Hunter-Gatherers and the Origins of Religion

Abstract

Recent studies of the evolution of religion have revealed the cognitive underpinnings of belief in supernatural agents, the role of ritual in promoting cooperation, and the contribution of morally punishing high gods to the growth and stabilization of human society. The universality of religion across human society points to a deep evolutionary past. However, specific traits of nascent religiosity, and the sequence in which they emerged, have remained unknown. Here we reconstruct the evolution of religious beliefs and behaviors in early modern humans using a global sample of hunter-gatherers and seven traits describing hunter-gatherer religiosity: animism, belief in an afterlife, shamanism, ancestor worship, high gods, and worship of ancestors or high gods who are active in human affairs. We reconstruct ancestral character states using a time-calibrated supertree based on published phylogenetic trees and linguistic classification and then test for correlated evolution between the characters and for the direction of cultural change. Results indicate that the oldest trait of religion, present in the most recent common ancestor of present-day hunter-gatherers, was animism, in agreement with long-standing beliefs about the fundamental role of this trait. Belief in an afterlife emerged, followed by shamanism and ancestor worship. Ancestor spirits or high gods who are active in human affairs were absent in early humans, suggesting a deep history for the egalitarian nature of hunter-gatherer societies. There is a significant positive relationship between most characters investigated, but the trait “high gods” stands apart, suggesting that belief in a single creator deity can emerge in a society regardless of other aspects of its religion.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12110-016-9260-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Reliability and Adaptability of Religious Beliefs in the Light of Cognitive Science of Religion

“…Peoples et al find that among communities of hunter-gatherers the most popular kind of belief is animism. Then we find belief in an afterlife and shamanism [23]. We can suppose that these kinds of beliefs had and can have in the current societies psychological functions.…”

“…In this sense perhaps it would be possible to explain at least some beliefs as a result of historic process of selection. We mean especially the oldest kind of beliefs like the concept of an afterlife or shamanism [23].…”

The Elements of Eco-Connection: A Cross-Cultural Lexical Enquiry

“…The label reflects the belief that all natural phenomena individually-e.g., each tree or river-possess a unique spirit or soul. Indeed, animism was probably the dominant mode of cognition among the social groups that started to coalesce approximately sixty thousand years ago (or possibly earlier) [48]. It is perhaps understandable that early societies concluded that natural phenomena possessed some sort of consciousness and soul, given that humans themselves were just starting to acquire cognisance of their own thoughts, feelings, and volition.…”

The evolution of stories: from mimesis to language, from fact to fiction

“…In suggesting ways to control uncertainty by earning the favor or appeasing the hostility of unseen forces, they help ensure cooperation and group cohesion,131 even in hunter‐gatherer societies that recognize, in Gray's words, that ‘religious stories, while in some ways special and even sacred, are in the end just stories’ (p. 500) 52, 77. The cultural selection of religious stories with moralizing high gods, with their even stronger effects on cooperation, eventually allows the emergence or consolidation of large‐scale societies 128, 132, 133…”