Palaeolithic Art and Religion/Sweet Cave Tour

When first enrolling for this course I came in not knowing what to expect. I have my own personal views and roles that religion play in my life, however, I am interested in the role religion has played in other cultures and communities. While reading "Paleolithic Religion and Art", I noticed that the article did not focus on the the specifics of the "religious influence" on prehistoric civilition. The article tended to focus on the mere fact that some sort of religion or supernatural influence was a possible intricate part of prehistoric societies. I view religion as a type of glue that holds a community together. People are always looking for something bigger, and many times, an overarching, supernatural force can be just that.

In "Paleolithic Religion", I found one statement to be really entriguing. When describing the wall paintings the text states "Upper Paleolithic Art was not intended to give an accurate account of the world outside the caves. Rather, in concerned beliefs entertained by the author." This idea is also seen in the Cave of Lascaux as well. This suggests that religion was viewed possibly as a way to merely answer questions or interpret thier surroundings. Isn't that true of religion today? Isn't one of the main functions of religion is to find guidance for the world and peoples' lives? Being spiritual in my own life, I can relate to this idea of using my faith as a road map for my life. Although the article points out the "evidence" of religion in Paleolithic Neanderthal community is up for debate, I highly doubt one can deny the impact of religion on our current society. Regardless of what a person believes or thinks, the force that religion has on a community is quite remarkable. How can a person deny religion has an influence on life when there are atheists and Christians who hold public debates on whether or not God exists? How is it that a child born into poverty is able to be happy because they have "faith"? Or how can two nations go to war over land that is considered "holy"? And how can people devote hours of their day to prayer? These are prime examples of how religion affects our lives, regardless of what we believe.