Diversity of Sacrifice: Form and Function of Sacrificial Practices in the Ancient World and Beyond

292 Pages·2016·12.393 MB·English

by  Carrie Ann Murray

Diversity of Sacrifice
the institute for european and mediterranean archaeology
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Diversity of Sacrifice: Form and Function of Sacrificial Practices in the Ancient World and Beyond
Carrie Ann Murray, editor
diversity
of
sacrifice
Form and Function
of Sacrificial Practices
in the Ancient World
and Beyond
IEMA Proceedings,
Volume 5

edited by
Carrie Ann Murray
state university of
new york press
Logo and cover/interior art: A vessel with wagon motifs from Bronocice,
Poland, 3400 B.C. Courtesy of Sarunas Milisauskas and Janusz Kruk,
1982, Die Wagendarstellung auf einem Trichterbecher au Bronocice,
Polen, Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 12: 141–144
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Diversity of sacrifice : form and function of sacrificial practices in the
ancient world and beyond / edited by Carrie Ann Murray.
pages cm. — (SUNY series, The Institute for European and
Mediterranean Archaeology distinguished monograph series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-5995-0 (hardcover : alkaline paper)
ISBN 978-1-4384-5996-7 (e-book) 1. Sacrifice—Europe—History—
To 1500—Congresses. 2. Sacrifice—Meditarranean Region—History—
To 1500—Congresses. 3. Social archaeology—Europe—Congresses.
4. Social archaeology—Meditarranean Region—Congresses.
5. Archaeology and religion—Europe—Congresses. 6. Archaeology and
religion—Meditarranean Region—Congresses. 7. Material culture—
Europe—History—To 1500—Congresses. 8. Material culture—
Meditarranean Region—History—To 1500—Congresses. 9. Social
interaction—Europe—History—To 1500—Congresses. 10. Social
interaction—Meditarranean Region—History—To 1500—Congresses.
I. Murray, Carrie Ann, 1976– II. University of Buffalo. Institute for
European and Mediterranean Archaeology.
BL570.D58 2016
203'.40936—dc23 2015013508
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my grandfather, Detective Louis Linton Miller,
who died while protecting the people of New York City

Contents
Introduction Carrie Ann Murray
The Value and Power of Sacrifice 1
Part I
Defining and Redefining the Boundaries of Sacrifice
Chapter One Phillips Stevens Jr.
Anthropology and Sacrifice 15
Chapter Two Åsa Berggren
A View from a Fen: On the Concept of Sacrifice and the Possibility of
Understanding Neolithic Wetland Depositions 31
Chapter Three Christoph Huth
Gifts from the Gods: A New Look at Some Weapons and Vessels
from the Metal Ages 49
Chapter Four Samantha Hurn
Post-Domestic Sacrifice: Exploring the Present and Future of
Gifts for the Gods 65
Part II
Sacrifice across the Mediterranean World
Chapter Five Mary-Ann Pouls Wegner
Every Good and Pure Thing: Sacrifice in the Ancient Egyptian Context 87
vii
viii Contents
Chapter Six Jeffrey H. Schwartz
The Mythology of Carthaginian Child Sacrifice: A Physical
Anthropological Perspective 103
Chapter Seven Tyler Jo Smith
The Art of Ancient Greek Sacrifice: Spectacle, Gaze, Performance 127
Chapter Eight Nancy T. de Grummond
Etruscan Human Sacrifice: The Case of Tarquinia 145
Part III
Exploring Exceptional Cases of Sacrifice
Chapter Nine Andrea Zeeb-Lanz, Rose-Marie Arbogast,
Human Sacrifice as “Crisis Management”? Silja Bauer, Bruno Boulestin,
The Case of the Early Neolithic Site of Herxheim, Anne-Sophie Coupey,
Palatinate, Germany Anthony Denaire, Fabian Haack,
Christian Jeunesse, Dirk Schimmelpfennig, Rouven Turck
171
Chapter Ten Enriqueta Pons, Lídia Colominas, Maria Saña
Dog Sacrifice at the Protohistoric Site of Mas Castellar (Pontós, Spain) 191
Chapter Eleven Guinevere Granite
Understanding the Death and Burial of Northern European Bog Bodies 211
Part IV
Formularizing and Regularizing Sacrifice
Chapter Twelve Roger D. Woodard
Sacrificing the Sign: The Alphabet as an Offering in Ancient Israel, or
A Classicist’s Read on the Ritual Law of the Sotah 223
Chapter Thirteen Michael Gagarin
Ancient Greek Laws on Sacrifice 241
Chapter Fourteen S. Mark Heim
In What Way Is Christ’s Death a Sacrifice? Theories of Sacrifice and
Theologies of the Cross 255
Contributors 271
Index 273
Illustrations
Figure 2.1 A person is walking through the vegetation edge of the fen during the
Early Neolithic. Illustration: Hans Ekerow. 40
Figure 2.2 A group of people are cooking and eating a meal near the fen during
the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. Illustration: Hans Ekerow. 43
Figure 3.1 Rapier, axe and dagger blade made of gold, from Perşinari (ROM, after
Primas 1991: 177 fig. 8). 52
Figure 3.2 Golden axes from Tufalău (ROM) and Dieskau (GER, after Primas
1991: 178 fig. 9). 53
Figure 3.3 Daggers adorned with tiny gold pins from Plouvorn (FRA, after Briard
1984: 91 fig. 56). 54
Figure 3.4 Daggers from the hoard of Ripatransone (ITA, after Bianco Peroni
1994: pl. 25). 56
Figure 3.5 Statue menhir of Lagundo (ITA), Height = 267 cm (after Dondio 1995:
209 fig. F96). 57
Figure 3.6 Bronze dirk from Jutphaas (NED, after Butler, Sarfatij 1972: fig. 3). 58
Figure 3.7 Gold cups from (1) Fritzdorf and (2) Hochdorf (both GER, after Jacob
1995: pl. 77 no. 406, pl. 79 no. 418). 59
Figure 3.8 Ceremonial cart from Strettweg (AUT, after Egg 1996: 27 fig. 17). 60
Figure 5.1 Seti I presenting offerings to the deity Osiris, temple of Seti I, Abydos
ca. 1294–1279 B.C.E. (author’s photo). 89
Figure 5.2 Seti I offering an image of Ma’at to the deity Osiris, temple of Seti I,
Abydos ca. 1294–1279 B.C.E. (Calverley 1938: Pl. IV). 89
Figure 5.3 Seti I and Ramesses II offering before the names of preceding kings of
Egypt, temple of Seti I, Abydos ca. 1294–1279 B.C.E. (author’s
photo). 90
ix