Mankind’s Socio-Cultural Development: Thanatological Perspective

Abstract

The article substantiates some methods and perspectives of cultural thanatology as an integrative part of cultural history within the anthropological field. While general history is usually concerned with individual events, cultural (pre-)history uncovers common beliefs and everyday culture. Culture here is both a materialized form of the mass consciousness embodiment and a dynamic complex of creative information exchange between individuals and with the surrounding landscape. A common field for cultural (pre-)history is the worldview (mentality) of a particular society, its outlook, and common knowledge. The spectrum of the death and afterlife ideas is usually a significant amount of it.The paper presents some thanatological observations of social-cultural context.● Afterlife mapping can be traced chronologically: the idea of the Land of the Dead obviously started due to the first Epi-Paleolithic long-distance migrations and the primitive sedentism. This was also the time when permanent structured burial ritualism arose. One can clearly trace the concept of “inextricable realm of tangled paths,” later associated with spiral-like labyrinth and mirror symbolism, contributing to the imagery of the Otherworld. The sky also became the stage for ancestors’ mythological deeds and location for their households.● Almost all traditional societies shared beliefs in an active concentrated incorporeal (spiritual) essence, commonly referred to as “soul”. A polarity in the perception of afterlife is revealed, displayed in ornitomorphic as typical soul receptacles.● Tomb symbolism was closely connected with rebirth and metamorphosis. Funerary structures were usually strongly connected with the ancestor cult, so they could include a feasting hall, representing a kind of “inn”. More importantly, tumuli and grave-chambers were often the liminal places of initiation. Therefore, the authors also draw attention to the concept of liminality.● Societies with an epic type of worldview such as the Vikings, Celts, Scythians and other nomads, had unique mental models that fell somewhere between the “mythological” and “rational” mind. Their epic heroes’ adventures were also the ancestors’ ascent. Therefore, when using a comparative-iconological method to analyze their funerary art objects, we should keep this in mind and consider its profound ideological influence.● A comparative analysis of mature posthumous fate concepts, such as those of ancient Geeks, Indo-Iranians, Chinese, or Maya, generally reveals afterlife trial motifs as a sign that the corresponding society has reached the level of “Axiality,” as seen by Karl Jaspers. We claim that Jaspers’ “axial” cultural features do not indicate a universal “phase” but rather a certain state of civilization development. The socio-cultural vector in this context aims to stimulate and transform human personality. At the core of “axiality”, there lie the specific changes within the cultural space of certain societies, which mainly lead to personality transformation and a general individualization of the worldview.So, “axiality phase” should have revealed the boundary changes of human consciousness. Thus, we attempt to investigate such changes through the prism of comparative cultural-historical thanatology, using a multidisciplinary approach.