By: Shady Al-Zayat Hamza Ali Khalid Bulhan

Definition Origins Purposes Types of sacrifice Selection & Preparations Ceremonies & Death

The Aztec civilization flourished in Mesoamerica between 1345 and 1521.Aztec civilization Their sacrifices were of different types such as: Decapitation, skinning, dismemberment, and ripping the heart from the still- conscious victim. All of these sacrifices were important to the Aztec. It was a strictly ritualised process which gave the highest possible honour to the gods and was regarded as a necessity to ensure mankind’s continued prosperity.

The Aztecs were not the first civilization in Mesoamerica to practise human sacrifice.civilization The Olmec civilization ( BCE) were the first to begin such rituals on top of their sacred pyramids.Olmec civilizationpyramids The Aztecs did, however, take sacrifice to an unprecedented scale, although that scale was undoubtedly exaggerated by early chroniclers during the Spanish Conquest.Conquest Nevertheless, it is thought that hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of victims were sacrificed each year at the great Aztec religious sites.Aztec

In Mesoamerican culture human sacrifices were viewed as a repayment for the sacrifices the gods had themselves made in creating the world and the sun. This idea of repayment was especially true regarding the myth of the reptilian monster Cipactli. They believed that two ancient gods called Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca ripped Cipactli to create the universe. QuetzalcoatlTezcatlipoca To console the spirit of Cipactli the gods promised her human hearts and blood in appeasement.

Blood-letting and self-harm: - for example, from the ears and legs using bone or maguey spines - and the burning of blood-soaked paper strips were a common form of sacrifice, as was the burning of tobacco and incense. Other types of sacrifice included the offering of other living creatures such as, deer, butterflies and snakes. In this category were foodstuffs and objects of precious metals, jade and shells which could be ritually buried. Dough images of gods Tzoalli were distributed. These were made from ground amaranth mixed with human blood and honey, with the effigy being burnt or eaten after the ritual.

With human sacrifices the sacrificial victims were most often selected from captive warriors. Warfare was often conducted for the sole purpose of furnishing candidates for sacrifice. This was the so- called ‘flowery war’ Xochiyaoyotlwar Those who had fought the most bravely or were the most handsome were considered the best candidates for sacrifice and more likely to please the gods.

God impersonators were amongst the most honoured sacrificial victims. In the case of the Tezcatlipoca impersonator in the ritual during Tóxcatl (the 6th or 5th month of the Aztec solar year) the victim was treated like royalty for one year prior to the sacrificial ceremony. Victims would be tutored by priests, given a female entourage and honoured with dances and flowers, the victim was the god’s manifestation on earth until that final brutal moment when he met his maker.

Sacrifices conducted at specially dedicated temples on the top of large pyramids. Sacrifices were most often carried out by stretching the victim over a special stone, cutting open the chest and removing the heart using an obsidian or flint knife.

The heart was then placed in a stone vessel Cuauhxicalli or in a Chacmool (a stone figure carved with a recipient on their midriff) and burnt in offering to the god being sacrificed to. Alternatively, the victim could be decapitated and or dismembered, but these methods were reserved for female victims. After the sacrifice, the heads of victims could be displayed in racks Tzompantli

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