Human Sacrifice In The Ancient Near East: The Royal Tombs of Ur
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มิ.ย. 2024
- In the 1920's Sir Leonard Woolley unearthed the remains of 6 men and 68 women, all of the victims of human sacrifice. Who were they and how did they die? These are the Royal Tombs of Ur, one of the 20th century's greatest archaeological finds.
As always all my videos use academic sources. Feel free to check them out below.
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www.stefanmilo.com
Historysmilo
historysmilo
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Sources:
Baadsgaard, Aubrey, et al. “Human Sacrifice and Intentional Corpse Preservation in the Royal Cemetery of Ur.” Antiquity, vol. 85, no. 327, 2011, pp. 27-42., doi:10.1017/s0003598x00067417.
Podany, Amanda H. The Ancient Near East: a Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2014.
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Image Attributions:
Ricardo Liberato, All Gizah Pyramids, CC BY-SA 2.0
Peulle, Osebergskipet 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0
Wolfman12405, Ramesses II mummy in profile (colored picture), CC BY-SA 4.0
Hardnfast, Ancient ziggurat at Ali Air Base Iraq 2005, CC BY 3.0
Chad Teer from Coquitlam, Canada, Grizz at rest, CC BY 2.0
anonymous, Reconstructed sumerian headgear necklaces british museum, CC BY-SA 3.0
Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), Bull's head of the Queen's lyre from Pu-abi's grave PG 800, the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. The British Museum, London., CC BY-SA 4.0
JMiall, Sheet bronze cauldron british museum, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ham, British Museum from NE 2 (cropped), CC BY-SA 3.0
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@stefanmilo I love this video and the history of boats vid too. I feel that first human swam in Lake Turkana, then the rest of the African lakes. For the ocean rafts come first. Maybe even involuntary earth rafts which is how iguanas and tortoises got to the Galapagos Is. Human may have been caught on tree and land debris and floated out to sea in the case of Cyprus and inshore islands. Later would come constructed rafts of wood and reeds. Maybe aboriginal people rafted across to Australia. Then came sailing boats later.
A history question for you: have any other cultures apart from Roman had gladiatorial fighting to the death, as entertainment for the masses?
Thanks very much! That's a very interesting question. I know civilizations have used fighting as a way to settle legal questions but strictly for entertainment I'm not sure. Would make a great video though, i'll look into that!
Hey Stefan maybe tey were drugged and maybe they were killed so when the king was alive it insured servants loyalty in looking after kingy
"I'm gonna skip church that day" :)
I feel like there is a really fine line between voluntary and forced sacrifice. It was deemed an honour for Aztecs and their neighbouring peoples to be ritually sacrificed and thus ensure the continuation of the universe- though this doesn't necessarily mean captives always wanted to give up their lives that way. Perhaps it could have been similar in the ancient near east, other places like ancient China, and even Viking boat burials. People sort of thinking they were doing the right thing, potentially even being talked into it, but not necessarily committed 100%, obviously, because who wants to die. But that's where the drink and drugs come in, to numb the victim and make them go along with it without causing a scene. It's all pretty grim, but so interesting. We're basically sheep at the end of the day, and if your world view says people have to die to ensure a smooth passage of a god king to the afterlife, or to stop the world from dying, then a lot of people would probably just go along with it.
That's very true. I mean if you thought the world literally depended on it then you may be resigned to your fate. Still at the back of your mind you probably wished Dave had been picked.
Stefan Milo Absolutely. Dave-Pilazer-Ur-Eridu more like
That’s one of my favorite fallout bunkers
It has occurred to me that such sacrifices might not be as a way to honor the previous monarch, but as a way to clear out his harem so that the newest monarch can start with a clean slate. I've always believed that some of the sacrifices were volunteers whereas others were forced into it. Also, don't say that the victims were not drugged, they very well could have been, but being given a whole lot of liquor would not kill them, but it WOULD make them easier to control before the final death blow. And that method of death (a spike into the skull) would both be quicker and more sure than drinking a poisoned beverage.
History Time na na na every mom would not want ro sacrifice their hildren.
I witnessed a crow funeral in my back yard a few years ago. Weres what happened. Between two 70 year old spruce trees lay a dead crow. A murder of crows arrived and purched in the branches of several adjacent elm trees. They did not make a sound. As I watched one crow flew down, landed next to the dead one, looked at it, approached it, stopped and looked again, than pulled on one of the dead bird's feathers. It then flew back up into a tree. They all purched there for awhile than all flew away in silence. If this was not a funeral then what was it? The thing that impressed me most was the silence. This is the only time I have ever seen crows being quite.
I believe elephants have also been observed where the whole troop will come to the dead one and not all at once but singles or a few at a time, stay for a bit then leave. Pretty much exactly what we do at a visitation
Apparently someone has theorized that crows will investigate the death of a crow to see if there’s anything they need to be weary of (e.g. poisonous food source). If that theory is correct you witnessed a murder investigation
I have seen this happen on multiple occasions on our ranch. It’s really amazing
😂 it was the crows trying to figure out what killed them... funeral means they bury the body.
@@ingerellingsen6785 wow. Didnt know they had chemistry labs. 😂
It's possible that the ones that were struck in the head were those who refused to drink the poison. They could also have served as an example to all others that were hesitant about following their master in death
Liking and commenting because, Sumerians. Nice video mate.
Beg to disagree, Stefan. Other animals do "attend funerals" for example elephants. As researchers improve methods of observing non-humans in the wild, more examples will be seen. Always enjoy your posts, bro.
Indeed
I'm gonna skip church that day.
I mean, I skip it everyday, but especially the day they're picking volunteers for the pointy spike.
That line killed me🤣🤣🤣🤣
Oh KnowingBetter, the guy that thinks Columbus was a nice guy 👍
Simon I love how you are so engaged with your viewers and respond so kindly when people ask questions! It’s wonderful to know people like you are out there
Honestly, I'd rather find a dog than a pile of the remains of ancient sacrificial victims. But that's just me :D
I played it down it a little but it was genuinely cool. The dog was fully articulated and was buried in the Bronze Age to accompany his master. The master and his grave had been totally ploughed to bits but in 4000 years of farming a plough had never touched the pooch.
@@StefanMilo Was the dog a willing participant? Any evidence of blunt-force trauma in the poochy cranial regions?
Stefan Milo where was it? 😍
@@davidec.4021 in the ground
It's amazing and often terrifying what people can do to each other, whether by force or through misleading beliefs.
Thank you for your very informative materials.
Just found your channel. Now starts the bingewatching.
Ha thanks man. I must say, my videos have improved a little.
I can only imagine they were sedated before they got the spike, seeing the guy with the spike work his way closer to you, witnessing all the death, would most likely create a panic. Even if they were led into the pit, and killed one at a time, seeing all the bodies would also create panic, but would be easier to manage. However, occult indoctrination does have a powerful effect on ones ability to rationalize the events happening around them.
Loving your delivery and information. Thanks man
Sati or suttee was a very well-documented funeral practice in India which involved widows being burnt alive alongside their husbands. Some of them were probably forced into it, but we know that in many cases it was voluntary. I would argue that being burnt alive is even more unpleasant that being beaten to death. I guess that's subjective, but I'm sure many people would agree with me. Religion and social pressure are powerful things.
Here’s an idea: what if sacrificial victims were plied to sleep/unconsciousness with some kind of substance such as that in the cauldron, then arranged in order, and then ritually killed with one quick blow to the head? So that they wouldn’t feel pain but would also never wake up? I know opium has been used for thousands of years in that particular region, although I’m not sure about the eta these skeletons are dated to… I wish we could study the rest of the skeletons to determine if there are any defensive injuries, that would really help sort some things
Dude these videos are great! Really glad I found your channel!
really glad you popped up in my recs! i love the format here, it's like i'm just sitting in the woods with a chill dude having a chat about ancient history.
0:08 Elephants be like "Am I nothing to you?"
Elephants mourn the death of members of their group
Why are we talking about elephants
So do crows and dolphins.
@@adrasthe314 At the beginning of the video, "you won't find any other animals attending a funeral." It's not accurate.
I don't think it's fair to compare the rituals humans do to the emotional response of animals. Of course they love their families and are sad when they die but they certainly don't have funerals.
@@StefanMilo Than you should qualify your statement by saying no other animal beahves exactly like Humans when a memeber dies. And you should research Elephants a bit, you might be suprised at what you find..
Thanks, we just watched your video after seeing a previous video on the excavation. My husband said that perhaps some were not dead after drinking the poison, but unconscious; for that reason the overseer of the situation may have killed them to prevent the terror of waking up and realizing they were buried alive.
Another thought- what if some had plans to escape and did not drink the poison.
"I'm gonna skip church that day." Lol. Me too. It's hard to say if sacrifices were "willing". Motivations don't preserve as well as bones do. It's hard enough to find them in living specimens. Was the choice "be sacrificed, or go do whatever you want, follow your bliss" or was the choice "be sacrificed this way, or be executed in a more horrible way". Some choices are more free than others.
Definitely! Can't help but feel bad for them though. I was actually just reading about a First Dynasty tomb in Egypt with over 300 human sacrifices :/
Been looking for more ancient history and archaeology material for ages, then your channel pops up. Thanks, algorithm! And thank you for the great content! 😁
Side note, theres quite a few animals that will acknowledge the passing of others. Elephants, gorillas, whales, dolphins, etc. I've seen cats and dogs mourn the loss of their owner or other pets in the home. I had one cat who almost starved herself to death because she was mourning the loss of her human who was put into a nursing facility.
@Stefan Milo
Thank you so much for your wonderful channel, I have gained many hours of enlightening entertainment and thought-provoking content from it, I regularly rewatch ( re-listen to ) your content whilst commuting or when trying to fall asleep, hearing about the long continuity of human history gives me great serenity in these difficult times.
Thank you and all of your supporters for all that you do.
Stay safe and stay healthy, everyone.
I was right wycked video brah, honestly I’ve watched a lot of stuff on Ur but this is the first video where I’ve heard any mention of these practices
Yeah neither had I, when I read about it I thought it would make a great video. To be fair the practice only lasted about 200 years, and that was about 200 years before Ur became an empire so probably most people just skip it. Thanks for watching!
Stefan Milo that’s surprising since my experience with early archeological endeavors was exploiting the sensational, so I’m surprised that they didn’t run with that narrative as part of the common story of Ur.
"I'm gonna skip church that day." Omg, that's funny as hell.
Great video Stefan. I agree with comments below that the retainers were either volunteers or slaves who were raised to expect to die with their owner, so sort of a volunteer (at least someone with no concept of the option to refuse). I think they probably all had their narcotic drinks, and lay down in orderly rows so the copper spike guy could do his thing.
I visited the Ziggurat of Ur while stationed in COB Adder. Got to walk the steps with the group. It was the highlight of my tour in Iraq. So surreal to be standing on top a building that an ancient civilization built.
When you said, "I don't know, I've never tried it before" in reference to the head wounds, it cracked me up.
“What a jolly time to be a colonial overlord”
I love you Stefan
Hey just want to say, I love your channel. Very informative, interesting and funny! Can you do more videos on ancient Mesopotamia? I'm very interested in how people lived back then, and why did they start to build large civilizations, from hunter/gather, farming communities? How did these changes take place in such a short period of time? How did they create such advanced technologies so quickly? Where is the connection between hunter/gather to farmer, to large scale cities like UR? Curious to know! Thanks!
Maybe the drink was a sedative, followed by the spike thing? Also, do we know for sure that these people were put there at the same time? Is it possible they died naturally later, were bunged in a royal tomb to act as servants, the number gradually accumulating, and had some kind of rudimentary trepanation applied at that point, eg, to allow the spirit to escape? Pure guess, but it would fit.
Thanks for the video. I found the video compelling.
Can't believe it took Operation Odysseus for me to find your channel! This is exactly my cup of tea. Subscribed!
Interesting and worthwhile video.
oh stefan
youre a defining feature of my species ~
Great video! This is really intriguing. I would definitely skip church, too. But, with the bodies lined up how they were described you'd think someone put them there. Unless they had to line up to go in the death pit. I mean... How terrifying?!
no wonder Father Abraham fled Ur of the Chaldees. He said to hell with this I'm heading for Haran Syria, maybe even buy some land in Beersheba, and of course there is always Egypt.
Pretty sure this would have been about 3 to 4 centuries before abraham. Not claiming to be an expert though
How happy he is to tell about human sacrifice😃
When a great father dies, your grief is so great that being left behind is unbearable and following him into the afterlife is appealing.
woops !
0:41-0:43 “twenty-second and twenty first” *_centuries_* , not *millennia* “B.C.E.”
That (2200-2100) would be third millenium BCE.
It's a sad day when i notice a small error in a video of yours (diminished by the fact that on screen the right dates appear)
but then again, it's the joy of going through most of your videos i haven't watched yet ! Great work !
Fascinating stuff. Seems like there is evidence pointing both directions, but I feel like at least some, if not most/all of them were unwilling.
After spending loads of time reaching Mesopotamia for my next video, i just stumbled upon yours this is great stuff keep it up!
Thanks a lot man, that means a lot coming from you!
Very interesting vid. Here’s my take. Poisoned and then axed in the head to release their spirit. Then placed in the grave. Just way too messy for a burial. Brain and blood everywhere. Slipping hazard.
This is very good and darkly funny point. I had the exact same idea, probably plied with some kind of poison or narcotic and then done on with a quick and relatively clean blow to the head, maybe with a ritual weapon. People should consider practical logistics of blood sacrifice when examining historical and archeological evidence more often!!
It’s gotta suck when your ruler dies and the entire court goes with them.
You make a good case for the hypothesis that all of those bodies were the result of either voluntary death and inhumation or that someone "volunteered" all of those people to die in some ritual death to accompany their master or mistress. But that's not the only way to look at it.
Consider the following: Life 5 or 6 millennia ago was, as Hobbes pointed out, ""solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short..." Warfare was one of the main reasons for this condition. Men have always waged waged war on each other. Civilization, however, brought with it organized warfare on a larger scale than that which occurred between tribes. Cities fielded larger and larger armies to compete for power with other cities or regional hegemons. In particular, the city of Ur was conquered and reconquered a number of times by various peoples - i.e., the Akkadians, Sumerians, Gutians, & etc. It was also not uncommon for conquerors to eliminate the political base of the conquered by executing everyone in the households of the former rulers. It was also not unheard of for competitors to a throne to kill off their rivals.
I am not suggesting that the large mass burials were, in fact, the results of conquest or political rivalry - because I don't know enough about the history surrounding the city of Ur at the relevant times to make that call. What I would like to know is: What evidence do we have in the physical and written archeological record to disprove the hypothesis that these mass graves resulted from political upheavals?
0:30 you made it sound like the three examples before "the Tyrant" were different, but in actually the Egyptians were doing massive human burial sacrifices just before the Pyramids, the Yayoi/Kofun is also believed and documented to do human burial sacrifices, and of course, the Nordics with their ships also did.
Also, isn't the thumbnail a reference to one of the woman in one of the thumbs? I think I remember hearing a comment about a specific woman that left the impression she was "late" for the ceremony and didn't had the time to finished wearing all the clothes and accessories.
It seems likely to me that the very concept of 'volunteering' for anything may have been entirely inconceivable to the sacrificial victims. Being, probably, attendants to the queen may well have been the functional equivalent to being the tyres on a bus; chattel born and chattel bred, life was the way it was, one did what one was told or one died, brutally and immediately.
I recently watched your brief treatment of Hawaiian culture and there you touched on the kapu version of compulsory servitude. It seems likely that the system of god kings was nearly ubiquitous throughout ancient history, and a corollary of that is that a major portion of society is utterly subjugated and that the means and methods of that subjugation were institutionalized and vividly on display every day just to keep the power structure firmly fixed in everybody's minds.
Given the above, then, willing and unwilling were likely to be unknown concepts to the subjugated classes. Otoh, running away must have occasionally occurred to folks. This may help to explain the rapid and thorough diffusion of humans in prehistory; some of the subjugated run away, set up their own version, perpetuate Devine kingship and eventually run off another batch to rinse and repeat. Pretty soon you've got Moai on Easter Island.
And, speaking of islands, if you choose to go any more deeply into the fascinating topic of pre-contact Hawaiian culture, I would be happy to give you some perspectives on that subject as transmitted to me by various local people during my 12 years on Kauai. There is far more to the story than is addressed in most popular or even academic literature.
That is fascinating that you were able to learn more about pre-contact Hawaiian culture. I’m not Stefan, but could I ask you a few things about it? I’ve been fascinated with ancient Polynesia for ages
@@klatie256 Certainly, I would be happy to share. But the real essence is all about place. Every hill and valley and odd rock formation has a name and a story and sometimes more than one. To me, all particulars aside, that deep connection to stories that animate every detail of the landscape is something that most modern people only have the foggiest notion of, if any at all.
Whatcha wanna know?
awesome
video*
At 4:20 you say that you haven't tried killing anyone witha spear yet. That was back in November, have you tried it since and if you did how was it and how did you avoid arrest?
Asking for a friend...
I volunteer Milo for the Honor. Milo is the perfect Candidate. Milo is 9/10 God already, so close.
penn museum? is that at the college? i think that's where i attended the amarna exhibit in 2006
Is this Washington Park? (I live in Portland)
It's grand army of the republic cemetery. Glad to have a fellow portlander on board!
0:09 actually elephants do. They may lack the thumbs to grab shovels, but the do understand the concept of death, displayed by their grief. Dont underestimate our Earthing friends.
Thanks for the insight in pinnacles of human madness.
Took me a minute to realize there were graves behind you lmao
Peer pressure and custom are the usual drivers: the willing sacrificial victim is the theme behind several religions, some of which did use ritual human sacrifice.
I've been to Ur! I was stationed there in 2009 with the US Army. The Zigerot was about a mile from my living area. I went to explore the ruins twice and went to the home of Abraham!
But seriously, another cool vid. Thing is, much of our view of the past is coloured by modern ideas. Whatever we think of these practices, the pre science ancients were less troubled by religious sacrifice. For a given value of "real", this was real to them. As to the volunteer or pressed victim question? Perhaps a little from column A, a little from column B. Everyone knows it's part if the deal with the gods but when it comes down to it a decent intoxicant is used to prevent undignified panic right at the end. Take European bog bodies as another example of this, perhaps. Also, some kinds of intoxication were seen as being in the presence of the gods, so maybe it was seen as an appropriate precursor to the pointy stabby part of the ceremony.
Yeah, I think you would struggle to go through something like that without a stiff drink and a something to smoke. I wonder how long in advance these people knew they would die, from the moment the accepted or were put into the job? From the moment they were born? They may have been totally resigned to their fate.
I was just last night reading about the lindow man as it happens. I'm preparing a video on religion in the British Iron Age for some point in December.
Stefan, if you can find a copy I'd urge you to read Dying For The Gods by prof Miranda Aldhouse-Green. The Prof is the go to UK expert in this field. Superb well-balanced research and interpretation. A must have!
I was just looking at that book actually. I'm going to pick some up if amazon has a sale on after black Friday.
Nice! Can't recommend that book highly enough.
Also, here's a historical oddity for you. Try finding a short book called The Extraordinary Journey of Pytheas the Greek, by Prof Sir Barry Cunliffe. It's the kind of thing I'm sure would interest you! It's broadly about Mediterranean trade with Britain. Sort of.
I wish to leave a comment: yeeeeeowwwww!
Thanks. Great vid!
My personal theory, before reading any other comments, is that they all took a drink of something either to pass out, or dull the pain then came the blow to the head.
I can see this in both willing participant, and as being duped.
Can just imagine those party invites!
nice vid i think both : they were asked, and if they refused, they were forced
I think the cauldron was full of wine (possibly opium-laced?), and they got them all drunk until they passed out, then did the deed.
No residue analysis yet of the cups that possibly contained poison?
Read the Rigveda and the soma ritual, giving the victim the pressed juice and then subsequently sacrificing it
Legit lol that you did not find a live dog just hanging out around the dig site.
Regarding the initial claim - there seems to be some sort of reciprocal ritualistic behaviour between certain wolf and raven populations that may hint to something kinda like funerals.
What was the date of these tombs?
it would be interesting to know if they all died at the same time
There are a number of critters who hold funerals. Crows, elephants.........
So, how did the original excavator miss those spike holes in the skulls he preserved in wax?
That's it, when I die I am taking everyone with me.
My Opinion:
"Eeeyyaaa-ew ew ewwww, agggg!"
(Gives me the willies. )
A very educated opinion!
Perhaps they were drugged before being killed. This would explain the large basin and cup. Interesting. I would love to see a microscopic residue scraping of the basin. Thank you for the video.
I know the video is old but in Ahmad ibn Fadlan's account of a viking funeral there is a woman who seems to volunteer to be violently sacrificed.
Remember the beginning scene in the movie AVP? Just like this.
As I recall, the beginning scene was the woman climbing an ice cliff.
Elephants may “go to funerals”.
This very same thing happened in Jonestown, Guyanna back in the 70's. An old chap named Reverend Jim Jones forced over 800 followers to drink Kool-aid laced with cyanide and a sedative, and they all fell down, to accompany mister Jones to the afterlife.
I think most people just don't want to kick up a fuss :)
4:20 "I've never tried it BEFORE" [emphasis added]. Have you tried it now?
Crows Have funerals They just don’t bury the dead!
I agree
Very well informed video and well presented, the constant smiling throughout whilst talking about a very horrific theme was a little off putting but nevertheless it was a good presentation.
The simplest explanation is they were given a choice, drink the potion that puts you to sleep. You will get the spike either way. It is just better to be asleep when it's your turn.
Started to wonder If this dude would face a firing squad with that little smile
I love your videos, but one thing. Some other species do have funerals.
One benefit derived from mass burial of subjects is when those subjects were the principle underlings of a reign of kings is that it makes political change possible. The vestiges of the old regime are thusly removed completely allowing progress to occur. In that regard, perhaps it would benefit modern societies greatly to re-institute the practice. Of course then you might have the problem of nobody wants to be around when the king dies.
Here’s my theory. The people drank poison willingly and, just to be sure, after they passed out they were given the coup de grace with the pick. Very similar to what I believe happened to the excavated skulls of the battle of Towton (substitute mortal battle wounds for poison). 👍
Human sacrifice changed shape, it's not gone, it's just for economic reasons now instead of religious ones.
It's entirely possible that they were complicit. I know that histamine can do some strange things to your mental state. I've had allergic reactions (less than life-threatening in severity) that caused me to feel that I was utterly doomed to death in the near future (with no reason for me to believe this beyond the power of histamine to induce powerful hallucinations and delusions). Histamine is so so so important to religious/spiritual life, and many people are simply more sensitive to various inflammatory triggers, which makes them more susceptible to this level of psychological allergic reaction from a long list of seemingly safe plants or other environmental triggers - tobacco, potato, many kinds of seeds, etc. Different cultures have different inflammatory triggers of course, but my point is there's a *lot* of inflammatory triggers that can cause this level of a reaction in someone who has an overpowered innate immune system
I really hope you meant to say the 21st and 22nd century and not millennium :P
I scrolled trough the comments just to see if someone else picked that up! :D
Is society at the time was deeply deluded to believe that there is a wonderful afterlife, then the servants might have been OK with the idea of simply joining their master by drinking a bit of poison. The blunt force approach though.. who would be willing to go using such a mechanism? Then again, believing in an afterlife is crazy enough for me.
Maya lords toward the end of the classic period (600 - 900 AD) were known to have taken large groups of people with them to the after life, inc. immediate family, friends, shamans, even a court dwarf. One dig uncovered approx. 70, inc. the kings fav. dog. It was also noted a predilection for "red" dogs to be placed in high end grave site. Why? So the Lord would have suitable company during his stay in the Underworld, a very isolated location it was assumed.
I possess a well maintained juvenile jaguar skull created specifically as 'grave goods' for such a regal burial, encrusted in full with hundreds of shards of apple green jade; the share of jade in vogue at that time it seems. Above all, the jaguar was a well established spiritual (mythic) tool of transition from the world of man to the world of spirit. A guide and protector during the dangerous and demanding journey.
Not very long ago Hindi widows "Chose" to die by suicide on their husbands pyre. I'm not sure if that extended to the lower castes, but to outlive your husband was considered a disgrace and your life was made hell by your in laws. Technically the suicide was willing, but the choice was to die or live a life not worth living. The same idea might have applied to these women, if they were considered as property of the Ruler or Priestess, part of her family the idea may have been that they could accompany her into the next world or remain in this one alone and disloyal. If you have known all your life that this would happen and were trained to believe it was a high honour you would go willingly.
Elephants sort of have funerals. They have something going on, if not actual funerals. Check it out.
Thank you from Mesopotamia🌺🌼🌺🧡
Forced or not I guess it was really up to the beliefs of the “powerful” person that died and what they wanted.
Still today we are a mixed bag on the subject, e.g , my family asked me what i wanted at my own funeral , cremation or burial ?, I replied that I simply didn’t care, whatever made them handle grief better was good enough for me. That is cos I personally believe that when yr dead that’s it, my body is just a representation of the person I was, “I” no longe exist so my body to me was simply a vessel in which my consciousness used to interact with the environment.
This view does not refute the existence of heaven/hell but if my consciousness ends up in either place I certainly won’t be needing my body .
But like I said that’s just me and my choice, atleast my choice doesn’t involve anyone else having to loose thier own lives .
Take Care . R .
It was probably similar to the Rus viking human sacrifice described by an Arab traveler. The sacrificial victim was sort of coerced to "volunteer", drugged, and then killed with a weapon. Poison was pretty messy back then (your stomach would inflate, you'd vomit etc) so it was probably easier to drug them or get them drunk and then kill them. The "volunteering" was important, because you want servant spirits in the afterlife, not vindictive ghosts.
Whenever you doubt about religious mania or frenzy, you just need to remember Jim Jones.
0:06 I thought crows and chimps hold sorts of funerals?
I watched a video here in youtube elephants doing something with a dead elephant that equated to funeral or burial.