Final answer:
Sir Edward Burnett Tylor introduced the concept of animatism within the broader framework of animism, suggesting that it was the earliest form of religious belief where even inanimate objects were considered to have a spiritual essence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept of animatism was introduced by Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, an anthropologist who is often regarded as the father of cultural anthropology. Tylor developed the concept of animism as part of his theory of the development of religious systems. He proposed that animism was the earliest form of religion, based on the belief that all entities, including plants, animals, and inanimate objects, have a spiritual essence or supernatural quality. According to Tylor, this belief likely arose from human experiences such as dreaming, where a sense of altered consciousness could lead to perceiving a world beyond the visible and tangible. This, combined with the human search for meaning, laid the groundwork for the development of religious thought. Tylor's theories contributed to the broader understanding of religious evolution and cultural development. His work laid the foundation for future anthropological studies by suggesting that human societies move from simple to increasingly complex forms of religious belief, with animism serving as the starting point from which more structured and theologically sophisticated religions emerged.