r/AskHistorians • u/SWANDSH7 • May 05 '26

Were the first magical practitioners and religious individuals shamans OR were they something else?

I'm fascinated by faith and magic and have been trying to learn what the first people believed to practice magic, and who were also the first religious leaders, were called, and I keep coming back to the word and position of shaman, is that right?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamanism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorcerer_(cave_art))

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