From: Todd Moody <
> Shamanism didn't have to wait for the arrival of agriculture.

But it did have to wait for the arrival of the dog.

The questions are: Why did it arrive when it did?  What problems made
it
necessary?  How did it help Man to survive and multiply.  Did it help
our
domestic species to survive and multiply? Has religion changed to
reflect
new problems or because the God(s) changed?

Food resources are a major contributor to the shape of any culture.
Religion is a major expression of almost any culture.  Most criticisms
of a
paleodiet ( and I've heard them all) come from cultural taboos ( What?
You
eat Bambi?) rather than from rational health concerns.  Studying these
cultural taboos ( see Marvin Harris in bibliography) helped me to
understand
the relationship between religion and cultural food preferences.
Whatever
belief helps you with your particular set of problems is of no concern
to me
until it affects what you eat.  I must then try to understand your
cultural
bias in order to make dietary recommendations to you.

Ray Audette
Author "NeanderThin"
http://www.neanderthin.com