Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 2.-3. 1961-1962 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1963)

Irodalom – Beschprechungen - Makkay János: Recent books on the history of prehistoric religion. Tasks and possibilites of Hungarian research. II–III, 1961–62. p. 199–201.

Recent books on the history of prehistoric religion Tasks and possibilités of Hungarian research It is an easy task to survey the series of monographs dealing with this special subject.

1 Among those published earlier the work of Carl Clemen is the most thorough ond most circumstantial summary. Works of such character, however, become especially quiokry antiquated in time. This is due partly to archaeological finds unearthed after their publication, throwing a new or different light on the various problems. Partly because of the constant change of theoretical research even the most comprehensive works, based on the most detailed knowledge of the finds, need a thoroughgoing reshuffling in this subject. Should this become impossible, the subject has to be treated anew. Therefore we are glad to see two comprehensive works dealing with the history of prehistoric religion among the monographs published in the last few years. They are the book of Johannes Maringer, "Vorgeschichtliche Religion. Religionen im steinzeitlichen Europa" (Zürich

—

Köln 1956) and E. O. James' „Prehistoric Religion. A Study in Prehistoric Archaeology" (London 1957). Both authors, especially E. О. James, are in connection with this subject for a long time; their lasting interest and authority is illustrated by several pertinent books and essays.

2 Whereas we might have observed in the case of other works published earlier that their authors were the experts of quite different periods, "making an excursion" to the walks of prehistoric religion (if we are allowed to use such an unfitting expression), the situation is quite different here. We may exoect that the authors of the mentioned two books publish the results of their systematic and purposeful research, continued for many years. Beside the mentioned facts other special circumstances have left their imprint an the contents of these books. These circumstances may be explained by the fact that both authors represent, quite naturally

j a certain trend of research, a so-called „school". It goes without saying that they are basing their works on the results attained by the respective school, endeaevouring to develop them further. After such preliminaries and also otherwise, it is easy to understand that J. Maringer is especially at home among the results of French and German research in the first place, while E. O. James is mastering the prehistoric and early historic finds of the Mediterranean and England. If we add that the former scholar is especially familiar with and going into detail on the Palaeolithic finds, while the latter dwells mainly on the finds beginning with the evolution of agriculture, we may reach another general conclusion. This is to say l T. MAIN AGE, Les religions de la Préhistoire; L'âge paléolitique. (Paris 1921.) According to our knowledge the conclusion of the work has not been published; G. WILKE, Die Religion der Indogermanen in archäologischer Betrachtung. (Leipzig 1923) ; G. -H. LUQUET, L'art et la religion des hommes fossiles. (Paris 1926); J. TRAUTWITZ— HELLWIG, Urmensch und Totenglaube. (München 1929); id., Totenverehrung, Totenabwehr und Vorgeschichte. (München 1935); С CLEMEN. Urgeschichtliche Religion. Die Religion der Stein-Bronze- und Eisenzeit. (Bonn 1933); R. R. SCHMIDT, Der Geist der Vorzeit. (Berlin 1934). (In Italian translation, Milano 1941.); О. ALMGREN, Nordische Felsenzeichnungen als religiöse Urkunden. (Frankfurt а. M. 1934) ; L. FRANZ, Religion und Kunst der Vorzeit. (PragLeipzig 1937) ; W. F. ALBRIGHT, From the Stone Age to Christianity. Monotheism and the Historical Process. (Baltimore 1940). The last edition ibid. 1957; A. W. PERSSON, that the two books are completing each other very fortunately as a matter of fact, so it is of a special use to research that they were published at the same time. But let us turn to the works after all. As it is clear from the title itself, the book of J. Maringer investigates the finds of European territories only. This is due to the circumstance that the most available finds or reliable observations of the Palaeolithic Age connected with European areas. It is but natural that the author does not stick to these self-imposed barriers if necessary. He treats e. g. the customs of Choukoutien, Kiik Koba, Teshik Tash, and with the due emphasis, too. His book begins with a thorough and excellent general archaeological introduction presenting the science of prehistory, the chronological methods, and the possibilities available to the student desiring to investigate prehistoric religion thoroughly. We regard it as an especially fortunate device to have divided the treatment of Palaeolithic Age into two large chapters, emphasizing the differences in the ways of life together with the presentation of Palaeolithic religion. In the first part the central problems are the eventual cannibalism, the cult of the cranium and head-hunting, together with the burial rites. In the second part we learn not only that the data of religious life are increasing in numbers as we are approaching our times, but also that the world of beliefs entertained by Upper Palaeolithic man became more differentiated and complicated too. It its easily understood that, apart from the presentation of burials, the emphasis lies on the connections of art and religion here. Also important and original statements are to be found in this part on the sacrif ical rites of the Upper Palaeolithic hunters and their bear cult. The latter is bound to be of special interest for Hungarian research, since the finds of this kind in the Istállóskő cave are known to J. Maringer too (p. 249). The well balanced method of J. Maringer, paying attention to the customs etc. of the more backward peoples of the recent past, in order to explain, nay to recognise and distinguish various customs, is excellent. It would be superfluous to enumerate all the results reached by this method. The analysis of the sacrifices sunk into lakes etc. deserves special attention nevertheless. The part dealing with the Upper Palaeolithic female figurines is a concise but wellarranged summary, too. Chapter IV, embracing the Middle Stone Age, remains faithful to the construction and subject-matter of the earlier ones. This is due also to the mostly similar finds. Accordingly the author arranges his treatment around three important focuses. These are the Northern

—European sacrifices and idols, the South

— West European rock engravings and other finds (first of all those of Mas d'Azil). finally the cranium burials of the Ofnet Cave. Naturally he cannot tell us much of The Religions of Greece in Prehistoric Times. (Berkeley and Los Angeles 1942) ; H. BÉGOUEN, La mentalité sniritualiste des premiers hommes. (Paris 1945); A.-F. JENSEN, Das religiöse Weltbild einer frühen Kultur. (Stuttgart 1950); M. P. NILSSON, The Minoan-Mycenaean Religion and Its Survival in Greek Religion. 2. ed. (Lund 1950); J. D. WÖLFEL, Die Religionen des vorindogermanischen Europa. (F. König: Christus und die Religionen der Erde I.) (Wien 1952) ; W. SCHMIDT, Der Entwicklungsgedanke in der ältesten Religion. (Fribourg 1954) ; G. R. LEVY, The Gate of Horn. A Study of the Religious Conceptions of the Stone Aee, and their Influence upon European Thought. (London 1948). 2 J. MARINGER, Menschenopfer im Bestattungsbrauch Alteuronas. Anthropos 37-38 (1942-43). 1-112; E. O. JAMES, The Beginnings of Religion: Primitive Ritual and Belief; The Mother Goddess, (London 1959) etc. 199