaeological site near the village of Dolní Věstonice, Moravia in the Czech Republic. The site is unique in that it has been a particularly abundant source of prehistoric artifacts (especially art) dating from the Gravettian period, which spanned roughly 27,000 to 20,000 B.C. In addition to the abundance of art, this site also includes carved representations of men, women, and animals, along with personal ornaments, human burials, and enigmatic engravings. ref 

One of the burials, located near the huts, revealed a human female skeleton aged to 40+ years old, was found at Dolni Vestonice in an elaborate burial setting, ritualistically placed beneath a pair of mammoth scapulae, one leaning against the other. Also found was a carved ivory figure in the shape of a female head. The left side of the figure’s face was distorted. These and other items were found with the woman seemed to have had a profound impact on the interpretation of the social hierarchy of the people at the site, as well as indicating an increased lifespan for these inhabitants. The remains were covered in red ochre, a compound known to have religious significance, indicating that this woman’s burial was ceremonial in nature. Also, the inclusion of a mammoth scapula and a fox may indicative of what could be shamanistic ritual and/or a high-status burial. Surprisingly, the left side of the skull was disfigured in the same manner as the aforementioned carved ivory figure, indicating that the figure was an intentional depiction of this specific individual.

The bones and the earth surrounding the body contained traces of red ocher, a flint spearhead had been placed near the skull, and one hand holding the body of a fox. This evidence suggests that this was the burial site of a shaman. This is the oldest site not only of ceramic figurines and artistic portraiture but also of evidence of female shamans. In the Upper Paleolithic, anatomically modern humans began living longer, often reaching middle age, by today’s standards. Rachel Caspari argues in “Human Origins: the Evolution of Grandparents,” that life expectancy increased during the Upper Paleolithic in Europe (Caspari 2011). She also describes why elderly people were highly influential in society. Grandparents assisted in childcare, perpetuated cultural transmission, and contributed to the increased complexity of stone tools (Caspari 2011).

The woman found at Dolni Vestonice was old enough to have been a grandparent. Although human lifespans were increasing, elderly individuals in Upper Paleolithic societies were still relatively rare. Because of this, it is possible that the woman was attributed with great importance and wisdom, and revered because of her age. Because of her advanced age, it is also possible she had a decreased ability to care for herself, instead of relying on her family group to care for her, which indicates strong social connections. Furthermore, a female figurine was found at the site and is believed to be associated with the aged woman, because of remarkably similar facial characteristics. The woman was found to have deformities on the left side of her face.

The special importance accorded with her burial, in addition to her facial deformity, makes it possible that she was a shaman in this time period, where it was “not uncommon that people with disabilities, either mental or physical, are thought to have unusual supernatural powers” (Pringle 2010). In 1981, Patricia Rice studied a multitude of female clay figurines found at Dolni Vestonice, believed to represent fertility in this society. She challenged this assumption by analyzing all the figurines and found that, “it is womanhood, rather than motherhood that is symbolically recognized or honored” (Rice 1981: 402). This discovery challenged the widely held assumption that all prehistoric female figurines were created to honor fertility. The fact is that we have no idea why these figurines proliferated nor of their purpose or usage. ref

• Early Shamanism around 30,000 to 20,000 years ago: Sungar (Russia) and Dolni Vestonice (Czech Republic)
• Shamanism: an approximately 30,000-year-old belief system
• Black, White, and Yellow Shamanism?
• Similarity in Shamanism?
• Sky Burials: Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, and Paganism
• ‘Sky Burial’ theory and its possible origins at least 12,000 years ago to likely 30,000 years ago or older.
• Paganism: an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system
• 12,000 – 10,000 years old Shamanistic Art in a Remote Cave in Egypt
• 12,000 – 7,000 Years Ago – Paleo-Indian Culture (The Americas)
• 12,000 – 2,000 Years Ago – Indigenous-Scandinavians (Nordic)
• Horned female shamans and Pre-satanism Devil/horned-god Worship? at least 10,000 years ago
• Shamanistic rock art from central Aboriginal Siberians and Aboriginal drums in the Americas
• 9,000-8,500 year old Female shaman Bad Dürrenberg Germany

Where did the god come from? Well, to me, it likely connects to the area of the Altai Mountains, a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan the heart of ancient shamanism. 

“Shamans and Symbols”

The Shaman is a kind of a priest or medium who acts as a conduit between the human world and the realm of the gods, demons, and spirits of ancestors. The experience of death and rebirth is the most important condition for obtaining the power of shamanizing: only after this experience does a shaman reach the level at which his spirit-assistant sees fit to appear to him. in Siberian and Mongolian “petroglyphic art” there are some examples to support a thesis that these anthropomorphic figures may represent shamans and, since in Siberia the local shamanic folklore was continuous, have several types of symbols referencing the sun, skeletonized humans, horned figures may represent the proto-shamans.

As signs, these anthropomorphic figures may represent an important, non-ordinary member of the community.considers the question of the antiquity of shamanism in Central Asia and outlines several lines of inquiry into the issue. It analyses both linguistic and archaeological data with particular emphasis on ancient rock art. In the sphere of rock art studies, it focuses on methodological questions connected with identifying shamanism in visual arts. Historical records from different times and parts of Asia clearly show that shamanism is an archaic belief system of Asian peoples.

Although shamanic beliefs and practices have been documented in different parts of Asia, many studies still consider Siberia to be the land of their most classic forms. Furthermore, there is no single word for shaman across Siberia and Central Asia. Almost every culture has its own name for this spiritual practitioner, and even in a single language group the names for shaman differ regionally. And, research concludes that most convincing traits of shamanic symbolism, which characterizes Central Asian tradition, can be deciphered in the art dated to four thousand years. ref, ref

To understand fully read thess: 

• Kurgan 6,000 years ago/dolmens 7,000 years ago: funeral, ritual, and other?
• Ziggurats (multi-platform temples: 4,900 years old) to Pyramids (multi-platform tombs: 4,700 years old) 
• 4,250 to 3,400-Year-old Stonehenge from Russia: Arkaim?

Art as Evidence

Stone Shamans and Flying Deer of Northern Mongolia – Smithsonian

Mongolia’s Bronze Age deer stones are one of the most striking expressions of early monumental art in Central Asia, yet their age, origins, relationships, and meaning remain obscure. Speculation about Scythian connections has stimulated recent research in Mongolia that has begun to peel away their mysteries and reveals connections to Scytho-Siberian and northern art. Radiocarbon-dated horse skulls indicate pre-Scythian ages of “classic Mongolian” deer
stones as well as firm association with the Late Bronze Age khirigsuur [kurgan] burial mound complex. – Smithsonian

A 4,000-year-old art gallery found in Siberia, of ancient images of humans, a bull, trees, and birds (could this relate to sky-burials: ‘Sky Burial’ theory and its possible origins at least 12,000 years ago to likely 30,000 years ago or older. This (Sky Burials: Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, and Paganism) I believe sky-burials also somehow relates to shaman rituals of when a would-be shaman goes into a trance in order to undergo the mystical dismemberment of his body by spirits, the loss of his flesh, and to contemplate his own skeleton., which explains the connections of tres that reach the heavens where the birds live and the birds eat the dead taking the spirits of ancestors to the heaves such as the treetops and the believed heavens above and I also think there is a connection of stars to ancestors as well possibly.

There is a practice of hanging bulls from trees as well and I image the birds would eat them too and the bull’s horns have connections to beliefs of them representing the moon in the heavens or the sun represented as a believed spiritual/magical energy-spirit of the sun between the horns holding it. The Tibetan sky-burials appear to have evolved from ancient practices of defleshing corpses as discovered in archeological finds in the region. These practices most likely came out of practical considerations, but they could also be related to more ceremonial practices similar to the suspected sky burial evidence found at Göbekli Tepe (11,500 years before present) and Stonehenge (4,500 years ago). Moreover, there is a 4,000-year-old art gallery found in Siberia contained 20-plus ‘perfectly preserved’  petroglyphs in a remote spot in the Transbaikal region.

Most intriguing in the newly revealed rock art is a figurine and nearby a human-like image is a circle, seemingly a sign of the sun. Scientist Sergei Alkin said: ‘We can assume that the figure with the solar sign depicts a shaman with a drum.’ 4,000 years ago (2000 BC) — we see the Seima-Turbino Phenomenon originating in the Altai Mountains leads to rapid and massive migrations westward across the Urals into north-eastern Europe and eastward into China and South-east Asia.

Seima-Turbino phenomenon refers to a pattern of burial sites dating from 2100 BCE to 1900 BCE found across northern Eurasia, from Finland to Mongolia, which has suggested a common point of cultural origin, advanced metalworking technology, and unexplained rapid migration. The buried were nomadic warriors and metal-workers, traveling on horseback or two-wheeled chariots. These cultures are noted for being nomadic forest and steppe societies with metal working, sometimes without having first developed agricultural methods. The development of this metalworking ability appears to have taken place quite quickly. The Altai Mountains in what is now southern Russia and central Mongolia have been identified as the point of origin of the cultural enigma of Seima-Turbino Phenomenon.

The Altai Mountains have been identified as being the point of origin of a cultural enigma termed the Seima-Turbino Phenomenon which arose during the Bronze Age around the start of the 2nd millennium BC and led to a rapid and massive migration of peoples from the region into distant parts of Europe and Asia. In regard to religion, some of the Altay remain Altai people Shamanists. The name “Altai” means “Gold Mountain” in Mongolian; “alt” (gold) and “tai” (suffix – “with”; the mountain with gold) and also in its Chinese name, derived from the Mongol name (Chinese: 金山; literally: “Gold Mountain”). In Turkic languages, altın means gold and dağ means mountain. The culture spread from these mountains to the west. Artifact types such as spearheads with hooks, single-bladed knives and socketed axes with geometric designs traveled west. Although they were the precursor to the much later Mongol invasions, these groups were not yet strong enough to attack the important social sites of the Bronze Age.

It is conjectured that changes in climate in this region around 2000 BC and the ensuing ecological, economic and political changes triggered a rapid and massive migration westward into northeast Europe, eastward into China and southward into Vietnam and Thailand across a frontier of some 4,000 miles. This migration took place in just five to six generations and led to peoples from Finland in the west to Thailand in the east employing the same metalworking technology and, in some areas, horse breeding and riding. However, further excavations and research in Ban Chiang and Ban Non Wat,

Thailand argue the idea that Seima-Turbino brought metal workings into southeast Asia is based on inaccurate and unreliable radiocarbon dating at the site of Ban Chiang. It is now agreed by virtually every specialist in Southeast Asian prehistory, that the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia is too late to relate to Seima-Turbino, and the cast bronzes are quite different. It is further conjectured that the same migrations spread the Uralic group of languages across Europe and Asia: some 39 languages of this group are still extant, including Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian and Sami.

However, recent genetic testings of sites in south Siberia and Kazakhstan (Andronovo horizon) would rather support a spreading of the bronze technology via Indo-European migrations eastwards, as this technology was well known for quite a while in western regions.  “Radiocarbon Chronology of Complexes With Seima-Turbino Type Objects (Bronze Age) in Southwestern Siberia.” The religion of altai, the main and the most ancient religion of Altai region was shamanism. The traditional religion of the native Altaians is Tengrist shamanism, revived by modern Tengrist movements and Burkhanism.

First, written sources about shamanism belongs to the second half of the 6th century. The religion originated in Altai and emphasized the “white” (could this relate to snow-covered mountains in the region?) aspect of shamanistic practice. Black, White, and Yellow Shamanism? Burkhanism remains an important component of Altai national consciousness and is currently being revived in several forms along with indigenous Altai culture in general. Characteristics of shamanic drums and costumes of ancestors of modern Tuva formed in the second half of the 1st millennium.

Peoples of South Siberia and Mongolia have been already used developed shamanic cults with a characteristic feature as a priest chosen to communicate with spirits, using a tambourine during the ritual, falling into trance and traveling to the spirit world. Archaeological materials of Bronze Age, monumental sculptures, rock paintings show the complexity of the religious beliefs of tribes inhabiting the territory of the Altai Mountains (3 millennium BC. – 9 century BC.). They allow seeing elements of Indo-European mythological tradition, images of shamans and spirits of patrons.

Iconography images associated as with unique images related with early Buddhist subjects, so with Tibetan Buddhism, which originated on the basis of pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet Bon, also known as yundrun Coupons – “tradition of eternal wisdom”. The outlook of tribes inhabiting Altai represented a synthesis of several religious courses, which was reflected in funeral ceremony and arts in the Scythian period (8-2 centuries BC). Scythian culture mixed shaman, Zoroastrian and Buddhist ideas.

Symbiosis of Indo-European and shamanic burial vividly presented at the funeral ceremony in Altai Pazyryk barrows (Tuekta, Bashadar, Pazyryk). Despite high degree of religious beliefs of that period, the tribes have preserved the cult of fire, sun, ancestors, as well as elements of magic and witchcraft. Archaeologists have found strands of human hair sewn into skin, nails and various charms in Pazyryk burial mounds. Archaeological evidence confirms the presence of special techniques of ecstasy, ritual fumigation and using of ritual drink “catfish” in the religious practices. Huns had extensive political and economic relations with countries which had a Buddhism as a main religion since 2 in. BC. Chinese source “Wei Shu” (506-572 AD.) mentioned that the Huns had worshiped to Buddhist statue of the great deity and smoked incense in 121 BC. But it is difficult to prevent widespread Buddhism among Huns because of lack of other historical documents.

Altai tribes were descendants of ancient tribes and other great cultures at various times. They interacted with the Buddhist world: ancient Turkic period, western Mongols (Oirat), then a period of gradual strengthening of Buddhism in North-Western Mongolia and formation of Burkhanism. The indigenous Altai culture holds the lands of Altai to be sacred. The indigenous (Turkic) languages are focused on the stewardship of the lands. The Altai oral history is transmitted by throat-singers. Altai shamanism representation about “a double” is the dominant concept which explains the mechanism of the main religious ritual practice a Kam. Representation about individual double reflects the faith of cycle of human existence. Every human life begins in the heavenly area of the universe, yet it has not an anthropomorphic shape, then it is sent to the Earth in physical form.

For example, in the form of a shooting star or a ray of sunlight. These embryos are falling through the smoke hole in the center of yurt, and then fall to a woman. So the fetal period of human life begins. It is concerned with a female deity called Umai. “A double” has the ability to separate from the body into a form of small lights and to travel to different places and back to the body during sleep. A man should behave especially cautious in mountains. He should be wary of a double output during sleep. If a person has a guilt, then the spirit of the mountains or taiga can catch and leave his double. This often happens. Only shaman can return a double. Shaman continues to possess special properties even after death of his double. Ordinary people double backs to the deity. A Kam double remains on the Earth. He lives in the mountains or taiga, and he is not associated with the burial place of the shaman. The Double determines the fate of the new Kama among any of his descendants.

The double will serve as one of his hereditary patrons. Another important provision of Altai Shamanism in additional to «a double concept” is faith in spirits of shaman, composing its sacred magical power. This position keeps religious practice, the entire cult of shamanism. Shamans know that nobody can be a kam without kam-intermediary spirits. Nobody dares to go to such a dangerous journey as a kam is without the support of spirits. All religious activities that make by a shaman, and achieved results are carried out with the help of the spirits, which called him at the beginning of each ritual. Every shaman has his own spirits. Spirits are divided into groups called «strata”. The first group included Protector Spirits, the second group is helper spirits. Patrons are spirits of high rank such are the God of fire, the Gods of sacred mountains etc.

Helpers perform two groups. The first called “Tos”, uniting shaman ancestors being kams during its life. The second group included ministering spirits, called during ritual by tambourine blowing. These spirits attend a shaman during his travels to one or another sphere of the Universe. Tambourine ministering spirits called as “chalular” consist the real strength of a shaman. Shaman appreciates and seeks to increase these spirits, convokes ancestors of shamans. Personal spirits of shaman determine its religious and magical power. The deity of fire differs among patron spirits. It is called Ot-Ana — mother fire in Altai. This deity has entered the pantheon of Altai shamanism heritage from ancient times. Altai kama begins kam ritual celebrating, treating and turning to Ot-Ana calling. Shamans ask Ana to give companions for upcoming travels and always receive the assistance.

Spirits of sacred mountains are also high patrons of shaman. They give a tambourines for special prayer rituals to shamans. Shamans treated spirits of sacred mountains with different requests of welfare for family, for Ulus and people. A Kama receives shamanic mission, shamanic inherited gift from spirits of shaman ancestors. If the Altai shows the signs of a shaman, so it is said: “Tosi (ancestors spirit) comes». Cult of ancestor shaman provides continuity of shamanism and explains the mechanism of occurrence and formation of shamans. Tambourine and shaman ritual vestments are sacred objects of worship since it serves as a refuge for spirit helpers. When the shaman strikes tambourine, spirits rush towards him. Some of them place in the drum, the other place on the ritual vestments. Others, the most important, move into shaman himself, who gathers them by a deep breath. Tambourine connected with not only ritual activities but also with shaman life.

If tambourine skin breaks or blood appears during the ritual, it means spirits came to punish the shaman and he dies soon. Tambourine is the main ceremonial instrument which given as a certificate for ritual from the supreme deity. Having made a tambourine, shaman shows it to deity. The ceremony of manufacturing and reviving tambourine continues for several days with a large crowd. After the ritual shaman goes to the spirit of the sacred mountain and there, showing the drum, gets permission to kam until he will make next tambourine. After the ceremony shaman kams alone. He hides a chula (a double of animal from which tambourine was made) from other shamans and hostile forces. If the drum is made of deerskin, so shaman hides it in taiga, if it is made of horse skin, so he hides in a tree hollow. A kam calls on spirits beating a drum at night to consult with them, to find out their wishes. Shaman makes spirits to watch the book “Sabyr Bichik.”

Which help to find things that do not require a large ritual, for example, any prediction. Ritual vestments are necessary to communicate with the spirits. Production is carried out by instructions of the spirits-protectors. Vestments have a complex appearance. It includes braids, hundreds of different pendants, small chunks of tissue, ribbons, fringe, animal skins and their parts (claws, feathers, beaks, wings); rag anthropomorphic images of snakes, monsters. Suit serves as a refuge for shaman spirits which protect a kam during the ritual. Making shaman costume is collective women engagement.

It takes place at the specific time and is accompanied by a special ceremony. This ceremony is held with large crowd and is used to remove filth from vestments, which can be left after a touch of the hands of bad people. But the main aim of the ceremony is to determine the suitability of the suit. A kam ritual differs by acting, songs, Gods which summoned by a shaman. Every shaman has his god and kams to it him. Only Ulgen and Erlik gods are common to all Altaian. The ritual has to express the journey of a shaman and his retinue of spirits to the distant abode of the deity. If a deity lives in heaven, for example, Ulgen, the mystery of Kam should clearly describe the journey to heaven, and shaman has to move from one sky to another until he reaches the last sky.

If deity lives underground, such as Erlik, the mystery shows how the shaman descends to the underworld. Idolatry of Altai peoples came to symbolic representation of a good and an evil. Horses, bulls, and sheep sacrificed to gods, barbarously slayed dissecting animal chest and squeezing the heart by hands to stop beating. However, all this comes with extraordinary rapidity, the animal dies instantly. Then the victim will be roasted and eaten. Primitive representations of deity forces shamans to look at the sacrifices as a contract binding both parties by mutual obligations.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site “Golden Mountains” protects the Ukok Plateau, on which there are many standing stones and kurgans. Although archaeologists consider kurgans to be burial sites, the indigenous people believe that they are highly refined magnetic instruments for directing the flow of cosmic energy into the Earth. Thus, there is great local indignation about the excavation and removal of the Siberian Ice Maiden, an extraordinary 2,500-year-old mummy that had been preserved in permafrost. The mummified remains of the “Ice Maiden,” a Scytho-Siberian woman who lived on the Eurasian Steppes in the 5th century BC, were found undisturbed in a subterranean burial chamber. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref

Need to Mythicized: gods and goddesses

The question should not just be is there a god, but which gods we are to contemplate, the new ones or old ones. Not that it really matters much in the end, as they all eventually cease to exist or replaced for something new. If there were a true god deity, would he not make himself known as soon as hominoids could think or at least by around 100,000 years ago when the first confirmed human burial took place or at least, by around 50,000 years ago when it is thought we fully achieved modern behavioral and cognitive traits?

However, this is not the case at all, instead, the male god myths do not seem to exist for tens of thousands of years or must have held less status until around 6,000 or so years ago. What was prominent before the male god myths seem to be female goddesses and animals or aspects of nature, which were held as spirits or something like deities. Female goddesses and not male gods seemingly starting after 12,000 years ago for sure, but maybe go back to 40,000 years ago or even longer, who knows hypothetically in some fashion to possibly over 200,000 years ago, but maybe not. So not much credibility can be given prehistorically for the male gods, thus why add any credence to them now. Therefore, male gods prominent in the current religions of the world today have a shelf-life of only around 6,000 or so years ago, not much of a showing if it is a male god who supposedly created everything. Why wait through 95% of human existence to make yourself known? A little over 5,000 years is when it looks like god deities really develop or finally leave the shadows and are promoted in a way that can be identified today.

The male god deities, so many now hold faith in today, such as in the abrahamic religions said to start around 4,000 years ago or less with judaism’s patriarch Abraham was a late bloomer to say the least, as this abrahamic male god did not really beginning to be written down until after around 3,000 years ago. And why, we must wonder did it take so long to start writing the jewish holy book, which as you may know took around 1,000 years to finish. Well because other peoples had to create and spread written language, for the Israelites to borrow from, as their god did not I guess, put big stock in literacy or would not the jews be the first ones with writing if only their god was real. Moreover, one must ask if real, why did he not do anything to become known even when the creation of other male gods started. Nevertheless, it was not until around 2,000 years ago that the prospects of the male god deity became the most popular supplanting and completely surpassing female goddesses such as it is in the present day.

Reality is naturalistically godless, yes it is natural through and through, not one shred of magic. In fact, the scientific method assumes Methodological Naturalism, because that is all that has ever been found and is the most likely thing that ever will be found. As religion is not intended to represent the world as it is but instead what it is not the stupid supernatural, which is the thing of fantasy, wishful thinking, and delusion. ref, ref, ref

Could be that the first monotheism god was from Aisa,

not the middle east around 4,000 years ago?

Monotheism is distinguished from henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one god without denying that others may worship different gods with equal validity, and monolatrism, the recognition of the existence of many gods but with the consistent worship of only one deity.

Monotheism has been defined as the belief in the existence of only one god that created the world, is all-powerful and intervenes in the world. A broader definition of monotheism is the belief in one god.

A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, and both inclusive monotheism and pluriform (panentheistic) monotheism which, while recognizing various distinct gods, postulate some underlying unity. The broader definition of monotheism characterizes the traditions of Bábism, the Bahá’í Faith, Balinese Hinduism, Cao Dai (Caodaiism), Cheondoism (Cheondogyo), Christianity, Deism, Eckankar, Hindu sects such as Shaivism and Vaishnavism, Islam, Judaism, Mandaeism, Rastafari, Seicho no Ie, Sikhism, Tengrism (Tangrism), Tenrikyo (Tenriism), Yazidism, and Zoroastrianism, and elements of pre-monotheistic thought are found in early religions such as Atenism, ancient Chinese religion, and Yahwism. Quasi-monotheistic claims of the existence of a universal deity date to the Late Bronze Age, with Akhenaten‘s Great Hymn to the Aten.

A possible inclination towards monotheism emerged during the Vedic period in Iron-Age South Asia. The Rigveda exhibits notions of monism of the Brahman, particularly in the comparatively late tenth book, which is dated to the early Iron Age, e.g. in the Nasadiya sukta. Since the 2,600 years ago, Zoroastrians have believed in the supremacy of one God above all: Ahura Mazda as the “Maker of All” and the first being before all others. Nonetheless, Zoroastrianism was not strictly monotheistic because it venerated other yazatas alongside Ahura Mazda. Ancient Hindu theology, meanwhile, was monist, but was not strictly monotheistic in worship because it still maintained the existence of many gods, who were envisioned as aspects of one supreme God, Brahman. Numerous ancient Greek philosophers, including Xenophanes of Colophon and Antisthenes believed in a similar polytheistic monism that came close to monotheism, but fell short.

Judaism was the first religion to conceive the notion of a personal monotheistic God within a monist context. The concept of ethical monotheism, which holds that morality stems from God alone and that its laws are unchanging, first occurred in Judaism, but is now a core tenet of most modern monotheistic religions, including Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Bahá’í Faith. Around 2,800 years ago, the worship of YHWH in Israel was in competition with many other cults, described by the Yahwist faction collectively as Baals. The oldest books of the Hebrew Bible reflect this competition, as in the books of Hosea and Nahum, whose authors lament the “apostasy” of the people of Israel, threatening them with the wrath of God if they do not give up their polytheistic cults. Ancient Israelite religion was originally polytheistic; the Israelites worshipped many deities, including El, Baal, Asherah, and Astarte.

YHWH was originally the national god of the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. As time progressed, the henotheistic cult of Yahweh grew increasingly militant in its opposition to the worship of other gods. Later, the reforms of King Josiah imposed a form of strict monolatrism. After the fall of Judah to Babylon, a small circle of priests and scribes gathered around the exiled royal court, where they first developed the concept of YHWH as the sole God of the world. Amenhotep IV initially introduced Atenism in Year 5 of his reign (3,348/3346 years ago) during the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom. He raised Aten, once a relatively obscure Egyptian Solar deity representing the disk of the sun, to the status of Supreme God in the Egyptian pantheon.

The orthodox faith system held by most dynasties of China since at least the Shang Dynasty (3,766 years ago) until the modern period centered on the worship of Shangdi (literally “Above Sovereign”, generally translated as “God”) or Heaven as an omnipotent force. This faith system pre-dated the development of Confucianism and Taoism and the introduction of Buddhism and Christianity. It has features of monotheism in that Heaven is seen as an omnipotent entity, a noncorporeal force with a personality transcending the world. From the writings of Confucius in the Analects, it is known Confucius believed that Heaven cannot be deceived, Heaven guides people’s lives and maintains a personal relationship with them, and that Heaven gives tasks for people to fulfill in order to teach them of virtues and morality. However, this faith system was not truly monotheistic since other lesser gods and spirits, which varied with locality, were also worshiped along with Shangdi. Still, later variants such as Mohism (2,470 – 2,391 years ago) approached true monotheism, teaching that the function of lesser gods and ancestral spirits is merely to carry out the will of Shangdi, akin to angels in Abrahamic religions.

The first – 上, Shàng – means “high”, “highest”, “first”, “primordial”; the second – 帝, Dì – is typically considered as a short hand for huangdi （皇帝）in modern Chinese, the title of the emperors of China first employed by Qin Shi Huang, and is usually translated as “emperor”. The word itself is derived from Three “Huang” and Five “Di”, including Yellow Emperor (Huangdi 黃帝), the mythological originator of the Chinese civilization and the ancestor of the Chinese race. However, 帝 refers to the High God of Shang, thus means “deity” (manifested god). Thus, the name Shangdi should be translated as “Highest Deity”, but also have the implied meaning of “Primordial Deity” or “First Deity” in Classical Chinese. The deity preceded the title and the emperors of China were named after him in their role as Tianzi, the sons of Heaven.

In the classical texts the highest conception of the heavens is frequently identified with Shang Di, who is described somewhat anthropomorphically. He is also associated with the pole star. The conceptions of the Supreme Ruler (Shang Di) and of the Sublime Heavens (Huang-t’ien)afterward coalesce or absorb each other. The earliest references to Shangdi are found in oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty in the around 4,000 years ago, although the later work Classic of History claims yearly sacrifices were made to him by Emperor Shun, even before the Xia Dynasty. “Shang Di” is the pinyin romanization of two Chinese characters that in modern Chinese, the title of the emperors of China first employed by Qin Shi Huang, and is usually translated as “emperor”, the mythological originator of the Chinese civilization and the ancestor of the Chinese race. However, 帝 refers to the High God of Shang, thus means “deity” (manifested god).

Thus, the name Shangdi should be translated as “Highest Deity”, but also have the implied meaning of “Primordial Deity” or “First Deity” in Classical Chinese. In the classical texts, the highest conception of the heavens is frequently identified with Shang Di, who is described somewhat anthropomorphically. He is also associated with the pole star. The conceptions of the Supreme Ruler (Shang Di) and of the Sublime Heavens (Huang-t’ien)afterward coalesce or absorb each other. Under Shangdi or his later names, the deity received sacrifices from the ruler of China in every Chinese dynasty annually at a great Temple of Heaven in the imperial capital. Following the principles of Chinese geomancy, this would always be located in the southern quarter of the city.

During the ritual, a completely healthy bull would be slaughtered and presented as an animal sacrifice to Shangdi. It is important to note that Shangdi is never represented with either images or idols. Instead, in the center building of the Temple of Heaven, in a structure called the “Imperial Vault of Heaven”, a “spirit tablet” (神位, shénwèi) inscribed with the name of Shangdi is stored on the throne, Huangtian Shangdi (皇天上帝). During an annual sacrifice, the emperor would carry these tablets to the north part of the Temple of Heaven, a place called the “Prayer Hall For Good Harvests”, and place them on that throne. It was during Ming and Qing dynasty, when Roman Catholicism was introduced by Jesuit Priest Matteo Ricci, that the idea of “Shangdi” started to be applied to the Christian conception of God.

While initially, he utilized the term Tianzhu, Ricci gradually changed the translation into “Shangdi” instead. His usage of Shangdi was contested by Confucians, as they believed that the concept of Tian and “Shangdi” is different from that of Christian’s God: Zhōng Shǐ-shēng, through his books, stated that Shangdi only governs, while Christian’s God is a creator, and thus differ. Ricci’s translation also invited the displeasure of Dominicans and that of the Roman Curia; On March 19, 1715, Pope Clement XI released the Edict Ex Illa Die, stating that Catholics must use “Tianzhu” instead of “Shangdi” for Christianity’s God. ref, ref

Feminist atheists as far back as the 1800s?