Topic: 2. Sacrifice and religion: Comparisons, Antiquarians, Anthropology (16th-18th Century)
Religious sacrifices across various cultures and contexts sparked widespread interest in Early Modern Europe. As Christianity expanded into regions inhabited by "infidels" and "pagans", Europeans encountered a diverse array of sacrificial customs, ranging from the Sati rituals in India to the Aztec sacrifices in the Americas. This cross-cultural exposure captivated a wide audience, including theologians, philosophers, political thinkers, antiquarians, orientalists, missionaries, poets, artists, and even the general public. These encounters broadened the European understanding of sacrifice and led to a critical reassessment of classical and biblical sacrificial rites. This section includes:
- Sources: A selection of early modern printed materials, which include descriptions of the Americas, Asia, and Africa, alongside antiquarian and philological studies on religious sacrifice in classical antiquity and beyond. It also presents early modern works of ethnological observations and the first attempts to compare different sacrificial practices in various traditions and contexts, laying the groundwork for disciplines like the history of religions and anthropology.
- Iconographic Representations: A rich collection of images from the 16th to 18th centuries, illustrating a range of sacrificial rituals and practices as seen in different cultural and geographical contexts.
- Related Bibliography: An extensive bibliography spanning scholarly works from the 19th to 21st centuries, providing contemporary analyses and interpretations of these early studies and observations.
Unearthly Powers Religious and Political Change in World History
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Contesting Sacrifice : Religion, Nationalism, and social Thought in France
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002.
Sacrifice, gift and the social logic of Muslim ‘human bombers’
in: Terrorism and Political Violence, v. 15 (2003), issue 3: pp.1-34.
John Selden et les origines de l’orientalisme
in: John Selden: juriste européen, pp. 1-11
Paris: Annuaire de l’Institut Michel Villey, 2012.
Sacrifice and Martyrdom in the Roman Empire
in: Archivio Di Filosofia [Special issue: Il sacrificio], v. 76 (2008), issue 1: pp.145-154.
2. Sacrifice and religion: Comparisons, Antiquarians, Anthropology (16th-18th Century) 3. Sacrifice and politics (16th-18th Century)
Rungs about Aqiqa (new-born immolation)
in: Contemporary Jurisprudence Research Journal / Majallat al-Buḥūth al-Fiqhīyah al-Muʿāṣirah, v. 80 (2008), issue : pp..
Mass human sacrifice and symbolism of the Feathered Serpent Pyramid in Teotihuacan, Mexico
Tempe: Arizona State University Anthropological Research Papers, 1995.
De l'universalité d'une forme africaine de sacrifice
Paris: Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1988.
The Nature of Moche Human Sacrifice: A BioArchaeological Perspective
in: urrent Anthropology, v. 46 (2005), issue 4: pp.521–549.
Il taglio della poesia. Note sulle origini sacrificali della poetica greca
in: Sacrificio e società nel mondo antico, pp. 231-252
Roma - Bari: Laterza , 1988.
Mapping Hinduism: Hinduism and the study of Indian religions, 1600-1776
Halle: Verlag der Franckeschen Stiftungen zu Halle, 2003.
Cities of Violence: Sacrifice, Power and Urbanisation in the Andes
in: Journal of Social Archaeology , v. 3 (2003), issue 2: pp.256–296.
Ritual Slaughter Issue In Poland: Between Religious Freedom, Legal Order And Economic-Political Interests
in: Religion and Society in Central and Eastern Europe, v. 7 (2014), issue 1: pp.53-69.
La foi de Abraham: le sens d’un non-sacrifice
in: Islamochristiana / Dirāsāt Islāmīyah Masīḥīyah, v. 8 (1982), issue : pp.1-11.