Relational Complexity in Mesoamerican Sacrificial Ritual Images

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Sacrificial and Autosacrifice Instruments in Mesoamerica: Symbolism and Technology" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In Mesoamerican religious practice, ritual killings (allosacrifice) and so-called practices of self-sacrifice (autosacrifice) often coexist simultaneously. Therefore, the ethnographic, iconographic, and historical analysis should therefore focus on what may be called the condensation of ritual relations. Discussing materials like contemporary Wixárika ceremonies, late Postclassic Aztec veintena rituals, scenes of codices, as well as other objects featuring ceremonial iconography, I want to show how Mesoamerican images of sacrifice express the contradictory character of rituals, focusing on moments of maximal tension.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Sacrificial and Autosacrifice Instruments in Mesoamerica: Symbolism and Technology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37977.0