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Diversity of sacrifice

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"Explores sacrificial practices across a range of contexts from prehistory to the present. The term 'sacrifice' belies what is a complex and varied transhistorical and transcultural phenomenon. Bringing together scholars from such diverse fields as anthropology, archaeology, epigraphy, literature, and theology, Diversity of Sacrifice explores sacrificial practices across a range of contexts from prehistory to the present. Incorporating theory, material culture, and textual evidence, the volume seeks to consider new and divergent data related to contexts of sacrifice that can help broaden our field of vision while raising new questions. The essays contributed here move beyond reductive and simple explanations to explore complex areas of social interaction. Sacrifice plays a key role in the overlapping sacred and secular spheres for a number of societies in the past and present. How religious beliefs and practices can be integral parts of life on individual and community levels is of fundamental importance to understanding the past and present. In addition to aiding scholarly research, Diversity of Sacrifice enables students to explore this rich theme across Europe and the Mediterranean with clear discussions of theory and data"--From publisher's website.

Title Diversity of sacrifice : form and function of sacrificial practices in the ancient world and beyond / edited by Carrie Ann Murray.
Publisher Albany, New York : State University of New York Press
Creation Date 2016
Notes "Papers from a conference held as the annual symposium for the Institute for European and Mediterranean Archaeology (IEMA) at the University at Buffalo, SUNY, in 2011."
Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.
English
Content Contents
Illustrations
Introduction: The Value and Power of Sacrifice
Issues of Sacrifice in Scholarship
Themes in Scholarship
The Role of Violence
The Role of Meat in Animal Sacrifice
Framework of the Conference
Themes Explored in the Volume
Part I: Defining and Redefining the Boundaries of Sacrifice
Part II: Sacrifice across the Mediterranean World
Part III: Exploring Exceptional Cases of Sacrifice
Part IV: Formularizing and Regularizing Sacrifice
Considerations Raised through Discussion
Estimating Value
The Effects of Social Power
Importance of Setting
Final Thoughts
AcknowledgmentsReferences Cited
PART I: Defining and Redefining the Boundaries of Sacrifice
Chapter One: Anthropology and Sacrifice
Early Theories
Anthropological Truths and Exceptions
What Else Can We Say?
Acknowledgments
Note
References Cited
Chapter Two: A View from a Fen On the Concept of Sacrifice and the Possibility of Understanding Neolithic Wetland Depositions
The Hindbygården Fen
Sacrifice in Archaeology-Some Underlying Problems
Practice Theory
Ritual in Practice Theory
Embodied Practice and Objectification
Time and the Significance of the Past
Relationships and Structures Created at the Hindbygården FenThe Late Mesolithic
The Early Neolithic
The Middle Neolithic
The Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age
A View from a Fen
Chapter Three: Gifts from the Gods A New Look at Some Weapons and Vessels from the Metal Ages
Deliberate Depositions of Metalwork
Depositions of Golden Weapons
Depositions of Precious Vessels
Precious Objects Coming from the Otherworld
Chapter Four: Post-Domestic Sacrifice Exploring the Present and Future of Gifts for the Gods
Animal Others
Conclusion
PART II: Sacrifice across the Mediterranean World
Chapter Five: Every Good and Pure Thing Sacrifice in the Ancient Egyptian Context
Royal Offerings: Patronage
Sacrifice in the Mortuary Context
Votive Behavior Associated with Temple Contexts
The Humble Weskhet-dish
Abydos: A Case Study
Conclusions
Chapter Six: The Mythology of Carthaginian Child Sacrifice A Physical Anthropological Perspective
The Founding of Carthage and its Tophet
The Case for Carthaginian Child Sacrifice
Written Evidence
The Carthaginian Tophet: 1976-79 ExcavationsUrns and Urn Contents
Chapter Seven: The Art of Ancient Greek Sacrifice Spectacle, Gaze, Performance
In Search of Sacrifice
The Sacrificial Gaze?
Performing Sacrifice
Sacrificial Spectacle
Chapter Eight: Etruscan Human Sacrifice The Case of Tarquinia
The Special Case of Tarquinia
Cult Activity
Reasons for Etruscan Human Sacrifice
Appendix: The Ten Individual Burials: A Guide to the Evidence
1. No. 566 (also C 189
also 293). Epileptic child, late ninth century B.C.E. (EarlyVillanovan/Iron Age). Found in 1985.
Series Institute for European and Mediterranean Archaeology Distinguished Monograph Series
IEMA Proceedings
Volume 5
Extent 1 online resource (292 p.)
Language English
Copyright Date ©2016
National Library system number 997010721036505171
MARC RECORDS

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