Sacrificial and Autosacrifice Instruments in Mesoamerica: Symbolism and Technology

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Sacrificial and Autosacrifice Instruments in Mesoamerica: Symbolism and Technology" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In Mesoamerican cultures, blood was procured through sacrifice and autosacrifice with the intention of ensuring the acts of creation and feeding supernatural beings in exchange for their favors. The analysis of this deeply rooted phenomenon, widely spread throughout the region and across different time periods, has offered insight into several aspects of Indigenous cosmovision in Mesoamerica. Thanks to spectacular artistic representations by the Indigenous peoples, the ethnohistoric records left by European chroniclers, and the rigorous studies of the archaeological record, as well as ethnographic research in present-day Indigenous communities, fundamental evidence has been gathered to reconstruct the purposes, protagonists, spaces, techniques, and instruments involved in the practice of sacrifice and self-sacrifice. Despite the considerable amount of existing literature on the subject, continued investigation of these rituals is critical to our understanding of these cultures. This session focuses on a meticulous exploration of some implements that facilitated blood extraction: maguey spines, bone awls, flint knives, and obsidian blades, among others. Archaeologists, historians, ethnohistorians, bioanthropologists, and cultural anthropologists will use various approaches and methodologies to discuss the function, symbolism, iconography, and technology of these implements.