January 10, 2009 Joanne Baron "Noble or Savage? Western Representations
of Human Sacrifice among the
Aztecs"
In
the 16th Century, the Western world came in contact with the
Mesoamerican world. Ever since this initial confrontation, Westerners
have been writing about and representing the indigenous peoples they
encountered. These representations are not all the same, however. They
have shifted with time, country, and context. The presentation by Ms.
Baron examined these varying representations, focusing on their
treatment of Aztec human sacrifice. Although her research is just
beginning, Ms. Baron presented a survey of many of the early Spanish,
as well as later, writers on the subject. She addressed the varying
descriptions of the rites, estimates of the numbers of victims
sacrificed, and reasons reported for the sacrifices. The
estimates in numbers of sacrifices reported showed huge divergences,
ranging from possibly as low as fifty a year per temple, to as high as
2000 to 8000 a day and 60,000 in one year. An animated discussion
followed the talk, and Ms. Baron plans to continue to pursue her
interest in the subject, while completing her PhD work on the Classic
Maya.
Joanne Baron is a 3rd year PhD student in Anthropology at the
University of Pennsylvania. Her main area of interest is Classic Maya
political organization, but this talk explores some of her other recent
interests, such as Aztec ethnohistory and popular representations of
the past. She has worked in Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, and her
dissertation project will focus on La Corona, a site in Western Peten,
where she worked under the direction of Drs. Marcello Canuto and Tomas
Barrientos in May, 2008. This past summer, Joanne worked in the Copan
Valley Regional Development Project, where she was directed by Dr.
Ricardo Agurcia Fasquelle.
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