Ritual Sacrifice In Ancient Peru: New Discoveries And Interpretations
by Elizabeth P. Benson /
2001 / English / PDF
6.1 MB Download
Propitiating the supernatural forces that could grant bountiful
crops or wipe out whole villages through natural disasters was a
sacred duty in ancient Peruvian societies, as in many premodern
cultures. Ritual sacrifices were considered necessary for this
propitiation and for maintaining a proper reciprocal relationship
between humans and the supernatural world.
Propitiating the supernatural forces that could grant bountiful
crops or wipe out whole villages through natural disasters was a
sacred duty in ancient Peruvian societies, as in many premodern
cultures. Ritual sacrifices were considered necessary for this
propitiation and for maintaining a proper reciprocal relationship
between humans and the supernatural world.
The essays in this book examine the archaeological evidence for
ancient Peruvian sacrificial offerings of human beings, animals,
and objects, as well as the cultural contexts in which the
offerings occurred, from around 2500 B.C. until Inca times just
before the Spanish Conquest. Major contributions come from the
recent archaeological fieldwork of Steve Bourget, Anita Cook, and
Alana Cordy-Collins, as well as from John Verano's laboratory
work on skeletal material from recent excavations. Mary Frame,
who is a weaver as well as a scholar, offers rich new
interpretations of Paracas burial garments, and Donald Proulx
presents a fresh view of the nature of Nasca warfare. Elizabeth
Benson's essay provides a summary of sacrificial practices.
The essays in this book examine the archaeological evidence for
ancient Peruvian sacrificial offerings of human beings, animals,
and objects, as well as the cultural contexts in which the
offerings occurred, from around 2500 B.C. until Inca times just
before the Spanish Conquest. Major contributions come from the
recent archaeological fieldwork of Steve Bourget, Anita Cook, and
Alana Cordy-Collins, as well as from John Verano's laboratory
work on skeletal material from recent excavations. Mary Frame,
who is a weaver as well as a scholar, offers rich new
interpretations of Paracas burial garments, and Donald Proulx
presents a fresh view of the nature of Nasca warfare. Elizabeth
Benson's essay provides a summary of sacrificial practices.