Of summits and sacrifice : an ethnohistoric study of Inka religious practices / Thomas Besom.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Besom, Thomas, 1960-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Incas--Rites and ceremonies.

Incas.

Incas--Antiquities.

Human sacrifice--Peru.

Human sacrifice.

Mountains--Religious aspects.

Mountains.

Peru--Antiquities.

Peru.

Antiquities.

Physical Description:

xii, 230 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2009.

Summary:

In perhaps as few as one hundred years, the Inka Empire became the largest state ever formed by a native people anywhere in the Americas, dominating the western coast of South America by the early sixteenth century. Because the Inkas had no system of writing, it was left to Spanish and semi-indigenous authors to record the details of the religious rituals that the Inkas believed were vital for consolidating their conquests. Synthesizign these arresting accounts that span three centuries, Thomas Besom presents a wealt of descriptive data on the Inka practices of human sacrifice and mountain worship, supplemented by archaeological evidence.

Of Summits and Sacrifice offers insight into the symbolic connections between landscape and life that underlay Inka religious beliefs. In vivid prose, Besome links significant details, ranging from the reasons for cyclical sacrificial rites to the varieties of mountain deities, producing a uniquely powerful cultural history.

Contents:

Ethnohistory and the Inkas

Qhapaq Hucha sacrifice

Other types of sacrifice

Mountain worship

Mountain offerings

Reasons for worshipping mountains

Material correlates of mountain worship

Conclusions.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780292719774

0292719779

OCLC:

281091943