Archaeology, Religion and Belief

Module code: AR3553

Religion, belief and ritual are important aspects of the human experience and yet notoriously difficult for archaeologists to understand from the archaeological record. We will address this head on from philosophical, anthropological, and archaeological standpoints. 

The contents of this module are wide-ranging in time and space, using religion as a focus of study and drawing on literature both inside and outside of archaeology. We will begin with a consideration of some of the theoretical background concerning notions of religion and belief.

We will also ask questions such as:

• What is religion anyway?
• Why do archaeologists often prefer the term ritual?
• Why are sacred and profane set up as separate and binary oppositions?

This is followed by a consideration of the different ways in which religion has been identified and discussed in archaeology, including interrogating our own cultural attitudes and assumptions. You will learn about ancestors, relics, rock art and consider case studies from shamanism to mangoes. You will also consider the ways religion shapes the landscape from pilgrimage routes to sacred space, as well as death and burial, and finally the topic of religious change in situations such as colonial encounters.