An economy of human sacrifice: The practice of sunjang in an ancient state of Korea

Motivations for human sacrifice are explained from various perspectives: the sociopolitical benefits gained by elite hosts and the ideological, cultural, or locally unique factors that motivate community members and victims of sacrifice to participate. While these perspectives are pertinent, in this paper we employ a political economic framework to investigate how retainer sacrifice was practiced over two centuries in the ancient kingdom of Silla in Korea and why it was ultimately banned. We suggest that retainer sacrifice rites can be regarded as public goods supplied by elite hosts and consumed by the public at large. On a regional scale, the supply of retainer sacrifice was maintained by an oligopolistic or cartel-like market structure, which shaped sociopolitical relations among Silla royalty, elites, and communities. Rising costs of retainer sacrifice and an opportunistic strategy of the central government to monopolize the religious market brought about the illegalization of retainer sacrifice followed by the adoption of Buddhism as a state religion.