Discoveries Give New Clues To Possible Neanderthal Religious Practices
At NPR, Barbara J. King talks to Michel Martin about the possible religiosity of Neanderthals, who may have taken part in elaborate burial ceremonies. King, a retired professor of anthropology at William and Mary, notes that anthropologists recently discovered a Neanderthal child’s bones buried inside a circle of animal horns and a rhinoceros skull. King said, “Given their intelligence, it seems to me likely that the Neanderthals contemplated, in some way, the mysteries of life.” She adds, “Did they come together in groups to evoke gods, spirits or ancestors to help themselves make sense of the world?”