Free An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage Page A

two thousand people. More distant states supplied cotton, cloth, precious metals, exotic
     birds, and manufactured items. The level of tribute paid depended on each state’s distance from the three capitals (the alliance’s
     control over those farther away was weaker, so it demanded less in tribute from them) and on whether the state put up a fight
     or not before submitting to alliance rule (states that gave in without a fight paid less). The constant flow of food and other
     goods toward the capital meant there was no doubt where the power lay. Aztec rulers used this tribute to pay officials, provision
     the army, and support public works. Tribute handed out to the nobility reinforced the ruler’s position and simultaneously
     weakened the rulers of subordinate states, who ended up with less to distribute among their own followers: less food meant
     less power.

    FEEDING THE GODS
    As systems of social organization became more elaborate, so too did the religious practices that provided cosmological justification
     for the elite’s right to levy all these taxes. Religious beliefs and traditions varied widely among the world’s first civilizations,
     but in many cases there was a clear congruence between the payment of taxes by the masses to the elite and the “payment” of
     sacrifices and offerings by the elite to the gods. Such offerings were believed to return energy to its divine source, so
     that the source could continue to animate nature and supply humans with food. Rather than being so powerful that they could
     exist without humanity’s support, the gods were thought to be dependent on humans, and humans were thought to be dependent
     in turn on the gods. An Egyptian text from around 2070 B.C. refers to humans as the creator god’s “cattle,” for example, implying
     that the god both looked after humans and depended upon them for his own sustenance. Similarly, many cultures believed that
     the gods had created mankind to provide spiritual nourishment in the form of sacrifices and prayers. In return, the gods provided
     physical nourishment for humans by making plants and animals grow. Sacrifices were regarded as an essential means of maintaining
     this cycle.
    Some Mesoamerican cultures believed that the gods even sacrificed themselves or each other from time to time to ensure the
     continued existence of the universe and survival of mankind. The Maya, for example, believed that maize was the flesh of the
     gods containing divine power, and at harvest time the gods were, in effect, sacrificing themselves to sustain humanity. This
     divine power passed into humans as they ate, and was particularly concentrated in their blood. Human sacrifices in which blood
     was spilled were a way to repay this debt and return the divine power to the gods. Food and incense were provided as offerings
     as well, but human sacrifices were thought to be most important of all.
    The Aztecs also regarded human sacrifices as a way to repay energy owed to the gods. The Earth Mother was nourished by human
     blood, they believed, and the crops would only grow if she was given enough of it. It was supposedly an honor to be sacrificed,
     but even so victims seem not to have belonged to the ruling elite. Instead, they were mostly criminals, prisoners of war,
     and children. Human flesh and blood were thought to be made from maize, so these sacrifices sustained the cosmic cycle: Maize
     became blood, and blood was then transformed back into maize. Sacrificial victims were referred to as “tortillas for the gods.”
     The Incas also thought sacrifice was necessary to nourish the gods. They offered llamas, guinea pigs, birds, cooked vegetables,
     fermented drinks, cocoa, gold, silver, and elaborately woven cloth, which was burned to release the energy that had gone into
     weaving it. Food and alcoholic drinks made from maize were thought to be particularly favored by the gods. But most valued
     of all were human sacrifices. After