Trade and Matrilineality: A Hypothesis Based on World-Systems Theory

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Abstract
Few social scientists have attempted to develop cross-cultural explana tions of human sacrifice, even though it has been found to occur in every area of the world. I argue here that human sacrifice occurs only in those societies in which human life takes on exceptional economic value. Many of the world's cultures are dependent solely upon human energy for their survival, but some of them organize human energy intensively in the forms of a craft division of labor, corvee, and slavery. Thus, human life comes to have high economic value because it represents energy potential; it therefore may be viewed by such cultures as a fitting gift for the spirits. I drew from 107 societies (most of which are included in the Human Re lations Area Files) to test the hypothesis. I used Murdock's (1967) three degree rule to correct for the influence of diffusion. The results generally support the hypothesis that human sacrifice is selective of cultures with a craft division of labor, corvee and slavery. Furthermore, human sacrifice is more frequently practiced in those societies in which slavery and crafts make particularly substantial contributions to the economy. The data were not clear in this respect with regard to corvee labor.

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