THE FRONTIERS COLLECTION Series editors Avshalom C. Elitzur Iyar The Israel Institute for Advanced Research, Rehovot, Israel e-mail: [email protected] Laura Mersini-Houghton Department of Physics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3255, USA e-mail: [email protected] T. Padmanabhan Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, India e-mail: [email protected] Maximilian Schlosshauer Department of Physics, University of Portland, Portland, OR 97203, USA e-mail: [email protected] Mark P. Silverman Department of Physics, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 06106, USA e-mail: [email protected] Jack A. Tuszynski Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1Z2, Canada e-mail: [email protected] Rüdiger Vaas Center for Philosophy and Foundations of Science, University of Giessen, 35394 Giessen, Germany e-mail: [email protected] THE FRONTIERS COLLECTION Series Editors A.C. Elitzur L. Mersini-Houghton T. Padmanabhan M. Schlosshauer M.P. Silverman J.A. Tuszynski R. Vaas The books in this collection are devoted to challenging and open problems at the forefront of modern science, including related philosophical debates. In contrast to typical research monographs, however, they strive to present their topics in a manner accessible also to scientifically literate non-specialists wishing to gain insight into the deeper implications and fascinating questions involved. Taken as a whole, the series reflects the need for a fundamental and interdisciplinary approach to modern science. Furthermore, it is intended to encourage active scientists in all areas to ponder over important and perhaps controversial issues beyond their own speciality. Extending from quantum physics and relativity to entropy, conscious- ness and complex systems—the Frontiers Collection will inspire readers to push back the frontiers of their own knowledge. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/5342 For a full list of published titles, please see back of book or springer.com/series/5342 Ina Wunn • Davina Grojnowski ANCESTORS, TERRITORIALITY, AND GODS A Natural History of Religion 123 Ina Wunn Davina Grojnowski Philosophische Fakultät Department of Theology Leibniz Universität Hannover King’s College Hannover London Germany UK ISSN 1612-3018 ISSN 2197-6619 (electronic) THE FRONTIERS COLLECTION ISBN 978-3-662-52755-9 ISBN 978-3-662-52757-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-52757-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016944411 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer-Verlag GmbH Berlin Heidelberg Acknowledgements The German predecessor of this book is called “Götter, Gene, Genesis. Die Biologie der Religionsentstehung”. The main topic was and still is the development of religion overall, the first beginnings of what we would call a “belief in some- thing”, and subsequently also the further development of these primary notions of belief. In contrast to all previous current approaches which attempt to explain religion in a rather monocausal manner and which frequently reach rather fascinating results which unfortunately are only convincing in regard to one specific culture or for a certain historical period, “Götter, Gene, Genesis” was based strictly on empirical data only—initially on palaeo-anthropological data and then on archaeological findings. This information is now—and this is also novel—not interpreted indi- vidually and separately but instead the data are brought together in a context of historical development. The basis of this approach, again, is an observation, namely the observation that religions change. We can trace these changes and can observe them from historical times until today. Ultimately, we have subjected religions to a hypothesis of actualism, in order to research their developments and to explain them (the expression was coined by the geologist Charles Lyell; such a hypothesis was the scientific-theoretical basis for his postulate of earth’s history, thus the basis for our modern conviction that animate and inanimate nature develops). In order to be allowed to do so correctly from a scientific point of view, I (Ina Wunn) had already developed a scientific-theoretical model of the evolution of religions, whose basic principles we (the authors of “Götter, Gene, Genesis”) presented briefly. Thus, if the famous evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobszhansky writes: “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”,1 then this must also be relevant for the early history of religions. The results at least are almost as revo- lutionary as the biology of 150 years ago: viewed from the perspective of a natural, 1Dobzhansky, Theodosius (March 1973). Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution. American Biology Teacher 35(3): pp. 125–129. v vi Acknowledgements organic development, it becomes clear that the corpulent colossal statues of Malta cannot be anything else except ancestral figures and that the double spirals on Malta’s sanctuaries cannot be anything else except patterns of eyes, modified as defined by cultural ethology! The frequent and disturbing cases of decapitation and the manipulation of skulls dating back to prehistory suddenly make sense, and so do all the different female figurines and amulets from the Upper Palaeolithic through to the Neolithic. The reactions to our German book were correspondingly positive. However, it also became clear that perhaps the rather short methodological overview was not as helpful or illuminating for a reader not versed in the philosophy of science and specifically in evolutionary biology. Consequently, the authors of the present book have attempted to rectify this. In “Ancestors, Territoriality, and Gods. A Natural History of Religion”, we emphasise a methodological focus, in so far as that the respective approaches from behavioural biology, art history, cultural anthropology, and of course evolutionary biology are presented more clearly and in great detail. This, however, meant that the original, German work has had to be rewritten extensively. In terms of the aims of the book and its results, namely the attempt to explain and to describe the origins and evolution of religion, the German and the English versions do not differ; and this book also owes numerous passages to the co-authors of the German work, highlighted throughout the book; we would like at this point again to express our utmost gratitude. We also thank Rüdiger Vaas, Springer, who took it upon himself to read criti- cally the German edition and who kindly pointed out the passages and scientific details rather difficult to digest. We have done our utmost to remedy the flaws! Lastly, we kindly thank Springer Publishers for their excellent assistance which made writing this book a pure pleasure, especially Dr. Angela Lahee as well as Frank Wigger and Bettina Saglio. Hannover Ina Wunn Frankfurt am Main Davina Grojnowski April 2016 Contents 1 Of Men and Apes .................................... 1 2 The Crux of a Darwinian Approach to Evolution ............. 21 3 The Question of When? (Lower Palaeolithic, C. 2.6 mybp–300,000 ybp) .............................. 37 4 My Cave Is My Castle—Middle Palaeolithic, Territoriality, and Death .......................................... 49 5 Existential Fears—And an Excursus in Art History............ 73 6 A Forest of Symbols—The Art of the European Upper Palaeolithic (40,000–12,000 ybp) .......................... 87 7 The Change of Imagery (The Central European Mesolithic, Approx. 9600–5800 ybp) ............................... 105 8 Aedificio Ergo Sum (I Build, Thus I Am). Early Settlers in the Fertile Crescent ................................. 125 9 The Village, the Ritual, and Death ........................ 153 10 Ex Oriente Lux: Neolithic Ideology Becomes Popular .......... 173 11 Heroes, Gods, Sanctuaries—The Male Principle and Collective Cult ................................... 197 12 The Exchange of Gifts and the Underworld: Malta ............ 219 13 The Double Axe and the Bull—A Pantheon Develops .......... 235 Bibliography............................................ 257 Titles in this Series ....................................... 281 Index ................................................. 285 vii Chapter 1 Of Men and Apes Gorillas in the Mist Eastern Congo, Virunga Mountains: