ABSTRACT
For much of its history, archaeology trod lightly in the realm of religion and ritual. Disciplines more practiced in the study of these subjects (e.g., socio-cultural anthropology, sociology, psychology, religious studies) typically define them in idealist (i.e., belief based) or cognitive terms. Materialist archaeologies, with their emphasis on material culture and behavior, would seem to have no place for these studies and, as a consequence, religious practice (i.e., behavior) and belief in the prehistoric past would appear to be unknowable. Such a situation would, of course, be regrettable because the human experience is replete with interactions with the sacred or “extranatural” world, and human behavior is often affected by these beliefs (Walker 2001).
