2026/6/8

On Friday, May 8, the Research Center for Latin-American Studies, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies hosted a lecture titled "Living Sacrifices and Offerings in Mesoamerica: A Collaboration between Ethnohistory and Ethnology."

Professor Perig Pitrou of France's Centre national de la recherche scientifique (National Centre for Scientific Research, or CNRS) discussed how people in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture made living sacrifices of animals and humans as ritual offerings to provide nourishment to the gods and engage in communication with them. He also explained, from an "anthropology of life" standpoint and based on ethnographic research, the meanings behind shared ritual patterns seen in relation to childbirth, seed sowing and healing rituals in the Sierra Mixe of Mexico's State of Oaxaca, and reasons behind their steady preservation over multiple centuries.

The lecture session was carried out in hybrid format with a total of 19 participants—16 in person, 3 online—and the lecture itself was followed by an enthusiastic Q&A session, making it a highly rewarding experience for all.

Visit the CNRS website for more information on the Centre's activities.

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