The Spirituality of Prehistoric Societies: A View from the Irish Megaliths

Abstract

Spirituality is the inner human quality that gives meaning to life and provides motivation to keep going even in darkest times. Being at the core of personal and group identity, it is closely intertwined with the fundamental beliefs and values that find expression in ceremonies associated with mythology and religion. It is also an essential characteristic of self-image and the relationships through which the individual or group negotiates the world. Although complementary to materiality in one’s experience of life, spirituality has a material dimension in that profound spiritual experiences occasionally find expression in material symbols. Many symbols acquire the status of icons that not only represent but are believed to participate in what they portray. This underlies the offence caused by disrespect to a national flag or religious image, while also explaining how ancient religious texts are deemed “sacred scripture” and presented in specially bound and illuminated volumes. Beyond the reach of history the mythological narratives of deeper prehistoric times have “grown silent and unstated through the natural process of time” (Ó hÓgáin 1999: vii) and the original vibrancy of any extant symbols associated with them is irretrievable. That said, the stage on which these myths were set is the same landscape we inhabit today (O’Sullivan 2010). Aspects of the scenery may have changed but the underlying structure endures, as do props in the form of surviving monuments and other archaeological features. New props have continually been added over time but earlier ones survive in various phases of decay, collapse and ruin. While intrinsically valuable as gateways to the past, these ancient monuments by their location provide information on the landscape as perceived and experienced in ancient times. But a landscape feature does not have to be designed and built by humans to be incorporated into mythological narratives. Anything distinctive in the environment may be appropriated, especially if deemed to be mysterious, liminal or otherwise remote from the everyday. Thus, caves, mountains, distinctive rock formations or rivers might be as culturally charged as an ancient mound or a stone circle. A modern perception of the landscape, no matter how well informed, could never approach serious empathy with a Neolithic experience. Yet by examining patterns of behaviour in the context of megalithic tombs it is possible to identify issues that were taken seriously in Neolithic Ireland and thus focus dimly on the heart of fourth millennium bc spirituality.