14 Brutal Human

Sacrifice Techniques
Throughout History

T L Perez
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Humans have always had a dark side, and this list of brutal human
sacrifice methods explores it in graphic detail. Maybe when you think human
sacrifice, you picture grand and graphic Aztec or Mayan ceremonies. While
civilizations such as these certainly did their share of brutal sacrificing, they were
by no means the only ancient civilizations that participated in death rituals.

From ancient China to Ireland and Egypt, civilizations throughout history

developed quite a few human sacrifice methods. Mostly, these were religious
human sacrifices, though sometimes they were carried out as punishment, or on
account of local traditions. Those who sacrificed humans used a number of brutal
techniques to do so, including decapitation, strangulation, whipping, burning,
cannibalism, and burying victims alive. If anything, this list demonstrates the
disturbing creativity of human bloodlust.

Dismembered: The Chinese

Photo: Xuan Che/flickr/CC-BY 2.0
One of the most powerful empires in Chinese history, the Shang Dynasty, lasted for more
than 500 years, and is the first recorded period in ancient Chinese history. It was also home to
brutal techniques focused on ripping apart the bodies of the those sacrificed.
Shang human sacrifice victims were disemboweled, split into halves, beheaded, or chopped to
death. The most common ceremonies were pit, foundation, and internment sacrifices. For pit
sacrifices, young men were ripped apart and buried without their possessions. Foundation
sacrifices involved children and infants, while internment sacrifices focused on young
women.
At least seven more brutal human sacrifice techniques were practiced during the Shang
Dynasty. Some of the people sacrificed were prisoners of war, others criminals. The Shang
also made sacrifices to river gods.
That's intense, but has nothing on this.
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Stabbed and Burned Alive: The British
Photo: Thomas Pennant/National Library of Wales/Public Domain
You'd be forgiven for thinking of the infamous desert hippie festival Burning Man when you
hear "wicker man" and "burning." When they convene in the desert, attendees of Burning
Man build and ignite a large humanoid wicker frame. This practice was taken from the
movie Wicker Man, which itself drew inspiration from ancient druidic practices of the British
isles.
As it turns out, the ancient British left no written historical records of their own, so much of
what we know about ancient Britain is based on Roman writings. Julius Caesar, for instance,
wrote that Druids built massive wicker men, loaded them with human and animal
sacrifices, and lit them on fire. Others suggest this is Roman hyperbole designed to make the
British out as savages. From a logistical standpoint, how would you cram hundreds of people
into something made of wicker and expect (A) the structure not to collapse and (B) the
victims not to rip the thing to shreds and escape?
Whether or not human sacrifices actually happened in wicker effigies, evidence exists of
human sacrifice in ancient Britain. Bodies found in bogs show evidence of ritualistic murder,
and there may even have been cannibalism involved.
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Hanged Upside Down and Beaten: The
Hawaiians
Photo: Arman Manookian/Public Domain
Early Tahitian invaders of Hawaii practiced a number of brutal human sacrifice techniques,
victimizing descendants of the Polynesians who initially settled the Hawaiian islands. Those
sacrificed were mostly prisoners of war, though some were tribe members who broke laws or
committed taboo acts. Sacrifice techniques "ranged from strangulation to bone breaking and
removal of intestines." Ritualistic offerings to Ka(god of war) and Lono (god of
agriculture) were hanged upside down upside down and beaten to death.
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Buried Alive: The Ancient Egyptians
Photo: tonimihaylova/Pixabay/CC0 1.0
In the golden age of Ancient Egypt, pharaohs were buried with effigies of their retainers
(servants and other followers), but pharaohs of the first dynasty (about 3218 to 2886 CE) were
buried with their actual, living retainers, in a practice known as retainer sacrifice.
These servants (and sometimes high-ranking officials) were sacrificed in accordance
with religious beliefs. According to these beliefs, servants were meant to continue
serving their rulers after they died. Essentially, rulers were so important they needed an
entourage in the afterlife.
As the first dynasty ended, retainers managed to convince pharaohs they could better serve if
left alive, to continue carrying out the will of the pharaoh on earth.