What did people die of who were executed on the cross?

Here's the definition, hope this helps. [=

Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang there until dead. It is widely considered a not uncommon but extremely dishonorable and excruciating form of judicial execution in the Roman Empire, though similar methods were employed in other ancient cultures. Crucifixion has special significance in Christianity, which holds that Jesus was crucified but later resurrected. Because of this the Christian cross or crucifix has become the symbol of Christianity.

Crucifixion was used by the Romans until about 313 AD, when Christianity became the dominant faith in Rome. However, it has been used in various places in modern times.

There is still debate as to the precise cause of death.

The most commonly cited cause is asphyxiation due to the position of the body which would prevent passive exhalation. This theory also postulates that breaking the legs would further speed death since the victim could not use their legs to relieve the stress on the ribcage and facilitate breathing.

Others theories include pleural edema due to shock, as well as dehydration and exposure. There have also been suggestions that breaking the longbones of the legs could lead to death by fat embolization.

A good reference for these theories can be found in:

Edwards et al., J. Amer. Med. Assoc. 255 (1986) 1455-1463.

Ancient writings clearly indicate that crucifixion was an available method of execution. Unfortunately, these sources provide very few details about the methods used. (for example, look into the writings of Flavius Josephus)

There is only one known example of human remains from first century Israel which clearly show evidence of a crucifixion. In this instance the person had been nailed through the heel into a plank of wood, indicating that the type of death described in the New Testament did indeed occur in first century Judea. Details of the archaeology can be found in:

Zias and Sekeles, Israel. J. of Exploration, 35 (1985), 22-27.

it was a degradeing way to die. the purpose was to cause as much pain and suffering as possible. the reason your feet would be nailed or tied to a board at the bottom was so you could lift your weight up ,and relieve pain from where your hands were nailed. as the body got tired you would slowly slip downward, causeing severe pain in the body,, causeing the lungs to fill with fluid and you would began to slowly choke or smother to death,, they would break the knees and or ankles, so they could not hold the weight of the body upward.. this was a very cruel way to put a person to death, but you have to remember that the romans were a very cruel type of people. but if you read your bible you will see that not one bone was broken in the body of christ, thus fullfilling old testment scriptures that tell of the death of jesus, saying that not one bone would be broken in his body.... have a nice day

the use was to make a statement and scare others while they watched the slow painful death of their neighbors and loved ones. most pure crucifiction deaths died of starvation and exposure.,dehydration ...

Shock and asphyxiation.

The process was meant to keep them alive for as long as possible.

suffocation, this was cause by an influx of bodily fluids in the lungs.

they died of suffication it was a very painfull process and it was a slow death