[Aztlan] Amerindian Warfare & Ritual Violence Resources

Tue May 22 06:48:45 CDT 2007

Dear Friends,
In light of the announcement of these important books, may I point out that
the Ancient Maya left quite a few images of their practices in regard to
combat, war, and treatment of those who had been taken prisoner.
In the Maya Vase Database:
206 and 680 Disembowelment while tied to a scaffold. 
1082 Decapitation and body parts.
2206 Taking of prisoners.
2342 and others: Wearing of trophy heads.
2781 Another scaffold scene
5850 An ax does the bloody deed.
6674 A ritual before death
7516 The prisoner is being stoned to death (hand stone)
7749	Bloody combat with sharpened bones.
Theses scenes are only a sampling.
If one enters a string such as 206 or 680 or 2206 or etc., the database will
bring up all the numbers at once.
Justin Kerr

-----Original Message-----
From: aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org [mailto:aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org]
On Behalf Of Archaeology Institute
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2007 5:47 PM
To: aztlan at lists.famsi.org
Subject: [Aztlan] Amerindian Warfare & Ritual Violence Resources

Dear All,

        Given the now timely nature of debates concerning the origins,
affinities, and extent of ancient Maya (and other Mesoamerican and
Amerindian) violence in the wake of the Mel Gibson production of the motion
picture Apocalypto, please note
that Richard Chacon, David Dye, and myself have all worked to address the
issue of Amerindian conflict and ritual violence through a series of
national and international anthropological conferences convened over the
course of the past four years.
 For those who seek to better understand the phenomenon of ritual violence,
and the relevant debates thereof, please note that a variety of new sources
are now available.

        As such, I wanted to take this opportunity to bring to your
attention the beginning of the University of Arizona Press promotion of
Latin American Indigenous Warfare and Ritual Violence (See [
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS%
2Fbid1871.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive
]http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS
%2Fbid1871.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive) and
North American Indigenous Warfare and Ritual Violence (See [
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS%
2Fbid1872.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive
]http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS
%2Fbid1872.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive)(Both co-edited by Richard
Chacon and Ruben Mendoza, 2007).  Richard Chacon and I have collaborated on
the edition of each of
these anthologies, and Richard Chacon has in turn edited with David Dye a
book titled The Taking and Displaying of Human Body Parts as Trophies by
Amerindians (see [
http://www.springer.com/west/home/generic/search/results?SGWID=4-40109-22-17
3696923-0
]http://www.springer.com/west/home/generic/search/results?SGWID=4-40109-22-1
73696923-0) in which I have published a chapter contribution concerned with
the
archaeology, forensics, and cosmology of the Mexika Aztec skull rack or
Tzompantli.  

        Finally, please note that the UA Press description for the Latin
American Indigenous Warfare and Ritual Violence volume is as follows (See: [
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS%
2Fbid1871.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive
]http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS
%2Fbid1871.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive for
the Latin American treatment and [
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS%
2Fbid1872.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive
]http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS
%2Fbid1872.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive for the North America
description):

This groundbreaking multidisciplinary book presents significant essays on
historical indigenous violence in Latin America from Tierra del Fuego to
central Mexico. Concerned by what they see as a dangerous anti-scholarly
"revisionist" movement-one
that seeks to portray pre-Columbian Latin America as a "lost paradise" in
which native peoples lived harmoniously together-the editors convened an
international symposium at which leading anthropologists, archaeologists,
historians, and
ethnographers met to set the record straight. This volume, which results
from the symposium, collects twelve contributions from sixteen contributors,
all of whom are scholars at the forefront of their fields of study.

        The Springer Press description for the Chacon and Dye volume is as
follows:

The Amerindian (American Indian or Native American - reference to both North
and South America) practice of taking and displaying various body parts as
trophies has long intrigued both the research community as well as the
public. As a subject that
is both controversial and politically charged, it has also come under attack
as a European colonists' perspective intended to denigrate native peoples. 
What this collection demonstrates is that the practice of trophy-taking
predates European contact in the Americas but was also practiced in other
parts of the world (Europe, Africa, Asia) and has been practiced
prehistorically, historically and up
to and including the twentieth century. 
This edited volume mainly focuses on this practice in both North and South
America. The editors and contributors (which include Native Peoples from
both continents) examine the evidence and causes of Amerindian trophy taking
as reflected in
osteological, archaeological, ethnohistoric and ethnographic accounts.
Additionally, they present objectively and discuss dispassionately the topic
of human proclivity toward ritual violence. 

        Finally, one other book, titled New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice
and Ritual Body Treatments in Ancient Maya Society by Tiesler and Cucina
(Springer Press, 2007) extends the analysis ritual body treatments by the
ancient Maya.  The
Springer Press description for the Tiesler and Cucina book is as follows
(See [
http://www.springer.com/west/home?SGWID=4-102-22-173700529-0&changeHeader=tr
ue
]http://www.springer.com/west/home?SGWID=4-102-22-173700529-0&changeheader=t
rue):

 The central goal of this book is to contribute to the timely discussion and
understanding of Maya sacrifice and related posthumous body manipulation.
Most school children in the US learn about the Maya and their practices
based on their cultural
and religious beliefs in their Social Studies classes. But a number of new
sites have been discovered, giving an interdisciplinary group of researchers
a channel to discuss these acts and their meaning.

Best Regards,

Ruben G. Mendoza, Ph.D., Director
Institute for Archaeological Science, Technology and Visualization
Social and Behavioral Sciences
California State University Monterey Bay
100 Campus Center
Seaside, California 93955-8001

Email: [ mailto:archaeology.csumb at gmail.edu ]archaeology.csumb at gmail.edu
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