Anonymous wrote:I am not sure it is a question that can be answered.
We have religions of the book, where we can give a reasonably clear idea of when they came about, like Christianity, Islam etc.
Hinduism is clearly very old. But it has also changed a lot. The earliest Vedic scrptures point to widespread eating of beef, for example.
Then we have hundreds of traditional religions in Africa, Australasia, Asia, and the Americas. How much continuity is there with their practices from 5,000 years ago? We really don’t know. All religions and belief systems evolve over time, particularly where there is no written tradition to maintain some degree of continuity. So the question is really unanswerable.
Two things
The articles about Veda and beef are not accurate. They are purposely wrongly transliterated Sanskrit from groups that benefit from invalidating cow reverence. These groups include from the earliest, British colonizers needing to civilize the heathens, modern day organized proselytizing religions, the Naxalite party, and the very lucrative meat industry.
The excavation site of Neolithic site, Mehrgarh, has found evidence of Shakti temple and worship nearly identical to current temple use of a Shakti symbols and worship.
Hinduism is Sanatana Dharma which literally means Eternal Path.
Yes, there could absolutely be possible that other ancient civilizations had rituals and beliefs. Most are Pagan based just like Hinduism. Unfortunately, most also have been wiped out by the major proselytizing religions. There is a very concerted global effort to do the same with Hinduism.