Shamanism: an approximately 30,000-year-old belief system

Understanding Religion Evolution per Damien’s speculations from the evidence:

Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago), possibly Africa, Middle East, and Eurasia 

Animism (at least 100,000 years ago) possibly Southern Africa or maybe Central Africa 

Totemism (at least 50,000/45,000 years ago) possibly around Germany, France, or somewhere in West Europe 

Shamanism (at least 30,000/35,000 years ago) possibly West Siberia or East Russia 

Paganism (at least 12,000/13,000 years ago) Turkey And/or Levant: “Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria” 

Progressed organized religion (at least 5,000 years ago), (Egypt, the First Dynasty, 5,150 years ago) 

I think animism started 100,000 years ago, totemism 50,000-45,000 years ago, and shamanism 30,000-35,000 years ago. 

Animism (simplified to me as a belief in a perceived spirit world) possibly by at least 100,000 years ago: “the primal stage of early religion.” To me, Animistic Somethingism: You just feel/think there has to be something supernatural/spirit-world, or feel/think things are supernatural/spirit-filled. 

Totemism (simplified to me, as a belief that these perceived spirits could be managed or related with by created physical expressions) possibly by at least 50,000 years ago “progressed stage of early religion.” A totem is a representational spirit being, a sacred object, or symbol of a group of people, clan, or tribe. 

Shamanism (simplified to me as a belief that some special person can commune with these perceived spirits on behalf of others by way of rituals) possibly by at least 30,000 years ago. Shamanism is an otherworldly connection belief thought to heal the sick, communicate with spirits/deities, and escort souls of the dead. 

• African Back Migrations and the Status of Shamanism Origins as well as its Spreading
• Women/Feminine-Natured people as the first Shamans from around 30,000 to 7,000 years ago?
• Venus of Willendorf: Shamanism Headdresses that Cover the Eyes?
• Some Paleolithic Batons from 23,000 to 12,000 years ago are/maybe Shaman Drumsticks like Those Used with Sami Shaman Drums?

ref, ref

“Evidence from personal ornaments suggest nine distinct cultural groups between 34,000 and 24,000 years ago in Europe. European personal ornament dataset analysis shows that Gravettian cultural geography is not explained by geographical proximity or shared biological descent.” ref, ref 

Shamanism: an approximately
30,000-year-old belief system

Shamanism (beginning around 30,000 years ago) 

Shamanism (such as that seen in Siberia Gravettian culture: 30,000 years ago). Gravettian culture (34,000–24,000 years ago; Western Gravettian, mainly France, Spain, and Britain, as well as Eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians, which include the Pavlovian culture). And, the Pavlovian culture (31,000 – 25,000 years ago such as in Austria and Poland). 31,000 – 20,000 years ago Oldest Shaman was Female, Buried with the Oldest Portrait Carving.

Shamanism is approximately a 35/30,000-year-old belief system and believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals that can connect to spirit-filled life and/or afterlife. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden shamanist.

To me, Early Shamanism is mainly related with the “Gravettian is an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian (totemism related culture before it) around 34,000 years ago Sungir site in Russia, but also to Yana Rhinoceros Horn site in Siberia at around 32,000 years ago. Next, it moved from Sungir to the Dolni Vestonice site in central Europe. Around 30,000 to 25,000 years ago in Dolni Vestonice, Czech Republic, the oldest human face representation is a carved ivory female head that was found nearby a female burial and belong to the Pavlovian culture, a variant of the Gravettian culture. The left side of the figure’s face was a distorted image and is believed to be a portrait of an elder female, who was around 40 years old. She was ritualistically placed beneath a pair of mammoth scapulae, one leaning against the other. Surprisingly, the left side of the skull was disfigured in the same manner as the aforementioned carved ivory figure, indicating that the figure was an intentional depiction of this specific individual. The bones and the earth surrounding the body contained traces of red ocher, a flint spearhead had been placed near the skull, and one hand held the body of a fox. This evidence suggests that this was the burial site of a shaman. This is the oldest site not only of ceramic figurines and artistic portraiture but also of evidence of early female shamans. Before 5,500 years ago, women were much more prominent in religion. Archaeologists usually describe two regional variants: the western Gravettian, known namely from cave sites in France, Spain, and Britain, and the eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians include the Pavlovian culture, which were specialized mammoth hunters and whose remains are usually found not in caves but in open air sites. The origins of the Gravettian people are not clear, they seem to appear simultaneously all over Europe. Though they carried distinct genetic signatures, the Gravettians and Aurignacians before them were descended from the same ancient founder population. According to genetic data, 37,000 years ago, all Europeans can be traced back to a single ‘founding population’ that made it through the last ice age. Furthermore, the so-called founding fathers were part of the Aurignacian culture, which was displaced by another group of early humans members of the Gravettian culture. Between 37,000 years ago and 14,000 years ago, different groups of Europeans were descended from a single founder population. To a greater extent than their Aurignacian predecessors, they are known for their Venus figurines.” ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref

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“Maps indicating the location of ancient DNA samples from Asia and the patterns of genetic differentiation in Asia in the Early Upper Paleolithic. (A) Location of ancient individuals from Asia and Australasia who have been sequenced to date. Symbols refer to the age of individuals sequenced from that archaeological site, with the key found at the bottom. Red symbols date to 50,000–10,000 years ago (Upper Paleolithic), purple and blue symbols are younger than 10,000 years. (B) Differentiation after dispersal out of Africa in the Early Upper Paleolithic (45,000–20,000 years ago), with labeled lineages or ancestries in yellow next to the associated branch. The tree diagram shows divergence patterns and is not meant to depict migration routes from the branches or geographic origins of ancestral populations from the internal nodes. The branches predominantly associated with present-day Asian populations include the Ancient Ancestral South Indian (AASI) lineage, Australasian (AA) lineage, and East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) lineage. White labels refer to specific archaeological sites dating to the Early Upper Paleolithic.” ref

The Evidence of Shamanistic Rituals in Early Prehistoric Periods of Europe and Anatolia

 “Shamanism Rituals in Paleolithic Siberian shamans (Eastern Eurasian Shamanism) believe that shamanism emerged in the period when hunting and gathering was the main means of support. Ethnographic evidence suggests that hunter-gatherer groups saw the environment as giving and reciprocating, and that their spirit worlds consisted largely of animals and natural features, with which shaman-like figures may have mediated. From this point of view, it is best to begin investigating prehistoric shamanism in Paleolithic rituals and related European cave paintings. The shamanic hypothesis holds that cave art reflects a fusion of direct evidence from the caves themselves and observations of more recent hunter-gatherer societies that still produce rock art. However, not all cultures have specific shamanic ritual locations, and even when they do, shamans will perform some rituals elsewhere. Ritual areas are typically viewed as the literal doorway between the spiritual and physical worlds, and are often an opening into the earth, like caves or springs, or elevated spaces such as mountains and even caves in mountains.” ref 

Shamanism Origins 34,000 years ago, and the Origin of Dogs as Tutelary Spirits?

ref, ref

 With my art

“Evidence from personal ornaments suggests nine distinct cultural groups between 34,000 and 24,000 years ago in Europe. European personal ornament dataset analysis shows that Gravettian cultural geography is not explained by geographical proximity or shared biological descent.” ref, ref

The Rise of mtDNA U: the “first” evidence of Matrilineal Clans and Early Totemism?

Shamanism (such as that seen in Siberia Gravettian culture: 34,000 years ago)

• Gravettian culture (34,000–21,000 years ago; Western Gravettian,  mainly France, Spain, and Britain, as well as  Eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians, which include the Pavlovian culture)
• Pavlovian culture (31,000 – 25,000 years ago, such as in Austria and Poland)

“The Gravettian was an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,022 years ago. It is archaeologically the last European culture many consider unified, and had mostly disappeared by c. 22,022 years ago, close to the Last Glacial Maximum, although some elements lasted until c. 17,022 years ago. In Spain and France, it was succeeded by the Solutrean, and developed into or continued as the Epigravettian in Italy, the Balkans, Ukraine, and Russia. The Gravettian culture is known for Venus figurines, which were typically carved from either ivory or limestone. The culture was first identified at the site of La Gravette in the southwestern French department of Dordogne.” ref 

“The Gravettians were hunter-gatherers who lived in a bitterly cold period of European prehistory, and the Gravettian lifestyle was shaped by the climate. Pleniglacial environmental changes forced them to adapt. West and Central Europe were extremely cold during this period. Archaeologists usually describe two regional variants: the western Gravettian, known mainly from cave sites in France, Spain, and Britain, and the eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians, which include the Pavlovian culture, were specialized mammoth hunters, whose remains are usually found not in caves but in open-air sites.” ref

 “Gravettian culture thrived on their ability to hunt animals. They utilized a variety of tools and hunting strategies. Compared to theorized hunting techniques of Neanderthals and earlier human groups, Gravettian hunting culture appears much more mobile and complex. They lived in caves or semi-subterranean or rounded dwellings which were typically arranged in small “villages”. Gravettians are thought to have been innovative in the development of tools such as blunted-back knives, tanged arrowheads, and boomerangs. Other innovations include the use of woven nets and oil lamps made of stone. Blades and bladelets were used to make decorations and bone tools from animal remains.” ref 

“Gravettian culture extends across a large geographic region, as far as Estremadura in Portugal. but is relatively homogeneous until about 27,022 years ago. They developed burial rites, which included the inclusion of simple, purpose-built offerings and/or personal ornaments owned by the deceased, placed within the grave or tomb. Surviving Gravettian art includes numerous cave paintings and small, portable Venus figurines made from clay or ivory, as well as jewelry objects. The fertility deities mostly date from the early period; there are over 100 known surviving examples. They conform to a very specific physical type, with large breasts, broad hips, and prominent posteriors. The statuettes tend to lack facial details, and their limbs are often broken off. During the post-glacial period, evidence of the culture begins to disappear from northern Europe but was continued in areas around the Mediterranean.” ref 

“Physical remains of people of the Gravettian have revealed that they were tall and relatively slender people. The male height of the Gravettian culture ranged between 179 and 188 centimeters (5 ft 10 in and 6 ft 2 in) tall with an average of 183.5 centimeters (6 ft 0.2 in), which is exceptionally tall not only for that period of prehistory but for all periods of history. They were fairly slender and normally weighed between 67–73 kilograms (148–161 lb), although they would likely have had a higher ratio of lean muscle mass compared to body fat in comparison to modern humans as a result of a very physically active and demanding lifestyle. The females of the Gravettian were much shorter, standing 158 centimeters (5 ft 2 in) on average, with an average weight of 54 kilograms (119 lb). Examinations of Gravettian skulls reveal that high cheekbones were common among them.” ref 

“Clubs, stones, and sticks were the primary hunting tools during the Upper Paleolithic period. Bone, antler, and ivory points have all been found at sites in France; but proper stone arrowheads and throwing spears did not appear until the Solutrean period (~20,000 years ago). Due to the primitive tools, many animals were hunted at close range. The typical artifact of the Gravettian tool industry, once considered diagnostic, is the small pointed blade with a straight blunt back. They are today known as the Gravette point, and were used to hunt big game. Gravettians used nets to hunt small game, and are credited with inventing the bow and arrow.” ref

 “Gravettian settlers tended towards the valleys that pooled migrating prey. Examples found through discoveries in Gr. La Gala, a site in Southern Italy, shows a strategic settlement based in a small valley. As the settlers became more aware of the migration patterns of animals like red deer, they learned that prey herd in valleys, thereby allowing the hunters to avoid traveling long distances for food. Specifically in Gr. La Gala, the glacial topography forced the deer to pass through the areas in the valley occupied by humans. Additional evidence of strategically positioned settlements include sites like Klithi in Greece, also placed to intercept migrating prey.” ref 

“Discoveries in the Czech Republic suggest that nets were used to capture large numbers of smaller prey, thus offering a quick and consistent food supply and thus an alternative to the feast/famine pattern of large game hunters. Evidence comes in the form of 4 mm (0.16 in) thick rope preserved on clay imprints. Research suggests that although no larger net imprints have been discovered, there would be little reason for them not to be made as no further knowledge would be required for their creation. The weaving of nets was likely a communal task, relying on the work of both women and children.” ref 

“The Gravettian era landscape is most closely related to the landscape of present-day Moravia. Pavlov I in southern Moravia is the most complete and complex Gravettian site to date, and a perfect model for a general understanding of Gravettian culture. In many instances, animal remains indicate both decorative and utilitarian purposes. In the case of, for example, Arctic foxes, incisors, and canines were used for decoration, while their humeri and radii bones were used as tools. Similarly, the skeletons of some red foxes contain decorative incisors and canines as well as ulnas used for awls and barbs.” ref 

“Some animal bones were only used to create tools. Due to their shape, the ribs, fibulas, and metapodia of horses were good for awl and barb creation. In addition, the ribs were also implemented to create different types of smoothers for pelt preparation. The shapes of hare bones are also unique, and as a result, the ulnas were commonly used as awls and barbs. Reindeer antlers, ulnas, ribs, tibias, and teeth were utilized in addition to a rare documented case of a phalanx. Mammoth remnants are among the most common bone remnants of the culture, while long bones and molars are also documented. Some mammoth bones were used for decorative purposes. Wolf remains were often used for tool production and decoration.” ref 

“In a genetic study published in Nature in May 2016, the remains of fourteen Gravettians were examined. The eight samples of Y-DNA analyzed were determined to be three samples of haplogroup CT, one sample of I, one sample of IJK, one sample of BT, one sample of C1a2, and one sample of F. Of the fourteen samples of mtDNA, there were thirteen samples of U and one sample of M. The majority of the sample of U belonged to the U5 and U2. In a genetic study published in Nature in November 2020, the remains of one adult male and two twin boys from a Gravettian site were examined. The Y-DNA analysis revealed that all 3 individuals belonged to haplogroup I. The 3 individuals had the same mtDNA, U5.” ref

Shamanism is approximately a 30,000-year-old belief system and involves believing in a spirit-filled life and/or afterlife that can be attached to or expressed in things or objects, and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals that can connect to a spirit-filled life and/or afterlife. If you believe like this, regardless of your faith, you are a hidden shamanist.

“Around 29,000 to 25,000 years ago in Dolní Vestonice, Czech Republic, the oldest human face representation is a carved ivory female head that was found near a female burial and belongs to the Pavlovian culture, a variant of the Gravettian culture. The left side of the figure’s face is distorted and is believed to be a portrait of an elder female, around 40 years old. Ritualistically, she was placed beneath a pair of mammoth scapulae, one leaning against the other. Surprisingly, the left side of the skull was disfigured in the same way as the carved ivory figure, suggesting the figure intentionally depicted this specific individual. The bones and the earth surrounding the body contained traces of red ochre; a flint spearhead lay near the skull, and one hand held a fox. This evidence suggests this was a shaman’s burial site. This is the oldest site not only of ceramic figurines and artistic portraiture but also of evidence of early female shamans. Before 5,500 years ago, women were much more prominent in religion. Archaeologists usually describe two regional variants: the western Gravettian, known mainly from cave sites in France, Spain, and Britain, and the eastern Gravettian in Central Europe and Russia. The eastern Gravettians include the Pavlovian culture, which specialized in mammoth hunting and whose remains are usually found not in caves but in open-air sites. The origins of the Gravettian people are unclear; they seem to appear simultaneously across Europe. Though they carried distinct genetic signatures, the Gravettians and the earlier Aurignacians descended from the same ancient founder population. According to genetic data, 37,000 years ago, all Europeans can be traced back to a single ‘founding population’ that made it through the last ice age. Furthermore, the so-called founding fathers were part of the Aurignacian culture, which another group of early humans, members of the Gravettian culture, displaced. Between 37,000 and 14,000 years ago, different groups of Europeans descended from a single founder population. To a greater extent than their Aurignacian predecessors, they are known for their Venus figurines.” ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, & ref

• “33,000 years ago: oldest known domesticated dog skulls show they existed in both Europe and Siberia by this time.
• 31,000–16,000 years ago: Last Glacial Maximum (peak at 26,500 years ago).
• 30,000 years ago: rock paintings tradition begins in Bhimbetka rock shelters in India, which presented as a collection is the densest known concentration of rock art. In an area about 10 km², there are about 800 rock shelters of which 500 contain paintings.
• 29,000 years ago: The earliest ovens found.
• 28,500 years ago: New Guinea is populated by colonists from Asia or Australia.
• 28,000 years ago: the oldest known twisted rope.
• 28,000–24,000 years ago: some of the oldest known pottery—used to make figurines rather than cooking or storage vessels (Venus of Dolní Věstonice).
• 28,000–20,000 years ago: Gravettian period in Europe. Harpoons and saws invented.
• 26,000 years ago: people around the world use fibers to make baby carriers, clothes, bags, baskets, and nets.
• 25,000 years ago: a hamlet consisting of huts built of rocks and of mammoth bones is founded in what is now Dolní Věstonice in Moravia in the Czech Republic. This is the oldest human permanent settlement that has yet been found by archaeologists.
• 21,000 years ago: artifacts suggests early human activity occurred in Canberra, the capital city of Australia.
• 20,000 years ago: Kebaran culture in the Levant.
• 20,000 years ago: oldest pottery storage/cooking vessels from China.
• 20,000-10,000 years ago: Khoisanid expansion to Central Africa.
• 16,000-14,000 years ago: Minatogawa Man (Proto-Mongoloid phenotype) in Okinawa, Japan
• 16,000–13,000 years ago: the first colonization of North America.
• 16,000-11,000 years ago: Caucasian Hunter-Gatherer (Caucasoid phenotype) expansion to Europe.
• 16,000 years ago: Wisent sculpted in clay deep inside the cave now known as Le Tuc d’Audoubert in the French Pyrenees near what is now the border of Spain.
• 15,000–14,700 years ago: Earliest supposed date for the domestication of the pig.
• 14,800 years ago: The Humid Period begins in North Africa. The region that would later become the Sahara is wet and fertile, and the aquifers are full.
• 14,500-11,500: Red Deer Cave people in China, possible late survival of archaic or archaic-modern hybrid humans.
• 14,000-12,000 years ago: Oldest evidence for prehistoric warfare (Jebel Sahaba massacre, Natufian culture).
• 13,000–10,000 years ago: Late Glacial Maximum, end of the Last glacial period, climate warms, glaciers recede.
• 13,000 years ago: A major water outbreak occurs on Lake Agassiz, which at the time could have been the size of the current Black Sea and the largest lake on Earth. Much of the lake is drained in the Arctic Ocean through the Mackenzie River.
• 13,000–11,000 years ago: Earliest dates suggested for the domestication of the sheep.
• Approximately 13,000 years ago, the Younger Dryas ice age.” ref

32,000-21,000 years ago Yana Culture, at the Yana Woolly Rhinoceros Horn Site in Siberia, with genetic proximity to Ancient North Eurasian populations (Mal’ta and Afontova Gora), but also Ust-Ishim, Sunghir, and to a lesser extent Tianyuan, as well as similarities with the Clovis culture

Gravettian Culture “last European culture many consider unified” (34,000–21,000 years ago). Which Damien thinks expresses the first earliest shamanism. ref 

Yana Rhinoceros Horn Site “early Shamanism variant not directly related with the European Gravettian culture” (32,000 years ago). Which Damien thinks they both go back to a shared split of the Shamanism origin in western Siberia before further diversified and evolved separately in isolation. ref 

Pavlovian Culture “variant of the Gravettian” as seen in the Czech Republic, Austria, and Poland (31,000–25,000 years ago). Which Damien thinks represents the earliest burial of a shaman. ref 

Kostenki Culture (with older Aurignacian influence from 40,000 to 25,000 years ago) “Shamanism variant of the Gravettian” in Russia (25,000–20,000 years ago). ref 

Ancient North Eurasian Culture “distant variant of the Yana and Eastern Gravettian by way of Kostenki” as seen in Southcentral Siberia (24,000–15,000 years ago) relating to Mal’ta–Buret’ culture (24,000–15,000 years ago) and populations closely related to them, such as Afontova Gora (18,000-12,000 years ago). ref 

Epigravettian Culture (likely continued a lot of the Gravettian Culture) as seen in Southern and Eastern Europe (21,000–10,000 years ago) Which Damien thinks may have brought/influenced the people in the Middle East/Turkey (16,000 to 10,000 years ago like the Pinarbasi Hoyuk/Pinarbasi Golu site) to add belief in goddesses and female art/figurine themes to their early paganism emerging out or older shamanism 11,000/10,000 years ago. ref 

Magdalenian Culture as seen in Western Europe: “The earliest Magdalenian sites are in France, and the Epigravettian is a similar culture appearing around the same time” (17,000–12,000 years ago), which Damien thinks started to evolve Western Eurasian shamanism. ref 

“The Magdalenian constitutes a civilization in the full meaning of the term, with its unique metaphysics, social rules, exchanges codified with nature via its art and weaponry. Before any climatic improvement then, daring was enough to both distinguish these populations from those that disappeared on a European scale and to invent facultative weapons, a conquering mythology, appropriate displacements, episodic ruptures, long-distance relays, flexibility in control over all kinds of environments, ritual delegation by shamanism, the “descent” of mythical decoration of rock walls in favor of mobile supports, such as modern crucifixes or portable altars.” ref 

Western hunter-gatherer (15,000–5,000 years ago) ref 

Eastern hunter-gatherer (15/13,000–5,000 years ago) ref 

Anatolian hunter-gatherers “influenced by Epigravettian-related Pinarbasi Hoyuk and R1b, as well as R1a coming into the Middle East from Siberia/ Kazakhstan, relating to Ancient North Eurasian and Kostenki” (15,500–9,000 years ago), later becoming Anatolian Neolithic pagans after 12,000 to 11,000 years ago, the first pagans to Damien. And after 10,000 to 9,000 years ago, they adopted farming and later gave rise to a branch that migrated into Europe, becoming known as Early European Farmers). ref 

Caucasus hunter-gatherer (15,000-8,000 years ago) ref 

Iranian hunter-gatherers (20,000 to 10,000 years ago) ref 

Scandinavian hunter-gatherers (14,000-9,000 years ago) ref 

Other shamanism-related cultures exist in China and the Americas, but my focus is on Europe, Siberia, and the Middle East before Paganism spread.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art 

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My thoughts on Shamanism, Cultural Migrations: 34,000 to 12,000 years ago (Paganism after 12,000 years ago in the Middle East) 

Mal’ta–Buret’ culture of Siberia and Basal Haplogroup R* or R-M207

24,000 Years Old Sacred Burial of a Siberian Mal’ta Boy

24,000 Years Old Proto-North Eurasian Language (Ancient North Eurasian) migrations? Became: Proto-Afroasiatic, Proto-Sino-Tibetan, Proto-Transeurasian, Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Yeniseian, Proto-Na-Dene, Proto-Caucasian, Sumerian, Proto-Austronesian, and the Basque language

In my main prehistory art, above in this blog, I offer my speculations relating to art with possible religious/supernatural thinking, which I think are loose speculations/conjectures.

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Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Leda and the Swan: possibly relates back to 24,000–15,000 years old Mal’ta–Buret’ culture, Lake Baikal, Siberia?

How did the Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b become European? (by Human Migration) – YouTube

Haplogroup R (Y-DNA) 

“Haplogroup R* originated in North Asia just before the Last Glacial Maximum (26,500-19,000 years ago). This haplogroup has been identified in the remains of a 24,000 year-old boy from the Altai region, in south-central Siberia (Raghavan et al. 2013). This individual belonged to a tribe of mammoth hunters that may have roamed across Siberia and parts of Europe during the Paleolithic. Autosomally this Paleolithic population appears to have contributed mostly to the ancestry of modern Europeans and South Asians, the two regions where haplogroup R also happens to be the most common nowadays (R1b in Western Europe, R1a in Eastern Europe, Central and South Asia, and R2 in South Asia).” ref 

“The oldest forms of R1b (M343, P25, L389) are found dispersed at very low frequencies from Western Europe to India, a vast region where could have roamed the nomadic R1b hunter-gatherers during the Ice Age. The three main branches of R1b1 (R1b1a, R1b1b, R1b1c) all seem to have stemmed from the Middle East. The southern branch, R1b1c (V88), is found mostly in the Levant and Africa. The northern branch, R1b1a (P297), seems to have originated around the Caucasus, eastern Anatolia or northern Mesopotamia, then to have crossed over the Caucasus, from where they would have invaded Europe and Central Asia. R1b1b (M335) has only been found in Anatolia.” ref 

“It has been hypothetised that R1b people (perhaps alongside neighbouring J2 tribes) were the first to domesticate cattle in northern Mesopotamia some 10,500 years ago. R1b tribes descended from mammoth hunters, and when mammoths went extinct, they started hunting other large game such as bisons and aurochs. With the increase of the human population in the Fertile Crescent from the beginning of the Neolithic (starting 12,000 years ago), selective hunting and culling of herds started replacing indiscriminate killing of wild animals. The increased involvement of humans in the life of aurochs, wild boars and goats led to their progressive taming. Cattle herders probably maintained a nomadic or semi-nomadic existence, while other people in the Fertile Crescent (presumably represented by haplogroups E1b1b, G and T) settled down to cultivate the land or keep smaller domesticates.” ref 

“The analysis of bovine DNA has revealed that all the taurine cattle (Bos taurus) alive today descend from a population of only 80 aurochs. The earliest evidence of cattle domestication dates from circa 8,500 BCE in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures in the Taurus Mountains. The two oldest archaeological sites showing signs of cattle domestication are the villages of Çayönü Tepesi in southeastern Turkey and Dja’de el-Mughara in northern Iraq, two sites only 250 km away from each others. This is presumably the area from which R1b lineages started expanding – or in other words the “original homeland” of R1b.” ref 

“The early R1b cattle herders would have split in at least three groups. One branch (M335) remained in Anatolia, but judging from its extreme rarity today wasn’t very successful, perhaps due to the heavy competition with other Neolithic populations in Anatolia, or to the scarcity of pastures in this mountainous environment. A second branch migrated south to the Levant, where it became the V88 branch. Some of them searched for new lands south in Africa, first in Egypt, then colonising most of northern Africa, from the Mediterranean coast to the Sahel. The third branch (P297), crossed the Caucasus into the vast Pontic-Caspian Steppe, which provided ideal grazing grounds for cattle. They split into two factions: R1b1a1 (M73), which went east along the Caspian Sea to Central Asia, and R1b1a2 (M269), which at first remained in the North Caucasus and the Pontic Steppe between the Dnieper and the Volga. It is not yet clear whether M73 actually migrated across the Caucasus and reached Central Asia via Kazakhstan, or if it went south through Iran and Turkmenistan. In any case, M73 would be a pre-Indo-European branch of R1b, just like V88 and M335.” ref 

“R1b-M269 (the most common form in Europe) is closely associated with the diffusion of Indo-European languages, as attested by its presence in all regions of the world where Indo-European languages were spoken in ancient times, from the Atlantic coast of Europe to the Indian subcontinent, which comprised almost all Europe (except Finland, Sardinia and Bosnia-Herzegovina), Anatolia, Armenia, European Russia, southern Siberia, many pockets around Central Asia (notably in Xinjiang, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan), without forgetting Iran, Pakistan, northern India and Nepal. The history of R1b and R1a are intricately connected to each others.” ref 

“Early human remains found to carry R1b include:

• Villabruna 1 (individual I9030), a Western Hunter-Gatherer (WHG), found in an Epigravettian culture setting in the Cismon valley (modern Veneto, Italy), who lived circa 14000 years ago and belonged to R1b1a.
• Several males of the Iron Gates Mesolithic in the Balkans buried between 11,200 to 8,200 years ago carried R1b1a1a. These individuals were determined to be largely of WHG ancestry, with slight Eastern Hunter-Gatherer (EHG) admixture.
• Several males of the Mesolithic Kunda culture and Neolithic Narva culture buried in the Zvejnieki burial ground in modern-day Latvia c. 9,500–6,000 years ago carried R1b1b. These individuals were determined to be largely of WHG ancestry, with slight EHG admixture.
• Several Mesolithic and Neolithic males buried at Deriivka and Vasil’evka in modern-day Ukraine c. 9500-7000 years ago carried R1b1a. These individuals were largely of EHG ancestry, with significant WHG admixture.
• A WHG male buried at Ostrovul Corbuli, Romania c. 8,700 years ago carried R1b1c.
• A male buried at Lepenski Vir, Serbia c. 8,200-7,900 years ago carried R1b1a.
• An EHG buried near Samara, Russia 7,500 years ago carried R1b1a1a.
• An Eneolithic male buried at Khvalynsk, Russia c. 7,200-6,000 years ago carried R1b1a.
• A Neolithic male buried at Els Trocs, Spain c. 7,178-7,066 years ago, who may have belonged to the Epi-Cardial culture, was found to be a carrier of R1b1.
• A Late Chalcolithic male buried in Smyadovo, Bulgaria c. 6,500 years ago carried R1b1a.
• An Early Copper Age male buried in Cannas di Sotto, Carbonia, Sardinia c. 6,450 years ago carried R1b1b2.
• A male of the Baalberge group in Central Europe buried c. 5,600 years ago carried R1b1a.
• A male of the Botai culture in Central Asia buried c. 5,500 years ago carried R1b1a1 (R1b-M478).
• 7 males that were tested of the Yamnaya culture were all found to belong to the M269 subclade of haplogroup R1b.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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My thoughts on Shamanism, Cultural Migrations: 34,000 to 12,000 years ago (Paganism after 12,000 years ago in the Middle East) 

Early Shamanism 

Gravettian Culture (33,000-21,000 years ago) Western, Eastern, and Southern Europe 

Ancient North Eurasian Culture (24,000-15,000 years ago) Northeastern Eurasia/Southcentral Siberia 

Epigravettian Culture (21,000-10,000 years ago) Eastern, and Southern Europe 

Evolved Shamanism 

Pinarbasi Hoyuk/Pinarbasi Golu (16,000-year-old human cemetery/dogs burials 15,915-15,669 years ago; formal site 11,000/ 10,500-10,000 years ago) – Central Turkey 

Kortik Tepe (12,687/12,400-11,250 years ago) – Eastern Turkey 

“Kortik Tepe is recognized for the outstanding quality and richness of its visual arts, as seen on stone vessels and stone ritual objects, including depictions of humans, animals and various symbols, particularly undulating snakes. The production of decorative symbolic items, including decorated bone palettes, started during the Younger Dryas period, from the 11th millennium BCE (13,000 to 12,000 years ago). The early Holocene saw the development of human, animal or hybrid imagery. Many of the motifs and symbols of Kortik Tepe in the Mesopotamian Basin, including at the subsequent Tas Tepeler culture sites such as Gobekli Tepe. Similar items only started to appear at other Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites towards the end of the occupation period of Kortik Tepe, as in Gusir Hoyuk or Hasankeyf Hoyuk. Chronologically, Kortik Tepe is followed by the Tas Tepeler culture sites of Karahan Tepe and Gobekli Tepe, characterized by important monumental developments, and Jericho (site of Tell es-Sultan) with its wall structure around an early city. Kortik Tepe may have been a predecessor of the PPN artistic and material culture in Upper Mesopotamia, including Gobekli Tepe and the other Tas Tepeler sites.” ref

 Early Paganism 

(Tas Tepeler culture) – Eastern Turkey 

“The Tas Tepeler (Turkish, literally ‘Stone Mounds’) are a group of Neolithic archaeological sites in Upper Mesopotamia (al-Jazira), near the city of Urfa. Tas Tepeler culture sites—comprising sites like Gobekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe, and Sayburç in southeastern Anatolia (~11,500–10,000 years ago)—represents an era where complex, permanent social and ritual structures emerged before full-scale animal domestication and plant agriculture. They are the remains of an early civilization dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period (c. 12,000–9,000 years ago), during transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to settled agricultural communities in the region. The societies of Taş Tepeler still had not yet developed the herding of animals or well-developed agriculture: their subsistence depended on hunting and selective harvesting of wild cereal grasses, perhaps early forms of domesticated cereal. The earliest dates for the actual domestication of animals are 11,000 years ago for goats and sheep, 10,500 years ago for pigs, and 10,000 years ago for cattle, all in the area of Northern Mesopotamia. 11,000-9,000 years ago era sites like Ayanlar Hoyuk, Yeni Mahalle, Boncuklu Tarla, Çayonu, Qermez Dere, Nevali Cori. DNA samples from Boncuklu Tarla (dated to 11,000-10,500 years ago), and Çayönü (dated to circa 10,300-9,500 years ago), were part of a Mesopotamia_Neolithic cluster (together with a few Nemrik 9 11,800-10,270 years ago in far-northern Iraq).” ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref 

AI Overview: Before animals were biologically domesticated (which happened slightly later in the region around 9000–8000 BCE), human communities practiced transitional management strategies: [1, 2]

• Targeted/Selective Hunting: Zooarchaeological studies from contemporary regional sites (such as Kortik Tepe in Eastern Turkey and early levels of Asikli Hoy0k in Central Turkey) show structured culling patterns—such as focusing on specific age and sex classes (like juvenile-rich female herds or bachelor ram groups). [1]
• Short-Term Tending & Live Storage: Early experiments involved capturing and holding live young animals (like wild lambs, kids, or wild boars) near or inside settlements for short periods to smooth out gaps in the seasonal hunting cycle. [1, 2]
• Entrapment and Enclosure: Landscape modifications, communal stone structures, and early boundary-making facilitated the tracking, funneling, or localized holding of wild game. [1]

Gobekli Tepe (11,500-10,000 years ago) – Eastern Turkey

Boncuklu Tarla (11,000-10,500 years ago) – Eastern Turkey

Boncuklu Hoyuk (10,500–9,500 years ago) – Central Turkey

Catal Hoyuk (9,500–8,000 years ago) – Central Turkey

Pinarbasi Hoyuk in Central Turkey, considered Turkey’s oldest known cemetery at 16,000 years old

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Obsidian Trade in the Near East, 16,000 to 11,500 years ago

“Obsidian is a black volcanic glass, which, because of its trace elements, can be traced to individual sources, thus being an indicator of prehistoric trade. The earliest evidence of long-distance trade in obsidian occurs during the late-glacial period (Pinarbasi Hoyuk site, Kebaran and Zarzian cultures), in the still-open landscapes before the spread of forests, when it circulated among Epipalaeolithic hunting and foraging groups around the Fertile Crescent. Two chains of connection are already evident: obsidian from the Bingöl region of south-east Turkey reached Iraqi Kurdistan (via the Hilly Flanks route), and obsidian from the Cappadocian area of central Turkey was carried across the Taurus to the middle Euphrates and the northern Levant (the Levantine Corridor).” ref

“From limited circulation (though still over impressive distances) by late-Pleistocene hunter-gatherers, to its increasing use – initially distributed along a few axial routes. During the rapid climatic swings which brought the late-glacial period to an end, in which a warmer Allerød phase was followed by a colder Younger Dryas phase, increasingly sedentary communities continued to trade obsidian (Natufian, Zarzian, and Zawi Chemi cultures), which penetrated the whole length of the Levant. The middle Euphrates seems to have been an important intermediate region in this transmission.” ref

“Turkey_Central_Pinarbasi_Epipaleolithic Male Y-DNA Haplogroup C1a2b and mtDNA Haplogroup K2b dating to 15,461 years ago.” ref

“Anatolia_PPN_West 9,950 years ago; Male Y-DNA C1a2b and mt-DNA K1a” ref

“LEPE48 Lepenski Vir in Serbia 8,012–7,867 years ago; Male Y-DNA C1a2b and mt-DNA K1a1

Dil16 (LBK) Dillingen-Steinheim in Germany, 7,235–6,998 years ago; Male Y-DNA C1a2b and mt-DNA J1c6″ ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

(I reworked the DNA map to add info)

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Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

(I reworked the article’s art to make it clearer)

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• Solutrean (Shamanism)
• Epigravettian (Shamanism)
• Western hunter-gatherer (Shamanism)
• Anatolian hunter-gatherers (Shamanism)
• Early European Farmers (EEF) a group of Anatolian Neolithic Farmers (ANF) (Paganism)
• Linear Pottery culture (LBK) (Paganism)

“Research suggests that European HGs had already split into two subgroups (West 1 and West 2) ∼23,000 years ago, after experiencing a very severe bottleneck during the LGM.” ref

“The genomic origins of the world’s first farmers: ancient genomes reveal that the early farmers of Anatolia and Europe emerged from a multiphase mixing of a Southwest Asian population with a strongly bottlenecked western hunter-gatherer population after the last glacial maximum.” ref

Origins and Evolution of Y‑DNA C1A2B

“Y‑DNA haplogroup C1A2B is a downstream branch of C1A2 (C‑V20), itself an ancient Eurasian offshoot of haplogroup C that entered western Eurasia during the Upper Paleolithic. Based on the position of C1A2B in the phylogeny relative to C1A2 and estimated mutation rates, the clade is most reasonably placed to have arisen in Western Eurasia during the Late Upper Paleolithic (roughly 20,000–25,000 years ago) as populations that carried C1A2 diversified after a westward expansion. C1A2B’s main significance is as a marker of deep Paleolithic ancestry in western Eurasia rather than as a driver of later cultural expansions. C1A2B exhibits a geographically restricted and discontinuous distribution: it is best characterized as a relict Paleolithic lineage now found at very low frequency across parts of Western and Southern Europe, with sporadic, rare detections elsewhere. Ancient DNA surveys have recovered lineages from the broader C1A/C1A2 branches in Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic European contexts, indicating deep time presence; modern detections are scattered and typically rare, consistent with drift and replacement by later demographic expansions (Neolithic farmers, Bronze Age migrations). Regions where small but notable residual frequencies have been reported include Iberia, southern France, Italy (including some island populations), and isolated records in Central and Northern Europe.”  ref

AI Overview: Y-DNA Haplogroup C1a2b (C-PH428) is an exceptionally rare, ancient paternal lineage deeply intertwined with Europe’s Paleolithic history. In the context of the Epigravettian culture (c. 24,000–12,000 years ago), it represents a critical ancestral component of the Western Hunter-Gatherer (WHG) genetic cluster. [1, 2, 3, 4]

“The relationships of the Western Hunter-Gatherer/Villabruna (Northern Italy: late Epigravettian cultural context) cluster to other Paleolithic human groups in Europe and West Asia are obscure and subject to conflicting interpretations. Western Hunter-Gatherer genomes display higher affinity for ancient and modern Middle Eastern populations when compared against earlier Paleolithic Europeans such as Gravettians. The affinity for ancient Middle Eastern populations in Europe increased after the Last Glacial Maximum, correlating with the expansion of WHG (Villabruna or Oberkassel) ancestry. There is also evidence for bi-directional geneflow between WHG and Middle Eastern populations as early as 15,000 years ago. Western Hunter-Gatherer associated remains belonged primarily to the human Y-chromosome haplogroups I-M170 with a lower frequency of C-F3393 (specifically the clade C-V20/C1a2), which has been found commonly among earlier Paleolithic European remains such as Kostenki-14 and Sungir. The paternal haplogroup C-V20 can still be found in men living in modern Spain, attesting to this lineage’s longstanding presence in Western Europe. the Villabruna cluster emerged from an admixture between a Věstonice (Czech Republic: Gravettian period) related lineage and a West Eurasian lineage that’s basal to the split between Kostenki-14 and Goyet (Belgium: Aurignacian period) Q116-1 (35,160-34,430 years ago) genomes. The Věstonice-related lineage itself can be modeled as a mixture of BK-1653-related lineages and Sunghir (Russia: Gravettian period) related lineages, with the former being responsible for the high genetic affinities between the Villabruna and Věstonice clusters. The earliest known individuals of predominantly WHG/Villabruna ancestry in Europe are known from Italy, dating to around 17,000 years ago, although an individual from El Mirón cave in northern Spain from about 19,000 years ago had about 43% Villabruna ancestry. While not confirmed, the Villabruna cluster was probably present earlier in the Balkans region than elsewhere in Southern Europe. Early WHG/Villabruna populations are associated with the Epigravettian archaeological culture, which largely replaced populations associated with the Magdalenian culture about 14,000 years ago.” ref

The Epigravettian Connection & Genetic Legacy

During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Europe’s populations retreated into southern refugia. The Epigravettian culture emerged in southeastern Europe and Italy, preserving deep-time European hunter-gatherer lineages. [1, 2, 3, 4]

• Paleolithic Survival: While the broader branch C1a2 (C-V20) is documented in earlier Upper Paleolithic European contexts (including Gravettian individuals), the specific subclade C1a2b survived the Ice Age within Epigravettian and related Balkan/Italian refugia. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• The Mesolithic Transition: As glaciers retreated, Epigravettian peoples carrying C1a2b expanded northward and westward, blending into the classic Western Hunter-Gatherer (WHG) population. [1, 2]
• Y-DNA haplogroup C1a2b (specifically downstream branches like C1a2b1) is a rare paternal lineage associated with ancient Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHGs) in Europe. [1, 2, 3]
• Ancient Presence: Haplogroup C1a2 (and its sub-lineages) has been documented in ancient European Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and early Neolithic remains. For instance, ancient DNA studies (such as research on early farmer and hunter-gatherer contexts in France and other parts of Western Europe) have identified C1a2b in male specimens carrying indigenous European hunter-gatherer ancestry. [1, 2, 3]
• Relation to WHG: While Western Hunter-Gatherers were most commonly characterized by Y-DNA haplogroup I (such as I1 and I2), haplogroup C1a2 represented an important, older minority paternal marker among these populations. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Neolithic Trajectory: Archaeogenetics shows that C1a2b persisted directly into the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic transitions. A famous ancient genome carrying C1a2b was found at the Mesolithic/Neolithic transitional site of Lepenski Vir (individual LEPE48, c. 8,000 years ago) in Serbia. Other hunter-gatherer remnants carrying C1a2b were absorbed by early European farmers, appearing sporadically in late Early Neolithic contexts (such as the LBK culture in Dillingen, Germany). [1, 2]
• Y-DNA haplogroup C1a2b was identified in ancient DNA samples excavated at the prehistoric site of Lepenski Vir in the Đerdap (Iron Gates) gorge along the Danube River in Serbia. [1, 2]

Key Details of C1a2b at Lepenski Vir

• Sample ID (LEPE48): Ancient DNA analysis (such as Marchi et al. / Mathieson et al.) identified sample LEPE48, a male individual from Lepenski Vir dated to roughly 6012–5867 BCE (approx. 8,000 years before present). [1]
• Haplogroup Profile: Sample LEPE48 carried Y-DNA haplogroup C1a2b alongside mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup K1a1. [1, 2]
• Context: Haplogroup C1a2b is associated with early European hunter-gatherer lineages or ancient admixture events in the Balkan/Danube region during the transition between the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. Other male samples from the site have yielded different haplogroups like G2a2b2a1a1c and R1b1a, reflecting a genetic mix of local Iron Gates Hunter-Gatherers and incoming early farmers. [1, 2]

Anatolian hunter-gatherers Y-DNA C1a2 

“Anatolian hunter-gatherers: The existence of this ancient population has been inferred through the genetic analysis of the remains of a man from the site of Pınarbaşı (37 ° 29’N, 33 ° 02’E), in central Anatolia, which has been dated at 13,642-13,073 cal BCE. This population is genetically differentiated from the rest of the known Pleistocene populations. The individual analyzed belongs to Y-chromosomal haplogroup C1a2 (C-V20), which has been found in some of the early WHGs, and mitochondrial haplogroup K2b. Both paternal and maternal lineages are rare in present-day Eurasian populations.” ref

Haplogroup C1a2 (V20) has been discovered in the remains of Palaeolithic people in Dolní Věstonice Gravettian site Czech Republic (30,000 years ago), Belgium (35,000 years ago) associated with the Aurignacian culture. Shortly thereafter, ousted by Gravettian (from 34,000 years ago), and the Sunghir (34,000 years ago) Gravettian site near Vladimir, Russia. Haplogroup C-V20 Y-DNA also has been found in a very small number of modern Europeans, Algerians, Armenians, Turks and Nepalis. It includes many Y-DNA samples associated with the oldest currently known population of anatomically modern humans in Europe (Cro-Magnons), and it is considered to be a carrier of the Upper Paleolithic Aurignacian culture that began 40,000 years ago.” ref, ref, ref, ref, ref

“The Věstonice individuals form a distinct genetic cluster which is the result of an admixture between ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ lineages, represented by the genomes of the c. 35,000 year-old Goyet Q116-1 individual from Belgium and the c. 34,000 year-old Sunghir individuals from Western Russia, respectively. The Věstonice individuals show greater affinity to the Sunghir individuals than to the Goyet Q116-1 individual, and can be modelled as approximately 64% Sunghir-related and 36% Goyet-Q116-related ancestry. The Y-chromosome observed among Vestonice 16 belonged to haplogroup C1a2 (V20+, V86+).” ref

AI Overview: The genetic analysis of the Epipaleolithic Anatolian hunter-gatherer sample (ZBC_IPB001) excavated from the Pınarbaşı rock shelter site in Central Anatolia (dating to approximately 13,000–15,000 BCE) yielded the following haplogroups: [1]

• Paternal Lineage (Y-DNA): C1a2b (specifically ancestral to the broader C-F16270 clade).
• Maternal Lineage (mtDNA): K2b. [1, 2]

Key Genetic Takeaways

• The “Anatolian Gene” Root: The Pınarbaşı sample serves as the primary genetic baseline for Anatolian Hunter-Gatherer (AHG) ancestry. This local Upper Paleolithic/Epipaleolithic population directly contributed the vast majority of the genetic profile to later early farming societies in the region, such as those at Boncuklu Höyük and Çatalhöyük. [1, 2, 3]
• Survival of C1a2: While Haplogroup G2a eventually became the dominant paternal line carried by Early European Farmers (EEF) into Europe, the older Epipaleolithic C1a2 lineage survived locally and was found in low frequencies across virtually every major Neolithic site in Anatolia and early European agricultural settlements. [1, 2]
• Autosomal Proximity: Despite living at the end of the Ice Age, autosomal modeling shows this individual shares high genetic affinity with early Mediterranean and European farmers rather than typical Western European Hunter-Gatherers (WHG) of the same period. [1]

Earliest known Anatolian DNA in West

“Excavations at Girmeler have also revealed graves belonging to these ancient communities. DNA analysis of the skeletons has uncovered the earliest known example of the “Anatolian gene” in Western Anatolia. The DNA matches those found in the 17,000-year-old Pinarbasi skeletons from Central Anatolia, are known as the bearers of the original ‘Anatolian gene. This firmly places Girmeler at the root of Western Anatolia’s earliest farming societies.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Epipalaeolithic Canines found at or relate to the Pinarbasi Hoyuk site (Anatolian hunter-gatherers), Kebaran (ancestral to Natufian hunter-gatherers), Zarzian (ancestral to Iranian hunter-gatherers), and Trialetian (Caucasus hunter-gatherer) culture sites.

“The Epipalaeolithic period in the Near East (Early 25,000–19,000 years ago, Middle 19,000–15,000 years ago, and Late 15,000–11,500 years ago). In the Mediterranean Levant, the Early Epipalaeolithic is characterised by the Kebaran culture, the Middle Epipalaeolithic by the Geometric Kebaran culture, and the Late Epipalaeolithic by the Natufian culture. In Mesopotamia, the Zagros, and the Iranian plateau, the entire period is associated with the Zarzian culture. The Epipalaeolithic of Anatolia is relatively poorly documented but displays cultural similarities to both the Levantine Epipalaeolithic and Aegean Mesolithic (Mesolithic Europe is roughly 15,000 to 5,000 years ago; the Balkan Mesolithic begins around 15,000 years ago).” ref, ref

Fox burial Uyun al-Hammam (Jordan) 17,000 years ago

A Unique Human-Fox Burial from a Pre-Natufian Cemetery in the Levant (Jordan)

“The Kebaran culture area pre-Natufian occupied the Levant, and had interred a red fox together with a human in this site dated 17,700–14,750 years ago. The remains were buried in such a manner as to suggest that prehistoric humans in that locale may have kept foxes as companion animals, in a similar way to dogs. The find provides information on the earliest burial practices of ancient humans.” ref

Kebaran and later Natufian cultures shared similar dispersal areas, just at different times.

Kebaran culture: 23,000 – 15,000 years ago

Kebaran culture map

Natufian culture: 15,000 – 11,500 years ago

Natufian culture map

“A 16,500-year-old cemetery with human remains — buried alongside those of a red fox — suggests humans may have had a soft spot for the animals well before dogs became man’s best friend. The significance of the fox can’t be known for sure but given strong similarities to the way dogs were treated in Natufian burials a few thousand years later. They may have thought of the fox as more or less equivalent to the dog in some way. Both dogs and foxes are canines, for one, and researchers know that foxes, while skittish and timid, can be tamed. What’s more, early domesticated dogs in the Middle East were about the same size as the red fox. It is interesting that a red fox was used in two burials. The whole red fox was buried with one person and then later on part of that fox is removed from that burial and put in another burial. The graves also have bones of other animals, but only the fox bones were treated in the same way as the humans. Both, for example, were sprinkled with red ochre. And in the original burial, the fox was completely interred, not just parts as is often the case with food offerings. The cemetery finding also indicates that elaborate mortuary rituals took place much earlier than previously believed and in cultures that were clearly nomadic hunter-gatherers. Though the people at ‘Uyun al-Hammam were nomadic, the cemetery indicates ties to particular places in the landscape. The living space around the cemetery was a well-used campsite. “Maybe because they associated it with their ancestors, it became their burial place. As they moved around this landscape, they kept coming back there to bury their dead. That’s kind of interesting too, because it suggests a territoriality that is difficult to document earlier than this.” ref

“A 16,500-year-old cemetery with human remains — buried alongside those of a red fox — suggests humans may have had a soft spot for the animals well before dogs became man’s best friend. The significance of the fox can’t be known for sure but given strong similarities to the way dogs were treated in Natufian burials a few thousand years later. They may have thought of the fox as more or less equivalent to the dog in some way. Both dogs and foxes are canines, for one, and researchers know that foxes, while skittish and timid, can be tamed. What’s more, early domesticated dogs in the Middle East were about the same size as the red fox. It is interesting that a red fox was used in two burials. The whole red fox was buried with one person and then later on part of that fox is removed from that burial and put in another burial. The graves also have bones of other animals, but only the fox bones were treated in the same way as the humans. Both, for example, were sprinkled with red ochre. And in the original burial, the fox was completely interred, not just parts as is often the case with food offerings. The cemetery finding also indicates that elaborate mortuary rituals took place much earlier than previously believed and in cultures that were clearly nomadic hunter-gatherers. Though the people at ‘Uyun al-Hammam were nomadic, the cemetery indicates ties to particular places in the landscape. The living space around the cemetery was a well-used campsite. “Maybe because they associated it with their ancestors, it became their burial place. As they moved around this landscape, they kept coming back there to bury their dead. That’s kind of interesting too, because it suggests a territoriality that is difficult to document earlier than this.” ref

“Previous work suggests that archaeological features indicative of social complexity occur suddenly during the latest Epipalaeolithic phase, the Natufian (c. 14,500–11,600 years ago). These features include sedentism, cemeteries, architecture, food production, including animal domestication, and burials with elaborate mortuary treatments. Our findings from the pre-Natufian (Middle Epipalaeolithic) cemetery of ‘Uyun al-Hammam demonstrate that joint human-animal mortuary practices appear earlier in the Epipalaeolithic. We describe the earliest human-fox burial in the Near East, where the remains of dogs have been found associated with human burials at a number of Natufian sites. This is the first time that a fox has been documented in association with human interments pre-dating the Natufian and with a particular suite of grave goods. Analysis of the human and animal bones and their associated artefacts provides critical data on the nature and timing of these newly-developing relationships between people and animals prior to the appearance of domesticated dogs in the Natufian. ‘Uyun al-Hammam is a pre-Natufian burial ground, with elaborate human burials that include evidence for unique human-animal relationships, demonstrating that these features are not unique to the Natufian.” ref

“The remains of at least eleven individuals, interred in eight graves, represent the earliest known cemetery in the southern Levant and more than double the number of human burials for the entire Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic periods. Recent discoveries at ‘Uyun al-Hammam demonstrate a unique collection (in abundance and diversity) of grave goods and varied patterns of interment associated with the human remains. Two adjacent graves contain the articulated remains of several individuals, and include the following elements: 1) the earliest human-fox burial, 2) the movement of human and animal (fox) body parts between graves and, 3) the presence of red ochre, worked bone implements, chipped and ground stone tools, and the remains of deer, gazelle, aurochs and tortoise – grave goods that together became common among later Natufian and Neolithic burials. The ‘Uyun al-Hammam burials thus demonstrate intriguing human-animal relationships earlier than the first domesticated animal in the region. In light of the significance recently given to the Natufian “shaman” of Hilazon Tachtit, our findings provide strong evidence that key aspects of these complex mortuary traditions occurred earlier in the Epipalaeolithic of the Near East than previously thought. Five radiocarbon dates from bone and charcoal within Graves I and VIII as well as an overlying midden deposit use of the site between 17,250–16,350 years ago and 15,000–14,200 years ago. This is corroborated by typological analyses of the stone tool assemblage that clearly place all phases within the Middle Epipalaeolithic Geometric Kebaran industry (17,700–14,750 years ago).” ref  

“The Late Epipalaeolithic Natufian culture is well-known for its stone architecture, organized site structures, portable art and decoration, and human burials, some of which display grave goods and personal ornaments. Formalized cemeteries, totaling more than 400 interments, appear for the first time. These burials document a wide variety of mortuary practices, with treatments of the dead including stone and organic burial containers and installations, worked stone and bone grave goods and, notably, animal inclusions such as early domesticated. Elucidating the social meanings of these variable burial customs is challenging due to limitations of the material culture record and limitations of ethnographic comparisons. However, contextual examination of items accompanying human remains permits preliminary interpretations of this mortuary behavior. For example, an interpretation of an elderly female Natufian burial containing a unique array of grave goods as the first shaman burial. Despite early work that seemed to indicate a behavioral break between Early/Middle Epipalaeolithic and later, socially-complex Natufian sites, new excavations suggest an earlier emergence of some of the features characteristic of the Natufian period. Key features used to differentiate Natufian from preceding Epipalaeolithic groups include the appearance of formalized burial grounds and the origin of mortuary traditions that become characteristic of Neolithic symbolic and ideological life.” ref  

“Two key mortuary practices demonstrate ideological continuity between the Natufian and Neolithic, while highlighting a break between the Natufian and earlier EP groups: a) the movement or removal of skulls and, b) special human-animal relationships. For example, the burial of an adult female with a juvenile domestic dog is well-known from ‘Ain Mallaha (‘Eynan), while another human-dog burial comes from Hayonim Terrace. Also, a unique burial from the Late Natufian site of Hilazon Tachtit features an elderly female buried with over 50 tortoise carapaces, several articulated raptor wings, the pelvis of a leopard, and the mandible of a wolf. These unmodified animal parts could be viewed as evidence for changing human-animal interactions or domestication yet-to-come. Given the number of individuals interred and complexity of mortuary practices, it is clear that this site represents a pre-Natufian burial ground. The context of the burials and condition of the skeletons suggests that they do not represent one burial episode, but correspond to continued use of the site as a burial ground, either contemporary with or post-dating occupation of the site.” ref  

Dog burial Pinarbasi Hoyuk (Turkey) 16,000 years ago

“Buried remains of juvenile canids remains of the dogs had been treated in a similar way to those of human burials found at the site were identified as early domestic dogs dating to between 15,915 to 15,669 years ago.” ref

“Pınarbasi, in central Turkey where hunter-gatherers buried their dogs alongside humans nearly 16,000 years ago: three dog puppies placed in a pit directly above a human burial. The genomes of the Turkish (Pınarbasi: 15,915 years ago), English (Gough’s Cave: 14,300 years ago), and Swiss (Kesslerloch: 14,200 years ago) dogs were strikingly similar to one another, despite the vast geographical distances separating the sites, and the very different human cultures there. The Gough’s Cave and Kesslerloch dogs mitochondrial DNA was a close match to that of 14,000-year-old canine remains from western Germany and southern Italy, revealing that dogs were widespread across Europe by this time. People at Gough’s Cave, for example, were part of the Magdalenian culture—renowned for its sophisticated cave paintings (and, in the case of the Gough’s Cave inhabitants, making cups from human skulls). Pınarbasi, meanwhile, was home to Anatolian hunter-gatherers, direct ancestors of the farmers who introduced agriculture to Europe. Humans from these disparate cultures had genetic differences, “but we don’t see the same pattern in dogs. Based on canine and human DNA at the various sites, the research team suggests Epigravettian people, expert stone-tool craftsmen who lived throughout southern and eastern Europe between about 21,000 and 12,000 years ago, may have helped spread dogs throughout the continent. All of a sudden, these dogs arrive where you’ve never seen them before.” ref

“Research shows both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes from canid remains at Pınarbaşı in Türkiye (15,800 years ago)¹⁰ and Gough’s Cave in the UK (14,300 years ago), as well as from dogs excavated from two Mesolithic sites in Serbia (Padina between 11,500─7,900 years ago and Vlasac 8,900 years ago). Analyses indicate that a genetically homogeneous dog population was already widely distributed across Europe and Anatolia during the Late Upper Palaeolithic (by at least 14,300 years ago). This finding suggests that dogs were exchanged among genetically and culturally distinct western Eurasian Late Palaeolithic human populations, namely the Magdalenian, Epigravettian and Anatolian hunter-gatherers. Last, we identify a major influx of eastern Eurasian dog ancestry during the Mesolithic, concomitant with the movement of eastern hunter-gatherer populations into Europe, which led to the establishment of the primary ancestry characteristics that define European dog populations today.” ref

Zarzian culture dog, 14,000 years old, from Palegawra Cave (Iraq)

“Zarzian culture dates from 20,000 to 10,000 years ago. Zarzian culture sites are primarily found in Iran and Iraq, centered around the Zagros Mountains region. The Zarzian of the Zagros region of Iran is contemporary with the Natufian but different from it and contemporary with the Levantine Kebaran, with which it shares features. The Zarzian culture is found associated with remains of the domesticated dog and with the introduction of the bow and arrow.” ref, ref

“Dog remains in the Near East predated agriculture, such as the Natufian dogs from Ain Mallaha, Hayonim Cave and Terrace, and Kebara Cave, the Cyprus small dogs of Shillourokambos, or the Palegawra dog (Zarzian culture).” ref

“The dog remains associated with the Zarzian culture—specifically the famous canine specimen found at Palegawra Cave in modern-day Iraq—are approximately 14,000 years old. ref

Did Y-DNA R1b help spread canines (dogs or foxes) for ritual and hunting/companions?

I think so, as Y-DNA R1b movements seem to somewhat correlate with the emergence of new canine use.

“Haplogroup R* originated in North Asia just before the Last Glacial Maximum (26,500-19,000 years ago). This haplogroup has been identified in the Ancient North Eurasians remains of a 24,000-year-old Mal’ta–Buret’ culture boy (MA-1: only known example of basal Y-DNA R* “R-M207*”), in south-central Siberia, roughly northwest of Lake Baikal,.” ref, ref, ref

“The three main branches of R1b1 (R1b1a, R1b1b, R1b1c) all seem to have stemmed from the Middle East. The southern branch, R1b1c (V88), is found mostly in the Levant and Africa. The northern branch, R1b1a (P297), seems to have originated around the Caucasus, eastern Anatolia, or northern Mesopotamia, then crossed over the Caucasus, from where they would have invaded Europe and Central Asia. Some have hypothesized that R1b people (perhaps alongside neighboring J2 tribes) were the first to domesticate cattle in northern Mesopotamia about 10,500 years ago. R1b tribes descended from mammoth hunters, and when mammoths went extinct, they started hunting other large game such as bison and aurochs. As the human population in the Fertile Crescent grew from the beginning of the Neolithic (starting 12,000 years ago), selective hunting and culling of herds replaced indiscriminate killing of wild animals. Increased human involvement with aurochs, wild boars, and goats led to their progressive taming. Cattle herders probably maintained a nomadic or semi-nomadic existence, while other people in the Fertile Crescent (presumably represented by haplogroups E1b1b, G and T) settled down to cultivate the land or keep smaller domesticates. The analysis of bovine DNA has revealed that all the taurine cattle (Bos taurus) alive today descend from a population of only 80 aurochs.” ref

“The earliest evidence of cattle domestication dates from circa 8,500 BCE in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures in the Taurus Mountains. The two oldest archaeological sites showing signs of cattle domestication are the villages of Çayönü Tepesi in southeastern Turkey and Dja’de el-Mughara in northern Iraq, only 250 km apart. This is presumably the area from which R1b lineages started expanding – or, in other words, the “original homeland” of R1b. Like its northern counterpart (R1b-M269), R1b-V88 is associated with cattle domestication in northern Mesopotamia. Both branches of R1b probably split soon after cattle were domesticated, approximately 10,500 years ago (8,500 BCE). R1b-V88 migrated south towards the Levant and Egypt. Archaeological evidence for the migration of R1b people can be traced through the presence of domesticated cattle, which appear in central Syria around 8,000-7,500 BCE (late Mureybet period), then in the Southern Levant and Egypt around 7,000-6,500 BCE (e.g. at Nabta Playa and Bir Kiseiba). Cattle herders subsequently spread across most of northern and eastern Africa. The Sahara Desert would have been more humid during the Neolithic Subpluvial period (c. 7250-3250 BCE), and would have been a vast savannah full of grass, an ideal environment for cattle herding. Evidence of cow herding during the Neolithic has been found at Uan Muhuggiag in central Libya around 5500 BCE, at the Capeletti Cave in northern Algeria around 4500 BCE.” ref

AI Overview: The Armenian Gampr shares deep, shared root ancestry with ancient Eurasian dog lineages, though its direct genetic profile reflects continuous local adaptation in the Armenian Highlands rather than a direct descent from Paleolithic dogs of Siberia or Western Europe. [1, 2, 3]

Genetic Links and Background

• Common Ancestry: All domestic dogs trace back to deep Paleolithic wolf-dog divergence roots that spread across Eurasia thousands of years ago. [1, 2]
• Western Eurasian Continuity: Recent ancient DNA studies on prehistoric Western Eurasian and Anatolian dogs show that a broadly distributed, genetically related dog population existed across Europe and Anatolia by the Late Upper Paleolithic (around 14,000+ years ago). Because the Armenian Highlands sit at the crossroads of Anatolia, the Caucasus, and the Near East, the regional landrace stock shares deep ancestral connections to these early West-Eurasian canine groups. [1, 2]
• No Direct Siberian Link: While ancient human and dog migrations involved periodic shifts across Eurasia—such as Eastern Hunter-Gatherer or Steppe-related influences—the Gampr is not genetically linked to Siberian Paleolithic dog populations. Instead, it evolved as an indigenous landrace shaped by the local environment of the South Caucasus and Armenian Highlands. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Local Wolf Introgression: Unlike heavily closed modern show breeds, the Gampr preserved a high degree of genetic diversity and vital capacity through spontaneous and intentional periodic matings with native local wild wolves over thousands of years. [1, 2]

AI Overview: Recent ancient DNA papers reveal that the broader Epipaleolithic and Mesolithic populations of Anatolia and the Caucasus harbored some of the earliest genetically distinct domestic dogs in western Eurasia. For instance, a closely related site at Kotias Klde in Georgia yielded “Caucasus Hunter-Gatherer” (CHG) genetic lines that lived right alongside these early canine populations. [1, 2]

Zooarchaeological evidence indicates that Trialetian hunter-gatherers focused heavily on hunting wild boar, brown bears, and Caucasian wild goats (Capra caucasica). In this rugged, mountainous terrain, early domesticated dogs are widely understood to have served as crucial tracking and hunting aids. [1, 2]

Trialetian Mesolithic & Proto-Neolithic Sites (~14,000–6,000 BC)

During the Early Holocene, hunter-gatherer-fishers of the Trialetian lithic tradition heavily relied on dogs for hunting local fauna like wild goats (Capra caucasica), wild boar, and brown bears. [1, 2]

• Kotias Klde (Georgia): Located in the Valley of the Qvirila River, this karstic cave serves as a foundational stratified site for the Trialetian Mesolithic tradition. Its layers reveal a transition of Upper Paleolithic foragers into the Mesolithic era. Animal bone assemblages demonstrate an economy centered on hunting, supported by early domestic dogs acting as tracking and hunting aids. [1, 2]
• Edzani & Zurtaketi (Georgia): Located in the Khrami River basin (the nominal district of Trialeti), these key micro-blade and obsidian-rich sites date generally between 10,000–8,000 BC. The local fauna tracked by these toolkits shows a reliance on specialized hunting dogs to navigate the steep, mountainous terrain. [1, 2, 3]
• Hallan Çemi (Eastern Anatolia, Turkey): A proto-Neolithic site showing intense Trialetian lithic influences that dates from roughly 8,600–7,500 BC. It provides some of the earliest documented evidence in the Near East of intensive human-canid interaction, where dogs were morphologically transitioning away from wild wolves to adapt to fixed settlement environments. [1, 2]

Dogs related to the Natufian culture date to roughly 14,500–11,600 years ago

“Early evidence for dogs in northeast Jordan and the potential impact of new hunting methods: evidence suggests domestications of the dog in southwest Asia took place in the Late Epipalaeolithic Natufian (∼14,500–11,600 years ago). By the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A it is demonstrated that dogs were living alongside humans in significant numbers. Early domestic dogs would have facilitated the hunting of larger prey as well as also extend to the capture of smaller prey.” ref

“Domesticated dog in the Near East during the Kebaran and Natufian cultures (Kebara, Israel, c. 12,500–12,000 years ago).” ref

“12,000 years old at Ain Mallaha (Eynan) and HaYonim terrace, Israel, three canid finds. A diminutive carnassial and a mandible, and a wolf or dog puppy skeleton buried with a human during the Natufian culture.” ref

AI Overview: While the Kebaran culture (c. 23,000–15,000 years ago) is widely associated with the earliest phases of canine management and the initial steps of dog domestication, highly definitive, physically intact, and ritually buried dog skeletons in this specific region mostly peak during the immediately succeeding Natufian culture (c. 15,000–11,500 years ago). However, the broader Epipalaeolithic Levant and its closely related adjacent regions (like Central Anatolia) hold the earliest genetic and archaeological timeline for domestic dogs. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Kebara Cave (The Type Site)

• Age: c. 12,500–12,000 years ago (Late Epipalaeolithic layers)
• Context: Located south of Haifa, Israel, Kebara Cave is the foundational site that defines the microlithic toolkit of the Kebaran culture. While the earliest layers document intense human occupation, the upper layers transitioning out of the classic Kebaran sequence have yielded some of the earliest documented remains of clearly domesticated dogs in the Near East. [1, 2, 3]

Fox Symbolism at Gobekli Tepe

“The fox is one of the most important animals at Gobekli Tepe, appearing across multiple enclosures and on the central pillars. The fox is one of the most significant animals at Gobekli Tepe. Was the fox a group marker, a liminal guide, a ritual emblem, or several things at once? It appears repeatedly across the carved program, is especially associated with Enclosure B, and is uniquely connected to the great central pillars in Enclosure D, where fox pelts appear as part of the pillars’ bodily imagery. That combination of frequency, placement, and intimacy suggests that the fox meant far more than an ordinary wild animal to the builders of the site. The fox is not a minor decorative detail at Gobekli Tepe. It appears often enough, and in important enough places, to suggest that it carried real symbolic weight. Interpretations of the fox vary. Some are drawn to the idea of the fox as a liminal animal — a creature associated with thresholds, cunning, movement between boundaries, and the uncertain edges between worlds. Others prefer to think of it as a group emblem or identity marker. Still others connect it to wider themes of death, mediation, or ritual transition. None of these speculations can be proven in a final way. But the fox does seem to invite this kind of layered interpretation. The fox tells us that Gobekli Tepe’s builders were not simply depicting the natural world around them. They were turning selected animals into carriers of meaning.” ref

AI Overview: The animal carved on the T-shaped pillars at Göbekli Tepe is overwhelmingly identified by archaeologists as a red fox (Vulpes vulpes). [1, 2]

• Red Fox Identification: Archaeozoologists Joris Peters and Klaus Schmidt confirmed that the canine-like reliefs represent red foxes based on anatomical features, skull shapes, and the heavy representation of fox bones in the site’s refuse deposits. [1, 2]
• Pillar Placement: Foxes appear on at least 15 pillars across multiple enclosures. On the central anthropomorphic (human-like) pillars of Enclosure D, a fox is famously carved running down the front face just below the belt line, mimicking a fox-skin loincloth. [1, 2]
• Anthropomorphic Form: The T-pillars represent stylized human bodies with carved arms, hands, belts, and garments. [1, 2]
• The Fox Loincloth: On central pillars in Enclosure D (such as Pillar 18), a fox is carved running down the front face right below the stone belt—positioning it where a loincloth or fox pelt hangs on a human figure. [1, 2]
• Enclosure B Prominence: Enclosure B is famously known as the “Fox Enclosure” because the fox is the dominant animal relief carved on its central pillars, inner faces (like Pillar 10), and portal/porthole stones. [1, 2, 3]
• Symbolic and Material Use: Fox bones and cut marks show that the animals were hunted or processed locally for their fur pelts and teeth, which were used for clothing and ornamentation (with some stone pillars even carved to look like human figures wearing fox pelts). [1, 2, 3]
• Symbolic Meaning: Archaeologists like Klaus Schmidt and Joris Peters suggest the high frequency of foxes points to ritual significance, pelt exploitation, or symbolic association with ancestors, shamans, or mythological tricksters rather than routine food hunting. [1, 2]

Believed Cromagnon Whiteness and the Truth of Dark Skin

Siberia as the Origin and Migration place of “Light Skin” genes SLC24A5 and SLC45A2, about 22,000 to 28,000 years ago?

White (light-complexioned skin) Bigotry and Sexism started 7,000 years ago?

ref

Shamanistic and Animistic Cultures map by “The Shamanism Magazine” (http://SacredHoop.org)

https://sacredhoop.org/Free-Guide-To-Shamanism/Sacred-Hoop-Free-Guide-To-Shamanism.pdf

https://vebuka.com/print/171116090613-9bd8504b25af4f7e2fe52d3cfe620241/quotSACRED_HOOPquot_GUIDE_TO_SHAMANISM

Black, White, and Yellow Shamanism?

Shapeshifters: found among Totemists, Shamanists, and Paganists?

12,000 years ago, shaman woman buried at Cemka Hoyuk in Turkey, as well as the phenomenon of Shamanism and the feminine

Horned female shamans and Pre-satanism Devil/horned-god Worship at least 10,000 years ago

9,000-8,500 year old Horned Female shaman Bad Dürrenberg Germany

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

ref, ref, ref, 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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Finland’s Horned Shaman and Pre-Horned-God at least 4,500 years ago?