"What is important about it is that it demonstrates the statue locations themselves are not a weird ritual place – [the ahu and moai] represent ritual in a sense of there is symbolic meaning to them, but they are integrated into the lives of the community," said Prof Carl Lipo from Binghamton University in New York, who was co-author of the research.
The possibility that some myths represent ritual activities, which would have had to take place within the geographic reality of Mesopotamia, has been the subject of much discussion.
But many people still insist that these represent real ritual amputations.
The fiestas may represent another ritual of purification and also symbolize war.
In Greek mythology, Pan, god of shepherds and flocks, is an ambivalent deity, a satyr-like being represented in rituals as a goat copulating with humans.
The festival was in the nature of a jubilee, and it is believed that the ceremonies represented a ritual reenactment of the unification of Egypt, traditionally accomplished by Menes.
Jon says that Record Store Day represents "the ritual of flicking through the racks and finding something that grabs you purely from its sleeve, or hearing something playing on the shop stereo".
The white paint in "Magic Man" sort of represented a ritual.
They were symbolic messengers of renewal and this also represented the ritual sharing of food -- the substance of life -- and the ideal that this generosity must keep circulating.
Clowns with various names represent an ancient ritual heritage; in their black-and-white striped disguise of paint, they are eerie and also comical.
The 22-minute silent film shows Rioux dancing blindfolded on a Sharpie and black oil painting of his grandfather's face, taking a shot of vodka every two minutes to represent a wake ritual.
