Michael Ettinger

11/4/2014
Anthropology 1020
Mrs. Maughan
Research Paper
Human Sacrifice
1743 words

The practice of human sacrifice is a grisly and gruesome subject to

contemplate in modern day society. In a time of various widespread human rights
crusades, human sacrifice seems like an ancient occurrence that would be too
bestial to speak of outside academic settings. The reality is that human sacrifice is
was very prevalent in recorded history, and exists to some extent today in various
corners of the globe, although the motives and methods have changed significantly.
The methods used to connect a particular sample of human remains with its
sacrificial heritage are diverse and contingent upon many components (some more
reliable than others), but with the proper approach and collective usage of varying
methods it can be quite accurate.
Human sacrifice, by definition, is the offering of the life of a human being to a
deity and was commonly part of an effort to achieve a communal existence with
god(s) and the divine world.1 Animals and valuable possessions were often included
in the ritual to provide additional gifts and concessions for the deity being appealed
to. There are even archaeological reports claiming evidence of human sacrifices

"human sacrifice". Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Encyclopdia

Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/275881/human-sacrifice>.
1

tracing back 5,500 years ago, or to approximately 3,700 B.C.2 This was around the
time in Mesopotamia that people began recording information about their
agricultural goods--including domestic animals and plants--in the form of small clay
tokens.3 This is noteworthy because it marks the development of a symbolic
representation of value and information in an object. It seems as if human sacrifices
were a distant branch of this practice, treating human and animal lives as objects in
the attempt to trade for divine privilege.
Although the ritual itself is principally viewed as barbaric in modern times,
there is still a significant archaeological and anthropological interest towards
finding out when and where the tradition took place. To do so, there are very
specific criteria that must be met before concluding that a group performed human
sacrifices. As with cannibalism, modern cultures can be sensitive to proclamations
stating that their ancestors sacrificed fellow human beings. The procurement of
proof often depends on scientific evidence, but there are many other determinants
that can lead researchers towards a definitive conclusion. Firstly, there are physical
attributes, such as skeletal position, integrity/condition, material adornment, and
burial methods of the remains can provide much information on ancient and premodern burial sites. Secondly, there are also geographical indicators such as the
location of the burial site with respect to the surrounding terrain and other burial

"Archaeologists Dig up oldest African Human Sacrifice." Archaeologists Dig up 'oldest' African
Human Sacrifice. Sudan Tribune, 16 Feb. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
2

"Token Impressions Mark Early Writing." Science News 119.3 (1981): 37. MasterFILE Premier. Web.
1 Dec. 2014.
3

sites. Thirdly, there are chemical and biochemical methods to discovering very
telling data tying remains to sacrificial alteration.
A very interesting example of the physical and geographical approach comes
from the discovery of a 15-year-old girls remains in the Andes mountain range. She
was buried in an Incan shrine that is now part of the worlds highest archaeological
site, near the 6,739m tall Llullaillaco Volcano in northwest Argentina.4 The Incan
people regarded the mountains as enormously sacred. This is possibly due to the
mountains increased proximity to supernatural forces they associated with
powerful deities, such as lightning, thunder, and volcanoes.5 Human sacrifices made
at these mountain peaks strengthened the idea of the deification of the sacred
mountains. The simple fact that this young girl was buried at the top of a volcano is
reason enough to suspect importance surrounding her existence or burial.
Additionally, she was buried wearing high-status necklaces, bracelets and a
headdress. Also with her were crafts originating from the distant Peruvian regions
of Lake Titicaca and Cusco (both over 1,000 miles away).6 Burying a young girl
covered in lavish jewelry in a shrine in a most sacred geographical region on a
volcano with vessels carried from 1,000 miles away implies that her burial process
and the value of her effects was very significant. These are signs that
Wilson, Andrew S. "Stable Isotope and DNA Evidence for Ritual Sequences in Inca Child Sacrifice."
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104.42 (2007): 16456.
JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
4

Wilson, Andrew S. "Stable Isotope and DNA Evidence for Ritual Sequences in Inca Child Sacrifice."
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104.42 (2007): 16456.
JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
5

Wilson, Andrew S. "Stable Isotope and DNA Evidence for Ritual Sequences in Inca Child Sacrifice."
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104.42 (2007): 16456.
JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
6

anthropologists and archeologists might include as partial evidence that this

individual was a human sacrifice. However, there is the real chance that an exquisite
burial such as this is simply due to the girl being the daughter of a prominent figure
who died at a young age. This shows how tricky finding definitive proof from just
one type of method can be.
Another physical marker that can be revealing is the condition of the
remains. If there are any signs of cut marks on the bones, fractures and other blunt
force trauma obtained perimortem, or removed limbs/appendages, those markers
all could point towards the possibility of the death being a sacrifice. In one case, the
remains of a boy thought to have been a human sacrifice were found with both
vomit and feces (coprolites) on his clothes. These bodily products were also
carrying traces of a hallucinogenic drug, possibly administered during the sacrificial
ritual. The cause of his death was thought to be suffocation, as his textile wrapping
was so tight that he had crushed ribs and a dislocated pelvis.7 This case includes
both chemical and physical osteological clues for the circumstance surrounding his
death.
In terms of chemical analysis, high-resolution stable isotope analysis can
determine various levels of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, strontium and
sulfur in the tissues of an organisms remains.8 These levels can reveal a partial
picture of the condition, diet, and overall health of the person at the time of that
Wilson, Andrew S. "Stable Isotope and DNA Evidence for Ritual Sequences in Inca Child Sacrifice."
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104.42 (2007): 16459.
JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 1 Dec. 2014
7

Wilson, Andrew S. "Stable Isotope and DNA Evidence for Ritual Sequences in Inca Child Sacrifice."
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104.42 (2007): 16459.
JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 1 Dec. 2014
8

tissues formation. A commonly found tissue remaining with many skeletons is hair,
as it remains longer than other tissues. Analyzing isotopes found in sections of hair
often provides researchers with valuable information regarding that persons life at
the time that hair was growing. This helps them attempting to piece together the
identity, lifestyle, circumstance, and cause of death of a person. Sulfur levels can
help indicate whether a subject had a marine-based diet or a land-based diet,
shedding light on their geographic location. Oxygen and Hydrogen levels can
provide information on the temperature and altitude where the person lived or
traveled through. Nitrogen levels can tell bio archaeologists whether the individual
consumed plant or animal protein, and that can reveal their societal status by
indicating their place in the relative food chain.9 Strontium levels in the bones or
teeth can also be read to determine the geological environment where the person
lived.10 Isotope analysis of hair records showing a widely varying diet and changes
in both climate and altitude just before death would indicate the person traveled to
foreign places before their life ended. Possible explanations for these changes are
that the person was taken or captured, and brought to a new location prior to their
death.

Wilson, Andrew S. "Stable Isotope and DNA Evidence for Ritual Sequences in Inca Child Sacrifice."
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104.42 (2007): 16459.
JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 1 Dec. 2014
9

Tiesler, Vera, and Andrea Cucina. New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Ritual Body Treatment
in Ancient Maya Society. New York: Springer, 2007. Print.
10

Yet another interesting theory is that some individuals were chosen for ritual
sacrifices because of their poor health or fragile appearance.11 Finding patterns of
burial methods correlating with osteopathic conditions in particular regions raises
the idea that the elite intentionally chose and exploited the lower class to serve as
their sacrifices. Those suffering from infections diseases and the accompanying
stress-patterns have osteological characteristics that are easily recognizable to
researchers. Indulging them right up until the ritual and their death would make it
easier to cajole the future human sacrifices, and these antemortum dietary changes
could also be found with isotope analysis.
However, just because the diet and geographical location of the deceased
changed shortly before death, it still is not definitive proof of them being a ritual
sacrifice. There are many explanations that can be postulated to discredit theories
based on only one or two facts. There are often theories derived from such findings,
but it is the combination of various attributes (physical, geographical, and chemical)
of the remains that can provide a compelling case for identifying a human sacrifice.
It is a very difficult job, but with the proper resources and dedication it is possible to
identify human sacrifices with a considerably high level of certainty.

Tiesler, Vera, and Andrea Cucina. New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Ritual Body Treatment
in Ancient Maya Society. New York: Springer, 2007. Print.
11

Bibliography
Tiesler, Vera, and Andrea Cucina. New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Ritual
Body Treatment in Ancient Maya Society. New York: Springer, 2007. Print.
Wilson, Andrew S. "Stable Isotope and DNA Evidence for Ritual Sequences in Inca
Child Sacrifice." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United
States of America 104.42 (2007): 16456-6461. JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 1 Dec.
2014.
"Archaeologists Dig up oldest African Human Sacrifice." Archaeologists Dig up
'oldest' African Human Sacrifice. Sudan Tribune, 16 Feb. 2008. Web. 1 Dec.
2014.
"human sacrifice". Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online.
Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2014
"Token Impressions Mark Early Writing." Science News 119.3 (1981): 37.
MasterFILE Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.