Rationale for animal sacrifice in primitive religion?

Question

What are the latest theories of what primitive man was trying to accomplish through animal sacrifice? I know it's still practiced in a few different forms in some modern religions, but I'm looking for some ideas about the original significance.

Answer 1

I helped a primitive tribe build a concrete water collection tank at the site of a spring in the Himalayas, the moment we were finished, a man who had a goat with him, cut its throat in celebration...

Needless to say, we ate goat that night!

Answer 2

Its common sense really.  What we call animal sacrifice is realy the same thing as modern humans who say "grace", except in our culture we kill the animal and then thank God, but in primitive cultures they thank god before killing their food.

All parts of the animal are used, and the blood (or life of the animal) is given to god BEFORE man takes his portion.  Its sustinance, but spiritual (covering all bases).

In primitive times the best way to appease anyone for your doing wrong was by feeding them, or giving them a lot of your food/livestock.  Nowadays, we use money to do that...

Answer 3

simple way of putting it; better them then us.

Answer 4

Could it go back to Hunter/Gather groups and the hunt being such an important event.  The sacrifice represents the hunt and its life saving meaning.Once people settled and no longer had to hunt but that all important activity was shorten into a ceremony.

Answer 5

Food would be precious amongst primitive tribesfolk; sacrificing an animal would be treating with the powers-that-be, ,offering something valuable,even essential to the tribes so as to obtain the blessing of the deity. It is often  the same with most human sacrifices--the best was often the 'chosen one' given to the gods (ie the bogmen of Europe showed no signs of ever having done hard work.)

Answer 6

Rationale and religion are dichotomous. Appeasing the gods, I suppose.