The Oldest Religion in the World: The Origin of Belief
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 พ.ค. 2024
- Are you ready to travel back many thousands of years in time, to before the time of farming, before temples were built for worship, before gods were personified, in fact before there were gods. In this video we will journey back to see if we can see how religion was formed, and what beliefs made it all happen.
► Video References (Descriptions contain further references):
The Creation Myths of the Near East: • The Near East: The OLD...
The Oldest Creation Myth: • The OLDEST Creation MY...
The Origins of Genesis: • The ORIGIN for GENESiS...
The Origins of the Flood Myth: • The Oldest Flood Myth ...
The True History of Dragons: • The Oldest Dragon Myth...
► References specifically for this videos new content:
Sala, N. et al. 2022. Taphonomic-forensic analysis of the hominin skulls from the Sima de los Huesos. The Anatomical Record.
Bacon, B. et al. 2023. An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and Phenological Calendar. Cambridge University Press.
Berger, L. et al. 2023. Evidence for deliberate burial of the dead by Homo naledi. bioRxiv.
Martinón-Torres, M. 2021. Earliest known human burial in Africa. Nature, 593, 95-100.
Lbova, L. 2021. The Siberian Paleolithic site of Mal'ta: a unique source for the study of childhood archaeology. Cambridge University Press.
Rasmussen, M. 2014. The genome of a Late Pleistocene human from a Clovis burial site in western Montana. Nature, 506, 225-229.
Becerra-Valdiva, L. 2018. Reassessing the chronology of the archaeological site of Anzick. PNAS, 155.
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Chapters
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0:00 Introduction
3:58 Origins of the Abrahamic Religions
12:00 Origins of Religions from Mesopotamia and the Near East
20:23 Origins of Egyptian Religion
23:49 Origins of the Indo-European Religions
33:29 Origin of Buddhism
34:10 The Catalyst for Modern Religion
43:09 From Nomads to Settlers
52:20 Hunter-Gatherers
57:56 Animism and Shamanism
1:00:44 Pre-Historic Art
1:07:30 Burial Rituals
1:14:07 Other Archaeological Evidence
1:17:26 Evidence from Mythology
1:25:10 Our Earliest Beliefs
1:30:51 Reviewing the Evidence for the Earliest Beliefs
1:41:19 The Findings and Conclusion
Are you religious? Or what do you believe?
There was a time I thought I knew the answer to those questions, but I'm not so sure anymore. Morals wise, I'm mostly Christianish, but everything else, like afterlife etc., I don't know really.
I practice animism.
I’m a nondenominational Christian.
I like to believe there is some sort of higher power in the universe, so agnostic I guess?
I am an atheist ex Hindu who occasionally relapses haha which isn't actually against Hinduism
I feel like understanding that the Abrahamic religions didn't begin as monotheistic religions is probably the most important detail that modern individuals fail to understand.
As soon as you realised this, you ceased to be a modern individual…?
They may have recognized a Deus Otiosus, a "moralizing high god" that wasnt involved in religious affairs -- because we see this idea in many hunter-gatherer societies. And sometimes this idea re-emerge in polytheistic contexts. Mircea Eliade, and more recently E. J. Michael Witzel have argued this. While youre right, "monotheism" or "monolatry", in the conception of "worshipping one God" did arise recently, the idea of a supreme being may very well appear earlier.
Of course the the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a monotheism. There worship is monotheistic and Christianity still has only one God. Polytheism didn't start until after the Great flood of Noah.
Chimps in West Africa have been observed, as a group, laying what can only be described as offerings at the base of a dead tree.. This goes way back to our very beginnings...
Hehehe I mean does the soil king need to fart everywhere???
@@JordanDS1 🤣
@@str82lumbridge36back to the bank with you mister!!
Citation , n factual videos , film 🎥 of that , or just anecdotal stories..
@@carlodefalco7930 I can't give you volume and issue, but Jane Goodall told National Geographic that she had sent chimps doing dome weird, religious-looking shit like gathering at a waterfall and pretty much dancing, so it's not that out there.
This video was a literal life safer. I was freaking out, panicking and I was about to spend the day in bed under the covers. Then i saw this. I decided i should do something and to shut out the intrusive thoughts that quite literally squeeze my heart to a pulp and turn my brain into a discoball from hell, reflecting only the worst of myself experiencing-and going through- life. I got up. Put my headset on and decided the mop the communal staircase area. I decided to it twice😂. I took my time.All the while, my head is filled with a soothing voice that eases my nerves. My breathing aligns with the phrasing of his speech. My brain is getting a dopamine boost because it is being rewarded with the treat of history, religion, society, humanity. I have just finished and this small task has exhausted me. But I stuck to something for almost an hour and completed it. Nothing that was said in this video was new to me but it provided more depth and expanded my understanding of things that interest me. But more than that, it made me get out of bed. Which is nice. Its my birthday and i will consider this my gift!
Well, that was enough self-indulgence and attention seeking for today.😂
hi. saw you commented on my being a devout atheist and thought i would follow up
my belief and faith that no supernatural being exists is as deeply experienced as anyone whose belief and faith lead them to believing in one or more gods
it is not a choice i've made like politics, it is deeply held and felt belief - it is my religion
please don't degrade what i believe by saying i am not devout in my beliefs
Lots of Polynesians have flood myths, which speaks to how long ago those stories were told. The more you go down the rabbit hole of myth the more complex and beautiful it becomes.
"It appears as though people have first worshipped the dead. They did so perhaps out of fear, a feeling of gratitude for their forefathers and leaders, or a belief that they might resurrect in one form or another." (Nicolae Petrescu, The Primitives). That said, I couldn't be more pleased with your video, my dear Jon. The profoundly emotional impact of death has inspired the prehistoric man more than the sky with its Sun and Moon or the Earth with its fauna and flora to sacralize the cosmos.
Thank you for sharing that quote, I think I remember seeing it one of your videos @crowhag
@@Crecganford Indeed! The one on Strigoi.
Ah yes, the vampire one!
It's official. @crowhag has first-viewer privileges. And great input to match.
That is possible, I wonder if it looks like worship if they were asking for heavenly favors now that they got a guy on the inside (?)
_And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for ten thousand years, Göbekli Tepe passed out of all knowledge._
As an anthropologist interested in the H. naledi alleged burials, I love your channel so much. I recommend it to students quite often. Thank you for the immense work this must have taken to put together. I'm a detective of physical human history and you're a detective of the intangible side of human history (which is much more difficult, IMHO).
I recently went down the H. naledi rabbit hole and I still haven’t come out the other side! I’m a bit obsessed with their story. I’m not an anthropologist but a molecular biologist who been studying the topic of ancient DNA, there’s still so much to be learned.
Still trying to find the ''god gene''? 🙂@@silvermainecoons3269
the oldest religion in the world is in the era of ANUNNAKI arrivals from other stars, Anunnaki's introduce creation and created God to disciplined their homo sapiens recreated species combined after their image, Anunnaki's arrive on earth during the extinction of stone age H.Neanderthals and evolution of primitive H.Sapiens 300,000 years ago, Anunnaki's sending messages to ancient civilization (Sumeria and Akkadians) that they leave earth for a while and will be back soon when the time H.Sapiens are reproducing much and leaving a watchful God to guide and keeping H.Sapiens alive during their progress and development
Not gonna lie, I need 3 sessions to finish watching this 😂
They are such enjoyable sessions. It is enlightening to see the bigger picture which ties up many of your previous videos, a lot of archaelogical findings I've read about in the last few years, the holes in our current body of knowledge, and so much more. Thank you, may your days always be blessed with perfectly steeped tea ❤
My favorite theory of the origin of religion is that early humans evolved to believe in Animism. To quote a Disney movie lol "I know every rock and tree and creature Has a life, has a spirit, has a name". Basically early humans who were naturally superstitious attributed agency to inanimate objects were more likely to survive. They started out recognizing false patterns. So assuming a noise in the bush is a lion because last time it was actually a lion. These false patterns evolved to be more accurate and helpful. Maybe don't eat poison berries if you think there's an evil spirit making the berries poisonous. Over time these ideas became more personified until they became the first Gods.
That's Advaita Vedanta. Google it
And you would likely be correct. While there is little hard evidence of this, it fits with what we know from archaeology, anthropology and religious studies. In pre-historic times, with hunter gatherer societies you start with something like animism, and as societies grow more complex, you have increasing structure of spirits responsible for certain areas of life, who then start to look more like dieties, and then you are polytheistic religions and eventually monotheistic religions come out of it. It's not an evolution, however, as different societies beliefs respond to different pressures. India had a very complex and sophisticated society in ancient times and still has retained a more pluralistic religious tradition in hinduism. In the middle east, I believe that nationalism, as a result of often being caught between great powers of babylon, assyria, egypt, persia, etc, led to monotheism, but there are lots of additional reasons.
@@makanaima yeah and to be clear. I think the theory is this kind of Animism literally evolved in Africa over the last few hundred thousand years. We'd call changes in religious ideas since neolithic humans evolution in more of a metaphorical way.
The problem is you are assuming these people who didn’t believe there was a lion in the bush didn’t pass on their genes before dying. A human can mate starting as young as 12 and in ancient times the average was 15. Look at 15 year old males they haven’t fully matured and likely would not be peak hunters yet, but they could still mate. They would be mating before there was an opportunity for a lion to be hiding in the bush to eat them. These simplistic speculations are so prevalent and they need to be criticized.
@@GhostofFrankyyet, if they die earlier, they wont have time tonprocreate MORE. Those who have that animism trait, they can produce MORE offspring.
It is such a privilege to be able to access content at this level on YT. Thanks so much for your work ✌️💕🌻
Thank you for your kind words.
I find the myth of the serpent/dragon the most intriguing because anthropologists have suggested there is an arms race between snakes and primates. For instance chimpanzees will call out snakes to others in the troupe and know how to spot them in the forest floor. Part of our color vision may have developed to discern snakes from the surrounding foliage. And snakes like the spitting cobra may have evolved long distance attacks to combat hominins that could throw rocks.
I wonder what lets some cultures see them as sacred. Because a lot of India does, and holy shit do snakes kill people there.
Well if it's an "arms" race, I'd say we're up 2-0!
You've never been bitten by a copperhead have you :)@@colinobriant6895
A fossil of a 'dragon' was found in china this year. Don't get your hopes us too much, they based that definition on its long neck and it swims. But may have connections to chinese art.
@@colinobriant6895 lol lovely
I recently read a report about the Plague being responsible for wiping out the Neolithic Anatolia Stone Builder Culture that spread out across Europe, even going as far as building Stonehenge. I have to wonder what the world's religions would have looked like if this pre-pottery Neolithic culture had survived.
As always, thank you for your thought provoking content!
They were the skull worshiping cult, too. Imagine the possibilities? However, religion changes over time.
Considering Christianity stole most of its myths from ancient Sumeria, probably not too much different.
Do a bit more research. Youll find out it was africans who built or influenced ppl to build any and every awesome thing u can think of. Honestly with love.
Well we consider them africans. The actual ancient indigenous name is alkebulan. So the alkebulanians. 😅
The world wouldn't have changed much. The concept of speech, writing, mathematics, astrology, art, literature, universities to issue educational degrees, religion, spirituality, law, state systems, militarism, barter, trade, hunting, gathering, agriculture, engineering, architecture, culinary art, medicine, tools, metallurgy, international trade, domestication of animals, pasturage of animals, and innovations like basic hygiene rituals were introduced to Europe by African and Asian civilizations.
@@deamorebeaute2412 I agree that the basic structure needed for civilization was already present, but was more referring to the so called "God Parthian" that took root as a result of the lost Neolithic cultures.
Thank you for this video or rather this course as it fells like I've just attended a university level lecture. The question of the oldest belief has plagued me for many years so to see how much effort you've put into answering this is appreciated.
As to your question: I teeter somewhere in the realm of paganism and animism for my own religions as I've found it just makes me feel good to think that there might be someone to ask for help and hints off passed away loved ones in day to day life.
Also, I've heard or read of possible ritualistic behaviour in Homininae, specifically Chimpanzees. If that is true, the fundamental ideas needed for religious beliefs may come from as far back as our combined last ancestor. Imagine that!
There were a thousand quiet nights throughout our history where parents told their children the story of the animal that died to create the world. Sometimes they were the only ones doing it for miles around, but the story survived. That's really comforting to me.
You're a breath of fresh air for people who are just interested in history and all culture's mythology and stories. So many Far-right / right-wing people obfuscate the Indo-European history nowadays it's a sad time. Thank you for being an academic and keep up the great work.
Thank you so much for watching and supporting me. I appreciate it.
the left and right both do it :/
@@nightmarerex2035"The Left" is obfuscating a lot of Indo-European history, is it? lol
@@connorscanlan2167 Everybody is. People in these comment sections are. Folks just learned what PIE is and think it's the beginning of humanity, and will leverage it to interpret their version of reality, as people have been doing since classicism became a thing and, judging by humanity's propensity to bend history toward their desired outcome, probably earlier
@@sayLeotardbutsayitChinese Okay. So tell me about a time you encountered a left-wing person doing that for a left-wing agenda. I'm very interested.
The practice of using red ochre goes back a long time and is widely spread from Blombos Cave in South Africa to Es-Skhul Cave in Israel. Our ancestors even went to great length to create the right hue of red by mixing and burning materials. At Blombos they found an ochre processing kit.
I was glad you talked about Sima de los Huesos but why didn't you mention the oversized hand axe of rare rose quartzite that shows no marks of having been used as a tool? This hand axe named Excalibur by archeologists was cached along with the twentyeight Homo heidelbergensis bodies in the shaft. Why create an oversized tool from a rare material and never use it but place it with your dead?
It all seems like deliberate symbolic behaviour. Stone age people spend time and energy on things not related to their survival. You could argue that they sometimes even took risks for symbolic purposes like making cave paintings deep underground. Crawling through thight spaces with their ochre kit and lantern to place dots and circles. Certain cave's with symbols in France have their entrance underwater. Makes you wonder how much is lost to the sea.
The red ochre is first seen in Neanderthal burials.
@@barbharsha3691 well when I said "our ancestors" I meant the oldest evidence of ochre use by Homosapiens. Neanderthal isn't an ancestor to Homosapien and they aren't the earliest user of red ochre either. That honor belongs to the common ancestor of both groups which is Homoheidelbergensis. They used red ochre during the Late Acheulean Period in South Africa which precedes Neanderthal use of ochre by atleast a 100.000 years.
Throughout the Americas red ochre is used in cave paintings also.
Would have to see date stamp authenticated of course for that 100,000 plus years of difference there. If oxygen is around, kind of find it hard to believe that anything would last 100,000 years. There's pictures and videos of a military tank that was forgot about, abandoned or broke down whatever for why it's there out in the woods but it's already turning back into the minerals most of it came from. Even the tough durable paint the military uses couldn't survive that long. Tanks haven't been out that long what a 100 years. This tank was probably maintained by the military until the day it was left in the woods. I would say that any paint made from whatever if it's not got a protective clear coat on it it's not going to last being exposed to the weather. Now somewhere shielded by the weather yes will last a lot longer but 100,000 plus years sounds highly outdated for any material to last. And to have a remotely accurate knowledge of time frames of anything that happened when people haven't made documented proof every generation to keep an accurate log and kept that log safe the whole time that and survive all the different disasters.....stuff that happened or was invented or changed even just within the last 100 years ago people still can't place time frame measurements that are at best a guess. Basically all that getting to how would anyone come up with a time frame if there's no actual proof indicating time of when whatever group of people did whatever they did?
@@dreit7293 the paint becomes embedded in and fused to, through mineral interaction, it becomes part of the ROCK of the cave.
Always a welcomed visit Jon. Always a thoughtful, and a thought-provoking encounter. Your insights and efforts inform and inspire like no one else in the TH-cam Universe. Thank you.
I would like to see Jon cover the Minoans and/or the Mycenaeans and how they influenced Greek myth and culture.
I would also like to see a video similar to the Aphrodite video only about Mithras and the journey he undertook.
Keep up the good work, Jon. ❤
Yes, I would like to produce videos on these topics too, and so they are on my list of videos to make.
Same. I love minoan history
That would be awesome!
I'm highly interested in Minoan culture and history. Would love this
@@Crecganfordhow did you know that Jesus isn't comsidered as divine in the Islamic faith? You know there is a differ3nce beteween divine and god? Is virgin birth a divine birth?
As a religious studies student in uni, I really enjoyed this. Much love from Sweden
Thank you so much, I appreciate your kind words.
I am actually getting so much better at understanding your particular way of speaking English that I sometimes forget to turn on the captions an do just fine! I enjoy your programs and the points of view and interpretations that you present. Always so logical and down to Earth.
It makes sense that our earliest rituals were centered around death, since our closest relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, are known to mourn their dead.
They do and there is some fascinating behaviour around this, perhaps I will talk about this more in a future video.
❤
This is seriously the best video I’ve seen on this matter, thanks for the open minded knowledge. You even lets us know what scholars are not sure about, Dope
I'll always find it fascinating that early humans were correct in their assertion that "In the beginning there was nothing." It's hard to believe it was just a lucky guess, as it is so spot on -- according to our current knowledge -- as to the origins of, not only the Earth, but also the Universe as a whole. How did our ancestors come to this conclusion? It's a question we'll very likely never have a definitive answer to but it is one I ask myself all the time. It gives me chills to think about the ways in which humans intuitively knew the answers to the toughest questions of life and the universe before we even had the technologies that allowed us to look out in the depths of the solar system, let alone the galaxy or universe as a whole. It gives me hope for a better future when I learn more and more about our pre-history.
well everything has to come from something So eventually there would be nothing it's a very simple idea a human isn't made out of thin air we are created by a mother so following this pattern of logic that must be a mother of the universe and before that nothing.
One of the best discoveries I ever made on this site is your channel, and this is possibly your best video yet! Looking forward to more videos on mythology, history, and, of course, more tea.
Thank you for your kind words.
I tried to find the video, but for the life of me I can't seem to locate it. I believe it was a MythVision podcast that had a guest who was a historian specializing in the ancient near east, and they broke down the transformation of ethnic, polytheistic "Hebrism" into monolatric/monotheistic, religious Judaism as a result largely of the cultural interaction between northern, cosmopolitan Hebrews and southern, isolationist Hebrews.
I find a few things wrong with their assessment
- The Hebrews as we know them always seemed to be rather Monolotristic and at times perhaps Henotheistic at their core. Documented polytheism comes later on it would seem. That is not to say that their ancestors weren’t polytheistic, they likely were, but the Hebrews during biblical times, had a deeply rooted monolatrous worldview
- I don’t believe they touched on divine council theology. The Hebrews, like others in the near east, believe in the heavenly/divine council. It’s a council in heaven (as per the name), and as they were Monolatrous, they did believe there were metaphysical explanations for other “deities”. This is where we get the term “Elohim” from. It refers to multiple supernatural deities, not just a title of the Supreme Being. The Hebrews did believe in deities like Baal and Moloch, but not as all powerful universal essence of godhood as they did Yahweh. They viewed them how Christians today might view angels.
- they act like this destroys the biblical narrative, whereas the biblical narrative is literally half of the Old Testament consists of the prophets yelling at the Jews for taking other “gods” and elevating them to the level of Yahweh. Polytheism was practiced by some Jews, perhaps at times by a large portion of the Israelites, whenever they were subject to foreign rule or influence. Even King Solomon put idols in the temple to please his pagan wife. That’s what half the OT is about.
I think it’s extremely misleading to call the religion of the biblical Hebrews polytheistic, especially in comparison to surrounding cultures. The Yahwist religion of the pre exile Israelites doesn’t bear the characteristics of the surrounding religious traditions and presents as unique in the near east for its worship of a singular god by a uniform national group. A henotheistic faith recognizes many gods of equal power, divinity, and nature, but believes that only one is worshipped. Monolatry recognizes many spiritual entities but only one all powerful being which sits above all others and is deserved worship alone. This is why modern scholars use monolatry rather than Henotheism to describe Yahwism
@@shanebryner6206 if I remember correctly, I believe the discussion included mentions of the Southern Hebrews being the more litigious, and so the texts that came out of that time were very scolding of the more cosmopolitan practices. But that was a small percentage of the Hebrew population, and some artifacts suggesting the more open acceptance of other gods have been found, including Hebrew-minted coins with the owl of Athena on them. And yes, I'm aware of the divine council of Canaanite gods, headed by El Elyon, and made up of his godly sons, which included Yahweh, and was explicitly polytheistic.
@@brendantuthill6491 There has always been debate about the relationship between the north and south of Israel, but I think so far the evidence is going both ways, it seems to be something we understand little about, although I believe you are right about the cosmopolitans society in the South. To add onto the later half, yes there was at certain times various degrees of polytheism Among the Hebrews, which is again the point of the Bible, the Book of Tobit seems to imply that Tobit was the only Jew in his generation that didn’t adopt the Babylonian religion. And even David seemed to have an Idol in his home, which was likely his wife’s. From a Christian and Islamic perspective that is the point of the much of the prophetic books, the great folly of Israel, who proved an unfaithful bride through its rejection of Gods covenant.
Also I’m not sure which council your referring to, but within The Hebrew Bible, El Elyon is a title for Yahweh and means “God most high”. There’s nothing to suggest Yahweh is a son of El, and there’s no mention of Yahweh before the Hebrews Bible. The idea of the Yahweh being a Canaanite war god is held only by amateur skeptics and not by any learned biblical scholars. The council youre talking about seems to resemble the council of Mormon theology
@@shanebryner6206 I would recommend you take a second look at Ugarit history, the bronze age cultural predecessor to iron age Canaan (from which the Hebrews most certainly arose). El Elyon was first the chief Canaanite god, and Yahweh would eventually appear as listed one of his sons, until Yahweh and El became conflated and Yahweh was worshipped as El, and eventually the second class of gods were either demonized or recast as angelic beings. The Hebrews would have certainly been polytheistic first, and a cult of Yahweh likely evolved alongside their strict cultural practices that eventually separated them from their neighbors. Pretty basic historical analysis, I've never seen any of this be seriously challenged
Esoterica?
Preparing a mug of tea as we speak, Jon!
Enjoy!
I may be six hours late so a few more minutes to make a cuppa won't hurt before I hit the 'play' icon.
Your voice and speaking cadence is so soothing, I love to listen to this video particularly when I’m having a restless night. I enjoy your videos during waking hours too but this one is interesting to keep a restless anxious mind from wandering enough to be able to settle down for sleep. Keep up your fantastic work!
Wow, thank you!
I knew a guy from Nigeria who practiced an animistic religion. He was a cool guy! Didn’t talk about it much because he got tired of explaining that his religion didn’t have gods in the traditional sense over and over again.
Thank you for this enlightening video! The age these myths may be is mindblowing and beautiful. I am filled with awe. So thank you for making this video. I am sure it took a lot of time, love, and energy to create it.
After I finished watching this, I was getting into bed when I glanced at my nightstand and realized it is full of modern versions of these symbols in the oldest myths that you discussed. On my nightstand *alone*, I have a toy snake (I used to have a Mexican Black Kingsnake companion years ago--and is missed), a brass ("golden", if you will) apple to represent the fruit of immortality gifted to Hera, two little dragons made from leather that I have clipped onto my reading light, prayer/mantra beads with charms for specific purposes, and all matter of odds and ends.
I then thought of my tattoos and the chthonic associations some of them have (relevant to ritualizing death, mourning for our deceased loved ones, and the underworld): for example, I have one dedicated to Apollo Soranus. The tattoo is stylized with "Celtic" (what "Celtic" means is also a hole to dig in!) knots. I have two wolves that are encircled by a green Ouroboros with the snake's mouth and tail meeting at the bottom of the Ouroboros, and a fire burning on the highest point of the snake's circle. I originally wanted the fire to be below the wolves as the Hirpi Sorani practiced fire-walking, just as today the folks who live there are now devoted to certain saints and continue the firewalking ceremonies. I don't think that the word "firewalking" really captures these ceremonies, the ecstatic devotion, or even provides an accurate image of this ancient practice. The descendants of the Hirpi Sorani are not walking. They are dancing.
The myth about the river and the ferryman reminded me of the afterlife in Shawnee culture. Out of respect for the young man who trusted me enough to tell me about some of what the afterlife is like from his Shawnee culture, I won't go into details. I will say these beliefs do include crossing a body of water in the afterlife.
I'm currently working on my M.S. in Thanatology, focusing on cultural anthropology as well as Death Education, so I was especially glued to your video while talking about death practices and burials with grave goods.
Whenever I can an income again, I hope to make enough to support you through Patreon. You put so much of yourself into your videos and it shows! For now, I hope you accept my deepest gratitude. Be well!
Thank you for your kind words, and for taking the time to comment, it is appreciated.
Btw, can I suggest that you make more videos of this length? I enjoy listening to them while doing unproductive activities like playing video games, so that I get a bit of education while I do something not so educational.
Thanks!
I would like to, but it takes a huge amount of effort to edit. Maybe next year I will have time to make more of this length, to allow me to go into topics somewhat deeper than usual.
I've watched this maybe 3 times, cuz it's a lot to take in. Wow! I love how you tie it all together, how mythology and language and history and politics and archeology and everything else all affect each other and help complete the picture. Specialization is important, though generalization is too. Nothing exists in a vacuum. Thank you for helping us keep sight of that.
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment, I do appreciate it.
A fantastic video, Jon.
I can't think of another channel on TH-cam that will keep me engaged like this for an hour and fortyfive minutes - and I'm about to start watching another.
Lots of tea is being had.
Thank you, and enjoy your tea!
Thank you for this video. It was really nice to go on this journey of exploring how people might have thought. I would love to see maybe a continuation of this topic but concerning the peoples of Africa, Australia, the Islands, and the Americas. But I also understand that that’s a huge undertaking. But I would love for someone to trace those threads and helping us all see C how truly similar were all are in spite of the distances and languages and cultures. Thank you for what you do🤗
Thank you for watching, and taking the time to comment. I would love to cover everywhere, but to do so with a decent academic level of due diligence is incredibly challenging, but maybe one day I will be able to.
I'm always excited for Jon White's videos of religion and gods. I'm really impressed with the PIE and the possibility of having only 1 god which was worshipped from the start.
The Sky Father's interpretation probably varied in/by different cultures which resulted to many gods..
Lions don't fly and do not look like bulls, deers, eagles, crows, dragons or white horses. Being hunter gatherer by definition means inheriting ancestral cult and if you have women you want or not they will invent something own 😂
An idea that was shared of a God.
Monotheisism however isn't present if that's what you mean.
Actually in the beginning of his video he says the oldest creation myths have no gods. Animism and shamanism don't need gods. Gods arrived when humans gathered in greater numbers in the fertile crescent several thousand years ago. 🙏🏼
Hey there I'm watching this as a Muslim alhamdulillah and I just got to say watching these types of videos I feel like it's important to go outside the box and learn your history
First time coming across this channel. As someone who is deeply interested in theology myself I have to say this was a fantastic analysis. Excellent work, subscribed!
legit one of only channels that i can watch videos all the way through without stopping, it's damn near the most interesting content on youtube.
Thank you so much, they are very kind words, and much appreciated.
Absolutely the only non hard science channel I can watch
As you requested suggestions for other religions or myths to have a look at, I would love to see some videos on East Asian mythology, for example Korean stories.
I will add that to my list of To Dos, thank you.
@@Crecganford Thank you, looking forward to hearing more about that.
Hi, I have something to add: In my opinion, the best evidence of early Judaism being polytheistic originally is actually found in the story of Lilith and Jonah. Lilith is mentioned across multiple ancient texts, most famously the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the story of Jonah and the Whale mentions semites, among other peoples, worshipping multiple gods including YHWH. There are also the references to Asherah, which you have mentioned in other videos. This also tracks with other ancient religions, like the Egyptian faith, gradually shedding off deities to focus on one singular. Ra and Horus being folded into Amun Ra during that one Pharaoh's reign, though I forget his name.
I recommend the documentary "The case for ancient monotheism" on TH-cam. It explains why monotheism is older than polytheism.
I thought of this too. I think it was Akhenaten who promoted monotheism and recall some possible connection between that and early Judaism going the same way, but can't recall the source! 😢😢
@@user-rb8jf3fc8x no, it wasn't. Monotheism is so much older than Akhenaten. Again. I recommend the documentary on it. Several indigenous primitive tribes around the world believe in one God only. Monotheism is the first religion people had. Polytheism happens when societies become more advanced.
Comes from a long, long-standing desire to mesh gods and cultures. Serapis was a way to unify Greeks and Egyptians, but had obvious shared traits with Ba'al & Marduk (there are even arguments that Serapis was essentially 'Christ created by council;' he was referred to at the time as 'Serapis Christos'). And their symbols are still all over the place, like the ox as aleph or 'A' in the alphabet, or Marduk's fertility pinecone in the Fontana della Pigna in the Vatican city
Akhenaten
I've been waiting for this video all my life!
I love this deep dive!! I find it so fascinating how they are all in some way connected!! I absolutely love this channel!!! There are sooo many damn channels!! I am truly grateful to have found Crecganford!! 😊🙏🌙✨️❤️
Thank you for you kind words.
OMG. I literally just discussed these topics with my bf a week ago. And this video just … appeared on my recommendation. Can’t believe it. Thank you for bringing this up. Love your content a lot. Love to see more! ;)
Proof, if you ever needed it, that your device is listening to you 😅
I just found your channel & I am so glad to be here. Apart from your great thorough research, your voice is extremely soothing. You have a good therapist voice, great for motivational audio books. I love long form videos too that delve deep. Thank you so much for sharing! I will be watching in the future!!!
Thank you so much for watching, and for taking the time to comment.
This is without a doubt the best video of yours I've seen yet - wow. I'm very impressed.
I have no adequate words for this excellent video. You touched on so many things that I have wondered about for so many years. I am elderly now, but ever since my first anthropology class in the early 60's I have carried with me visions of primates gradually becoming self consciously aware. Then came the generation that they no longer relied on the instinctual mind that did not wonder to the mind that needed ritualistic behavior to feel still connected to the great mystery. Somehow you touched on that for me! Beautiful.
Well Jon, another fabulous video/lesson. From the beginning to the end, I felt your content flowed like a river. Best yet in my opinion, but that's just me. Keep up the great work.
Thank you for your kind words, they are appreciated.
I was drawn to watch this video, not just by title, but the illustration.
I am now going to try to watch all your videos and podcasts.
Thank you, I hope you enjoy them. I also try and answer as many questions as I can that are posted in the comments.
Really incredible video. Absolutely fascinating!
Well done for not walking on eggshells around Islam like a lot of TH-camrs do. I respect that :D
Good video!
An incredible 77 Minute intro... Im gonna need a second cup of tea for this last part. AWESOME CONTENT!!!
I have been trying to look for answers on what the earliest ever religions would be. Your video feels like a blessing 😉 Thank you for this.
That was an amazing video! Thank you for pouring out so much work into this. I love to be able to follow the unwinding of narratives through time! I've been quite fascinated by this topic in the last year actually, I hope you will keep sharing more in that regards.
Thank you so much for your comments and kind words.
I am speechless!! You never cease amaze me. I've watched this almost with a religious awe and with a cup of coffee :) This level of knowledge, passion and presentation is just the best of the best!
I would like to ask few things:
- A region to talk about (as you've requested in the video): I was very happy to see my native country Armenia appear on the map, since it is often overlooked despite that it offers unique insights about the surrounding cultures, their history, myths and languages. If you could talk about Armenian Highlands, about the reconstructions of oldest myths, religions and beliefs of those cultures that eventually fuse together to become Armenians, about the Armenian creation myth, connections with the epic of Daredevils of Sassoun and/or the founding epic of Armenians about Hayk, I'll be beyond happy, that'll be the best day of my life :) This is a quite challenging task, since huge parts of "pagan" culture in Armenia is wiped out by invaders, conquerors and new religions. But watching your videos I'm confident that we can at least have a rough reconstruction of those.
I'm ready to help as much as I can - with translations, understanding the language context, finding books and articles, connecting with people and anything else you may need help to research for the video.
- Another topic I would like to see on this channel - is how these myths are told, at least our current understanding of it. There is a woman that reconstructs the oldest music played by hitting rocks, there are examples of oldest musical instruments (some featured in this video), as you've mentioned - most myths are told in a form of poetry, etc. My assumption is that lots of myths are being told during rituals and using those instruments, and I'll be excited to know what is the current consensus about it.
The evolution of forms of how these myths are being told - poems, hymns, fairly tales, lullabies and so on is a fascinating topic in and on itself.
- I'll be happy if you at some point explore various points of views/attempts of reconstructing of neanderthal/homo naledi myths and beliefs, and/or present isolated myths and religions of African tribes and their possible unconfirmed distant connections to the myths/rituals of the rest of the world. I understand these might sound like a lot of speculation, but I'm really interested to see what is your intuition/educated guess about those a little bit more in detail.
Thank you very much for putting so much work to create these videos!
Thank you for watching, and writing interesting questions, I haven’t time to answer them here, but I will be looking at Armenian sources more in the future and I would recommend watching one of the videos I recommend in the channel (Dragon, Creation, Flood) to answer some of your other questions. Thank you once again.
@@Crecganford Oh, I'm a long time subscriber and a fan, and indeed watched all three of them. Actually I had them in mind when writing my comment.
Thank you for replying!
Religion as a whole is way more interesting imo, than specific ones. Great presentation 👍
Your work sounds so wonderfully interdisciplinary. It's also really enjoyable to listen to you.
Thank you so much.
I’ve just found your channel and have spent most of my day off binge watching. Your subject matter is utterly fascinating and is one I have been deeply interested in since checking D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths out of the public library around age seven.
At age 63, I’ve often wished I could go back in time and make the decision to study comparative religion and mythology. That was my original desire, but I felt it was too impractical given my circumstances.
At least, after a long career as a teacher and school librarian, I have the satisfaction of having passed on my passion for these topics to a couple generations of children.
This was absolutely fascinating! Thinking about animalism, was it something we are predisposed to think or just one of the oldest ideas? I will never stop thinking about this. Brilliant video 👏👏👏
Thank you so much, I do appreciate your kind words.
Thank you for your comment @ moomin
1632! The way you stated this helped me to process and connect some ideas in a new way
I agrée! I think animism does represent some innate human drive, the drive for meaning. To assign value and significance to our world, to make it make sense to us. But who knows. This stuff is so cool!
@@foxmlder2379 Yeah, Animism. The belief that all things, rocks trees and wind, have a soul.
I just wish the audio was more clear. I had a really difficult time hearing everything. Im getting old 😂
Another great video, Jon! It shows how much effort you put into making this and I hope YT algorithm does it justice.
I was wondering, would you consider exploring the division of proto-Slavic peoples from the PIE groups and also their religion/mythology? Thanks for your work.
Yes, I am researching this but it will be a long term project as information, and reliable evidence is hard to find.
This is extraordinarily fascinating and fantastically constructed. Well done, thank you for sharing with us!
Thank you for watching, and for taking the time to comment. It is appreciated.
Subscribed very interesting and informative about the topic
Thank you.
Thanks a lot for your work, you are one of the best channels that i know. Thanks for the portuguese subtitles in your other videos, its amazing to be able to share such amazing detailed content with my friends and family.
Sao Miguel Azores???
@@AnglandAlamehnaSwedish sou brasileiro, do estado de São Paulo
Thank you for your kind words.
I do that too! Can't wait for my mug, I tell everyone about how THIS... is Crecganford. 🍃🦌
Considering rituals and mortuary practices and briefly entertaining a non-anthropocentric view, what should we make of elephant graveyards?
This is the first time and immediately subscribed to your channel. I really appreciate your objective to remain neutral on a polarizing subject for a significant percentage of humanity.
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment, it is appreciated.
What an interesting channel. Im so glad to have found you.
Your content & your calming, dulcet tones.
Thank you so much.
Great video. Truly enlightening.
Jon, you've outdone yourself! Wonderful video.
Thank you so much, I appreciate that.
I somehow missed this video, so glad your community post for it reached me! Thank you for such amazing research and making content that isn’t hard to understand as a young adult
Thank you for your kind words and support.
@@Crecganford you absolutely deserve them, you work very hard
This is a wonderful exposition! You just got a new subscriber!
Thank you so much.
Amazing presentation! You have definitely gained a new fan.
Thank you.
Fascinating discussion. I'm going to have to give this more than a few listens. Thank you.
Thank you.
Excellent video. I was worried about the length, but very glad I stuck through the whole presentation.
A couple of thoughts came to me along the way. The first is what I think is obvious about human advancement. That is that the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherers to settled farmers was very long, and likely had a long transition period of settled gathering. Settled gathering would be living where the most productive wild grains grew, which would transition into crop cultivation in time.
This would seem to me to call for different spirits or gods to aid people in their endeavors. The gods didn't need to help people find food, but instead needed to bring food forth from the earth for them.
And lastly, it seems likely to me that there were those who didn't believe in these gods, but cultivated belief anyway. It was probably some ancient Greek or Roman would said that thing about belief in gods: The common people believe gods are real, the wise believe they aren't, and the rulers believe them useful. It seems most natural that some percentage of people would develop skepticism, and recognize the imaginary nature of the gods, but their importance to ritual and (more importantly control) for the society. The gods look favorably on us and rewarded us with food. The gods are angry with us for our behavior, and brought a plague upon the fields. Whatever the circumstance, leadership could use the gods favor or disfavor with the people as a means of both avoiding responsibility for the leaders not providing grain, but also direct the people to other behavior or tasks in order to win back the support of those gods. I should note that these leaders may also believe in the gods as well.
This seems like the seeds to the Abrahamic religions, as they are much more concerned with obedience of the population than some other religious practices. Religions that care less about the personal connection to the gods, and more about avoiding the wrath those gods are capable of.
Thank you for watching, and for taking the time to write such a great comment.
Thoroughly enjoyed this video! What an incredible deep dive of information. You truly have the gift of story telling.
Thank you so much.
Just found your channel. Looks like the algorithm finally did something right. I look forward to seeing your other videos. I appreciate the scholarship. The Younger Dryas connection to the Globekli Tepe site and the accumulation of various hunter gatherers was really insightful. I had not thought to draw that connection. Well done.
Thank you, and welcome!
Thank you, and welcome!
Really appreciate that you lay out how tenuous the information is. Researching earlier than say the classical period can be very frustrating when you first start doing it seriously. It was for me anyway, because I wanted to know things more concretely and unfortunately it just doesn't work that way in the real world.
Love your videos! Yoruba myth is particularly fascinating and well- documented, and it’s similarities with European myth were studied by Frobenius a century ago. It also has a more recent history through the Atlantic Slave trade that presents a unique case study in how a single religious tradition can be transferred to and evolve in multiple context. A good place to start for Africa…
Asè!
This is further proof that all religions are imaginary, the only thing thing real is violence
No a good place to start would be the Khoisan ppl. Also Orishas aren’t gods
@@theghostofumarskoolishere.4632 Translations are never perfect. In the Americas they’re often called « saints, » though they look for to me like angels. They’re referred as forces of Nature, energy frequencies, basic principles of Existence, but I’ve heard plenty of Nigerians refer to them as « gods. »
@@petercohen5563 in America we don’t call Orishas saints and they’re not angels also Nigerians who call them gods are the ignorant Christian’s who don’t know anything they also think ifa is a deity (when it’s not) so listening to the vast majority of the uninitiated about ifa is pointless you can only learn this tradition from being in it really.
Really excellent. I’d quibble with a few bits but that’s a truly informative wide ranging presentation on the roots of religion. Fabulous.
I'm pleased you found it informative and took the time to comment. It is appreciated.
This content is brilliant. So completely satisfying for everything I think and care about. Thanks so much.
Thank you for your kind words.
So glad my algorithm suggested you! I am a huge fan of deep dives, world religions in a historical context, documentary style content, and ASMR. You have melded all my fave themes with an absolutely beautiful voice and eloquent delivery. Moreover, your background is gorgeous!! Editing is great, camera and sound quality are excellent, and you have a comfortable/approachable energy that makes me feel safe. I can tell you’re a passionate soul and I just love finding content creators that are true experts. Cannot wait to check the backlog for more interesting creations!! :)
Thank you for your kind words, and for taking the time to comment. It is appreciated.
The oldest religions believed in today probably reside in sub Saharan Africa. That’s where all Homo sapiens and hominids originated, so it’d make sense that some aspects of the oldest belief systems are still believed, wholly or in part, there.
You've explained more to me about religion in this video than doing 3 years of divinity at school in the 70's.
Okay you got me to click the like button. Very clever and blessed be the algorithm. May it forever shine upon you.
This was amazing! a real treat! i anticipated this eagerly after seeing it advertised in YT short and as per usual you didnt disappoint :D It was lovely to see your figurines again. i did find some replicas, but they were out of my price range sadly. If i couldve afforded one, it wouldve been the man-lion as i agree it is the most fantastic of all!
This is such an incredibly broad and deep, inspiring and illuminating account of how we got to where we are today
And I'm sure you don't get this one enough but THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUBTITLES they are SO HELPFUL and I'm sure it takes an amount of effort to make them
Seconded on subtitles. So many people mumble when they speak in this world, me being one of them, so having text to clarify really makes life less frustrating.
Yes I agree! I rely on subtitles so it’s a godsend! Thank you so much Jon!
I love that your channel is both educational and ASMR.
The ASMR is not deliberate.
I only just started watching this but so far it’s extremely interesting plus the host’s deep voice is incredible!
Thank you.
I just literally found your channel. Im on a journey of religion desconstruction. This has been extremely fundamental.
Yes, I've heard of the TH-cam religion(s) (3:33). But it's a mixed lot. Some cultinism, lots of skepticism, some hedonism, a bunch of entertainmentnisms, and many, many doctrinisms. A plethora of paths to choose from. May the probabilistic-deterministic cosmos bless us all.
I've probably watched this video 5 times. Thank you for making it!!
Thank you so much for watching it, and for taking the time to comment. It is very much appreciated.
@@Crecganford You're welcome! I love your videos, I'm learning so much!
This has been in my 'To Be Watched' file for some time and I finally had the time this American Labor Day. Bravo! Wonderful synthesis.
Thank you so much.
Your videos and channel are just what I love most. The perfect blend of anthropology, archeology, religion, mythology, and history beautifully married. I just wonder, what type of undergraduate degree can I pursue to learn more about these things? Would it be more geared toward anthropology or what? I just know I want to spend my time studying and reading about these things. I previously pursued religious studies but I am unsure of what is best
Thank you for watching, and you can either study Religious History, or Mythology and Folklore, all my anthropological knowledge is a by-product. Saying that, I started out with Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon Literature, and so there are many ways to skin this mythological cat.
I've noticed that many archeologists construct with suppositions based on romanticism. An alternative explanation for the creation of myths rests with psychology: our strong empathetic and sympathetic needs, our needs to create meaning, our needs to communicate, and our needs for connection, these all naturally create cultures and beliefs. Seeing our child die does not indicate the existence of an underworld or life after death but these stories definitely help to ease pain and grief. Sharing stories allows others to connect with a personal experience.
Most importantly to me is that the age of a belief does not validate that belief as real or justify any subsequent developments in superiority of culture or religion. Triangulating the origins of story with genetics, cultural practice and linguistic development reaffirms that everyone alive today inherits beliefs and culture and language and genetics from the past. The only substantial conclusion that I can reach is that we are all related and connected.
What I love about mythology is how creativity and psychology combine within an environment as attempts to explain experiences. Animism allows many observable and dependable insights into geology, animal behaviour, seasons and astronomy. Where these observations develop independently, an objective reality may be confirmed. To my mind, myths attest our creativity and desire for connection, core functions of our species.
You have to be careful with this stuff though because it promotes functionalism and may also suggest a psychic unity
@@andrewbowen2837 I wasn't arguing for any institution nor was I suggesting that similarities across cultures deny diversity. Is that what you meant? Please elaborate.
Also makes me wonder if all the extinct humans also had mythologies; or if something about having a mythology is _what allowed_ the survivors to persevere and prosper against odds that those without couldn't handle.
Religion has its pitfalls of course, but it seems to me the people who come out of tragedy and war the strongest are those who had a rock solid principle and mythology to help them stay sane. You don't hear many harsh survival stories where the person was helped by thinking "there's no point". Even seemingly-passive values like Buddhism or Stoicism derive meaning in one's own ability to make use of what they're given and do the best they can do.
To me, all these projections indicate human nature: creativity, connection, and the will to live. We have such talents and are capable of so much potential.@@Magoover1
Definitely makes you think! Thank you for the information! ❤
Just found your channel. You got a new sub. Thank you for the work you do, on providing educational pieces in a relaxed soft spoken manner. Cheers and Blessings brother.
And thank you for your support.
I had hoped you would have explained in more detail how the Abrahamic Faiths were influenced and even generated from the other religions of their neighbors. Still, the great detail about the rituals and motivations for religions of Neolithic and even earlier population groups is good to know.
Still good to help understand how we became who we are.
I will definitely check out the videos linked within that I've missed.
15:56
Crying is a motif of rain. Sure.
But. I see this as the change from winter to spring.
The time of frost/snow changing to the time of rain. So the story isnt always seeking for want ofnrain, but for the end of winter
Indeed, I do talk about this in my other videos, the loss of the agricultural god can mean that there is a lack of rain as much as it can mean there is no sun. It depends on the deity in the Underworld.
Really an excellent video. I found this very interesting. You explain things so well. I just wonder how you keep all of this information in your head. I hope to watch more of your videos.
To imagine the evolution of religious belief from animism to further personnification of natural powers and spirits into gods which eventually assembled into high gods and finally merged into monotheism feels quite intuitive, but in my researches I've recently came across many scholars who mentioned that about 50% of tribal people actually had beliefs in a withdrawn high creator god. So I wonder what you'd make of this, which is a theory I'm sure you've heard of, that they practiced a form of primitive monotheism which would have devolved into polytheism. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this and hope maybe, who knows, you'd make a video about it!
Very interesting
Modern tribes?
I believe that was a great frickin video! To tackle something in deep time, that's so complex, and manage to make it somewhat coherent? Well done! Moreover, its essential to use all the tools at our disposal ( linguistics, DNA, archeology, anthropology, climatology, et al ) to develope an accurate portrayal of history, my history, yours, OUR history as a species.
Thank you so much, I appreciate that.
What a fine video! Thank you so much!
Thank you for a great intellectual video, you kept my attention and wanting more