The provided text, "Hunter-Gatherer Proto-Religious Origins," explores the archaeological evidence for the emergence of human spirituality during the Paleolithic era, spanning from the Lower Paleolithic through the Upper Paleolithic, and briefly touching upon the Neolithic. It defines key terms like ritual, proto-religion, and myth, examining the cognitive abilities, such as symbolic thought and Theory of Mind, that underpin metaphysical concepts. The source presents a chronological overview of finds, from ambiguous early hominin behaviors and Neanderthal mortuary care to the sophisticated burials, portable art, and profound cave paintings of early Homo sapiens, notably discussing sites like Sungir, Chauvet, and Lascaux. Finally, it synthesizes dominant theories on the origin of religion, contrasting the adaptationist and byproduct arguments and proposing a two-stage model where religion began as a cognitive byproduct but later became culturally adaptive for social cohesion, culminating in the transformative role of monumental sites like Göbekli Tepe.

Research done with the help of artificial intelligence, and presented by two AI-generated hosts.