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Question
Do you know of any cultures today or in recorded history that did not have some type of deity that they worshiped?
Don,
To the best of my knowledge, belief in supernatural entities of one sort or another is a human cultural universal today, and a feature of every historic society of which we have reasonable written records. Styles of "worship" vary, though, so detecting this kind of behavior in the archaeological record can be difficult. A lot of hunter-gatherer socieities embed their religious activities in daily life (i.e., no shrines, temples), so formal religious practices can be difficult to identify unequivocally in the prehistoric record.
Sincerely,
John Shea
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John Shea
Expertise
Questions about Old World prehistoric archaeology (especially Stone Age) of Europe, Africa, and Western Asia, prehistoric human and hominid behavior, primitive technology, origin of modern humans, extinction of the Neandertals.
Experience
>20 years as a professional anthropologist based at a research university.
Publications
Journal of Field Archaeology, Journal of Archaeological Science, Lithic Technology, Evolutionary Anthropology, Current Anthropology, Mitekufat HaEven (Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society), Paléorient, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, American Anthropologist, Geoarchaeology.
Education/Credentials
Ph.D (Anthropology) Harvard University, 1991.
BA (Archaeology) Boston University, 1982.
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