From Earth Spirits to Sky Gods: The Socioecological Origins of Monotheism, Individualism, and Hyper-Abstract Reasoning, From the Stone Age to the Axia

by Bruce Lerro

In this thought-provoking new book, Bruce Lerro offers a speculative reconstruction of the sacred beliefs and practices of cultures existing between 30,000 and 500 B.C.E. Lerro describes how material changes in various social formations-including hunting-gathering bands and horticulturalists in villages-were responsible for the shift from magic to realism, from the belief in earth spirits to faith in sky gods. Drawing from such diverse theorists as...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 073910098X
• ISBN13: 9780739100981
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Globe Pequot Publishing Group Inc/Bloomsbury
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"