Human sacrifice
Ritual killing to appease gods or serve rulers.
Human sacrifice involves the ritual killing of one or more people, typically to gain favor from gods, a ruler, spirits of ancestors, or to satisfy demands for justice. It has been practiced since prehistoric times across many cultures. By the Iron Age, the practice declined in Africa, Europe, and Asia, but it persisted in the Americas until European colonization. Today, it is extremely rare and condemned by major religions and secular law. The rationales behind human sacrifice mirror those of other religious sacrifices: to bring good fortune, pacify deities, or ensure fertility. For instance, the Aztec god of agriculture, Xipe Totec, received such offerings. In ancient Japan, legends describe *hitobashira*, where people were buried alive beneath structures to protect them from disaster, with similar tales found in the Balkans. Human sacrifice also aimed to secure divine aid in war, as in the Homeric tale of Iphigeneia. Retainer sacrifice involved killing a ruler’s servants to accompany him into the afterlife, seen among Mongols, Scythians, early Egyptians, and Mesoamerican chiefs. Divination from victims’ body parts was another purpose; Strabo recorded Celts stabbing a victim and reading the future from his death spasms. Headhunting, taking an adversary’s head for prestige or magic, occurred in many pre-modern tribal societies. While human sacrifice could unify a community or remove criminals and prisoners, it also risked destabilizing violence. Many cultures later replaced it with animal sacrifice or symbolic effigies, such as the Argei in ancient Rome. The story of Abraham and Isaac is seen as an etiological myth explaining the abolition of the practice. In ancient Egypt, early dynastic retainer sacrifice at Abydos may have been voluntary, possibly drug-induced, with no trauma on skeletons.
- label
- Human sacrifice
- field
- Ritual practice
- known_for
- Killing humans in religious or ceremonial contexts
- earliest_evidence
- Prehistoric times
- decline_in_old_world
- Iron Age (1st millennium BCE)
- continued_in_americas
- Until European colonization
- modern_status
- Extremely rare; treated as murder
Lore & Background
Human sacrifice is the ritual killing of one or more people, typically to please or appease gods, a ruler, authorities, or ancestral spirits, or as a retainer sacrifice where servants accompany a leader into the afterlife. Closely related practices include cannibalism and headhunting. The practice dates to prehistoric times but declined across Africa, Europe, and Asia by the Iron Age, becoming viewed as barbaric in classical antiquity. In the Americas, it continued until European colonization. Today, it is extremely rare and treated as murder by secular law, with most major religions condemning it. Rationales for human sacrifice mirror those of religious sacrifice generally: to bring good fortune, pacify gods, dedicate buildings like temples or bridges, or ensure fertility—for example, sacrifices to the Aztec god of agriculture Xipe Totec. In ancient Japan, legends describe hitobashira, where people were buried alive at construction sites to protect buildings from disasters; similar accounts appear in the Balkans. Retainer sacrifice occurred among Mongols, Scythians, early Egyptians, and Mesoamerican chiefs, who took servants and concubines to the next world. Divination from victims’ body parts was another purpose, as when Celts stabbed a victim and interpreted death spasms. Headhunting, taking an adversary’s head for ceremonial or prestige reasons, was found in many pre-modern tribal societies. Human sacrifice could enhance societal unity by bonding the community or removing criminals and prisoners, but could also destabilize society through blood frenzy. Many cultures later replaced it with animal sacrifice or mock sacrifices, such as the Argei in ancient Rome.
Reader's Guide
Human sacrifice reflects deep religious and social structures in ancient societies, often tied to fertility, warfare, and the afterlife. Its decline in the Old World during the Iron Age coincided with the Axial Age, and by classical antiquity it was viewed as barbaric. In the Americas, it persisted until European colonization. The practice was sometimes replaced by animal sacrifice or effigies, as seen in ancient Rome after a senatorial decree in 97 BCE. Biblical accounts show awareness and disdain of human sacrifice, with stories like the binding of Isaac suggesting a shift from human to animal sacrifice. Modern secular laws treat it as murder, and most major religions condemn it. The practice could enhance societal unity but also lead to destabilizing violence.
Did You Know?
- In ancient Japan, hitobashira involved burying people alive at construction sites to protect buildings from disasters or enemy attacks.
- Retainer sacrifice, where servants were killed to serve their master in the afterlife, was practiced by Mongols, Scythians, early Egyptians, and Mesoamerican chiefs.
- According to Pliny the Elder, human sacrifice in ancient Rome was abolished by a senatorial decree in 97 BCE.
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