- Paleolithic (“Old Stone Age”): c. 2.5 million – 10,000 BCE.
- Hunter–gatherer societies.
- First symbolic art and burial practices.
- Mesolithic (“Middle Stone Age”): c. 10,000 – 8000 BCE in Europe.
- Transitional cultures between Ice Age hunters and Neolithic farmers.
- Seasonal settlements, microlith tools, intensified ritual life.
This period contains no “organized religion” in the sense of temples or priesthoods, but the evidence is overwhelming that symbolic and spiritual systems shaped early human life.
Key Features
1. Animism and Spirit Belief
- The world understood as alive with power: animals, plants, caves, rivers, the hunt.
- Animals especially sacred—bison, deer, horses, mammoths, bears, aurochs.
2. Burial and Afterlife
- First clear burials with grave goods (e.g., Skhul & Qafzeh, Sungir, Dolní Věstonice).
- Red ochre sprinkled on bodies = ritual rebirth symbolism.
- Grave offerings (tools, ornaments) suggest belief in survival after death.
3. Cave Sanctuaries and Rock Art
- Lascaux, Chauvet, Altamira, Cosquer (France, Spain): animal paintings, handprints, abstract signs.
- Likely ritual sites—used for hunting magic, initiation, or shamanic trance.
- Caves as symbolic wombs or portals to spirit world.
4. Venus Figurines
- Carved female figures (Willendorf, Hohle Fels, Lespugue, Dolní Věstonice).
- Emphasis on fertility, reproduction, continuity of life.
- May represent mother goddess archetypes, ancestors, or ritual charms.
5. Shamanism and Trance
- Hybrid figures (the “Sorcerer” of Les Trois Frères cave) show human–animal fusion.
- Suggests ritual specialists (proto-shamans) mediating between worlds.
- Ethnographic parallels: drumming, dancing, sensory deprivation to achieve trance.
6. Mesolithic Developments
- Greater focus on seasonal cycles—fish, birds, forests.
- Rock art expands to include humans, hunting scenes, dances (e.g., Spanish Levantine art).
- Cemeteries with group burials and increased grave complexity (e.g., Skateholm, Sweden).
Regional Highlights
- Western Europe (France, Spain): Great cave sanctuaries; bison, horses, aurochs dominate ritual imagery.
- Central Europe (Czech Republic, Austria): Venus figurines; mammoth-bone dwellings; ritual hearths.
- Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine): Sungir burials (red ochre, ivory beads, spears); Mesolithic cemeteries at Olenii Ostrov.
- Northern Europe (Scandinavia): Petroglyphs of elk, boats, dancing human figures.
- Mediterranean (Italy, Iberia): Levantine rock art—hunting, battle, dance.
Cross-Cutting Motifs
- Fertility and Continuity: Venus figurines, burial with ochre.
- Animal Power: Belief in hunting magic and animal spirits.
- Ritual Specialists: Shamans and hybrids bridging human and spirit.
- Sacred Places: Caves, springs, hills as portals to spirit world.
- Social Cohesion: Collective rites in caves and cemeteries binding groups together.
Legacy
- These are the earliest religious systems in Europe.
- Set the stage for later Neolithic goddess cults, Indo-European sky gods, and Mediterranean polytheisms.
- Concepts of sacred animals, fertility, shamanism, and ancestor veneration persist throughout later European tribal religions.