Prehistoric Belief

Mike Williams examines how belief may have shaped human life across approximately 35,000 years of European prehistory. The book considers trance, shamanism, spirits and ideas about the afterlife, while relating them to major changes in society, agriculture, monument-building and metalworking.

Archaeological evidence is used to discuss subjects including Neanderthal burial, painted caves, prehistoric ritual and the emergence of social groups. The narrative also follows the spread of humans from Africa and the eventual decline of the Celtic tribes. Alongside this research, first-person reconstructions evoke Stone Age hunting parties, Bronze Age funerary practices and Celtic feasting, presenting the past through the beliefs people may have held rather than archaeological remains alone.