While looking for sacred places to visit in Germany I stumbled over many caves with alleged human sacrifices.
Stone age
Bronze age = roughly 2,200 to 1,000 BC
Iron age = from 1,000 to early written records
Here are a few but by far not all
Dietfurter Hoehle bei Sigmaringen - A cave used over long periods of time. Obviously used for sacred meals. There are remains of a human sacrifice from the time called bronze age
Goldberg and Ipf - There have been shafts about 4 meters/yards deep from the stone age with cracked open human bones, supposedly to get to the marr. Partly with fire marks, esp skulls, a sign of 'cooking' and a hint of cannibalism. There was a springtime celebrations until the 1800s supposedly linked to prehistoric times. Nowadays New Age women celebrate there the special days of the years
Jungfernhöhle Von Tiefenellern - Contained the strangely broken bones of 38 people, mostly girls under the age of 14. Skulls and Bones with marrow have been opened with force, signs of ritual cannibalism.
Felsenloch von Pech - The remains of 49 people have been found with signs of ritual killings. The skull of a men had been used as a drinking vessel.
breitensteiner Baeuerin - At the dephts of 12 Meter numerous human bones were found as well as 16 human skulls. The pieces were shattered and showed signs of fire marks.
Rothesteinhoehle im Ith - It is a 70 meter deep cave, at archeological diggings numerous human bones and skulls have been found with the typical signs of cannibalism
There are dozens of more caves showing the same thing. They mostly stem from the stone age or bronze age, later on it seemed to have been stopped.
As many figurines of that period show female people/Goddesses and the finds are mostly in caves, which can be seen as the vagina of Mother Earth and the time is generally attributed to matriarchal structures we can assume that the sacrifices have been to The Great Mother.
From a viewpoint of modernity that is a grizzly cult but to watch the past with the value/religious setup of today does do no justice for those people. Their thinking, feeling beliefs etc was most likely very different than ours.
To understand them one has to see with their eyes. Most often they belonged to early farming societies who became depended on the weather. In central Europe, farming was introduced by people coming most likely from the Hungarian plains and are known as linear pottery people.
the soil in central Europe was not as good (due to the Iceage and the stuff which came with it) but the weather was more fertile than in southern places. I guess those people brought the cult with them. the original hungered gatherers stayed in their way of life and gradually faded out. In medieval times are still stories about this people, 'the wild men', the 'hairy gross woman living in the woods', child abductions and so on.
Later on herders from the kaukasian steppes moved in and overlayed these farming societies and the cult of human sacrifices to the Great Mother was culled down, as the herders were Sky God people. I assume both spiritualities blended together (Aesir and Vanir). the herders made different human sacrifices, like hanging people on trees etc. Hanging means offering to the sky God, sacrificing them in caves pertains to the Earth mother.
Generally sacrificings are deals with beings thought of more powerful than humans. The deals are either good weather/harvests or fortune in future wars/conquers etc.
Human sacrifices are found also in Christianity in the Last supper and crucifiction of Jesus and Martyrdom. Infactthe cross with the human sacrifice is the hallmark of Christianity.
Most likely the sacrificed people agreed to their sacrifice, most likely they thought it will enhance them and bring them to a good place and it will do good for their people.
Ritual cannibalism ( in a sense described in Jesus' giving his body and blood to the disciples) was participating into the power of the Gods, as the sacrificee became sacred and imbued with the power and energy of the peculiar God. One way to participate into the power was to ingest the sacrificee.
The farming society obviously used mostly women for sacrificing as the feminine was closer to the Mother Goddess and therefore the to expecting energy/power of the goddess in the sacrificee was more complete as it was more complementary. also women are closer connected to fertility, getting pregnant and giving birth, and are as well more under the spell of the influence of the stars, as their cycle is close to the moon's cycle.
The use of young girls, most likely virgins, seemed to be an energetic one as their sexual power has not been opened or used and therefore is stronger. sexual Energy is creative energy, something the Great Earth Mother seemed to possess in abundance generally but at times she seemed to have a lack of it, a sacrifice of a virgin most likely was the 'logical' choice for what the farming society tried to accomplish. I also think it was more the ultimate choice when no other method worked.
As that ritual was used over millennia the farmers most likely believed it worked.
The development went into different directions, though human sacrifices are still in the culture though hidden as wars (du bits nichts, dein Volk ist alles , you are nothing your Nation is everything ((A. Hitler))) etc.
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Originally Posted by Gugnir
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