Introducing the mythological crescent

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This study explores a broad cultural region known as the “Mythological Crescent,” which encompasses interconnected traditions of mythical beliefs stemming from long-term prehistoric contacts. This area extends from the ancient Middle East through Anatolia to southeastern Europe, linking to the vast cultural landscape of Eurasia. For the first time, the ancient interconnections between Eurasia and Anatolia are examined, revealing striking similarities in belief systems and imagery that imply convergent cosmological views from ancient times. The indigenous peoples of Eurasia hold beliefs rooted in Palaeolithic shamanism. Despite differing socioeconomic developments, Anatolian hunters and gatherers transitioning to sedentary lifestyles retained elements of their ancient beliefs during the shift to plant cultivation in the eighth millennium BCE. Archaic beliefs merged with new practices as agrarian societies evolved. A key motif carried from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic is the creation of female figurines, linked to spiritual concepts of life continuity, the vegetation cycle, and the protection of natural habitats, as reflected in the myths and folk art of Uralic and other cultures. Additionally, the bear emerges as a significant mythical animal in Eurasian imagery, although this motif faded in Anatolia from antiquity to the Middle Ages.