University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2017 Aztec Human Sacrifice as Entertainment? The Physio-Psycho- Social Rewards of Aztec Sacrificial Celebrations Linda Jane Hansen University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Hansen, Linda Jane, "Aztec Human Sacrifice as Entertainment? The Physio-Psycho-Social Rewards of Aztec Sacrificial Celebrations" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1287. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1287 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. AZTEC HUMAN SACRIFICE AS ENTERTAINMENT? THE PHYSIO-PSYCHO-SOCIAL REWARDS OF AZTEC SACRIFICIAL CELEBRATIONS ___________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology Joint PhD Program University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________ by Linda Prueitt Hansen June 2017 Advisor: Dr. Annabeth Headrick ©Copyright by Linda Prueitt Hansen 2017 All Rights Reserved Author: Linda Prueitt Hansen Title: Aztec Human Sacrifice as Entertainment? The Physio-Psycho-Social Rewards of Aztec Sacrificial Celebrations Advisor: Dr. Annabeth Headrick Degree Date: June 2017 ABSTRACT Human sacrifice in the sixteenth-century Aztec Empire, as recorded by Spanish chroniclers, was conducted on a large scale and was usually the climactic ritual act culminating elaborate multi-day festivals. Scholars have advanced a wide range of theories explaining the underlying motivations and purposes of these abundant and regulated ritual massacres. Recent scholarship on human sacrifice in ancient Mexico has observed far more complexity, nuance, and fluidity in the nature of these rituals than earlier mono-causal explanations. Several recent examinations have concentrated their analysis on the use of sacred space, architecture, movement, and embodiment in these festivals. As an extension of these efforts, this dissertation uses a phenomenological approach to examine the “experience” of sacrificial rituals. It explores the sensory-emotive and physiological responses to the celebrations and the violence associated with human sacrifice. Using modern bio-social-psychological theory, this study reveals that the brutal treatment of captive enemy bodies in human sacrificial rituals provided physiological, psychological, and social rewards that turned these spectacular events into a form of enthralling entertainment. Several other recompenses for officiants and other spectator-participants included a sense of security, management of anxiety, and social bonding. In addition, this dissertation ii reveals that these ceremonies incorporated different shamanic elements that fostered communally experienced “altered states of consciousness” which further contributed to physiological rewards, the reduction of social anxieties, and an increase in social solidarity. The significance of this research is that it offers additional explanations for the massive scale and longevity of the practice of human sacrifice amongst the ancient Aztec. It also offers other reasons why the lower echelons of society supported these celebrations despite the possibilities that they could be demoted to slave status and become sacrificial victims themselves. This study also presents possible future explorations of ritual violence in other ancient and modern cultures. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My heartfelt gratitude for the patience and unending support of Dr. Annabeth Headrick who opened my heart and mind to the magnificent ancient cultures in Mesoamerica and for helping me persevere in completing this research and writing. My gratitude extends to all the fabulous mentors and instructors at the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology, particularly Dr. Richard Clemmer Smith, Dr. Tracy Bachrach Ehlers, Dr. Larry Conyers, Dr. Gregory Robbins, Dr. Ginni Ishimatsu, Dr. Alison Schofield, and Dr. Ted Vial. My parents are deserving of all of my gratitude as they always encouraged and inspired me. I write this on the anniversary of my father’s passing one year ago, and he is the lodestar of my life. He was a nuclear physicist who pioneered computer graphics and invented renewable energy technologies which will yet change the world. He was a bona-fide genius and yet the most loving, humble man I have ever encountered. This is for you great one!! I thank my children for their encouragement and support, and I expect they will each do great and creative things with their lives. Finally, for the one who will read this, I give all my gratitude and love to my angel husband, Dana Hansen, who supported me every step along the way on this incredible journey. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Introduction…………………………………………………………………………........1 Brief Summary of Theoretical Contributions Regarding Sacrifice………………….........5 Theory and Method……………………………………………………………….….......11 Organization of Chapters…………………………………………………………….......15 Part I: Literature Review: Theories of Sacrifice and Aztec Human Sacrifice. Chapter Two: Theories on the Nature and Meaning of Human Sacrifice…………………………..21 Classical Theories of Sacrifice…………………………………………………..............22 Additional Modern Theories of Sacrifice………………………………………………..32 Chapter Three: Theoretical Background Concerning the Ideological/Cosmological Aspects of Aztec Human Sacrifice.........................................................................….....41 Scholarly Treatments of the Ideological Aspects of Aztec Sacrifice…………………....42 Chapter Four: Materialist Theories on the Nature and Meaning of Aztec Human Sacrifice……...53 Aztec Hierarchal Social Order…………………………………………………...............54 Scholarly Treatment of the Political Components of Aztec Human Sacrifice…………..61 Scholarly Treatments of the Economic Advantages of Aztec Human Sacrifice………...73 Scholarly Treatments of the Aztec Warrior/Sacrificial Cult……………………………..78 Summary of Literature and other Rewards Attenuating Aztec Human Sacrifice………..86 Part II: Biological and Social-Psychological Theories Related to the “Experience” of Aztec Sacrificial Ceremonies Chapter Five: Theories Explaining the Biopsychosocial Rewards of Aztec Sacrificial Ceremonies……………………………………………………………………………...91 v A Bio-Cultural Approach to Celebration and Religious Activity………………………..94 Biological Rewards for Viewing and Participating in Violence…………………………98 Shamanic-Like Rituals and Physiological Rewards……………………………………106 Social-Psychological Theories: The Attraction/Fear of Death…………………………119 Summary………………………………………………………………………………..133 Part III: Biopsychosocial Rewards in the Three Phases of Aztec Sacrificial Ceremonies Chapter Six: Physiological Rewards in the Aztec Monthly Veintenas…………………………...139 Interactivity of Religious Ritual, Emotions, and Biological Responses………………..141 Neuro-Physiological Rewards in the Anticipatory Rites of Aztec Feasts……………...146 Neuro-Physiological Rewards in the Violent-Sacrificial Phase of Aztec Feasts……….169 Neuro-Physiological Rewards in Aztec Euphoric-Celebratory Rites…………………..185 Summary………………………………………………………………………………..197 Chapter Seven: Shamanic Elements in Aztec Monthly Feasts and the Biopsychosocial Reward….202 Rhythmic Drivers and Altered States of Consciousness in Aztec Monthly Veintenas...205 Fasting in Aztec Veintenas: Spiritual Connections and Biological Responses………...214 Sexual Abstinence and Wakefulness: Spiritual Meanings and Biological Rewards…...219 Painful Austerities: Cosmological Significance and Biological Responses……………224 Pulque and Hallucinogens in Aztec Ceremonies and Biopsychosocial Responses….....233 Summary………………………………………………………………………………..237 Chapter Eight: Social-Psychological Rewards of Violence and Celebration in the Aztec Monthly Veintenas……………………………………………………………..243 Aztec Ritual Programs and Management of Anxieties and Trepidations………………246 Aztec Veintenas and Psychological Buffering from Threatening Outsiders…………...253 Mortality Salience and Psychological Ramifications in Aztec Feasts………………….269 Summary………………………………………………………………………………..285 Chapter Nine: Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………….287 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...……313 vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION In the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, there rose above the bustling metropolis skyline a towering pyramid crowned with two magnificent shrines dedicated to two central Aztec deities. On a massive platform in front of these temples, stood a large pointed stone referred to by modern scholars as a chacmool. Spanish chroniclers reveal that the sharp vertical shape of this stone-idol was designed for ease of extracting the heart from human sacrificial victims. One ethnohistoric account described the procedure for this form of sacrifice: Thus they took (the victim) up (to the pyramid temple) before the devil: the priests) just went holding him by his hands. And he who was known as the arranger (of victims), this one laid him out on the sacrificial stone (on his back facing upwards). And when he had laid him upon it, four men each pulled on his arms, his legs. And already in the hand of the fire priest lay