The document discusses the sources of information about basic religions, including non-written records, archeological remains, contemporary basic religions studied by anthropologists, and the study of the Melanesian people by Bishop Codrington. It also covers the prehistoric beginnings of religion among Neanderthals, Cro-Magnon, and Neolithic peoples. Finally, it outlines several common features of basic religions such as animism, magic, divination, shamanism, taboos, totems, myths, rituals, rites of passage, ancestor veneration, and more.