A few years back a cave in South Africa yielded up apparent religious symbology some 70,000 years ago ( a date which will piss off creationists from the outset!).
Of course, all this means is that we have evidence going back 70,000 years of cultic practices. Who knows how much further back in time man started imagining gods?
http://www.world-archaeology.com/great-c.../438-.html
Of course, all this means is that we have evidence going back 70,000 years of cultic practices. Who knows how much further back in time man started imagining gods?
http://www.world-archaeology.com/great-c.../438-.html
Quote:This summer, inside a cave in remote hills in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana, archaeologists discovered evidence of organised ritual activity dating to 70,000 years ago. Their findings are set to change our perceptions of human development since previously it was generally thought that human intelligence had not evolved the capacity to perform group rituals until perhaps 40,000 years ago, when the first such evidence appears in Europe.