Out of all the hairbrained schemes that humans have come up with, human sacrifice is at the top. I can't see the logic of it. How did our ancestors figure that there was a connection between good fortune and killing another person? What's strange is how prevalent this belief is in ancient cultures across the world and across time. Perhaps, it is a primitive (animalistic) superstitious behavior, but I have a hard time thinking of the mechanisms underpinning it.
A recent toxicology analysis revealed that the children were intoxicated with alcohol and hallucinogenic drugs prior to the sacrifice. The use of drugs and alcohol was prevalent in children at the time, but during the ritual the cocktail was used as a sedative. This article discusses the findings.
Great read and excellent collage!
I did see in my readings that narcotics were used. Surely not enough to render unconsciousness. Just enough perhaps to make the victim passive. Buried alive! Strangled!
I didn't want to dwell on the child sacrifices, almost didn't mention them. But they are important and people want to know.
It does seem impossibly cruel and illogical, but then when you think of how cheaply humans have valued life over the centuries, it fits. I remember reading in Ancient China 100 or 1000 (does the number matter?) scholars were buried alive. Look at the Khmer Rouge. Look at Hiroshima. Or Stalin's enforced famine in Ukraine. I can go on and on.
The idea that the deaths would please the gods in a way makes more sense. At least the Incas placed a value on the lives (because they thought the gods would be pleased.
Thanks for stopping by and for making (as always) an interesting comment.
Pre-Columbian people were rather war-like. They committed heinous acts against each other. So adding child sacrifice on top of it takes the cake. The Aztecs were also vicious and sacrificed thousands. I do understand that there are limitations in using the lenses of the present to understand our past history. It's difficult to get in the mind of someone who lived so long ago in such a strange place to discern their motivations and the evolutionary advantage they gained from it.