Ritual Sacrifice in Ancient Peru Paperback / softback
Edited by Elizabeth P. Benson, Anita G. Cook
Paperback / softback
- Information
Description
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.
Information
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Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:227 pages
- Publisher:University of Texas Press
- Publication Date:01/07/2001
- Category:
- ISBN:9780292708945
Information
-
Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:227 pages
- Publisher:University of Texas Press
- Publication Date:01/07/2001
- Category:
- ISBN:9780292708945