Was the American Practice of Scalping Any Different from the Current Practice of Beheading?

Question

I hear allot of people calling "beheaders" savages. But what about the American Christian tradition of scalping native Americans?, And then even considering the scalps as a form of currency?

At least the Muslim beheaders throw the heads away after and don't make trade with them.

And Christians scapled nearly 500,000 people. About 10,000 times more than today's Muslim extremists

roadhazzards -

The French in America were Catholics. Christians.

The U.S. government used to pay cash money for Native American scalps as an official policy. Don't know of any Muslim countries doing likewise.

Answer 1

Humans have done terrible things. That doesnt mean they werent terrible. I agree with you in some ways, but i dont think condoneing the practice of beheading someone is the right thing to do. I think condemning it is a wiser choice.


To Phil S: Native americans started scalping people AFTER white people had been doing it to them for years. I guess it was a contagious fad.

To Ruth: Yes, the settlers would kill them outright, but they would also slice or saw off their scalp to keep as a trophy.

Answer 2

Both practices are savage, of course. Scalping was being done before the Europeans ever got to this continent. It was practiced by both Native Americans and white settlers. But I will tell you the difference I see. It is that scalping is no longer a practice in this country or any civilized country, and hasn't been for over a hundred years. That's called becoming civilized. The savage practice of beheading is still taking place today. It's pretty hard to think of them as anything but savages when they refuse to progess to a more civilized manner of dealing with their enemies.

Answer 3

You are so confused. The English in North America paid their Native American allies for each scalp of an enemy tribe or a French Canadian during the French and Indian War of an American colonial during the American Revolution or of an American citizen during the War of 1812 they brought in to their headquarters in Detroit. It was the Native Americans who did the scalping and I do not believe anyone was keeping count.

Your figures are not fact. I would suggest you study American History if you want to understand what happened in the early years of settlement on this continent.

Why would you compare (accurately or inaccurately) any group of people in this time to another group two hundred years or more in the past? I would hope all people have progressed in that time. A little tolerance and an effort to improve socially, politically, spiritually and in every other way would go a long way toward peace in our world.

Answer 4

There is archaeological evidence that the practice of scalping has existed in the Americas for at least 10,000 years.

Back in the days when it was politically correct to blame the Indians for everything - only the Indians scalped people.

Today - when it is politically correct to blame the settlers for everything - only the settlers scalped people.

In reality the truth is more complicated than that. For example the French paid for English scalps until they were kicked out of Canada and the British paid for American scalps up until the war of 1812.

Answer 5

This is a rather stupid question. When is the last time you heard of a scalping? It was the American Indians that were doing the scalpings, if the settlers scalped it was in retaliation,which is a common tactic used in warfare. out of curiosity, where did the 500k figure come from, never seen that but even if it is true that is no where near the beheadings the terrorist have done. we only hear about the Americans, the behead each other way more often.

Your entire question is a misleading.

Answer 6

Scalping was never an American Christian tradition, you really ought to learn your history. Native Americans did scalp some of their enemies prior to Europeans coming to America but the practice grew during the French Indian wars when the French paid the Indians aligned with them to bring back the scalps of those they killed.

Answer 7

American Indians scalped the English. As a method to completly dis-respect Indian culture and belief some of the English would scalp Indians they killed.

Answer 8

Actually, scalping by early American settlers was a response to native American scalping. For the native Americans, it was much the same as collecting the tail of a beast a young brave slew or some certain crazies in other wars collecting the teeth or ears of en enemy to be made into a necklace. A sign of success in combat. For the settlers, it was response to brutality to try to send a message. Apples and oranges here in my opinion. Daniel Pearl was a non-combatant who was lured into a meeting for the purpose of the terrorist agenda. How do you justify that atrocity?


"scalping, taking the scalp of an enemy. The custom, comparable to head-hunting head-hunting, practice of taking and preserving the head of a slain enemy. It has occurred throughout the world from ancient times into the 20th cent. In Europe, it flourished in the Balkans until the early 20th cent. The practice often has magico-religious motives. Head-hunting
..... Click the link for more information. , was formerly practiced in Europe and Asia (Herodotus describes its practice by the Scythians, for example), but it is generally associated with North American natives, although many such groups did not take scalps. Most anthropologists believe that scalping was a native practice that aboriginal North Americans did not borrow from Europeans. To some, the scalp was not merely a trophy; it bestowed the possessor with the powers of the scalped enemy. In scalping, a circular cut was made around the crown of the head and the skin raised at one side and torn off. The scalping of a living person was not always fatal. In their early wars with Native Americans, colonists of North America retaliated by taking scalps and heads themselves. Bounties were offered for them, which led to an escalation of intertribal warfare and scalping."

Answer 9

Interesting. A source would be nice.

Back in the dark ages, when I was in school, we were taught that the practice of scalping was a Native American method of collecting coups.

The early settlers more likely used guns and knives, and just killed the NA's outright.

Answer 10

Indians scalped the whites, usually. Beheading was such a popular method of execution in Europe that the French invented the guillotine. Robespierre had thousands beheaded.