Shamanism as a Biogenetic Structural Paradigm for Humans' Evolved Social Psychology

摘要

The features of shamanism found cross-culturally identify the foundations for a biogenetic paradigm. Similarities of shamanic ritual with chimpanzee displays involving ritualized bipedal charges, communal vocalizations and drumming point to the hominid ritual foundations and community dynamics from which shamanism emerged. Hominid collective rituals expanded over human evolution in enhanced capacities for mimesis, music, and dance, factors selected for as part of an enhanced behavioral and symbolic capacity for ritual participation. Ritual practices produce changes in consciousness and experience of self that reflect access to basic structures of consciousness, exemplified in out-of-body experiences. Shamanism engages our innate psychology to produce symbols, reflected in concepts of animism, animal spirit identities and powers, and animal totemic groups. This innate psychology of shamanism is based in symbolic processes produced by the cross-modal integration of innate processing modules for the natural world (animal species) self-representation, inference of mental processes, and identification with social references.