Talk:Prehistoric religion

I don't know if this really is appropriate on this page, but I just wanted to say thank you for this article. As a "general reader" who was interested in the origins of religion, I found the current version of the article to be enlightening. The prose was well written and flowed easily. In particular, I liked the way the article presented divergent viewpoints among scholars. I see there is some discussion here about the credibility of the sources, and a few critical points as to the precision of the claims. I have no possibility to judge any of these criticisms. To me, this article embodied what Wikipedia should be all about. To be able to find such a thorough article that is accessible both in the style of writing and accessible as in free to access is a thing of wonder. Thank you to everyone who has contributed here. KaldeFakta68 (talk) 16:27, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

The present page refers to heavy influence by "both European and Khoisan cultures" in the "Bronze and Iron Ages" section. Given the stark distance between the Maghreb and the area of Khoi-san cultural influence in southern Africa, this description appears suspect (although I admit I am unable to access the cited source to compare). The general tone of this section also appears somewhat suspect to me, including the use of the unique term "Maghrebinians" and the speculative mention of a "pan-European weapon cult".

For these reasons, I would like to bring attention to this section in case it warrants further discussion or investigation. 73.169.71.205 (talk) 04:19, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

The redirect Early European Religion(s) has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 October 4 § Early European Religion(s) until a consensus is reached. Thepharoah17 (talk) 01:44, 5 October 2025 (UTC)

I would like to propose adding a brief mention of researcher Ariel Golan to the paragraph discussing goddess-centered hypotheses about prehistoric religion, specifically alongside the existing mention of Marija Gimbutas.

Golan published two books on prehistoric religion and Neolithic symbolism: Myth and Symbol: Symbolism in Prehistoric Religions (Jerusalem, 1991) and Prehistoric Religion: Mythology, Symbolism (Jerusalem: A. Golan, 2003, ISBN 978-9659055500). His 1991 work was reviewed by scholar Michael Fishbane in The Journal of Religion, Vol. 74, No. 1 (University of Chicago Press, 1994), DOI: 10.1086/489341. Copies are held by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Library of Australia.

His central argument — that Neolithic religion centered on a Heaven Goddess and an Earth God whose symbolic legacy persisted into later religious traditions — is directly relevant to this section.

I propose adding the following sentence after the Gimbutas paragraph:

"Similarly, researcher Ariel Golan, drawing on cross-cultural analysis of approximately one hundred prehistoric graphic symbols from Southeastern Europe and Western Asia, proposed that Neolithic religion centered on two principal deities — a Heaven Goddess and an Earth God — and that their symbolic legacy persisted into later religious traditions worldwide."

Happy to discuss. Marcomer1980 (talk) 05:43, 23 April 2026 (UTC)