The Archaeology of Religion; Cultures and Their Beliefs in Worldwide Context; Second Edition

The new and updated edition of The Archaeology of Religion explores how archaeology interprets past religions, offering insights into how archaeologists seek out the religious, ritual, and symbolic meaning behind what they discover in their research.The book includes case studies from around the world, from the study of Upper Palaeolithic and hunter-gatherer religions to religious structures and practices in complex societies of the Americas, Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. Steadman also includes chapters on the origins and development of key contemporary religions—Judaism, Christianity, Islam, among others—to provide an historical and comparative context. Three main themes are threaded throughout the book. These main themes involve the intersection between cultural and religious structures (“religion reflects culture”), including the importance of environment in shaping a culture’s religion, the role religion can sometimes play as a method of social control, and the role religion can sometimes play as a key component in revitalizing a culture.Updated with new discoveries and theories and with two new chapters (one on hunter-gatherer religions; one on religions in East Asia) and with new sections on Neolithic Western Asia, the book remains an ideal introduction for courses that include a significant component on past cultures and their religions. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Part I Method, Theory, and the Study of Religion 1 Introducing the Archaeology of Religion Why Archaeology and Why Religion? Ethics, Archaeology, and Religion Cultures and Their Beliefs in Worldwide Context The Book’s Organization 2 Interpreting Religion in the Archaeological Past Defining Religion Anthropological Theories and the Origins of Religion The Archaeology of Religion Conclusion 3 The World of the Shaman The Nature of the Shaman The Shaman’s Tools Finding Shamans in the Archaeological Record Conclusion Part II The Emergence of Religion in Human Culture 4 The First Spark of Religion: Neanderthals Religion Before the Neanderthals? Who were the Neanderthals? Neanderthal Sites in Europe and Western Asia: Rituals in Caves? Conclusion: Did the Neanderthals Really Have Religion? 5 Hunter-Gatherer Religions in North Asia and the Early Americas Fundamentals of Hunter-Gatherer Religions Ancient Hunter-Gatherer Religions of North Asia Populating the Americas Arctic Hunter-Gatherers Paleoamerican Hunter-Gatherers Conclusion 6 Rock Art and Ritual in Africa and Australia The Archaeology of Rock Art Cultures of the Kalahari Southern African Rock Art Aboriginal Cultures of Australia Australian Stone Monuments and Rock Art Rock Art and Dreamtime Conclusion Part III Religions in Europe and Western Asia 7 Europe and Western Asia in the Palaeolithic and Neolithic: From Cave to Village Upper Palaeolithic Rock Art in Europe Figurines in the Upper Palaeolithic Neolithic Europe and Western Asia Conclusion 8 European Megaliths, Religion, and Power Pre-Megalithic Northwestern Europe Early Megaliths: Menhirs Henge Sites The Long Barrow Builders Why Build Megalithic Monuments? Conclusion Part IV Religions in the Americas 9 The Mound-Building Cultures of North America Early Mound-Building Cultures The Hopewell Tradition The Mississippian Culture Conclusion 10 Puebloan Cultures of the American Southwest The Ancestral Puebloans: Early Settlement Chaco Canyon and Pueblo Bonito Conclusion 11 Mesoamerica and the Religions of Empire The Olmecs Teotihuacan The Aztecs Conclusion 12 Lords and Gods: Religions of Andean South America An Early Andean Center: Chavín De Huántar Before the Inca: The Moche and The Nazca A Patchwork of Andean Kingdoms The Inca Empire Conclusion Part V Religions in South and East Asia 13 From Harappans to Hinduism and Beyond: Religions in South Asia South Asia Today The Harappan Civilization The Arrival of the Indo-Aryans Harappans, Indo-Aryans, and the Rise of Hinduism Classical Period Hinduism and the Origins of Buddhism 14 Religion in Ancient China: Elites and Ancestors Religion and Culture in Neolithic China Bronze Age China: The Earliest Chinese States The Shang Dynasty The Late Shang Dynasty The End of the Shang Dynasty: The Rise of the Zhou Conclusion Part VI Africa and the Middle East 15 Religion and Empire in Egypt Ancient Egypt Conclusion 16 Ancient Sumer and Religions in Ancient Mesopotamia Ancient Mesopotamia The Sumerian Civilization in the Uruk and Early Dynastic Periods The Akkadian Empire Sumer, Akkad, and the Power of Religion 17 Levantine Religions and the Origins of Judaism The First Patriarchs Emerge Canaanite Religion and the Philistines The First Israelite Empire Conclusion 18 Revitalizing the People: The Origins of Christianity and Islam The Roman Levant and the Origins of Christianity Muhammad and the Origins of Islam Bibliography Index The new and updated edition of The Archaeology of Religion explores how archaeology interprets past religions, offering insights into how archaeologists seek out the religious, ritual, and symbolic meaning behind what they discover in their research. The book includes case studies from around the world, from the study of Upper Palaeolithic and hunter-gatherer religions to religious structures and practices in complex societies of the Americas, Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. Steadman also includes chapters on the origins and development of key contemporary religions—Judaism, Christianity, Islam, among others—to provide an historical and comparative context. Three main themes are threaded throughout the book. These main themes involve the intersection between cultural and religious structures (“religion reflects culture”), including the importance of environment in shaping a culture’s religion, the role religion can sometimes play as a method of social control, and the role religion can sometimes play as a key component in revitalizing a culture. Updated with new discoveries and theories and with two new chapters (Hunter-Gatherer Religions; and Cultures in East Asia) and with new sections on Neolithic Western Asia, the book remains an ideal introduction for courses that include a significant component on past cultures and their religions.