Religion

Topics represented

Religion (351) · Buddhist traditions (97) · Hindu traditions (62) · Chinese traditions (61) · Judaism (43) · Islam (42) · Christianity (34) · Empire and state (20) · Daoist traditions (19) · Catholic Christianity (17) · Sunni (16) · Roman Empire (14)

Records and sources

Ordered by start date. Long lives and processes may begin before the period you want to study.

1. c. 76000 BCE

   Intentional burial of Mtoto at Panga ya Saidi

   A 2.5–3-year-old child buried in an excavated pit is the earliest known intentional burial in Africa. It documents a mortuary practice, not an identifiable religion or a specific belief about an afterlife.

2. c. 9600 BCE–c. 8200 BCE

   Ritual enclosures at Göbekli Tepe

   Hunter-gatherers erected megalithic enclosures with T-shaped pillars. UNESCO says they were probably connected with rituals, most likely funerary ones; this does not prove the origin of a later religion.

3. c. 5000 BCE

   Nabta Playa ceremonial center

   In the eastern Sahara, pastoral communities built a ceremonial center and megalithic alignments by an ancient playa. The date concerns the complex and inferred ritual uses, not an already formed Egyptian religion.

4. c. 3600 BCE–c. 2500 BCE

   Megalithic Temples of Malta

   The complexes on Malta and Gozo are prehistoric monumental buildings; their form, layout, and finds indicate an important ritual focus. They are recorded as prehistoric Maltese practice, not a modern religion.

5. c. 3300 BCE–c. 2900 BCE

   Ritual seal from Inanna’s precinct at Uruk

   A seal found in Uruk’s temple precinct depicts a boat rite honoring Inanna; the altar symbolizes the goddess and the structure is interpreted as her temple. It is material evidence of urban Mesopotamian cult.

6. c. 3000 BCE–c. 1800 BCE

   Ceremonial functions of Caral-Supe

   Caral-Supe’s plan, pyramids, and circular courts show ceremonial functions and a powerful religious ideology according to UNESCO. It is not the origin of a contemporary Andean religion.

7. c. 3000 BCE–c. 2800 BCE

   Stonehenge as an early cremation cemetery

   Stonehenge’s first major phase was a bank-and-ditch enclosure where cremations were buried for centuries. This milestone keeps that ceremonial and funerary evidence without assigning it to a specific religion.

8. c. 2600 BCE–c. 1900 BCE

   Indus civilization as an earlier context

   The urban Indus civilization predates Vedic traditions; a direct continuity with later Hinduisms is unproven.

9. c. 2353 BCE–c. 2323 BCE

   Pyramid Texts of Unas

   During Unas’s reign, funerary texts and spells were carved in his pyramid chambers. They document the importance of Osiris alongside solar and stellar references in ancient Egyptian religion.

10. c. 1900 BCE–c. 800 BCE

    Late Harappan and Indo-Gangetic cultures

    Late Harappan transformation and Indo-Aryan expansion were historical processes, not a religious founding.

11. c. 1600 BCE–c. 1046 BCE

    Shang lineage rites and bronzes

    The Shang are the first Chinese dynasty documented archaeologically. Their Yellow River centers combined political authority, bronze ritual vessels and worship of ancestors and other powers. This courtly evidence does not represent all the diversity of ancient China.

12. c. 1500 BCE–c. 1000 BCE

    Composition and transmission of the Rigveda

    Vedic hymns were composed and orally transmitted, providing principal textual evidence for early ritual contexts.

13. c. 1500 BCE–c. 500 BCE

    Chavín ceremonial and pilgrimage center

    Chavín was a ceremonial and pilgrimage center that brought together populations from different Andean areas and disseminated a wide-reaching cult. It is represented as a long-duration center, not an instantaneous founding.

14. c. 1500 BCE

    Early composition of the Rigveda

    The Rigveda, the oldest Hindu scripture, is usually dated to about 1500 BCE. It is recorded as the composition and oral transmission of Vedic hymns, not an instantaneous founding of Hinduism.

15. c. 1300 BCE–c. 1201 BCE

    Shang oracle bones

    Divination inscriptions preserved on bone and turtle shell document ritual questions at the Shang court. They are material evidence of court practice, rather than a complete description of popular religious life.

16. c. 1200 BCE–c. 1000 BCE

    Highland settlements and early Israelite religion

    Archaeology locates highland communities; the exact formation of Israelite monotheism remains debated. It is not a datable founding of rabbinic Judaism.

17. c. 1200 BCE

    Shang divination and ancestor ritual at Anyang

    Oracle bones from the Shang capital of Anyang record divination ceremonies tied to government; material culture reveals ritual communication with ancestors.

18. 1046 BCE–771 BCE

    Mandate of Heaven and Western Zhou ritual order

    After the Zhou conquest, kinship, sacrifice and political legitimacy were reorganized. The Mandate of Heaven functioned as a historical language of legitimate rule, with practices that varied across communities.

19. c. 1000 BCE–c. 700 BCE

    Later Vedic ritual development

    Brahmanas and ritual texts elaborate sacrifice and priestly authority, not a uniform practice.

20. c. 800 BCE–c. 300 BCE

    Upanishads: speculation and transmission

    The Upanishads developed debates about brahman, atman, knowledge, and liberation over centuries.

21. 770 BCE–256 BCE

    Eastern Zhou ritual plurality

    Political fragmentation fostered debate among states and teachers. Eastern Zhou ritual life encompassed several intellectual traditions and culturally diverse populations.

22. c. 753 BCE

    Traditional foundation of Rome

    Roman tradition places Rome’s foundation in 753 BCE. The date organizes ancient chronologies and civic memory, but should not be presented as an archaeologically demonstrated date for the city’s origin.

23. 722 BCE–721 BCE

    Fall of Samaria to Assyria

    Sargon II completed the capture of Samaria and deported part of its population, a major rupture for the Israelite kingdoms.

24. c. 616 BCE–c. 509 BCE

    Etruscan monarchy and early public works

    Traditions about Rome’s later kings link them to Etruscan connections and early public works. This period is reconstructed from later sources and archaeology, so specific attributions require caution.

25. c. 600 BCE–c. 300

    Dharmashastra and sutra literature

    Normative, philosophical, and technical genres prescribe ideals, not automatically lived social conduct.

26. c. 600 BCE–c. 500 BCE

    Śramaṇa milieu and new traditions

    Buddhisms and Jainisms emerged in critical dialogue with Brahmanical traditions and must not be absorbed into this layer.

27. 587 BCE–586 BCE

    Destruction of the First Temple and Babylonian exile

    Nebuchadnezzar II captured Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and deported a significant part of the population to Babylon.

28. trad. 551 BCE–trad. 479 BCE

    Life of Confucius

    Confucius was a teacher, thinker and political adviser conventionally dated to 551–479 BCE. Later Confucian traditions developed his emphasis on education, ritual, relationships and government in different ways.

29. trad. 544 BCE or 480 BCE

    First council in tradition

    The cited Theravada chronology places a recitation after the Buddha’s death, dated to 544 or 480 BCE under two assumptions about his birth. The council narrative belongs to monastic tradition; it does not derive from contemporary minutes.

30. 539 BCE–538 BCE

    Return permitted under Cyrus

    After the Persian conquest of Babylon, the return of deported peoples—including Jewish groups— opened the Second Temple period.