Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- A note on Greek and Latin sources
- Abbreviations and short titles
- 1 Introduction
- PART I PREHISTORIC RELIGIONS
- 2 Studying prehistoric religions
- 3 Prehistoric material and religion: a personal odyssey
- 4 Francesco d'Errico and the origins of religion
- 5 On Palaeolithic religion
- 6 Ian Hodder and the Neolithic
- 7 Neolithic cult images? The testimony of figurines for Neolithic religion
- 8 Religious practices in northern Europe 4000–2000 BCE
- 9 Mythological aspects of Nordic Bronze Age religion
- 10 Religion and society in the Bronze Age
- 11 The religions of prehistoric Europe and the study of prehistoric religion
- PART II ANCIENT EUROPE IN THE HISTORICAL PERIOD
- Timeline of key dates
- Contributors
- References
- Index
10 - Religion and society in the Bronze Age
from PART I - PREHISTORIC RELIGIONS
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- A note on Greek and Latin sources
- Abbreviations and short titles
- 1 Introduction
- PART I PREHISTORIC RELIGIONS
- 2 Studying prehistoric religions
- 3 Prehistoric material and religion: a personal odyssey
- 4 Francesco d'Errico and the origins of religion
- 5 On Palaeolithic religion
- 6 Ian Hodder and the Neolithic
- 7 Neolithic cult images? The testimony of figurines for Neolithic religion
- 8 Religious practices in northern Europe 4000–2000 BCE
- 9 Mythological aspects of Nordic Bronze Age religion
- 10 Religion and society in the Bronze Age
- 11 The religions of prehistoric Europe and the study of prehistoric religion
- PART II ANCIENT EUROPE IN THE HISTORICAL PERIOD
- Timeline of key dates
- Contributors
- References
- Index
Summary
ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE STUDY OF RELIGION: A HISTORICAL OUTLINE
Why is it that in archaeology religious interpretations are the focus of research in some periods, while neglected in others? To answer that question, let me begin by presenting a long-forgotten scholar. In 1963 Åke Ohlmarks presented a popular synthesis on rock art and religion during the Bronze Age. Originally a specialist of comparative religion, he drew on a corpus of religious knowledge that was beyond that possessed by contemporary archaeologists who did not wish to acquire it in any case. He continued a research tradition founded by Oscar Almgren with his 1927 book Hällristningar och kultbruk (“Rock Carvings and Cult Practices”). In this book, an archaeologist drew on European folk-lore and comparative religion to gain a better understanding of Bronze Age religion, as manifested in rock art. This path-breaking book was part of a revival of cultural-historical studies, initiated by Gustav Kossina in the decades around 1900. The original spirit was now expanded to encompass archaeological interpretation throughout Europe, although with other interpretative perspectives, such as the study of religion.
The cultural-historical revival was a widespread phenomenon in the humanities and social sciences during this period, represented in anthropology by the works of Franz Boas and James Frazer in the USA and England, most notably in the twelve volumes of The Golden Bough (1993) by James Frazer that appeared between 1890 and 1915, later summarized in a single volume in 1922 which is still in print.
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- Information
- The Handbook of Religions in Ancient Europe , pp. 77 - 92Publisher: Acumen PublishingPrint publication year: 2013