Towards an archaeology of religion

Abstract

This thesis presents a study of religion and ritual which seeks to provide a critical review of existing efforts in the archaeology of religion, and the assumptions on which such studies are based. It seeks to provide a more current theorisation of religion than is current in contemporary archaeology. The beginning of the thesis examines the anthropology of religion. It is argued that the approaches of Intellectualism and Symbolism provide an essential starting point for any study of religion, since both highlight the salient aspects of religion as a system of beliefs and as a system of actions. It is concluded that these two aspects of religion require separate theorisation.

Examination of the problems attendant on the interpretation of symbols and ritual in general, concluded that ritual and its symbols are largely meaningless, but this lack of propositional content gives them emotive power. This emotive power is argued to be manipulated by the social actors in their efforts to produce and reproduce relations of social hierarchy. Consequently, it is argued that in non Western social contexts, the primary context for social production is through the medium of ritual institutions.

A novel theoretical perspective - minimalism - is defined, characterised by its relative disinterest in reconstructing theology, and instead focusing on the underlying generative principles of religion. Critique of previous archaeological treatments of religion is engaged in from a minimalist perspective. Previous treatments are argued to be characterised by a faulty theorisation of symbolism and ritual, their functionalist bias, and their inadequate methodologies. The suggested remedies to these problems, and the usefulness of minimalism, is then assessed through a case-study of putative sacred spaces on houses and palaces of Crete during the Bronze Age. The funerary record for this period is also considered.

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