What was the first form of religion???

Unfortunately we can’t get more specific then random phenomenon and animals. I think that we are so far from our earliest human ancestors that we cannot fathom what they did or their motivations. I think that the earliest “religions” where probably some form of animistic shamanism where people used trance states to obtain wisdom about the natural world (i.e. where to find fresh water during droughts, and what plants where safe to eat in a new environment) but even saying animistic shamanism means little nothing because we have no clues how they would have done this.

If you are looking for a good book about this then you should take a look at “Deep Ancestors” by Ceisiwr Serith. It is a pretty good book about the proto Indo-Europeans.

mostly animism--everything had a spirit...stones,mountains, rivers.You find this belief in many indigenous peoples,along with the similar totemism. There wouldn't be gods and goddesses with 'human' faces (which came later); the stone or planet in the sky or great mountain would infact BE the 'deity' or sacred spirit. Slightly later you get ancestor worship, where the spirits of the dead in the tribe are present and needed to be placated and worshipped.The ancestors were considered to be very powerful and could control fertility, crops and so on.

Certainly the sun and moon were worshipped pretty early (the moon possibly even more so than the sun until the neolithic) but again it wouldn't have been the sun god or moon goddess as we think of a god or goddess today (such as Thor or Aphrodite.) The sun or moon wouldn't just be their 'emblem'l; they WERE the sun or moon. Other figures such as the neolithic death-guardian of western Europe were just represented in art as a stylised box,occasionally with startled watching eyes...but no other facial features.

It was probably in the early bronze age that the gods and goddesses really started to get human faces, as man began to create the gods in his own image...

Sun Worship

Im not saying my answer is the "right answer",

but Ill just give you my point of view.

I believe through out the ages God has always sent a new messenger to renew mankinds spiritual knowledge etc etc.

i think "spiritual awareness" has always been a part of human nature, whether it was worshiping the sun or as we now know, God.

The earliest "messengers"/prophets of God (that have been recorded in history) were Abraham, mosees etc etc, often these messengers predicted the coming of another messenger (back to my theory, predicting future messengers = god sends messengers everytime the earth "needed" to be renewed spiritually, hence, a new prophet would come with new teachings and new knowledge for a world that has grown so much since the last prophet) heres an example: moses predicted that another one greater than he would come in the future, and guess who it was? jesus! he fullfilled moses's prophecy. (even said so himself, everyone knows this)

buddha predicted another buddha would come.

so did muhhamad.

see the connection?

back to your (additional) question, as i was saying, i think "spiritual awareness" is something that has always been with us, proving that god has always been there from the beginning, he didnt just suddnly appear 2000 years ago, 20,000 years ago (etc) when some "new" religion appeared claiming they have the "right" religion.

just what i believe in.

that is all.

As far as I know the earliest recorded religion is Sumerian fertility and sun worship

The sun was considered a giant penis and the earth the womb.

Many modern religious concepts and language can be traced back to this

Worshipping random objects. Seriously.

that is stupid. that isn't a practice of religion, that is a practice of divining. the Bible calls it sorcery or drug abuse. the ancients would be called oracles when they'd get high and go into a trance and utter fortunes. and btw the civilization started in the fertile crescent, not africa. take note according to the Bible the garden of eden stood in iraq, and in that same vicinity was where the fallen ones landed and gave birth to false religion. the first religion ever practiced by living beings (angels) was in its purest form and it was worship through song, the hymnal.

Job (oldest known book in scripture) 38:6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone--while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

know what ended their singing? sin. there was a division, and a rebellion and 1/3 of them were hurled down to their judgment. this began the bloodshed, and by the blood we are atoned, and in the Genesis account it says God promised redemption to adam and eve and before kicking them out of the garden God slew two animals and made coats from their skin in order to cover their shame. ATONEMENT was the first recorded religious doctrine and it was done by God Himself!

It was not shamanism. That would require speech, thought and a social order.

It was animism. For it was the animal that brought life.

"The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell

Probably some form of sun or earth worship, or ancestor worship.

It was God, faith in the creator of the universe was the first religion for a fact it seems. That's why christianity spread so fast after Jesus came don't you think? Jesus was the son of God, the God almost everyone knew about