Horned Hunter — Shaman, Ancestor, and Deity

Authors

  • Natalia Mikhailova
  • Alan Garfinkel

Keywords:

ethnoarchaeology, prehistoric religion, rituals, shamans, cult of the deer, cult of the bighorn sheep

Abstract

There are numerous depictions of antlered figures in the rock art of prehistoric Eurasia and many representations of horned humans in the Far West of North America. These antlered and horned individuals have in some cases been interpreted as wearing animal headdresses. Headdresses with deer antlers are recognized archaeologically in Mesolithic Europe. A prehistoric bighorn sheep headdress has been discovered and dated from Utah in the United States. Also there is historic ethnographic evidence of deer and bighorn sheep headdresses/disguises for Siberia, northern Europe and North America. We propose to compare these data and review similarities and differences in these cultural traditions. We highlight comparative data regarding their age, and associated animal ceremonialism in indigenous religious expression.

Author Biographies

Natalia Mikhailova

Nataliia Mykhailova is PhD, Senior scientific researcher of the Stone Age Archaeology Department Institute of archaeology of National Ukrainian Academia of Sciences.

Alan Garfinkel

Dr. Alan Garfinkel is a California and Great Basin anthropologist/archaeologist. Director and founder of the California Rock Art Foundation. He received his Bachelor’s at CSU, Northridge, and his MA and Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis.  Dr. Garfinkel is principally known for his work with the indigenous people of the West and for his studies of Native American rock art in California and the Great Basin.  He is also recognized for his pioneering studies in the regional prehistory of eastern California, the far Southern Sierra Nevada, and southwestern Great Basin.

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Mikhailova, N., & Garfinkel, A. (2018). Horned Hunter — Shaman, Ancestor, and Deity. Origin of Language and Culture: Ancient History of Mankind, 5(1), 5–26. Retrieved from https://publishing.socionic.info/index.php/language/article/view/2516

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