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Neither the article nor the backing paper discussed made any such definite claim. Many casual readers confuse statements such as "which *may* have had symbo
by defrost 6mo ago
Neither the article nor the backing paper discussed made any such definite claim.
Many casual readers confuse statements such as
"which *may* have had symbolic or ritual significance."
with meaning "this absolutely had to do with (a) religion" when no such thing is intended.
Attribution of potential cause of inferred behaviour to "ritual" is a long standing practice in archaeology; it's code for "we don't know" and covers all manner of things that may simply have developed as habit over years, may have unknown and non supernatural causes / motivations, etc.
- sandworm101 6mo agoRitual may also have practical/non-supernatural motivations that were simply incorrect. We do lots of things that we think are good practical things that, years later, we learn were mistakes. Uranium and radiation as a cure-all was a mistake. Dig up a 1950s house and one might think the uranium devices were kept for "ritual" when in fact they were kept for thier mistaken health benefits.
- vikramkr 6mo agoFor examples from more recent history think giant scissors used for ribbon cutting ceremonies, the golden spike used to signal completion of the intercontinental railroad, or like all the stuff related to militaries like changing of the guard that are ceremonial. Or even something like leaving a celebratory emoji on the first or merged by a new hire or a box of donuts on someone's birthday. Or bringing out the champagne after closing on a house. Theres just a ton of ritual in day to day life, and even more surrounding big high impact moments that might leave behind a bunch of artifacts like weddings and funerals