WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -During the last centuries of China’s Shang dynasty, which lasted from 1600 B.C. to 1050 B.C., ritual sacrifice was a well-oiled cultural phenomenon, rich and varied in its manifestations. Rulers and elites sacrificed animals and humans to appease spirits or the ancestors.

Detailed explanation-2: -In general, who might have been the sacrificed victims in this place? Inscriptions on oracle bones leave no doubt that in the Shang time slaves were used as sacrificial victims. Among the people most often named were the Ch’iang.

Detailed explanation-3: -Pigs, dogs, and cattle were used as sacrificial victims in the late Neolithic period, whereas horses and sheep were added in the Shang. Present evidence suggests that throughout the Shang, animal sacrifice was a varied and ever-changing practice.

Detailed explanation-4: -Human sacrifice is believed to date back to the Bronze Age and probably much further. Its traces have been discovered in the archeological records of various cultures, from Paleolithic Europeans to the ancient settlers of China.