An essay in Cultural Astronomy: Tracing celestial projections of bear ceremonialism based on evidence from the Upper Palaeolithic to the present

The following is a copy of an invited presentation given at the 25th Annual Meeting of the European Archaeological Association, Bern, Switzerland, September 4-6, 2019. The talk was part of the session on “Cultural Astronomy and Ontology” in conjunction with the European Society for Astronomy in Culture. In the talk two data sets are compared, one archaeological in nature and the other ethnographic. In both instances the primary focus is on the Franco-Cantabrian region, although ethnographic evidence will also be drawn from other parts of Europe. It will be demonstrated that these data sets can shed light on past and present manifestations of bear ceremonialism inside Europe. Even though the ritual practices and beliefs that fall under the rubric of bear ceremonialism are usually associated with circumpolar boreal cultures, in this case it will be European beliefs and practices that are subjected to analysis. Finally, in addition to a discussion of the bear-human interactions that take place with the landscape as a backdrop, their celestial projections onto the skyscape will be addressed.