European Folklore in the longue durée: Palaeolithic Continuity and the European ursine genealogy

In recent years more and more evidence has been brought forward indicating that Europeans once thought they descended from bears. This presentation begins by discussing the archaeological traces of proto-bear ceremonialism that have been identified in Europe and moves on to the topic of why humans might have seen themselves reflected in bears, e.g., in terms of the similarities in their anatomy and behavior. Then the question is raised concerning the relationship of the European cycle of folktales known as “The Bear’s Son” to this archaic ursine genealogy, a belief kept alive among the Basques well into the 20^th century. The European tales are re-contextualized by examining cognitive parallels found in Siberian and North American bear ceremonialism where bears were (and often still are) viewed as ancestors or relatives of humans. Finally, European performance art is brought into focus including the different representations by performers of the “Wild Man”, a bear-human. The possible connections between the so-called ”Wild Man” and the bear-human protagonist, known as the Bear’s Son, are also discussed. A collection of recent photos of the costumes of these actors concludes the talk.