Dr. Haagen Klaus speaking on Reconstructing Ritual Killing: Two Decades of Archaeological Discoveries of Human Sacrifice in Ancient Peru

Talk on Reconstructing Ritual Killing:Two Decades of Archaeological Discoveries of Human Sacrifice in Ancient Peru

Monday, May 2, 2016 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
The Hub, 3-4-5

The north coast of Peru was a center of pre-Hispanic civilization in the Americas, known for extraordinary works of art, monumental architecture, and rituals of sacrifice. This public lecture by Dr. Haagen Klaus, a George Mason University assistant professor of anthropology and director of the Lambayeque Valley Biohistory Project, synthesizes a range of new discoveries made over the last 20 years including several from his project. Examining everything from art history to the bioarchaeology of skeletal trauma, the talk uncovers the unique nature and surprising evolution of sacrifice in ancient Peru to tell the story of the rise and fall of entire societies. Far from sensationalizing ritual killing, these discoveries open windows on how the archaeology of sacrifice reveals new ways of understanding ancient cosmology, social structure, politics, gender, and history that were embodied in acts of sanctified violence.