"Can it be that the roots of religious and ritual
come from a scientific basis, but that those
receivers of the knowledge couldn't understand it,
so they reduced it down to religious rituals and
trappings?"
I've often thought this to be the case. For a
place to start research why not look at modern
traditions? There are literally thousands of
traditions that have come about in much the same
way as you describe here, but it would be far
easier to track them through history. Tradition
could be seen as something that once had purpose,
but is now kept for its entertainment- or
reassurance value. (Also look at modern rituals -
like luck charms - that "lucky" tie that got you
your job, etc.) There seems to be a huge number
of situations that support this theory.
BM