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22 - Ritual Killing and Human Sacrifice in the Ancient Near East
from Part IV - Religion, Ritual and Violence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 March 2020
Summary
Human sacrifice was a rare practice among the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia. Our best-sourced occurrences are the archaeological remains from the royal death pits at Early Dynastic Ur (c. 2600–2450 BCE) and textual records of the substitute king ritual that was practised at least from the early second millennium BCE down to the time of Alexander the Great. Such sporadic occurrences of ritual human sacrifice require an investigation as to why it happened at all. This chapter examines the practice of human sacrifice in the light of its respective historical and cultural contexts to better understand this extreme form of ritual violence. It finds that while there are rather different contexts, in both instances it is clear that the office of kingship held absolute power over the subjects who were disposed of for the sake of the ruler.
Ritual human sacrifice promoted and sustained the evolution of stratified societies
Nature volume 532, 228–231 (2016)
Abstract
Evidence for human sacrifice is found throughout the archaeological record of early civilizations1, the ethnographic records of indigenous world cultures2,3,4,5, and the texts of the most prolific contemporary religions6. According to the social control hypothesis2,7,8, human sacrifice legitimizes political authority and social class systems, functioning to stabilize such social stratification. Support for the social control hypothesis is largely limited to historical anecdotes of human sacrifice2,8, where the causal claims have not been subject to rigorous quantitative cross-cultural tests. Here we test the social control hypothesis by applying Bayesian phylogenetic methods to a geographically and socially diverse sample of 93 traditional Austronesian cultures. We find strong support for models in which human sacrifice stabilizes social stratification once stratification has arisen, and promotes a shift to strictly inherited class systems. Whilst evolutionary theories of religion have focused on the functionality of prosocial and moral beliefs9,10, our results reveal a darker link between religion and the evolution of modern hierarchical societies11,12.
Hypotheses (6)
Human sacrifice can co-evolve with social stratification (the probability of change in social stratification and the presence/absence of human sacrifice are interdependent) [First Analysis] (229). Supported
When human sacrifice is present, moderate and highly stratified cultures are less likely to decrease in degree of stratification (229). Supported
When human sacrifice is present, egalitarian cultures are more likely to gain social stratification (229). Not Supported
Human sacrifice can co-evolve with social stratification (the probability of change in social stratification and the presence/absence of human sacrifice are interdependent) [Second Analysis] (229). Supported
When human sacrifice is present, egalitarian and moderately stratified societies are more likely to become highly stratified. Supported
When human sacrifice is present, highly stratified societies are less likely to become less stratified (229).
from Part IV - Religion, Ritual and Violence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 March 2020
Summary
Human sacrifice was a rare practice among the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia. Our best-sourced occurrences are the archaeological remains from the royal death pits at Early Dynastic Ur (c. 2600–2450 BCE) and textual records of the substitute king ritual that was practised at least from the early second millennium BCE down to the time of Alexander the Great. Such sporadic occurrences of ritual human sacrifice require an investigation as to why it happened at all. This chapter examines the practice of human sacrifice in the light of its respective historical and cultural contexts to better understand this extreme form of ritual violence. It finds that while there are rather different contexts, in both instances it is clear that the office of kingship held absolute power over the subjects who were disposed of for the sake of the ruler.
Ritual human sacrifice promoted and sustained the evolution of stratified societies
Nature volume 532, 228–231 (2016)
Abstract
Evidence for human sacrifice is found throughout the archaeological record of early civilizations1, the ethnographic records of indigenous world cultures2,3,4,5, and the texts of the most prolific contemporary religions6. According to the social control hypothesis2,7,8, human sacrifice legitimizes political authority and social class systems, functioning to stabilize such social stratification. Support for the social control hypothesis is largely limited to historical anecdotes of human sacrifice2,8, where the causal claims have not been subject to rigorous quantitative cross-cultural tests. Here we test the social control hypothesis by applying Bayesian phylogenetic methods to a geographically and socially diverse sample of 93 traditional Austronesian cultures. We find strong support for models in which human sacrifice stabilizes social stratification once stratification has arisen, and promotes a shift to strictly inherited class systems. Whilst evolutionary theories of religion have focused on the functionality of prosocial and moral beliefs9,10, our results reveal a darker link between religion and the evolution of modern hierarchical societies11,12.
Hypotheses (6)
Human sacrifice can co-evolve with social stratification (the probability of change in social stratification and the presence/absence of human sacrifice are interdependent) [First Analysis] (229). Supported
When human sacrifice is present, moderate and highly stratified cultures are less likely to decrease in degree of stratification (229). Supported
When human sacrifice is present, egalitarian cultures are more likely to gain social stratification (229). Not Supported
Human sacrifice can co-evolve with social stratification (the probability of change in social stratification and the presence/absence of human sacrifice are interdependent) [Second Analysis] (229). Supported
When human sacrifice is present, egalitarian and moderately stratified societies are more likely to become highly stratified. Supported
When human sacrifice is present, highly stratified societies are less likely to become less stratified (229).