The heroic myth: Death, rebirth and transformation

The heroic myth: Death, rebirth and transformation

Karen Armstrong, in her book, A short history of myth, writes that in old times the hunter and shaman of the tribe had to turn their backs on the familiar world, enter the unknown and face fearsome trials. Their journey took them out into uncertainty where they would...
Animal wisdom: Hunters, kinship and the sacred

Animal wisdom: Hunters, kinship and the sacred

In hunting societies, animals were not seen as inferior beings but as possessing superior wisdom. Anthropologists observe that modern-day indigenous groups often refer to animals or birds as ‘peoples’, the same as themselves. They tell stories about humans becoming...
The sacred nature of the ancient world

The sacred nature of the ancient world

Karen Armstrong, the historian of Religion, tells us that the Palaeolithic period (c. 20000 to 8000 BCE) was one of the longest and most formative in the biological evolution of humans. Ethnologists and anthropologists claim that these indigenous people were very...