Them Aztecs - specifically cruel or just the norm for pre-modern civs?

[BeBMan]

Inspired by Apocalypto and http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40473547

So were those Aztecs more brutal than the Maya in Apocalypto? Or is this more like colorful anecdotes that could be told (with some variation) for most other parts of the world where there was death and destruction aplenty

Discuss.

[BlackCat]

Why do you say pre-modern ? Well, at least it isn't skulls, but at some point there probably have been german heads inside these :

http://twistedsifter.com/2012/06/pic...new-york-1918/

And if you want some more recent then try to google "kampuchea skulls".

I think them Aztecs could learn a trick or two.

Edit: you may also try "hutu tutsi massacre".

[Lorizael]

Not directly related, but is there a qualitative moral difference between death that results from war and death that results from ritualistic human sacrifice?

[BlackCat]

Probably depend on whether you are the warmonger/defender or sacrificer/sacrificee.

[Berzerker]

Not directly related, but is there a qualitative moral difference between death that results from war and death that results from ritualistic human sacrifice?

many people sacrificed were POWs

and the whole mythology that led to human sacrifice and blood letting stemmed from the belief the creator's 'son' killed himself to (re)start the motions of heavenly bodies

[Bereta_Eder]

Discuss.

I started watching apocalypto but said **** this this is too violenyt I'mnot going to watch a perturbated characters' vicious fantiasies

FUcccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc cccccck dat

On the suspect, aztecs were cruel and man eaters

conqistadores were murderers


do we have to chose sides?

of course not. they were all ****

[Bereta_Eder]

also since I'm playing colonization, those aztec citiess... mm m

[Bereta_Eder]

Not directly related, but is there a qualitative moral difference between death that results from war and death that results from ritualistic human sacrifice?

Of course there is.


if in war someone is coming to kill my family so i kill him

God understands.

(this doesn't cover iraq unless you're iraqi)

human sacrifice is useless.

[BeBMan]

Why do you say pre-modern ? Well, at least it isn't skulls, but at some point there probably have been german heads inside these :

http://twistedsifter.com/2012/06/pic...new-york-1918/

And if you want some more recent then try to google "kampuchea skulls".

I think them Aztecs could learn a trick or two.

Edit: you may also try "hutu tutsi massacre".

I'm certainly not saying stuff could'nt happen in the modern era (cough 1930ies/40ies cough), just used "pre-modern" as a reference because using a (roughly) similar timeframe makes sense to me. More modern, esp. 20th century stuff is almost universally viewed as *bad* even by contemporary standards (with few exceptions), but in pre-modern times "standards" didn't really exist (or were often only applied to decry something "the others" did)

Not directly related, but is there a qualitative moral difference between death that results from war and death that results from ritualistic human sacrifice?

There's a diff made today between combat of regular military forces, which are generally accepted to represent *legitimate* sides (regardless of what think we about a specifc war) and intentional killings of non-combattants or combattants outside combat situations (like POWs as Berz wrote above).

The latter is a crime by intl standards (which however did not exist in pre-modern times), the former not, though individual suffering due to combat is not any better for regular military in a specific situation than for anyone else.

[Bereta_Eder]

the american dream is to make money

how ****ed and empty a country must be so that it's "dream" is to make money


**** that

OTOH also freck the muslim fundamentalists. pakistan. hey **** you *****


both are ****ed.


of course if I had to choose I'd go with USA because I could play D&D

[Berzerker]

making $$$ is the corporate dream, most people just want to make enough to live comfortably and leave some to the kids

I dont have a problem with either if the $$$ is acquired morally

[Dinner]

The general behavior (himan sacrafic, slavery, etc...) wasn't unique though forming it into a religion and carrying it out so systematically in such a wide spread manner probably was unique.

[BeBMan]

In the next installment of this ground-breaking series I am going to examine the deeds of ancient Spartans based on the historical evidence given in 300.

[Proteus_MST]

This sounds great ... the historic documentation movie "300" has shed a new light on the battle of the hot springs, as well as about greek/spartan and persian culture.
I would recommend to also include the sea battle at Salamis, which was depicted in part 2 of "300"

[BlackCat]

Carthaginian child sacrifices to Baal as documented in the Alix cartoons could be a third.