Studying contemporary populations of primates is a good analog for studying ancient hominids and hominins because they are the closest living relative we have. Not an actual ancestor, primates are viewed as our closest living cousins. We are able to study their sociality and behaviors to see how our ancestors might have interacted with one another, how they reared their young, and how they secured food. A big factor that separates us, hominins, from primates is sociality. Their interactions are far different from ours, and that can limit what we are able to apply and the comparison may skew what we already believe. When you think of primates or Neanderthals, you don’t really think of either performing any types of religious behaviors or rituals. And it’s true, they don’t; but, they do possess the prerequisites that religious behavior is built upon. Collectively, both groups display compassion, empathy, creativity, self-awareness, and heightened consciousness of the world around us. Essentially, religious behaviors did stem from these groups, but it was only the necessary roots that are displayed, namely empathy and compassion.
Recent comments