Pásztor Emília (szerk.): Sámánizmus és természethit régen és ma - Bajai dolgozatok 23. (Baja, 2019)
Pásztor Emília: A bronzkori hidelmek és a természet kapcsolata a Kárpát-medencében
The Relationship of Bronze Age Beliefs and Nature in the Carpathian Basin Bronze Age Bird Symbolism in the Carpathian Basin Birds occupy a particularly important place in the religious world of traditional communities. They are the mediators between the human and the non-human worlds. They are able to penetrate into the spheres below and above the earth by swimming and flying. As one of the most important spirit helpers of Siberian shamans, birds are often represented among the ritual accessories of ceremonial garments. They also visualize the free soul of men, who is able to leave the body. Spiritual power can be symbolized by birdshaped rattles (Fig. 6) and bird-shaped pots with human features (Figs 7-8) (Pásztor 2017a). Could shamanism exist in prehistory? Archaeological research has not found remnants of built shrines / temples from the Bronze Age period in the Carpathian Basin. Even traces of sacred places used for a long time have not been discovered yet. Archaeological findings do not show the presence of an organized, unified religion in the Carpathian Basin (signs indicating this may only be found in the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture). Thus we can assume that the beliefs of Bronze Age people show many similar features with the beliefs of indigenous peoples who lead a traditional way of life. They perceive the human environment as a natural unit of animate and inanimate elements, in which many elements have spiritual power. Human beings seek balance in their ever-changing relationship with the world around them and want it to be beneficial for them. There is no sharp boundary between sacral and profane in this relationship. The striking lack of anthropomorphic gods from the Bronze Age Carpathian Basin also support this theory. However, we shouldn't only study the influences of more developed cultures from the Eastern Mediterranean and the Near East in order to understand archaeological finds and features . We cannot ignore the intellectual heritage of the local population. Ethnographic and cultural anthropological research can help to discover it. Research that offers ethnographic analogies to prehistoric archeological phenomena is an excellent basis for theoretical discussions, and their results are indispensable if we want to bring intellectual meaning to artefacts (Alberti - Marshall 2009). One often has to do a task that requires special knowledge for the well-being of a community. ^SSS******SSS$*^^ 105
