Editing History of religion (section)

==Origin==
{{Main|Prehistoric religion|Paleolithic religion}}
{{Further|Behavioral modernity|Evolutionary origin of religions|Timeline of religion}}
{{see also|Matriarchal religion}}

The earliest archeological evidence interpreted by some as suggestive of the emergence of religious ideas dates back several hundred thousand years, to the [[Middle Paleolithic|Middle]] and [[Lower Paleolithic]] periods: some archaeologists conclude that the apparently intentional burial of [[Early Homo sapiens|archaic humans]], [[Neanderthal]]s and even ''[[Homo naledi]]'' as early as 300,000 years ago is proof that religious ideas already existed, but such a connection is entirely conjectural. Other evidence that some infer as indicative of religious ideas includes symbolic artifacts from [[Middle Stone Age]] sites in Africa. However, the interpretation of early Paleolithic artifacts, with regard to how they relate to religious ideas, remains controversial {{citation needed||date=September 2023}}. Archeological evidence from more recent periods is less controversial. Scientists{{which|date=July 2017}} generally interpret a number of artifacts from the [[Upper Paleolithic]] (50,000–13,000 BCE) as representing religious ideas. Examples of Upper Paleolithic remains that some associate with religious beliefs include the [[löwenmensch figurine|lion man]], the [[Venus figurines]], and the elaborate ritual burial from [[Sungir]].{{cn|date=September 2024}}

In the 19th century, researchers proposed various theories regarding the origin of religion, challenging earlier claims of a Christianity-like [[urreligion]]. Early theorists, such as [[Edward Burnett Tylor]] (1832–1917) and [[Herbert Spencer]] (1820–1903), emphasized the concept of [[animism]], while archaeologist  [[John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury|John Lubbock]] (1834–1913) used the term "[[fetishism]]". Meanwhile, the religious scholar [[Max Müller]] (1823–1900) theorized that religion began in [[hedonism]] and the folklorist [[Wilhelm Mannhardt]] (1831–1880) suggested that religion began in "naturalism" – by which he meant mythological explanations for natural events.<ref>"Religion". ''Encyclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana'', 70 vols. Madrid. 1907–1930.</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2017}} All of these theories have been widely criticized since then; there is no broad consensus regarding the origin of religion.

[[Pre-pottery Neolithic A]] (PPNA) [[Göbekli Tepe]], the oldest potentially religious site yet discovered anywhere<ref name="ArchMag">{{cite web | url= http://www.archaeology.org/0811/abstracts/turkey.html| title= The World's First Temple| work= Archaeology magazine |date= Nov–Dec 2008 | page= 23}}</ref> includes circles of erected massive T-shaped stone pillars, the world's oldest known [[megalith]]s<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qR5TCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA47|title= The Archaeology of Malta|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn= 9781107006690|page= 47|language= en|last1= Sagona|first1= Claudia|date= 25 August 2015|access-date= 25 November 2016}}</ref> decorated with [[Abstract art|abstract]], enigmatic [[pictogram]]s and [[sculpture|carved]]-animal reliefs. The site, near the home place of original wild wheat, was built before the so-called [[Neolithic Revolution]], i.e., the beginning of [[agriculture]] and [[animal husbandry]] around 9000 BCE. But the construction of Göbekli Tepe implies organization of an advanced order not hitherto associated with [[Paleolithic]], [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic A|PPNA]], or [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic B|PPNB]] societies. The site, abandoned around the time the first agricultural societies started, is still being excavated and analyzed, and thus might shed light on the significance it had, if any, for the religions of older, foraging communities, as well as for the general history of religions.{{citation needed||date=August 2024}}

The [[Pyramid Texts]] from ancient Egypt, the oldest known [[religious texts]] in the world, date to between 2400 and 2300 BCE.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SieAmOiyGQMC&q=the+pyramid+texts+oldest+religious&pg=PA9|title=An Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Literature|last= Budge|first= Wallis|date=January 1997|isbn=0-486-29502-8|page=9|publisher=Courier Corporation |author-link=E. A. Wallis Budge}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6VBJeCoDdTUC&q=2353+-+2323+%22pyramid+texts%22&pg=PA1|title=The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts|last= Allen|first=James|year=2005|publisher=Society of Biblical Lit |isbn=1-58983-182-9}}</ref>

The earliest records of [[Indian religion]] are the [[Vedas]], composed {{c.|1500–1200 BCE}} during the [[Vedic Period]].

Surviving early copies of religious texts include:

* The [[Upanishads]], some of which date to the mid-first millennium BCE.
* The [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], representing fragmentary texts of the Hebrew [[Tanakh]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abegg |first1=Martin G. |author-link1=Martin G. Abegg |last2=Flint |first2=Peter |author-link2=Peter Flint (religious scholar) |last3=Ulrich |first3=Eugene |author-link3=Eugene Ulrich |year=1999 |title=The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible: The Oldest Known Bible Translated for the First Time into English |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jmm8Mvjw2WQC |publisher=Harper Collins |publication-date=2012 |page=xvii |isbn=9780062031129 |access-date=18 November 2019 |quote=The Dead Sea Scrolls include more than 225 'biblical' manuscripts [...]. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions [...] almost all these manuscripts are in fragmentary form. Parts of every book of the Jewish and Protestant Old Testament are included, with the exception of Esther and Nehemiah.}}</ref> 
* Complete Hebrew texts, also of the [[Tanakh]], but translated into the [[Koine Greek|Greek language]] ([[Septuagint]] 300–200 BCE), were in wide use by the early 1st century CE. 
* The Zoroastrian [[Avesta]], from a [[Sassanian]]-era master copy.