Description
A lecture held by Arizona Archaeological Society - Yavapai Chapter.
For more information on membership email: Jeff@PrimitiveLifeways.com
Dr Jaime Awe is one of the leading voices in Mayan civilizations.
During investigations of Actun Tunichil Muknal, Jaime's Western Belize Regional Cave Project recorded the skeletal remains of several children. Although the remains provided limited evidence of violent trauma, Jaime concluded that the children’s remains represented those of sacrificial victims. While this interpretation has been questioned by some colleagues, Jaime argues there is considerable archaeological, iconographic, and ethnohistoric evidence that child sacrifice, particularly in association with rain ceremonies, was a tradition of considerable antiquity in Mesoamerica. Jaime further suggests that the practice of child sacrifice became especially prevalent during the Terminal Classic period, at a time when the lowland Maya were experiencing severe environmental stress, and when their civilization was in the process of decline.