by Mary Harrsch © 2025
I've just uploaded the final version of my paper: Blood and Ash:Ecological Collapse and the Rise of Human Sacrifice in the Ancient Americas. It has 127 illustrations and I have cited 431 sources. In it I compare the response to ecological catastrophes of cultures in ancient America with those of Late Antique Rome under the reign of Justinian. I also compare their different agricultural strategies, sanitation systems, treatment of refugee populations, and contributors to infant mortality.
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| AI-generated image of what an Aztec priest of Huitzilopochtli may have looked like to sacrificial victims being led to Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan based on a mythological painting of the god. Produced with Adobe Firefly by the author. |
You can read it here:
This multidisciplinary study investigates the rise of human sacrifice in ancient Mesoamerica as part of a broader transformation in cosmological ideology shaped by ecological upheaval and political centralization. Drawing on archaeological, iconographic, isotopic, and ethnohistorical evidence, the paper traces the intensification of ritual violence from the resettlement of Xitle eruption refugees in the southern Basin of Mexico to the aftermath of the Ilopango eruption (ca. 536 CE) and into the militarized expansions of the Late Postclassic period. Climate shocks, resource scarcity, and elite competition reconfigured religious worldviews and leadership strategies, fueling increasingly violent expressions of sacred power.
The analysis contrasts divergent responses to catastrophe: while Late Antique Roman authorities under Justinian issued edicts to stabilize trade, secure truces, and implement public health measures following the volcanic winter triggered by eruptions at Ilopango and Iceland, Mesoamerican elites reasserted sacred authority through spectacular displays of ritual violence, including heart extractions and elite burials accompanied by human attendants.
Drawing on data from sites including Chaco Canyon, Cahokia, Tula, and Tenochtitlan, the study explores how migration, drought, and collapsing trade networks catalyzed new warrior ideologies and sacrificial practices. Particular attention is given to the possibility that displaced elites from Mississippian centers contributed to the Mexica’s (Aztecs’) disciplined martial ethos via convergence zones such as Chicomoztoc. These systems fused divine kingship with ritualized violence, transforming sacrifice into a tool of ecological negotiation and political legitimation.
It argues that cycles of drought, migration, and trade collapse fostered militarized religious orders and predatory tribute systems, with ideological rigidity and elite self-preservation ultimately fracturing indigenous societies before Spanish contact.
Acknowledgment of AI Assistance
Portions of this paper were supported by AI tools: OpenAI's ChatGPT 4o assisted with trajectory refinement, prose editing, and reference formatting; Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet contributed to argument structure; and DeepSeek-V3 aided in source identification and recommendations. All source analysis, interpretive framing, and final editorial decisions were made by the author. AI-generated images were created using Adobe Firefly (v1.0), based on prompts developed solely by the author and validated using archaeological and historical records.
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