Media Coverage
Presented in reverse chronological order
The Times. Power not poverty spreads Christianity, study finds. By Tom Whipple.
The Herald, NZ. What Christianity's spread teaches us about social change.
El Pais. El cristianismo se extiende más rápidamente a través de líderes influyentes [Christianity spreads more quickly through influential leaders]. By Bruno Martín.
National Geographic. Ancient Mass Child Sacrifice May Be World's Largest. By Kristin Romey.
The Atlantic. Ancient Mass Child Sacrifice May Be World's Largest. By Kristin Romey.
The Atlantic. Did Human Sacrifice Help People Form Complex Societies? By Laura Spinney.
Science. Human sacrifice may have helped societies become more complex. By Emily Benson.
Nature. How human sacrifice propped up the social order. By Philip Ball. Re-posted in Scientific American.
IFL Science. Human Sacrifice May Have Played A Role In The Evolution Of Modern Societies. By Janet Fang.
The Guardian. Study shows human sacrifice was less likely in more equal societies. By Tim Radford.
New York Times. Why Some Societies Practiced Ritual Human Sacrifice. By Tatiana Schlossberg.
Washington Post. The ‘darker link’ between ancient human sacrifice and our modern world. By Sarah Kaplan. Re-posted in The Independent, Stuff.co.nz, and The Age.
Nature podcasts. Sacrificial Man. With Kerri Smith and Adam Levy.
CBC Radio. Human sacrifice helped build complex civilizations. With Bob McDonald.
The Huffington Post. Ritual Human Sacrifice Maintains Heirachy, Says University of Auckland Study. By Cayla Dengate.
Smithsonian. Human Sacrifices May Lie Behind the Rise of Ancient Social Status. By Maya Wei-Haas.
New Scientist. Has ritual human sacrifice shaped societies and class systems? By Colin Barras.
NZ Herald. Human sacrifice in NZ used to keep power.
Daily Mail. Human sacrifice played a key role in shaping ancient societies: Brutal butchery of the lower classes created a hierarchy and helped the elite gain power. By Sarah Griffiths.
NPR (US National Public Radio). Human Sacrifice Is Linked To Social Hierarchies In New Study. By Bill Chappell.
Radio NZ. The History Of Human Sacrifice. With Jesse Mulligan.
Radio Live NZ. Historical human sacrifice about class warfare. With Alison Mau and Willie Jackson.
Popular Science. Human Sacrifice May Have Helped Create Complex Societies. By Grennan Milliken.
International Buisness Times. Human sacrifice: How religious rituals played dark role in rise of complex societies. By Hannah Osborne.
Anthropology.net. Ritual Human Sacrifice Paved Way For Complex Societies. By Kambiz Kamrani.
ZME Science. Human sacrifice may have helped the elite consolidate its position. By Tibi Puiu.
The Christian Science Monitor. Did human sacrifice create our social hierarchies? By Eva Botkin-Kowacki.
ABC Online. Human sacrifice may have helped build and sustain social class systems. By Dani Cooper.
The Conversation. Why did early human societies practice violent human sacrifice? By Joseph Watts. Re-posted in IFL Science.
Ars Technica. Thanks to math, we can calculate the benefits of human sacrifice. By Annalee Newitz.
Tech Times. Human Sacrifice May Have Helped Shape Complex Societies. By Alyssa Navarro.
Nature World News. Ritual Human Sacrifices Helped Build Up Social Classes, New Study Reveals. By Jhay Are See.
Nature. Complex societies evolved without belief in all-powerful deity. By Philip Ball. Re-posted in Scientific American, and The Richard Dawkins Foundation.
Science. To foster complex societies, tell people a god is watching. By Lizzie Wade.
International Business Times. Belief in supernatural punishment not ‘big gods’ gave rise to complex societies. By Hannah Osborne.
Daily Mail. Civilisation does NOT need faith in God: Belief in supreme being doesn't play a role in forming complex societies, study finds. By Richard Gray.
This View of Life. Did Fear In Supernatural Punishment Build Complex Societies? By Joseph Watts.
Nautilus. Which Comes First, Big Cities or Big Gods? By Robert Hackett.