In the first part, we saw why men invented the spirits, and the functions they assigned to them. In the second part, we discovered the process of sedentarization around the norms and values inherited from nomadism. With sedentarization, the loose relationships of the hordes will congregate around matrilineal lineages, which in turn will give form to tribal structures. We further described the profound but delayed influence animal domestication has had on the world of spirits, announcing the end of shamanism.
The third part covers the Chalcolithic era and the Urban Revolution, a period that spreads from 5,000 to approximately 2,500. The profound changes that take place at the end of the Neolithic oblige most communities to abandon their traditional lifestyle. Tribal egalitarianism is replaced by the hierarchical structure of chiefdoms [see Appendix Flannery]. Villages become cities, organized around the palace and the temple. The authority rests on two specialized castes, the priests and the soldiers. The latter makes conquests possible, and with these, the first kingdoms and empires appear.
Having lost their main functions, the spirits become divinities whose world reflects human society. The religious institution arises as a mirror of the political organization. The myths on which it leans still testify to the strong influence that nature, women and fertility exercise. Yet, the role of women is seriously marginalized, power and authority clearly lying in the hands of men.
This third part is divided into two sections:
The Urban Society:
1. From Chiefdoms to the Urban Revolution depicts the new society and its organization that introduces economic differentiation and social hierarchy
2. The Urban Revolution, in which the first writings establish the state of political and religious structures
3. The Masculine Paradigm concludes this part by showing how the codes of law convey the difference in status that men and women possess in the new society
The Religious Society:
1. The Birth of the Divine: the spirits become divinities that are assembled into hierarchized pantheons
2. The Birth of Religion: in the footsteps of civilian authority, the religious institution is organized around its representatives, the priests