Study Debunks Millennia-Old Claims Of Infant Sacrifice

[Snakefoot]

A study led by University of Pittsburgh researchers could finally lay to rest the millennia-old conjecture that the ancient empire of Carthage regularly sacrificed its youngest citizens. An examination of the remains of Carthaginian children revealed that most infants perished prenatally or very shortly after birth and were unlikely to have lived long enough to be sacrificed, according to a Feb. 17 report in PLoS One.

 

The findings -- based on the first published analysis of the skeletal remains found in Carthaginian burial urns -- refute claims from as early as the 3rd century BCE of systematic infant sacrifice at Carthage that remain a subject of debate among biblical scholars and archaeologists, said lead researcher Jeffrey H. Schwartz, a professor of anthropology and history and philosophy of science in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences and president of the World Academy of Art and Science. Schwartz and his colleagues present the more benign interpretation that very young Punic children were cremated and interred in burial urns regardless of how they died.

 

"Our study emphasizes that historical scientists must consider all evidence when deciphering ancient societal behavior," Schwartz said. "The idea of regular infant sacrifice in Carthage is not based on a study of the cremated remains, but on instances of human sacrifice reported by a few ancient chroniclers, inferred from ambiguous Carthaginian inscriptions, and referenced in the Old Testament. Our results show that some children were sacrificed, but they contradict the conclusion that Carthaginians were a brutal bunch who regularly sacrificed their own children."

 

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[Guest Babylonian Dream]

It was the hebrews who committed child and human sacrifice, most of what the bible condemns is god himself. for example Baal worship is wrong, yet you should worship your lord, but using the hellenistic phoenician for Lords (adonai) instead of adon or Baalim/baal

[Ouroboros]

I have suspected for a while that most (maybe all) claims of "child sacrifice" in past cultures are nothing but propaganda constructed by the enemies. It was a convenient way of rally up the people to go to war: "Look, the Xyzs are sacrificing their children. Shame on them! How awful! God calls us to kill them. Death to our enemies!" It's a bit like the use of the threat of WMDs today.

[Shyone]

I have suspected for a while that most (maybe all) claims of "child sacrifice" in past cultures are nothing but propaganda constructed by the enemies. It was a convenient way of rally up the people to go to war: "Look, the Xyzs are sacrificing their children. Shame on them! How awful! God calls us to kill them. Death to our enemies!" It's a bit like the use of the threat of WMDs today.

It is still ironic that the ancient Hebrews claimed to have slaughtered even the children that were to be sacrificed.

 

They must have been human/demon halfbreeds like the humans that died before the flood. Of course, there is no archeological or DNA evidence of this, but I think they just knew.

[mwc]

The articles notes that they did perform child sacrifice. This is not entirely unexpected. As I recall the 3rd century BCE is when the Punic Wars started so we have Rome and Carthage having it out (Hannibal and the elephants is what most people remember from this). It's during times of greatest duress that human sacrifices tend to take place so it seems to me that these things are all likely related. The Romans then discover this and report on it but it's blown out of proportion as self-serving propaganda (Hannibal did serve them a devastating blow on their own soil after all). When Rome invaded Britain (much later of course) the druids resorted to human sacrifices (on a whole different level though) and the same sort of thing played out all over again.

 

The biblical stories are unrelated to this.

 

mwc