Ritual, Play and Belief, in Evolution and Early Human Societies

by Colin Renfrew (Editor), Iain Morley (Editor), Michael Boyd (Editor)

The origins of religion and ritual in humans have been the focus of centuries of thought in archaeology, anthropology, theology, evolutionary psychology and more. Play and ritual have many aspects in common, and ritual is a key component of the early cult practices that underlie the religious systems of the first complex societies in all parts of the world. This book examines the formative cults and the roots of religious practice from the earliest times until the development of early religion in the Near East, in China, in Peru, in Mesoamerica and beyond. Here, leading prehistorians and other specialists bring a fresh approach to the early practices that underlie the faiths and religions of the world. They demonstrate the profound role of play ritual and belief systems and offer powerful new insights into the emergence of early civilization.

343 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 21, 2017

About the author

Andrew Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn was an English archaeologist, paleolinguist and Conservative peer noted for his work on radiocarbon dating, the prehistory of languages, archaeogenetics, neuroarchaeology, and the prevention of looting at archaeological sites.

Renfrew was also the Disney Professor of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge and Director of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and was a Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

Reviews

[Riversue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting peer-reviewed articles from archaeological sites around the world.

[José Antonio Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good time to read Colin Renfrew et al work on the evolution of play, rituals and beliefs that shape human societies. Between the World Cup and Christmas, the Western world experiences games and rituals at once. We can identify ritual elements in games (such as Ceremonies, match brakets, etc.) while heavily ritual Christmas traditions (from food, to religious ceremonies, and symbolism) are enriched by playfulness and spontaneity.

Ritual, Play and Belief is a compilation of essays in an effort to build a coherent narrative on how evolution has favored humans in this regard.

A very rough summary of Ritual, Play and Belief would be that prehuman species began to protoplay and play since it became a tool for development, learning, and social buildup. Homids and early Homos inherited the play faculty and brought it to a higher level, Rituals. It is quite interesting to read about similarities and difference between play and rituals, and to understand that the later are the result of human consciousness and design. Religious and political rituals are the more relevant for the cohesiveness of societies (no wonder why there is so much overlap between the two, the secular government is quite recent and still not fully split from the religious realm).

...evolutionary beginnings of religious rituals can be traced to specialised components of play and ritualised behaviours

This book nicely complements Evolution of God by Robert Wright.