Hi Molinari,
The evidence: probably the oldest literature (that
comes to mind now) is Sumerian. A particular story is 'The creation of the hoe' , created by the gods so that
men would
work the soil--for their own survival--but primarily for the benefit of the gods. Refrain from working and the gods will starve you. Forced submission to the will of the gods is evident, and you can read hate between the lines, only lightly subdued. The gods there came as an explanation to why harvests fail. Someone else is seen as in control--ergo --gods are invented.
Go to another story, the flood, a story which predated the
biblical. At the end of the flood after survival
man offered sacrifice, not in thanks but for appeasement and to placate. The story says the hungry gods gathered to the smell of sacrifice "like flies to carrion". The utter contempt is all over those descriptive words, in a way clearly referring to the gods as despicable. (you can also see that in the
biblical account were it paints god as the one who is sorry afterwards--( I say no more here just in case, but that is from a paper presented in the magazine
Biblical Studies). It derives from the Sumerian works.
The earth as a Mother provider is far, far more ancient; a totally different concept from earthly slavery to gods.
Fertility is a concept, leading to
abundance, one can say the opposite of famine. Two examples may fit here. The first is the 'many breasted'(?) "Lady of
Ephesus". There is something similar in Malta -said to be Isis- with garland of
animals, somewhat in similar
style. The second is a carving of a sow with thirteen piglets in a megalithic temple. I think this is not understood but I am not totally sure myself. Why? The breed of pigs I know have twelve milk nipples and each piglet chooses
his at birth and does not ever change it, up to weaning. The thirteenth (meaning over-abundance) starves or rather goes to waste, but used to be my chore to bottle-feed (at age ~six). I think the concept there is quite clear.