Keele Research Repository

There is a large, if disparate, body of archaeological literature discussing specific instantiations of symbolic material culture and the possibility of ritual practices in Neanderthal populations. Despite this attention, however, no single synthesis exists which draws upon cognitive, psychological, and cultural evolutionary theories of ritual. Here we review the evidence for ritual-practice among now extinct Homo neanderthalensis, as well as the necessary cognitive pre-conditions for such behaviour, in order to explore the evolution of ritual in Homo sapiens. We suggest that the currently available archaeological evidence indicates that Neanderthals may have utilised ‘ritualisation’ to increase the successful transmission of technical knowledge across generations — providing an explanation for the technological stability of the Middle Palaeolithic and attesting to a survival strategy differing from near contemporary Homo sapiens.