(Dagmar Hollmann/Wikimedia Commons)
As far back as we can tell, tribes, communities, and societies have always struggled with understanding their place in the natural or supernatural scheme of things, and sought ways to create a shared ideal of what life might mean: in other words, belief systems. Frequently these groups created rituals, monuments, and artifacts to symbolize their spiritual tenets.
One such artifact, unearthed in a German cave in 1939, came to be called the Lion Man. Created 40,000 years ago, this small ivory carving is the oldest known representation of a symbolic being. According to Neil MacGregor, art historian and former director of the British Museum, items as disparate as the Lion Man, an Aztec ritual knife, a Tibetan wheel of life drawing, and a model of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, among others, highlight how belief systems were ritualized, and indicate how a shared set of beliefs strengthened communities.
McGregor examines how spiritual unity often lost its meaning as early societies expanded and interacted, sometimes absorbing other cultures’ beliefs and sometimes running up against systems that conflict with their own. Moving from objects to travel to current global politics, he analyzes how this process has repeated itself throughout history, looking at the power of shared beliefs to define—and divide—societies. He analyzes what those beliefs can mean in the public life of a community or a nation; how they shape the relationship between the individual and the state; and their value in helping to give us our sense of who we are.
MacGregor’s book, Living with the Gods: On Beliefs and Peoples (Penguin), is available for sale and signing.
