Paul Juralowicz

31/10/17
Block D
Formal Synthesis Essay #1: The Embrace of Ritualistic Sacrifices in Ancient
Societies

Religion is a fundamental pillar of society. For the longest time, religion could cause the
downfall or rise of a civilization. Some empires built themselves off a foundation of religious
rituals. A common ritual to gain favour with a peoples god was sacrifice. Sacrifice of food, live
stock, or objects of religious significance was common across ancient empires scattered across the
world. The sacrifice of a man was popular among some American civilization, and a few
European. The article, The Practice of Human Sacrifice by Dr. Mike Parker-Pearson, and the
story, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, shed some light on the motives behind the sacrifice of
your fellow man. They show how certain variables can cause a society to embrace the ritual of
human sacrifice.
Typically, groups would sacrifice an object to make amends or gain favour with a
prominent god. For example, Parker-Pearson (2011) wrote how within the Inca empire of South
America, children and teenagers were sacrificed to the sun god (para. 21). Another American
empire, the Aztecs, thought sacrifices were necessary to keep the sun on its daily path (Parker-
Pearson, 2011, para. 19). These American civilizations embraced sacrifice for religious reasons;
they believed that if they were to stop, it would lead to a cataclysmic event. The small village in
The Lottery commits their sacrifice to bless their crops. Old Man Warner quickly rhymes,
Lottery in June, corn will be heavy soon (Jackson, 1948, p. 154). Finally, some societies
complete the ritual to weed out weakness in their group. According to Roman historian Tacitus
. . . these Germanic peoples executed their social outcasts--cowards, shirkers and those of
disrepute (Parker-Pearson, 2011, para. 7). Although they did not gain favour with a deity, their
chance of survival increased as they cut off the dead weight. These civilizations blessings would
tend to out weigh their loss.
During a ritualistic sacrifice, by definition, a group will give up something to a greater
purpose. Many of the civilizations who committed to these rituals were either in a situation where
the loss was minor, or they considered the benefit to be larger than the loss. An example of both
points is in Egypt. According to Parker-Pearson (2011), The tombs if the first dynasty of Egyptian
pharaohs (3100-29800 BC) were each surrounded by the graves of their courtiers (para. 17). They
would bury pharaohs with their servants in order to assist them in the after life. Not only did Egypt
have the resources to sacrifice servants, but the benefit of helping the pharaoh, a man believed to
represent the gods on earth, was an extreme benefit. The Germanic tribes sacrificed those who
they perceived as weak, which was minimal loss to them. In the Incan empire, where a familys
own child could be sacrificed, they would be [bestowed] considerable prestige on the childs
parents and on their local community (Parker-Pearson, 2011, para. 20). In The Lottery, they
lose one villager for every lottery. The resource loss is greater than the other examples, as the
village is a speck compared to the larger empires above. The mental cost on the families of the
sacrificed is near zero. When Nancy and Bill Jr. Hutchison are checking if they won the lottery
they opened [their slip of paper] at the same time, and both beamed and laughed (Jackson, 1948,
p. 155). Despite the fact that one of their family members whom they have known their entire life
is sentenced to death, they are happy.
The blessing an empire perceives it gains often exceed what they lose during a ritualistic
sacrifice. If they have gotten to an empirical status, they would not deliberately expend such an
extreme amount of resources until their eventual collapse. Much like a bank, they would expend
a resource to gain something of greater value, whether it be crops, a stronger gene pool, or favour
 Paul Juralowicz
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with their gods. It is a for profit, human currency, religious capitalism. Without an outside
influence, these variables can easily lead to the embrace of sacrifice in an empires cultural
foundation.
 Paul Juralowicz
31/10/17
Block D
References

Jackson, S. (1948). The lottery. In R. Davies & G. Kirkland (Eds.), Inside stories for senior
students (pp. 147-155). Toronto, ON: Harcourt Brace & Company
Parker-Pearson, M. (2011, February 28). The practice of human sacrifice. BBC.co.uk. Retrieved
October 29, 2017, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/
human_sacrifice_01.shtml