Elucidating Human Sacrifice: Focusing on the Ancient Orient and Mediterranean World

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K12853
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 01030:Religious studies-related
• Research Institution: Ancient Orient Museum
• Principal Investigator: Iwasaki Daigo (財)古代オリエント博物館, 研究部, 共同研究員 (00770166)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 人身供犠 / 宗教儀礼 / 古代オリエント / 地中海世界

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study have examined literary and archaeological findings related to human sacrifice in the ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds, and have been able to clarify the characteristics of human sacrifice in each region and its relationship with other religious rites.
At the same time, it shows that the validity of the concept needs to be examined and reexamined, as what human sacrifice is, to what extent it is called human sacrifice, and how it differs from other rituals often depend on the field of study and the views of each researcher, although it has often been lumped together as being related to the same "human sacrifice" in the past. We were able to show that the validity of the concept needs to be examined and reexamined.

Free Research Field

宗教学・宗教史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

古代地中海文明を基盤とする欧米のみならず世界各地の文学作品で「自己犠牲」や「身代わり」は好まれる文学モチーフの一つであり、人身供犠を対象とする本研究の進展は、人類の宗教理解・文学理解に資するところが大きい。
幼児虐待が保護すべき乳幼児を生命の危機に晒すという点で人身供犠の中でも幼児供儀と、自爆テロが宗教的意図を達するために（自身を含む）人命を絶つ点で人身供犠全般と、それぞれ本研究は関わりを有している。もちろん、安易な関連付けや比較は慎重であるべきだが、人身供犠の特質を解明する本研究の進展はこれら現代の課題にとって示唆的である。