What does archaeology tell us about ancient religion? Marcela Zapata-Meza Archaeology of the Bible Lands Course, Oxford University. November 2013 Archaeology is a Social Science that has the objective of knowledge and comprehension of the men as a sociocultural being, that trough history has been leaving evidence of its domestic, economic, politic, artistic and religious activities. Corresponds to archaeologist to identify and associate the material remains that, for several causes either natural or cultural 1 , has pass from a systemic context to an archaeological context 2 . The religious manifestations are one of the activities that permeate, since ancient times man´s daily life. According to Eliade 3 the human being recognizes the sacred from the profane since it its reflected as something completely different. The sacred is expressed, in the systemic context, by hierophanies with the meaning of adoration and cult to the divine, as that which connects me (religare) with the divine; these hierophanies were spaces, objects, offerings, altars, temples and graves to which human beings grant sacredness. These can be distinguished in archaeology in two levels: 1. External (official): social and cultural. 2. Intern (domestic): individual and familiar. The field of official religion in much easier to identify and interpretive by archaeology than the familiar or individual religious expression, therefore I consider that has been moved to a background in archaeological research. The domestic religion include practices like household gods, the worship of ancestors, the burials and the offerings; in general terms it can be said that these are practices aimed to guarantee the family welfare, its attention is centralized in themes related to fertility and abundance. To understand this type of hierophanies, in the archaeological records, it is necessary to access the material found in the domestic context, but at the same 1 Natural causes such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, resource depletion, etc.; Cultural causes as conquests, migrations, wars… 2 According to Shiffer systemic context refers to the condition of an item that is participating in a behavioral system, by contrast, the archaeological context describes the materials that have gone through a cultural system (system context) and are now the objects archaeologists research. 3 Eliade, Mircea. "Lo sagrado y lo profano". (Translator Luis Gil). Ed. Guadarrma / Punto Omega. 4ta edición. 1981