The Lamanites and other enemies of the Nephites were known to have practiced human sacrifice. This practice reached its apex later among the Aztecs. Mormon wrote of this horror:
And it is impossible for the tongue to describe, or for man to write a perfect description of the horrible scene of the blood and carnage which was among the people, both of the Nephites and of the Lamanites; and every heart was hardened, so that they delighted in the shedding of blood continually.
And there never had been so great wickedness among all the children of Lehi, nor even among all the house of Israel, according to the words of the Lord, as was among this people.
And they did also march forward against the city Teancum, and did drive the inhabitants forth out of her, and did take many prisoners both women and children, and did offer them up as sacrifices unto their idol gods. (Mormon 4: 11, 12, 14)
Things got even worse. The Lamanites began to practice ritual cannibalism, feeding the flesh of the men who were sacrificed to the wives and children of those men. Mormon records this carnage in a letter to his son, Moroni:
And the husbands and fathers of those women and children they have slain; and they feed the women upon the flesh of their husbands, and the children upon the flesh of their fathers; and no water, save a little, do they give unto them. (Moroni 9: 8)
The Nephites hardened their own hearts further. Driven by lust for vengeance, they topped even the horrible practice of the Lamanites. In that same letter, Mormon wrote:
And notwithstanding this great abomination of the Lamanites, it doth not exceed that of our people in Moriantum [who were Nephites]. For behold, many of the daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after depriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue— And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most cruel manner, torturing their bodies even unto death; and after they have done this, they devour their flesh like unto wild beasts, because of the hardness of their hearts; and they do it for a token of bravery.
O my beloved son, how can a people like this, that are without civilization(Moroni 9: 9 - 11)
Ritual cannibalism was practiced elsewhere in Ancient America. Within the past forty years, an archaeologist from Arizona State University claimed evidence of cannibalism at Chaco Canyon, the great Anasazi center of learning and religion. His claims were greeted with anger among other archaeologists and Native American groups, particularly the Pueblo peoples, who are by faith and nature pacifists.
I have wondered if it isn't more likely that the peaceful peoples of Chaco were overcome by a group from the south who practiced ritual cannibalism. As Mormon noted* in the above scripture, ritualistic cannibalism is not done so much for food (as was the case of the Donner party, for instance) but in order to take upon oneself the power of the dead enemy and to show power and bravery over one's enemy. The human femur above shows evidence of blade cuts such as would be used in dressing wild game for eating and it was upon such abundant evidence that the ASU professor made his claims for the practice of cannibalism in Chaco.
The debate rages on, but it is known that one of Chaco's chief claims to fame was that it existed at the apex of trade routes from Central America and Mexico as far north as the Plains Indians of what is now the United States. Shells, jade, semi-precious stones, McCaw feathers, jewelry (such as the McCaw mask shown at left which was found in Chaco), and even McCaw birds (whose bones have been found in cages in Chaco.) It doesn't seem unreasonable to me that such an event could have happened. Perhaps it was cannibalism that drove the Anasazi from Chaco.
People who practice human sacrifice, rape and torture, and ritual cannibalism truly are without civilization.
*And how in the world would Joseph Smith known that if he wrote the Book of Mormon as some people who are against the LDS Church claim?
Text copyright January 2014, Gebara Education
Pictures:
Mayan Sacrifice from www.ikirs.com
Human femur from Chaco Canyon from www.woodcasketbyjohn.com
Jade McCaw mask from Chaco Canyon from www.tiwafarms.blogspot.com
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