The Value of a Human Life: Ritual Killing and Human Sacrifice in Antiquity

Human sacrifice has been a prevalent practice throughout history, with various forms of ritual killing occurring in different regions and cultures. This book offers new insights into the subject, challenging the notion that all forms of ritual killing can be considered sacrificial. It explores various aspects of the phenomenon, including offering humans to gods, making servants accompany their masters into the hereafter, and ritual killing in connection with the execution of criminals and captives. While some cultures accepted ritual killing, others viewed it as a symptom of barbarism and used it as a justification for hostility, war, or genocide. The last chapter focuses on one of the last surviving forms of ritual killing in recent history: headhunting among the Asmat.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 160 pages
Publication date: 28 May 2022
Publisher: Sidestone Press

Throughout history, people have been killed by others in various ways, including wars, murders, and ritualized killings known as human sacrifice. This book contributes to the ongoing discussion on this topic by re-evaluating the concept of human sacrifice and arguing that not all forms of ritual killing can be considered sacrificial. Experts from different disciplines present new insights into the phenomenon of ritual homicide in various regions of the ancient world. Various aspects of the phenomenon are discussed, such as offering humans to gods, making servants accompany their masters into the afterlife, and ritual killing in connection with the execution of criminals and captives. While some cultures accepted ritual killing, others viewed it as a symptom of barbarism and used it as a justification for hostility, war, or genocide. For example, the Romans justified the violence against Carthage partly due to ritual killing, early Christians were accused of infanticide, and the Spanish conquistadores used the argument to justify the genocide on indigenous Americans. The last chapter focuses on one of the last surviving forms of ritual killing in recent history: headhunting among the Asmat.

Weight: 502g
Dimension: 209 x 279 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789464260564