Complexity and possession: Gender and social structure in the variability of shamanic traits.
Behav Brain Sci January 1, 2018 Connor P. Wood, Kate J. Stockly 5 citations
Shamanistic trance forms vary systematically with cultural conditions. Possession trance, where a spirit takes over the body, is more often experienced by women and appears in more complex societies, whereas non-possession trance is not. The author argues that understanding these differences is essential for explaining how shamanism becomes professionalized and spreads across cultures.