ABSTRACT
In considering the archaeological past, a broader understanding about what shamans did within the community is needed. Very little that is analytical has been written about the archaeology of religion–and even less about shamanism in archaeology. Archaeologists are not uniform in their understanding of shamanism, or of religion, or even of ideology. In seeking a useful definition of shamanism for archaeological interpretations, problems arise if definitions are either too broad or too narrow. Broad uses of the term allow shamans to be identified in cultures worldwide but narrow ones can hardly be applied outside their supposed homeland of Siberia. Shamans have been contrasted with priests in order to define both categories. Often shamans are said to be individual leaders with access to spirits, while priests are those with a written tradition and set rituals. Shamans are often described as knowledgeable people.
