Skip to content

Shamanism and the Evolutionary Origins of Spirituality and Healing

Michael Winkelman

NeuroQuantology March 5, 2011 DOI: 10.14704/nq.2011.9.1.390 (opens in new tab)

Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Topics Shamanism
Citations 14
Key points Argues that shamanism is based on innate aspects of human cognition, engaging altered states to integrate information and produce visual symbolism, and that its evolutionary roots lie in animal ritual capacities, with similarities to chimpanzee rituals.

Abstract

Although the term “shamanic” is used to refer to a diverse range of phenomena, it nonetheless reflects something empirical. Cross-cultural research illustrates that the concept of the shaman reflects the existence of similar spiritual healing practices found in pre-modern foraging and simple horticultural and pastoral societies around the world (Winkelman, 1992; 2000). This cross-cultural concept of the shaman was initially proposed by the renowned scholar of comparative religion, Mircea Eliade (1964). However, his various characterizations of shamans were in part responsible for subsequent confusion regarding their exact nature and function. While offering very general characterizations of the shaman as someone who entered a state of “ecstasy” to interact with “spirits” on behalf of the community, Eliade also cited many additional specific concepts of the shaman which some subsequent researchers neglected in their applications of this term. This paper presents the findings of cross-cultural and cross-species research that provides a basis for describing shamanism, its relationships to human nature, and its deep evolutionary origins. Shamanism has its bases in innate aspects of human cognition, engaging the use of altered states of consciousness to integrate information across several levels of the brain to produce visual symbolism exemplified in visionary experiences. The deeper evolutionary roots of shamanism are found in the capacities for ritual, which provide the most important communication and integrative processes in lower animal species. The evolution of shamanism can be deduced from these bases and the similarities of shamanic practices to the rituals of chimpanzees. Drumming, group vocalization, and other displays were the foundations from which the uniquely human mimetic capacity evolved and provided a basis for shamanism.

Comparable studies

Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond 2014 Theoretical or philosophical paper
Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology 2004 Theoretical or philosophical paper
Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California 1998 Theoretical or philosophical paper
From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press 2020 Historical analysis
Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation 2010 Reflective essay or personal narrative

Citations in the library

Cited by 6

and 1 more in the library

Cites 4

Related reading

Explore topics

Shamanism Altered states of consciousness