First Known Human Ritual?

Scientists believe that they have discovered evidence of the first known human ritual dating back about 70,000 years. This is much earlier than original estimates that suggested ritual practices among humans developed around 40,000 years ago.

Scientists find first known human ritual

The site appears to be some sort of simple temple with a stone icon carved in the shape of a python, which is kind of amusing given the role of the serpent in later mythologies. The statue appears to be a religious icon of some sort to which arrowheads and other items were offered.

My question here is pretty simple: what were these apparent rituals supposed to do, and did they work?