Orkus! book tip: JÖRG SCHEIDT: “Von Schädeln, Opfergruben und Heiligtümern”

JÖRG SCHEIDT
“Von Schädeln, Opfergruben und Heiligtümern –
Die Entwicklungen der vorgeschichtlichen Religion.”
(Edition Roter Drache)

What may sound dry and a little macabre is in fact extremely fascinating and well … macabre. But that’s a good thing! Archaeologist Jörg Scheidt explains the connections between the various funerary cults and prehistoric religions with a great deal of specialist knowledge, but in an extremely understandable way. As the book title “Von Schädeln, Opfergruben und Heiligtümern” suggests, the focus is on human skulls. These were given special attention by the pre-Christian peoples – we are talking about a time of around 10,000 BC. Jörg Scheidt takes the time to explain technical terms and explain the context clearly. In doing so, he reflects the current state of research, but also expresses criticism, as much about the religious ideas will probably remain hypothesis forever. Definitely a pleasure to read!