"Exploring the Roots of Religion" Prof. John R. Hale (DVD) (36 Lectures / 30 Minutes Per Lecture /  6x DVD - The Great Courses)
This investigation digs deep into the archaeological and evolutionary soil where faith first took hold, stripping religion down to its most primal elements. Professor John R. Hale leads a high-stakes search that moves beyond theology to uncover the literal "roots" of belief, from the cave paintings of the Ice Age to the monumental stone circles of Göbekli Tepe. You will witness the birth of the sacred as ancient humans transitioned from hunter-gatherers to city-dwellers, transforming their fear of the unknown into sophisticated systems of ritual, sacrifice, and divine kingship.
 
The real power of this course lies in its "boots-on-the-ground" approach to history, using cutting-edge science and archaeology to explain why humans are seemingly hard-wired for the divine. Hale masterfully connects the dots between the burial mounds of the Neolithic and the soaring ziggurats of Mesopotamia, proving that the urge to connect with the infinite is as old as humanity itself. It is a thrilling, intellectually provocative journey that challenges everything you thought you knew about the origins of civilization, offering a raw and unfiltered look at how the earliest human experiences created the spiritual foundation of our modern world.