Compared to the cruel working conditions children suffered during the Industrial Revolution, the Incan sacrifices triumphs over other society’s treatment of children. Just a few months ago, archeologists discovered the remains of seven children sacrificed and buried with gold and silver figurines, pottery, and clothing beneath a 500-600 year old building found in the Cuzco Valley in Peru. Unfortunately, Incan and foreign children between the ages of three and twelve were selected for these sacrificial rituals based on their physical attributes and tooth development. After chosen, victims were brought to the Incan capitol, Cuzco, and escorted to distant sacrificial sites, where religious priests administered elaborate ceremonies and violently strangled and fractured children’s hyoid neck bone to honor the Incan deities and promote political unity. Moreover, it seems the Inca viewed these sacrifices seemed seamless and ordinary to normal Incan society. Nonetheless, due to the evolution of laws and religion, such actions would lead to death, persecution, or other unsympathetic penalties today.
Brandon Y. Period 7
http://news.discovery.com/
6 comments:
I do not believe that in the Incan culture it was considered cruel to be sacrificed but rather an honor. these children were buried with gold and silver in order to please Incan deities.
I do not agree with Incan cultures sacrafice of children. Though it was the way they thought to be as an honor or seamless and normal to incan society, I believe it was cruel and unfair.
I agree with your statement about how these acts of sacrificing children would be prosecuted by law today, but back when the Incan civilization was around, no one saw any wrongdoing in that. It is difficult to look at something like this from the past, and decide whether it is morally right or wrong. By today's standards it is certainly wrong to sacrifice children or even adults as well! But in the Incan society, they were only doing what they believed to be right. It is a little sick to think of how people back then could sacrifice (or for lack of a better word, murder) an innocent child. Innocence may be a major factor in their sacrifices though. They wanted to offer something good to their gods and what is better for sacrifice, an adult that has committed many sins throughout their lifetime or a child who has not even had a chance to make any mistakes? It is always very interesting to look at different aspects of cultures like this and to try to figure out what it was like to live during that time.
It is pretty messed up how they sacrificed the children, and I get Tboschs point that hes trying to make but it still is wrong. The fact theat the kids really didn't have a choice and were chosen by physical features really really sucks. On one positive note, I do like the title. I think it was pretty creative.
Why is this any more cruel than sacrificing adults? Sacrifice was not only religious, but entertainment as well. Also, this is slightly prejudice, many Europeans living in the middle ages enjoyed seeing others hung, decapitated, or whatever else; and who could forget the holocaust and the Russian Purges? Don't react so harshly when you see this type of thing, everybody has done it.
oh and I forgot to say that at least the Incans justified it. They did it because they believed it to please they're gods. All of the other murders I talked about happened for very selfish reasons in government.
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