Twenty Seconds to Immortality

[Dan Deneen]

Hello All--

Twenty years ago Elizabeth Boone edited a volume called "Ritual Human
Sacrifice in Mesoamerica," (Dumbarton Oaks, 1984) that included an article
by the physicians Francis Robicsek and Donald Hales on "Maya Heart
Sacrifice: cultural perspective and surgical technique."

They argued the most likely technique was what a surgeon would call
"transverse anterior thoracotomy" which involved the use of a serrated blade
to cut BETWEEN the ribs and ACROSS the sternum. The overextended supine
position (victim stretched backwards over the altar by the arms and legs)
would cause the contents of the thoracic cavity, namely, the heart, to be
easily accessible.

There was a discussion about problems connected with accessing the heart
from underneath the sternum (the usual explanation), and they came out
against it, though I don't remember the specific objections in the argument.
I seem to recall that their work was based both on their experience as
surgeons, and cadaver experimentation with serrated blades modelled after
the semilunar tool believed to have been used in heart sacrifice.

--Dan


Dan Deneen
Strafford, Vermont
www.deneenstreet.com