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Ritual Violence and Related Body Treatments in Ancient Mesoamerica

Beyond the Maya

Vera Tiesler

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English
British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd
31 March 2026
Series: International
Ancient Mesoamericans deemed ritual violence a crucial form of merit-making with the divine. Until recently, humans themselves were considered supreme ""food staples"". Their bodies could vitalize the cosmos at the pulse of consecrated time intervals. Individuals were prepared and sacrificed in prescribed ways to liberate their animate essences, believed to be harboured mainly in a person's heart and blood. Although ritualized violence is abundantly recorded in iconography and has been inferred from simultaneous multiple interments and deposits of articulated body segments, only the last two decades of scholarship have seen important strides towards layered, nuanced, and interdisciplinary explorations of sacrificial practices. This study examines old and new, archaeological, graphic, and forensic evidence across the Mesoamerican landscapes focusing on all types of violence and associated body processing - from community activity to political terror.
Edited by:  
Imprint:   British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd
Volume:   3263
Dimensions:   Height: 297mm,  Width: 210mm,  Spine: 30mm
Weight:   1.411kg
ISBN:   9781407362557
ISBN 10:   1407362550
Series:   International
Pages:   440
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Reviews for Ritual Violence and Related Body Treatments in Ancient Mesoamerica: Beyond the Maya

'This work will surely appeal to all scholars of ancient Mesoamerica and the American hemisphere, whether academic interpreters of the broader topics addressed, or lab technicians and field archaeologists seeking answers and models for how best to advance the science of social violence and the ideology and political underpinnings of warfare.' Professor Emeritus Rubén G. Mendoza, California State University Monterey Bay 'This is a significant contribution to the field of ritual violence in the past, with a specific focus on Mesoamerica as a broad geographic cultural region. I love the collection of chapters with distinct approaches to individual topics contributing to the broader conversation. This volume contributes to the variable ways in which ritual violence can be inferred from archaeological contexts, utilizing a range of lines of evidence and corroborating sources.' Dr. J. Marla Toyne, University of Central Florida 'This volume is well organized, illustrated and methodologically demonstrated. I would have it in my collection and recommend to my students.' Associate Professor-in-Residence Lisa M. Johnson, University of Nevada, Las Vegas


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