Timeline of religion

Religion has been a factor of the human experience throughout history, from pre-historic to modern times. The bulk of the human religious experience pre-dates written history. Written history (the age of formal writing) is only roughly 5,000 years old. A lack of written records results in most of the knowledge of pre-historic religion being derived from archaeological records and other indirect sources, and from suppositions. Much pre-historic religion is subject to continued debate.

Religious practices in prehistory

Middle Paleolithic (200,000–50,000 BC)

Despite claims by some researchers of bear worship, belief in an afterlife, and other rituals, current archaeological evidence does not support the presence of religious practices by modern humans or Neanderthals during this period.

* 100,000 BC: Earliest known human burial in the Middle East.
* 78,000–74,000 BC: Earliest known Homo Sapiens burial of a child in Panga ya Saidi, East Africa.
* 70,000–35,000 BC: Neanderthal burials take place in areas of Europe and the Middle East.

50th to 11th millennium BC

* 40,000 BC: The remains of one of the earliest known anatomically modern humans to be discovered cremated, was buried near Lake Mungo.
* 38,000 BC: The Aurignacian Löwenmensch figurine, the oldest known zoomorphic (animal-shaped) sculpture in the world and one of the oldest known sculptures in general, was made. The sculpture has also been interpreted as anthropomorphic, giving human characteristics to an animal, although it may have represented a deity.
* 35,000–26,001 BC: Neanderthal burials are absent from the archaeological record. This roughly coincides with the appearance of ''Homo sapiens'' in Europe and decline of the Neanderthals; individual skulls and/or long bones began appearing, heavily stained with red ochre and separately buried. This practice may be the origin of sacred relics. The oldest discovered "Venus figurines" appeared in graves. Some were deliberately broken or repeatedly stabbed, possibly representing the murders of the men with whom they were buried, or owing to some other unknown social dynamic.
* 25,000–21,000 BC: Clear examples of burials are present in Iberia, Wales, and eastern Europe. These, too, incorporate the heavy use of red ochre. Additionally, various objects were included in the graves (e.g. periwinkle shells, weighted clothing, dolls, possible drumsticks, mammoth ivory beads, fox teeth pendants, panoply of ivory artifacts, "baton" antlers, flint blades etc.).
* 13,000–8,000 BC: Noticeable burial activity resumed. Prior mortuary activity had either taken a less obvious form or contemporaries retained some of their burial knowledge in the absence of such activity. Dozens of men, women, and children were being buried in the same caves which were used for burials 10,000 years beforehand. All these graves are delineated by the cave walls and large limestone blocks. The burials share a number of characteristics (such as use of ochre, and shell and mammoth ivory jewellery) that go back thousands of years. Some burials were double, comprising an adult male with a juvenile male buried by his side. They were now beginning to take on the form of modern cemeteries. Old burials were commonly re-dug and moved to make way for new ones, with the older bones often being gathered and cached together. Large stones may have acted as grave markers. Pairs of ochred antlers were sometimes mounted on poles within the cave; this is compared to the modern practice of leaving flowers at a grave.

10th to 6th millennium BC

* 9130–7370 BC: This was the apparent period of use of Göbekli Tepe, one of the oldest human-made sites of worship yet discovered; evidence of similar usage has also been found in another nearby site, Nevalı Çori.
* 7500–5700 BC: The settlements of Çatalhöyük developed as a likely spiritual center of Anatolia. Possibly practicing worship in communal shrines, its inhabitants left behind numerous clay figurines and impressions of phallic, feminine, and hunting scenes.
* 7250-6500 BC: The ʿAin Ghazal statues were made in Jordan during the Neolithic. These statues were argued to have been gods, legendary leaders, or other figures of power. They were suggested to have been a representation of a fusion of previously separate communities by Gary O. Rollefson.

Ancient era

* 3200–3100 BC: Newgrange, the passage tomb aligned to the winter solstice in Ireland, was built.
* 3100 BC: The initial form of Stonehenge was completed. The circular bank and ditch enclosure, about across, may have been completed with a timber circle.
* 3000 BC: Sumerian Cuneiform emerged from the proto-literate Uruk period, allowing the codification of beliefs and creation of detailed historical religious records.
* The second phase of Stonehenge was completed and appeared to function as the first enclosed cremation cemetery in the British Isles.
* 2635–2610 BC: The oldest surviving Egyptian pyramid was commissioned by Pharaoh Djoser.
* 2600 BC: Stonehenge began to take on its final form. The wooden posts were replaced with bluestone. It began taking on an increasingly complex setup (including an altar, a portal, station stones, etc.) and shows consideration of solar alignments.
* 2560 BC: This is the approximate time accepted as the completion of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest pyramid of the Giza Plateau.
* 2494–2345 BC: The first of the oldest surviving religious texts, the Pyramid Texts, was composed in Ancient Egypt.
* 2200 BC: The Minoan civilization developed in Crete. Citizens worshipped a variety of goddesses.
* 2150–2000 BC: The earliest surviving versions of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh—originally titled ''He who Saw the Deep'' () or ''Surpassing All Other Kings'' ()—were written.
* 1700–1100 BC: The oldest of the Hindu Vedas (scriptures), the Rigveda was composed. This is the first mention of Rudra, a fearsome form of Shiva as the supreme god.
* 1600 BC: The ancient development of Stonehenge came to an end.
* 1500 BC: The Vedic period began in India after the collapse of the Indus Valley civilisation.
* 1351 or 1353 BC: The reign of Akhenaten, sometimes credited with starting the earliest known recorded monotheistic religion, in Ancient Egypt.
* 1300–1000 BC: The "standard" Akkadian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh was edited by Sîn-lēqi-unninni.
* 800–300 BC: The Upanishads (Vedic texts) were composed, containing the earliest emergence of some of the central religious concepts of Hinduism and Buddhism.
* 1200 BC: The Greek Dark Age began.
* 1200 BC: The Olmecs built the earliest pyramids and temples in Central America.
* 877–777 BC: The life of Parshvanatha, 23rd of Jainism.
* 800 BC: The Greek Dark Age ends.
* 8th to 6th centuries BC: The Chandogya Upanishad is compiled, significant for containing the earliest to date mention of Krishna. Verse 3.17.6 mentions Krishna Devakiputra ( sa, कृष्णाय देवकीपुत्रा) as a student of the sage Ghora Angirasa.
* 6th to 5th centuries BC: The first five books of the Jewish Tanakh

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