Cave Bear - Cave Bear Worship

Cave Bear Worship

Collections of bear bones at several widely dispersed sites suggest Neanderthals may have worshipped cave bears, especially at Drachenloch, in Switzerland, where a stone chest was discovered with a number of bear skulls stacked upon it. Neanderthals, who also inhabited the entrance of the cave, are believed to have built it. A massive stone slab covered the top of the structure. At the cave entrance, seven bear skulls were arranged with their muzzles facing the cave entrance, while deeper in the cave, a further six bear skulls were lodged in niches along the wall. Next to these remains were bundles of limb bones belonging to different bears. Consequently, this site was where the supposed symbol of the "Cult of the Cave Bear" was found. This consisted of the skull of a three-year-old bear pierced in the cheek by the leg-bone of a younger bear. The arrangement of these bones of different bears are not believed to have happened by chance.

A similar phenomenon was encountered in Regourdou, southern France. A rectangular pit contained the remains of at least 20 bears, covered by a massive stone slab. The remains of a Neanderthal lay nearby in another stone pit, with various objects, including a bear humerus, a scraper, a core, and some flakes, which were interpreted as grave offerings.

The unusual finding in a deep chamber of Basua Cave in Savona, Italy, is thought to be related to cave bear worship, as there is a vaguely zoomorphic stalagmite surrounded by clay pellets. It was apparently used by Neanderthals for a ceremony; bear bones scattered on the floor further suggests this was likely to have had some sort of ritual purpose.