[Aztlan] Hard evidence of Maya human sacrifice

[martha noyes]

Aloha folks

I suspect I'm overly naive, but I don't see why human sacrifice in ancient 
cultures is so shocking.   An awful lot of cultures, including European 
ones, have practiced it.  It was common throughout Polynesia, it occurred in 
some American Indian cultures, in some cultures of India, South America, 
Central America, among ancient Jews, and presumably elsewhere.

In most, if not all cases, it was associated with ritual practice, typically 
by priests on behalf of chiefs/kings who often felt it was required to 
consecrate a temple (as in Polynesia), engage in a war, propitiate deities 
in order to end drought or famine or other disaster, or even to prove one's 
faith (as in the Old Testament).

Ritual cannabalism also had a place.  In the case of Hawaii, it was only the 
eye(s) or brain that was consumed.  Similarly in parts of Papua New 
Guinea/Irianjaya it was the brain.

I think it is a mistake to judge the beliefs and religious/ritual behaviors 
of past peoples by our present standards.  Heck, we don't judge their 
medical practices by the standards of today's medicine, or their cooking 
methods or their clothmaking, basketweaving, or . . . by today's standards 
of practice.

They did what they did in their time and circumstances, consistent with 
their worldview.

Pardon me for jumping in here, but I think we do ourselves and our 
collective ancestors a disservice by expecting them to live by the codes of 
belief and behavior we have now.

Thanks for letting me speak my piece.
Martha

P.S.  There are a few places where the practice of human sacrifice 
continues, although in relative secret.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rodrigo" <rodrigo at paloalto.com>
To: <aztlan at lists.famsi.org>
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 3:47 PM
Subject: Re: [Aztlan] Hard evidence of Maya human sacrifice


>
> I think human sacrifice in Mesoamerica needs to be put in its correct 
> global
> context, otherwise people end up with the idea that mesoamericans were a
> bunch of primitive inhumane savages like nowhere else in the world. The
> thing is human sacrifice and cannibalism has a certain ring to it that
> shocks people quite a bit. And don't get me wrong, of course human 
> sacrifice
> is shocking, but now is it more shocking than for example the mass burning
> of the witches or the inquisition in Europe where thousands of women
> (including children in some cases) were kept alive for the soul purpose of
> inflicting unimaginable pain to them through tourture? And does that mean 
> it
> is fair to judge the entire western culture based on such events?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org 
> [mailto:aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org]
> On Behalf Of Jules Siegel
> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 4:39 PM
> To: aztlan at lists.famsi.org
> Subject: Re: [Aztlan] Hard evidence of Maya human sacrifice
>
> Stephen Whittington <whittisl at wfu.edu> wrote:
>
>> We have hard evidence of Maya human sacrifice. At
> the Late Postclassic site of Iximche, Guatemala, there
> were 50 decapitations in pits adjacent to small
> platforms that appear to have been altars [...and
> other examples].
>
> So are we talking about hundreds (or a few thousand,
> at most) of victims, perhaps, over several centuries?
>
> Is there enough evidence like this to conclude that
> human sacrifice was a generalized feature of Mayan
> culture?
>
> Or was it a special practice with limited frequency
> that varied by locality and time period?
>
> -- 
> JULES SIEGEL Apdo. 1764, 77501-Cancun, Q. Roo, Mexico
> http://www.cafecancun.com/bookarts
>
> Newsroom-l, news and issues for journalists
> http://www.newsroom-l.net/
>
>
>
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