Earliest Traces Of Spirituality In Germanic Territory
We know that the Germanic people had an elaborate pantheon of Gods and rituals but most of the Germanic spirituality came from much older sources. The Gods as we know them, have their origins with the Proto-Indo European people but certain spiritual habits, like ancestor worship and the belief in nature spirits, was already practiced by the neolithic people inhabiting later Germanic territories.
One of the oldest finds that can possibly be linked with a spiritual practice, are the red deer antler skulls that have been uncovered in Bedburg, Germany. Two modified antler skulls have been found at an early mesolithic site which dates back to around 9700BC. These skulls have been modified as such as they could be used as a headdress.
Now we canât of course be exactly sure if these antlers were used for ritualistic purposes but some historians agree that they were possibly used by ancient shamans. If this is indeed the case, that makes these deer skulls the oldest trace that we have of a shamanic spiritual practice. They could also have been worn as normal attire by a hunter or tribe chief but wearing big antlers on your head seems counterproductive for the hunt.
What further encourages the belief that they were used for a ritualistic purpose, are some several other finds from the late Paleolithic and early Mesolithic era. A few examples are the lion man sculpture (Germany 35,000BC), dancing men engraved on a rock (The Netherlands 9,000BC), Sorcerer cave painting (France 13,000BC), antler headdress (England, 9,000BC)
All these finds represent some form of metamorphic man/animal being. The bond between nature and humans, man and animal is very important in animistic societies. If we picture ourselves how a shaman would look like, most of you would probably imagine a man dressed in animal skins with most likely either a bear pelt on his head or antlers, it reminds us of the modern day band Heilung.
For whatever reason these objects were used by our paleolithic and mesolithic ancestors, they are quite unique in nature and they set our imagination free on how these ancestors of ours lived in harmony with nature.
Here are photos of: Bedburg antler headdress, Germany Yorkshire antler headdress, England LĂśwenmensch statue, Germany Danseres van Geldrop and Danser van Wanssum, The Netherlands Sorcerer cave painting, France
