The COVID-19 pandemic and the government-imposed lockdown measures temporarily restricted several constitutionally protected rights, and as such, the rights of all of those living in South Africa experienced unprecedented limitations to some of their human rights. These restrictions had significant socioeconomic and psychosocial consequences. Yet, despite this, data from the UJ/HSRC COVID-19 Democracy survey, a cross-sectional online survey conducted between 2020 and 2021, demonstrate that over three-quarters of the adult population were willing to make these sacrifices. This article uses Ubuntu as a sociological concept and constitutional value to demonstrate how Ubuntu values of a people-centred approach, which includes interconnectedness, care, collective values, harmony, respect, and responsiveness, and a concern for the sanctity of life, can be seen to inform the willingness of the population to sacrifice their human rights. The article demonstrates that when analysed by gender, age, and class, there were high levels of social solidarity with little variation in the support for human rights sacrifice. However, there are some important variations by race, as white adults demonstrated lower willingness to sacrifice human rights in comparison to other groups, reflecting a stronger emphasis on individualism over collective well-being. Despite this variation, the article demonstrates that Ubuntu values were central to how citizens navigated the pandemic and demonstrates the utility of deploying Ubuntu as a sociological concept and constitutional value as reflected in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

This paper focuses on the controversial topic of human sacrifice in ancient Greece, exploring its complex connections between myth, ritual, and reality. The research centers on the core divide between abundant literary and mythological records and scarce archaeological evidence, analyzing academic debates such as Walter Burkert’s functionalist framework and Dennis Hughes’ skepticism. By sorting out different types of practices related to human sacrifice, including pre-war sacrifices, building sacrifices, and the pharmakos ritual, and combining archaeological discoveries from the Minoan-Mycenaean era with the specific process of the “pharmakos” ritual, the study reveals the potential functions of human sacrifice in social cohesion, anxiety alleviation, and polis purification. The research indicates that human sacrifice was likely a rare historical reality limited to the Bronze Age and extreme crisis situations. In the Classical period, it existed primarily in myth and cultural imagination, serving as a thought tool for the Greeks to explore the boundaries of civilization, the nature of divinity, and social order. Its cultural significance far exceeded its actual practice.

Abstract Connections of antisemitism and misogyny have been widely examined from the present back to the 19th century. Going back to pre-Christian antiquity the article examines connections between exclusion and suppression of female and Jewish humans. Antique Greek tales of male child killing by Amazons and roman infanticidal practices correspond to accusations of Jewish human sacrifice. The age of crusades generated the blood libel and fixed it to the feminized, menstruating Jewish man. Pogroms, witch trials and Hexenhammer use the same words to accuse females and Jews of witchcraft, non-reproductive medicine and sexuality, as Jews and witches are marked with the same iconography. Finally post Shoa narration invents the Jewish witch and infanticidal Jewish mother.

ABSTRACT This paper surveys mid-Holocene philosophy-religion, highlighting mounds and their underlying mathematics and mortuary practices, including burial postures and grave goods. The organization of religion at this time appears to have been in geographically large cults that honored the spirits of Old Fire (hearth and stars), emphasizing shell mortuaries, blades, atlatls, dogs, and human sacrifice; New Fire (sun), utilizing nonmortuary mounds for emergence of the sun and humans; and Earth, including Earth Diver and the caiman whose body formed the earth; as well as a trinity of fertility spirits. Grave goods are interpreted as sacra of the cults. Ritual specialists are presented as more diverse in focus and more institutional in membership than previously thought. Some ritual dramas are suggested that included the sacrifice of teixiptla, human vessels filled with the essence of the spirits honored in the cults.

Abstract Recent interpretations of Plato’s Minos have generally focused on what it might reflect about the state of Hellenic natural law theory, or on the relationship between divine commands and human or political law. These readings often find it challenging to incorporate the third, poetic-historical section of the dialogue with the preceding two major parts. The argument in this article is that the Minos is profitably read through the lens of the Platonic distinction between lovers of logos and lovers of sights and sounds. Through this frame, the dialogue as a whole is revealed to a meditation on law and its opposite, human sacrifice. The perennial tension between law and human sacrifice corresponds to a permanent antagonism in the city between rule through logos and rule through spectacle.

The strong desire to amass wealth and make money in every possible way is not a recent phenomenon; however, it is particularly intensified in contemporary times, especially among young people in the Enugu metropolis. Recent studies indicate that the average young person in Nigeria in general, and in the Enugu metropolis specifically, will seize any opportunity to acquire money, regardless of whether the means are licit or illicit, humane or inhumane. This study aims to address this social ill in the Enugu State by analysing Proverbs 28:20–22 for its relevance to the youth in the Enugu. The sapiential corpus in Proverbs 28:20–22 warns against such exorbitant desire, highlighting the eventual consequences of avarice. The text asserts that those guilty of avarice cannot expect lasting prosperity; rather, misery is inevitable. This study employs a rhetorical analytical method. Data were collected and analysed qualitatively. It is evident that the avarice of young people in Nigeria and in the Enugu metropolis has contributed to kidnapping, cybercrime (including yahoo and yahoo plus fraud), commercial male and female prostitution, moral laxity, human ritual sacrifice, rape, wasteful expenditure, sudden death, and related vices. These issues have rendered society vulnerable to crisis, thereby creating an urgent need for intervention. Despite numerous studies on crime in society, few have focused on theft and related crimes among youth in the Enugu metropolis. Moreover, none of the existing literature addresses cybercrime among young people in Igboland in general, and the Enugu metropolis specifically, from the perspective of Proverbs 28:20–22. The researchers posit that proper knowledge and application of this passage could provide a viable solution to the consequences of avarice in the Enugu metropolis. Contribution: Proverbs 28:20–22 is one of the Old Testament texts particularly relevant to addressing the problem of avarice in any given human context. A thorough exposition of the passage and its appropriate application could curb the inordinate desire to acquire wealth, thereby reducing its negative impact on individuals and society, especially in the Enugu metropolis. It could also revitalise interest in skill acquisition among the youth.

ABSTRACTArchaeological evidence demonstrates that mortuary practices involving human sacrifice, known in Korea as sunjang, were conducted in ancient Korea. However, few studies have examined the biological attributes of individuals associated with this practice to explore the relationship between sacrificial victims and principal tomb occupants or to clarify their social roles within the contemporary society. This study examines human skeletal remains excavated from the Imdang Burial Complex, one of the best‐preserved sunjang tomb sites from the Three Kingdoms period (ca. 1st century bce to 668 ce), notable for its large‐scale preservation of both principal tomb occupants and sacrificial victims. Through detailed osteological analysis, we investigate the demographic and pathological profiles of individuals interred at the site. Individuals were classified as principal tomb occupants or sacrificial victims based on archaeological evidence, and biological sex and age‐at‐death were estimated to identify demographic trends within each group. Pathological markers were analyzed to evaluate potential differences in health status between groups. Results indicate no significant difference in the sex composition between the two groups; however, female sacrificial victims were more often interred within the main burial chamber alongside the tomb occupant. Sacrificial victims in the main chamber were generally older than those in the subsidiary chambers, and a positive correlation existed between the age of the tomb occupant and the number of sacrificial victims. Although no significant differences were found in the frequency or severity of pathological indicators between groups, pathology scores were positively correlated with skeletal preservation quality, underscoring the need for caution when interpreting pathological data from poorly preserved remains. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of ancient Korean mortuary practices by elucidating the biological aspect of the individuals associated with the sunjang practice.

Abstract In Plato’s Republic, Socrates takes it that the best regime is doomed to fail. This failure is often attributed to inevitable errors in the rulers’ eugenic calculations. I propose that the city’s constitution must decline not because the eugenic calculations go wrong, but because the calculations must have always been wrong, and this on account of congenital errors in the city’s establishment. In this dramatic arc, from noble founding to destined fall, the reversal arguably reveals the city to be a tragic figure. The Republic, then, would not be, as some read it, a prescription for authoritarianism or totalitarianism, but a reflection on political lies, human sacrifice, and the tragedy of politics.

Reseña de Rubén G. Mendoza y Linda Hansen, eds., Ritual Human Sacrifice in Mesoamerica. Recent Findings and New Perspectives (Cham: Springer, 2024). 512 pp.

In the face of strange, bizarre or tragically symbolic beings, the mechanisms of humour will be responsible for linking, through parody or irony, a story that even reverts to the mythological. This is what the Argentinian Jorge Luis Borges does in the short story “La casa de Asterión” [The House of Asterión] [El Aleph, 1949]. It is a short story that proposes a new look at the Greek myth of the Minotaur. Borges rewrites the myth and adds new possibilities of representation to the one whose reference comes, in mythology, as a synonym of horror and human sacrifice. In truth, what the writer does is a form of mythocriticism, with which the drama of Asterion reaches and plays with the limits of the burlesque.

The article analyzes contemporary folk horror podcast series The Silt Verses (2021–ongoing) in order to theorize how horror as a genre conveys the relationship with the sacred in contemporary culture, with the characteristics and functions of the sacred described by Roger Caillois in L’homme et le sacré. First, the article focuses on the folk horror aspect of the series, how it alters the sub-genre conventions and how it presents the monstrous sacred which leads to notion of “divine terror” or “sacred dread” and fear as a primordial response to the sacred and, therefore, the role of religious horror as reminiscent of the religious experience within contemporary society. Lastly, the article will argue that the interchangeability of the sacred and capitalism within the fictional world of the podcast poses the question of what has taken the place of the sacred in the contemporary culture and points at the inviolable status of the capitalistic economy, in the name of which we commit contemporary human sacrifices.

An integrated archaeological and anthropological approach to investigating human sacrifice among Etruscans

Sacrifice in general in the sense of some people is giving something as a form of loyalty or self-devotion in various forms, such as property, even life will be given. If we look at and have heard history, several civilizations in the past had immoral and inhumane religious practices. The practice of child sacrifice has been a subject of considerable interest and debate within biblical and ancient history studies. This study examines the narrative of the Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22) within the broader religious and cultural context of child sacrifice in the Ancient Near East (ANE). While the Akedah shares thematic similarities with ANE sacrificial traditions—particularly the motif of offering a firstborn to a deity—it simultaneously presents a profound theological and ethical departure from those practices. Drawing on textual, archaeological, and comparative literary evidence from Mesopotamian, Canaanite, and Phoenician sources, this paper explores the ideological function of child sacrifice in ANE societies as an expression of extreme piety, covenantal obligation, and ritual appeasement. In contrast, the Genesis account frames the near sacrifice not as an act of ritual devotion, but as a divine test of Abraham’s faith and trust. Significantly, the intervention of YHWH at the climax of the story—commanding Abraham not to harm Isaac and providing a ram as a substitute—functions as a narrative critique of human sacrifice and a theological reorientation. Rather than affirming the cultural norm of child sacrifice, the Akedah undermines its legitimacy and introduces a new paradigm: one that emphasizes divine provision, the sanctity of life, and ethical boundaries in worship. This paper argues that the story’s literary form and theological message must be understood both in dialogue with and in opposition to its ANE context. Through this comparative lens, the Binding of Isaac emerges not merely as a story of obedience, but as a transformative moment in the history of ancient religion—marking a decisive shift toward a moral and monotheistic understanding of divine-human relationships.

Purzycki and Sosis provide a functionalist account of religion, viewing it as an evolved system designed to help individuals and groups navigate the recurrent social dilemmas that humans face across diverse socioecological contexts. I discuss their framework in relation to ethnographic case studies involving human sacrifice, ritual secrecy, and sexual conflict in small-scale societies. I argue that, while there is a great deal in the ethno-historical record that the authors’ framework probably cannot satisfactorily account for, it does represent a useful lens for understanding some religious systems and practices.

Introduction: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects millions of Americans and can lead to limb loss in advanced states. Advanced age is a risk factor for PAD and is associated with structural changes in vessel walls as well as poor angiogenic capacity. Ischemic myopathy is a recognized effect of chronic tissue malperfusion in the setting of chronic limb-threatening ischemia. Differences in the severity and manifestation of ischemic myopathy with advanced age have not been fully investigated. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that aged animals would differ in their response to limb ischemia and revascularization efficiency. Methods: Hindlimb ischemia was created in young (9-12 week, n=9) and aged (72 week, n=11) C57Bl/6 mice under anesthesia. Animals were followed for 21-days by laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) to compare perfusion between ischemic and non-ischemic (contralateral) limbs. After humane sacrifice, ischemic and contralateral non-ischemic gastrocnemius muscles were collected for histologic and molecular analysis. CD31 immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate angiogenesis. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) evaluated cellular ultrastructural differences between ischemic and control muscle. Results: Mean limb perfusion in young and aged animals did not differ after initial arterial ligation (aged 46% baseline, young 36% baseline, P=0.19). After the 21-day revascularization period, aged animal limb perfusion trended poorer (mean 77% baseline) compared to young (mean 91% baseline, P=0.12). Histologic indices of ischemic myopathy differed between young and aged animals with mean aged myofiber diameter 8.4 µm compared to 11.2 µm in young animals (P<0.001). Control (non-ischemic) myofiber diameter also differed by age with mean 15.2 µm in aged animals compared to 19.7 µm in young (P<0.001). TEM documented centralization of nuclei with condensation of chromatin as well as significant distortions in sarcomere and myofibril structure in ischemic muscle as compared to control. Ischemic muscle cells contained significantly more mitochondria, glycogen and collagen. Conclusion: Hindlimb ischemia secondary to arterial occlusion in both young and aged mice lead to reproducible perfusion deficits with subsequent tissue recovery. Aged animals demonstrated evidence of myopathy in non-ischemic limbs as well as more severe ischemic myopathic injury at the tissue and cellular ultrastructural levels compared to young.

This article explores the role of sacrificial rituals in ancient Greek religious practices, emphasizing their function as a means of establishing and maintaining communion between mortals and the divine. Sacrifices were integral to both individual and collective life, marking key transitions such as birth, initiation, warfare, and civic celebrations. Through an interdisciplinary approach combining literary, iconographic, and archaeological sources, this study examines the typologies of offerings, the material and symbolic significance of altars as the focal point of ritual activity, and the complex interplay between sacrificial practices and sociopolitical structures. Particular attention is given to the ideological and performative dimensions of blood sacrifices, as well as to the debated phenomenon of human sacrifice. By analyzing a broad spectrum of evidence, this article contributes to a nuanced understanding of how ritualized violence functioned as a mechanism of religious expression, social cohesion, and power negotiation in the ancient Greek world.

Habitus refers to traditional practices that become habitual and involve without prior reflection. This article focuses on certain evidences which help the Kandha tribe preserve their culture and heritage, in simpler words, their centuries-old way of life. Kandha identity is related to belonging to the land that provides the material gains and wealth which accords social status and, more importantly, control over the people. The Kandha of Odisha have been known not only for their resistance against the British annexation of their habitat and the banner of rebellion they raised against colonial rule but also for their religious practice of human sacrifice. After independence, the Kandha attempted to assert their position as the son of the soil, when more and more outsiders migrated to their habitat, coupled with increased access and penetration of the market and political domination. The present article is an empirical reflection on their ‘habitus’ and how any attempt to introduce changes in their familiar territory, that has managed to withstand the ravage of time, has always met with strong resistance from the community.

This paper analyzes how the 2023 Chinese science fiction blockbuster The Wandering Earth 2 constructs what I call a “disaster empire”—a biopolitical system that seamlessly integrates authoritarian governance with capitalist logic through the constant threat of catastrophe. Through close readings of the film’s reappropriation of the Chinese Moving Mountain fable, its treatment of human sacrifice, and its portrayal of digital afterlife, I argue that the film presents a troubling vision where crisis enables the formation of a homogeneous time-space where the patriarchal family, the nation-state, and bio-capital converge to form a massive, enduring system of domination. While the film has been celebrated for its socialist values of collective survival, I demonstrate how it actually embodies the convergence of authoritarianism and global capitalism in its most insidious form. Drawing on theories of biopower, affect, and dead labor from Marxist scholars, this paper reveals how The Wandering Earth 2 functions as a work of prescriptive realism that faithfully encapsulates the deep drive of authoritarian capitalism.

Abstract War, captives, and human sacrifice were parts of Late Postclassic (AD 1250–1524) Maya culture in highland Guatemala. Las Casas (1958:152) wrote that the supreme lord “put the heads of the sacrificed on some poles on a certain altar dedicated only to this, where they had these for some time, after which they buried them.” These cultural aspects show up in human remains excavated at Iximche’, the Kaqchikel Maya capital. Here, we integrate previously published and unpublished results of stable isotope analyses and explore their implications for diets and the geographic origins of individuals who were buried at the site on the eve of the Spanish conquest. Data from Iximche’ are compared with available results from other ancient Maya sites.

Abstract The capacocha was one of the most important types of Inca sacrifices. Road stations (tambos) were built for the pilgrims who travelled to mountain peaks with the sacrifices. Spatial analysis of two tambos on the slopes of the Pichu Pichu and Chachani volcanoes in Peru reveals segregation in the sacred landscape.