Quote:You're asking how we'd collect evidence for something that we have collected evidence for.
Right. I asked that rhetorically to point out that the only way for us to collect evidence was through archaeology and anthropology and not some fMRI brain scans and psychological studies since you cannot perform those on fossils and skulls and other artifacts. So the best we can do is to inference based on engravings or buildings etc to trace the existence of notion of more refined concept of god, and how that came about.
Your premise is that one day someone woke up and came up with the idea of god (crudely speaking). My premise is that it's a cognitive journey––as works of various evolutionary psychologist combined with works of archaeology and anthropology have theorized, our mind has some useful byproduct awareness of someone watching through our brain's ability to see intent through theory of mind. We don't wake up one day and make up something and that stick as strongly as the concept of god has.
The reason we have it and other animals don't have it because our cognitive abilities are comparatively more unique––although in recent studies other primates have been shown to display signs of theory of mind as well so evolution of this ability goes way back than just tens of thousands of years (link here).
The concept of god won't stick if our mind was not receptive to it. It will fall apart just like how Santa Clause falls apart as kids grow up –– the reason indoctrinated children don't give up idea of god when they grow up even in the face of increasingly available indication to the contrary is because our brains is fertile land for teleological thinking. We are more receptive to forming concrete reality based on underlying illusory nature than not.
In any event, I think we may be talking in circles at this point as our premises don't quite line up.
