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The 85 Traditions

Every tradition the Common Ground Project examines, grouped three ways. The period column matters: many of these were flourishing at the same moment, with no contact between them. The ancient group is drawn on a shared timeline so the overlap is visible.

Dates are approximate and follow the project’s working ranges. Profiles are being added to Glossary of Time; the Lakota profile is live now.

Living traditions (25)

Traditions with continuous living communities today, ordered as listed in the project.

TRADITIONREGIONPERIOD
ChristianityGlobal1st C CE – Present
IslamGlobal7th C CE – Present
HinduismSouth Asia / Global~1500 BCE – Present
BuddhismSouth/East Asia / Global5th C BCE – Present
SikhismPunjab / Global15th C CE – Present
JudaismLevant / Global~1000 BCE – Present
Bahá’í FaithGlobal19th C CE – Present
JainismSouth Asia / Global6th C BCE – Present
ShintoJapanAncient – Present
TaoismChina / Global4th C BCE – Present
ZoroastrianismIran / Global~1500-1000 BCE – Present
ConfucianismChina / East Asia5th C BCE – Present
Wicca / NeopaganismGlobal20th C CE – Present
Spiritism / KardecismBrazil / Global19th C CE – Present
Cao DaiVietnam / Global20th C CE – Present
CheondogyoKorea19th C CE – Present
RastafariCaribbean / Africa / Global20th C CE – Present
Unitarian UniversalismUSA / Global19th C CE – Present
TenrikyoJapan19th C CE – Present
DruzeLevant11th C CE – Present
MandaeismIraq / Iran / DiasporaAncient – Present
YazidismIraq / Syria / Diaspora~2nd millennium BCE+ – Present
Santería / LucumíCuba / Americas18th C CE – Present
UmbandaBrazil / Americas20th C CE – Present
KimbanguismDRC / Central/West Africa20th C CE – Present

Ancient traditions (27)

Traditions that flourished and then largely ended, or in two cases (Maya, Inca) survive alongside their ancient forms. Sorted by when each began. Bars are clipped at 3100 BCE and 1600 CE; Jōmon began far earlier and Maya continues to the present.

TRADITIONREGIONPERIODTIMELINE (3100 BCE → 1600 CE)
Proto-Shinto / JomonJapan~14000-300 BCE
Ancient EgyptianEgypt / North Africa~3100-30 BCE
SumerianMesopotamia (modern Iraq)~3000-2000 BCE
MinoanCrete / Aegean~2700-1100 BCE
Ancient Nubian / KushiteSudan / Northeast Africa~2500 BCE-350 CE
BabylonianMesopotamia (modern Iraq/Syria)~2000-500 BCE
Proto-Indo-IranianCentral Asia / Eurasian Steppe~2000-1500 BCE
MayaMesoamerica~2000 BCE – Present
Hittite / AnatolianAnatolia (Turkey)~1700-1200 BCE
Canaanite / UgariticLevant (Syria/Lebanon/Israel)~1500-700 BCE
VedicSouth Asia~1500-500 BCE
Ancient ZoroastrianIran / Central Asia~1500-700 BCE
Ancient Chinese (Shang/Zhou)China~1500-200 BCE
OlmecGulf Coast Mexico~1500-400 BCE
Ancient IsraeliteLevant~1200-500 BCE
Phoenician / CarthaginianLevant / North Africa~1200-146 BCE
Ancient GreekGreece / Mediterranean~800-100 BCE
EtruscanItaly~800-100 BCE
Scythian / SteppeEurasia (Ukraine to Central Asia)~800-200 BCE
Ancient RomanItaly / Mediterranean Empire~500 BCE-476 CE
CelticWestern Europe / Britain~500 BCE-500 CE
Yayoi / Kofun JapaneseJapan~300 BCE-538 CE
Hermetic / Greco-EgyptianMediterranean~200 BCE-400 CE
NorseScandinavia / Northern Europe~500-1200 CE
MississippianEastern North America~800-1600 CE
Aztec / MexicaMesoamerica (Mexico)~1300-1521 CE
Inca / AndeanAndes (Peru/Bolivia)~1400-1533 CE

Indigenous and oral traditions (33)

Traditions carried mainly by speech, song and practice, with living communities today. “Ancient” here means the community’s own deep-time claim, not a measured date.

TRADITIONREGIONPERIOD
Lakota / Teton Sioux profileGreat Plains, North America~10000 BCE – Present
Haudenosaunee / IroquoisNortheast North America~12th-15th C CE – Present
CherokeeSoutheast North AmericaAncient – Present
Diné / NavajoSouthwest North AmericaAncient – Present
HawaiianPacific (Hawaii)Ancient – Present
MaoriAotearoa New Zealand~1300 CE – Present
Aboriginal AustralianAustralia~50000 BCE – Present
YanomamiVenezuelan/Brazilian AmazonAncient – Present
Andean / QuechuaAndes (Peru/Bolivia)Ancient – Present
Haida / TlingitPacific Northwest, North AmericaAncient – Present
Ojibwe / AnishinaabeGreat Lakes, North AmericaAncient – Present
YorubaWest Africa (Nigeria/Benin)Ancient – Present
AkanWest Africa (Ghana/Ivory Coast)Ancient – Present
ZuluSouthern AfricaAncient – Present
DogonMali / West AfricaAncient – Present
MalagasyMadagascarAncient – Present
Tungusic / EvenkiSiberia / Central AsiaAncient – Present
SamoanPacific (Samoa)Ancient – Present
Tibetan BonTibet / Himalayan regionAncient – Present
SamiScandinavia / Arctic RussiaAncient – Present
Fon / VodunBenin / Togo (Dahomey)Ancient – Present
IgboSoutheast NigeriaAncient – Present
MandéWest Africa (Mali/Guinea/Senegal)Ancient – Present
KongoDR Congo / Congo / AngolaAncient – Present
GuaraníParaguay / Brazil / BoliviaAncient – Present
MapucheSouthern Chile / ArgentinaAncient – Present
Inuit / YupikArctic (Alaska/Canada/Greenland/Siberia)Ancient – Present
AinuHokkaido (Japan) / SakhalinAncient – Present
BatakSumatra, IndonesiaAncient – Present
Karen / KayahMyanmar (Burma) / ThailandAncient – Present
KalashaChitral, Pakistan (Hindu Kush)Ancient – Present
TorajaSulawesi, IndonesiaAncient – Present
Muscogee / CreekSoutheast North AmericaAncient – Present

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