Sunday, April 15, 2012

Ancient Civilizations, Human Sacrifice, and Our Modern Energy Crisis: A Surprising Connection

I've realized how much I miss by skipping commercials and watching mostly pre-recorded shows. Yesterday, while watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (not exactly my favorite Indy flick) on cable, I did some channel surfing during the ad breaks. That's when I stumbled upon the "Wealth" channel (channel 669 on FIOS).

I've come across this channel before, and like last time, I was drawn in by the content, not the flashy lifestyle choices or (as my wife would say) the "beautiful anchors." The topic? Ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica – the Inca, Aztec, and Maya. I was struck by how many of their challenges and crises mirror our own, particularly when it comes to energy.

The Aztec practice of human sacrifice, though horrifying, offers a chilling parallel. It makes me wonder if what we do today to maintain our civilization's status quo (wars in the Middle East, for example) isn't a modern form of human sacrifice.

The Aztecs, influenced by earlier cultures, believed that the gods had sacrificed themselves to create and sustain the sun. They reasoned that human life force was needed to maintain the sun's energy, ensuring good harvests and a thriving society. To appease the sun god, they performed ritualistic heart removals, primarily from prisoners of war, criminals, and sometimes even political opponents.

As the Aztec empire grew, so did the "energy demand." There are accounts of massive sacrifices, with some claiming 84,000 victims during a single four-day celebration. Experts now believe that such a large-scale undertaking would have been logistically impossible, suggesting a more realistic figure of around 2,000. Regardless of the actual number, the perceived need for these sacrifices fueled constant warfare and expansion, as internal resources dwindled and citizens understandably feared being chosen as offerings when the sun was hidden behind clouds. This expansion, in turn, created more unrest, necessitating further expansion—a vicious cycle.

Another fascinating detail: Ancient Mesoamerican civilizations lacked draft animals (except perhaps llamas in South America) and, consequently, the wheel and carriage. They relied heavily on human labor for transportation and communication. This meant they needed simpler roads with less maintenance. These roads, some stretching for thousands of miles, still exist today. They even had built latrines every 15 miles – talk about infrastructure!

1 comment:

  1. I have to add information about the use of the wheel in Mesoamerica. The knowledge of the wheel was there - at least from engineering point of view, but... No animals to drag carriages and difficult terrain caused the wheel to be employed only in toys.

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