The belief by Stone Age people that all things, inanimate and living things, possessed a spirit. These spirits could be favorable or unfavorable. The favorable spirits were worshipped while the unfavorable ones were exorcised or appeased. The unfavorable spirits caused disease. This belief in the causation of disease persists in many parts of the undeveloped and primitive parts of the world today.
Attribution of spiritual qualities and mental capabilities to inanimate objects.