Great article. The presence of burial goods in non-human hominids does show a possible belief in an after-life and by corollary, a belief in the existence of of a soul. After all, something has to survive to experience the after-life.

The documentary Rise of the Warrior Apes has a poignant scene in which a chimp appears to be praying. Tantalizing possibility! Metaphysical beliefs may be a natural evolutionary development of primate intelligence.