S

ACRIFICE IN THE

B

RONZE

A

GE

A

EGEAN AND

N

EAR

E

AST

A POSTSTRUCTURALIST APPROACH

V

OL

.

I:

T

EXT

This Thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor in

Philosophy

2011

L

AERKE

R

ECHT

Trinity College Dublin

 

5

 

S

UMMARY

M

ETHODS AND FINDINGS

The goal of this study is a better understanding of the practice of ‘sacrifice’ in the

Bronze Age Aegean and Near East. This includes animal and human sacrifice, but not

inanimate offerings. This has been done through collection and analysis of ‘primary’

material from all types of sources and data in order to gain as complete an

understanding as possible: archaeological, iconographic and textual material.

Electronic databases have been created, and the material has all been entered into

these, which thus form the basis for further analyses, statistics and conclusions. These

databases, both in their printed form as appendices, and as attached electronic (inter-

active) versions, are a substantial part of this thesis. They bring together all the known

evidence for animal and human sacrifice from the two geographical areas, from the

three different types of material. Further, they can be used independent of the main

text of the study: the reader can make their own searches, conclusions and use the

many references to gain further information on a specific archaeological site, object or

tablet.

The study of sacrifice has a very long history, and another major goal of this study has

been to explore how this history influences the way the material is interpreted and

what kind of assumptions lie behind specific interpretations. In order to reveal such

influences and assumptions, a poststructuralist approach is applied. This means not

only a discussion of some of the theories concerning sacrifice, beginning with Edward

Tylor and ending with Nancy Jay, but also a careful reading of the modern texts of

archaeologists and scholars. Through this approach, assumptions and hierarchical

binary oppositions which are often based on modern perceptions rather than the

ancient material, are uncovered and discussed. Specific poststructuralist ideas from the

 

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works of René Girard and Jean Baudrillard, are also applied to certain features of the

material, suggesting new avenues of interpretation.

More than anything, the material suggests that sacrifice was part of a great variety of

rituals, performed for many different purposes – these include religious festivals and

feasting, divination, treaties, the construction, reconstruction and destruction of

buildings, and, not least, rituals associated with burials and the dead. The rituals

involve many different species of animals, with sheep/goats emerging as the most

commonly sacrificed animals. The treatment of sacrificed animals and humans also

indicate great variety, perhaps based on species or the kind of ritual that the sacrifice

was part of. Equids, dogs and humans, in particular, were often sacrificed whole, while

in other instances, the head of the sacrificed animal appears to have had special

importance.

In modern interpretations, there is a tendency to view the material either in light of

later, better known practices (such as those of later Greece or those known from the

Bible) or of modern perceptions of social structures. Hierarchical oppositions, with

one side being valued higher than the other, can be detected in some interpretations,

based on such notions as burnt – unburnt, whole – partial, life – death, animal –

human, and male – female. Without a basis in the primary material, such oppositions

can lead to serious misunderstandings of ancient practices, and it is hoped that this

study creates an increased awareness not only of the assumptions we bring to the

material, but also of the way in which they colour our interpretations.

Lastly, the application of Baudrillard’s analysis of the relationship between the living

and the dead to sacrifice in mortuary contexts, and of Girard’s notions of the double to

the many occurrences of heads, the depiction of frontal heads and the frequent

mirroring of animals in images, provide a novel way of ‘reading’ the material. It

should not, however, be seen as a final or as the only way of interpreting these

features: clearly, the practice of sacrifice in the Bronze Age Aegean and Near East was

too complex for a single, over-arching explanation.

 

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C

ONTENTS

Vol. I:
Declaration

3

Summary

5

Acknowledgements

7

Contents

9

List of maps, tables and figures

11

Introduction

13

Research questions

17

The geographical areas

18

Chronology

19

Poststructuralism

22

Material and sources

25

Tables and appendices

27

Outline

30

Chapter 1: Theories of sacrifice

33

Edward Burnett Tylor

35

William Robertson Smith

38

Henri Hubert and Marcel Mauss

42

Émile Durkheim

46

Walter Burkert

49

René Girard

54

Jonathan Zittell Smith

58

Nancy Jay

61

Theories specific to the Bronze Age Aegean and Near East

64

Defining sacrifice

70

Chapter 2: Sacrifice in the Bronze Age Aegean

77

Sacrifice and burials

82

Burials with complete animal skeletons

97

Sacrificial space

107

Sacrificial activities and practice

117

Foundation deposits

127

Sacrificial representations

128

Human sacrifice

138

Conclusions

147

 

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Chapter 3: Sacrifice in the Bronze Age Near East

151

Sacrifice and burials

157

Burials with complete animal skeletons

171

Sacrificial space

179

Sacrificial activities

185

Foundation deposits

201

Sacrifice representations

204

Human sacrifice

213

Conclusions

225

Chapter 4: Comparisons and poststructuralism

227

Sacrifice and burials

230

Sacrificial space and activities

237

Foundation deposits

240

Treaties

244

Substitution

244

Human sacrifice

246

Sacrificial iconography

248

Types of animals sacrificed

250

Human-animal interfaces

256

Poststructuralist contributions

258

Death, liminality and poststructuralism

270

Sacrifice in the Aegean and Near East

285

Conclusions

289

Bibliography

297

Vol. II:
Maps
Tables
Figures
Explanatory note to the appendices and databases
Appendix A: Aegean Burials
Appendix B: Aegean Sacred Space
Appendix C: Aegean Glyptic
Appendix D: Aegean Iconography
Appendix E: Aegean Texts

Vol. III:
Appendix F: Near Eastern Burials
Appendix G: Near Eastern Sacred Space
Appendix H: Near Eastern Glyptic
Appendix I: Near Eastern Iconography
Appendix J: Near Eastern Texts

Attached: Disc with full pdf version and electronic databases.