Page "History of religions" Paragraph 8

Through the bulk of human evolution, humans lived in small nomadic bands practicing a hunter gatherer lifestyle.

The emergence of complex and organized religions can be traced to the period when humans abandoned their nomadic hunter gatherer lifestyles in order to begin farming during the Neolithic period.

The transition from foraging bands to states and empires resulted in more specialized and developed forms of religion that were reflections of the new social and political environments.

While bands and small tribes possess supernatural beliefs, these beliefs are adapted to smaller populations.