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human sacrifice aztec

The Aztecs built a sacrifice society while the Spaniards built a mass-sacrifice society. Did you like it? This is the basic argument I laid down in the conclusion to my paper, that our society with its obsession with individual choice, freedom, rights is inherently abhorrent of a system like the Aztec’s where an individual would go to such lengths as killing themselves to see their community survive. At the bottom, the body would be dismembered or carried off depending on the ritual. An extraordinary example of how the Aztecs chose a person for sacrifice can be seen in the 5th month of the ritual calendar which was dedicated to both fertility and male beauty. The keep the sun moving across the sky and preserve their very lives, the Aztecs had to feed Huitzilopochtli with human hearts and blood. Human sacrifice was not only an Aztec event. Perhaps archaic acts like mass sacrifice were a contributing factor to the civilizations eventual collapse. Prior to and during this Toltec period there were sacrifices among the Maya and in the great imperial capital of Teotihuacan in central Mesoamerica. Also, when Cortes met with the Aztec priests, he noted that their hair was stained in blood and they reeked of the stench of rancid meat. In addition to slicing out the hearts of victims and spilling their blood on temple altars, the Aztecs likely also practiced a form of ritual cannibalism. He had no blemish, he had no mark, he was taken the greatest care, and he would be taught to blow the flute, and he would be able to play his whistle. When you think of the Aztec, what comes to mind? The evidence for this came both from a grave of the remains of men, women, and horses near Teotihuacan as well as from a Spanish diary written by a man who had recorded the scene that followed the capture of the Spanish group. The religion of the Aztec civilization which flourished in ancient Mesoamerica (1345-1521 CE) has gained an infamous reputation for bloodthirsty human sacrifice with lurid tales of the beating heart being ripped from the still-conscious victim, decapitation, skinning and dismemberment. That is not to say that our society does not appreciate giving one’s life for a cause. Andrés de Tapia, a conquistador, described two rounded towers flanking the Templo Mayor made entirely of human skulls, and between them, a towering wooden rack displaying thousands more skulls with bored holes on either side to allow the skulls to slide onto the wooden poles. 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Similar to many of the previous comments I have always been interested in the rituals observed by ancient people. I found this to be very interesting especially considering that these players were the most affluent of the Aztecs and would actually have the most to lose if they died. He was very blood thirsty. In addition to slicing out the hearts of victims and spilling their blood on the temple altar, it’s believed that the Aztecs also practiced a form of ritual cannibalism. Instead of killing their enemies in battle, they would sometimes capture them and take them back to the capital to be offered up to the gods. Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images. (wikipedia.org). You’re right when you say that the goals of these rituals were to appease the gods, largely. These are interviews that took place in Mexico city between 1540 and 1580. What all this teaches us is that a sacrifice was seen as an honor. They would have been cutting oneself and offering the blood shed to the gods. People in the contemporary world are forced to confront human violence that is repetitive and organized. They chose a person whom they considered to be the most handsome male. Whether or not our modern processes, such as the electric chair, are more “humane” is really up for personal opinion, but where do we derive our idea of justice? FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. They then tossed the victims’ lifeless bodies down the steps of the towering Templo Mayor. I thought that this post was very interesting and covers a subject that many people like to ignore and shy away from because it causes discomfort. Human sacrifice is a very interesting subject, one that has been depicted in countless films over the decades. One interesting parallel is that as the empire expands, the size of the Great Aztec Temple also expands and human sacrifice increases. They had thousands and thousands of war prisoners just lined up to be sacrificed. The bodies were then pushed down the stairs. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. It is a little bit morbid and weird to think that these types of acts were public. Upon arriving at Teotihuacan, the Aztec warriors had a priest sacrifice all of the Spanish captives. Perhaps one of the most striking take aways from this experience was that death played a huge governing role in their lives and this was a common trait regardless of one’s social class. When we place it in this type of a context we can see how they thought. Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana. The victim’s bodies, after being relieved of their heads, were likely gifted to nobleman and other distinguished community members. Human sacrifice also served another purpose in the expanding Aztec empire of the 15th and 16th century: intimidation.

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