Only being light-hearted, Chance. Must be a case of internet humour missing the mark again. Arctolatry is a great word don't you think. It all sounds very interesting, I don't disagree that it has happened elsewhere in the world. I only wanted to point out that the last article does strongly argue against any bear worship going on at the site you posted. It says "An examination of the fossil bone formations from a palaeontological point of view makes clear that supposed ancient bear cult sites are bone beds of natural origin."

I was in a pub recently where bear worship was alive and kicking. ;0)

Wildkirchli is a place I hadn't heard of before; neither did I know what 'arctolatry' meant meant before I looked at the links you posted Chance. I also read your fieldnotes and have to say thanks for stimulating a line of enquiry that is proving fascinating. I miss Branwen on this forum a lot, as loved her particular take on folklore and myth and I can't imagine she would have let this go by without a comment; its a great subject for folklore discussion.

I believe there is a bear painting in the Lascaux Caves which is not a million miles from your site.

Have bookmarked a few sites (including one of your links) to read later. Also came across this one which is a different geographic area but may be of interest:
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/sami/diehtu/siida/religion/bear.htm

I do have one little question ... there is a constellation named after the bear Ursus Major, The Great Bear of which seven stars form the Big Dipper. Was wondering how this name came about?