{"id":2398,"date":"2018-08-19T00:28:55","date_gmt":"2018-08-19T00:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=2398"},"modified":"2026-02-26T07:31:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:31:21","slug":"aztec-human-sacrifice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/aztec-human-sacrifice\/","title":{"rendered":"Aztec Human Sacrifice: A Detailed Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Aztec human sacrifice was a key aspect of Aztec religion<\/a> and culture<\/a>. For instance, the Aztec believed that human sacrifice was necessary as a way of honoring the many different Aztec gods<\/a>. Spanish conquistadors first noted the practise of human sacrifice during the early period of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire<\/a>. This article explores the history and significance of human sacrifice in the context of the Aztec Empire<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHO WERE THE AZTEC?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0Aztec Empire\u00a0was a civilization in central Mexico that thrived in the time before the arrival of European explorers during the\u00a0Age of Exploration<\/a>.\u00a0 Throughout its history as a civilization the Aztec Empire expanded across much of central Mexico and other surrounding areas, to become the most dominant and powerful people in the region.\u00a0\u00a0Tenochtitlan<\/a>, the main Aztec city (or altepetl), was the center of this vast empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Map
Map of the Aztec Empire and Aztec Triple Alliance by History Crunch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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AZTEC HUMAN SACRIFICE – SPANISH ACCOUNT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An important aspect of\u00a0Aztec religion<\/a>\u00a0and culture was the practice of human sacrifice.\u00a0 Human sacrifice had a long history in Mesoamerica, before the rise to prominence of the\u00a0Aztec Empire<\/a>.\u00a0 For example, there is archaeological evidence that both the\u00a0Toltec<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Teotihuacan<\/a>\u00a0practiced human sacrifice in the centuries before the Aztec Empire.\u00a0 As such, historians consider human sacrifice to be a relatively common practice in Mesoamerica during years before and during the Aztec Empire.\u00a0 However, to the Spanish conquistadors<\/a> that arrived in the Aztec territory in the early 1520s, the practice of human sacrifice carried out by the Aztecs was horrific and brutal.\u00a0 For example, several early accounts by these Spanish conquistadors highlight their horror to seeing festivals and ceremonies in which people were sacrificed atop Aztec temples and pyramids.\u00a0 In\u00a0Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, sacrifices were carried out on top of the Templo Mayor<\/a> (Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, a first hand account of the Aztec sacrifice comes from Spanish conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo’s famous memoir.  He was a conquistador in the time of the Age of Exploration and accompanied Hern\u00e1n Cortes on his famous mission to overthrow the Aztec Empire in 1521.  In his memoir, Bernal Diaz del Castillo stated: “Hardly a day passed by that these people did not sacrifice from three to four, and even five Indians, tearing the hearts our of their bodies, to present them to the idols and smear blood on the walls of the temple.  The arms and legs of these unfortunate beings were then cut off and devoured, just in the same way we should fetch meat from a butcher’s shop and eat it: indeed I even believe that human flesh is exposed for sale cut up in their markets.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tenochtitlan
Tenochtitlan (Templo Mayor can be seen in the center)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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AZTEC HUMAN SACRIFICE – AZTEC RELIGIOUS TRADITION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

However, from the perspective of the Aztec, sacrifice was necessary to ensure the survival of life.\u00a0 For instance, in Aztec religion<\/a>, the world was created from the sacrifice of the\u00a0gods.\u00a0 As such, they viewed sacrifice as necessary to repay their debts to the gods.\u00a0 Therefore, sacrifice did not necessarily just focus on human beings, as both animals and precious objects were also offered to the gods.\u00a0 Further to this idea, some historians have suggested that the Aztec practice of sacrifice was designed to protect and ensure the survival of the universe.\u00a0 This concept is best related to the Aztec god\u00a0Huitzilopochtli<\/a>, who was one of the main gods of the Aztec and likely the most prominent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Aztec tradition Huitzilopochtli was viewed as the sun, his sister the moon, and his brothers the stars.\u00a0 The constant movement of the sun, moon and stars was viewed by the Aztecs as an ongoing battle between Huitzilopochtli and his siblings.\u00a0 Thus, the Aztec believed that they needed to provide tribute to Huitzilopochtli in order to ensure the sun\u2019s survival and ability to \u2018fight\u2019 each day.\u00a0 This tribute was usually in the form of human sacrifice, which was a central component of Aztec religious practices.\u00a0 This is because human blood was viewed as necessary for the survival of the gods.\u00a0 Tribute for Huitzilopochtli generally occurred on a festival called Toxcatl which was held in the 15th month of the Aztec calendar.\u00a0 In general, warriors or slaves were sacrificed to honor Huitzilopochtli.\u00a0 Therefore, to the Aztec people sacrifice was an important and necessary aspect of life to ensure the survival of the world and universe.\u00a0 There were regular festivals and sacrifices to other Aztec gods<\/a> throughout the timeline of the Aztec calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aztec
The twenty Xiuhp\u014dhualli symbols are shown in the inner most circle of the Aztec Sun Stone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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AZTEC HUMAN SACRIFICE – SUMMARY AND SIGNIFICANCE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Aztec obtained the people for sacrifice in a number of different ways.\u00a0 Some were willingly sacrificed while others were prisoners in war.\u00a0 Regardless, the Aztec (and other Mesoamerican societies) viewed dying for the gods to be an honor.\u00a0 Following the Aztec\u2019s founding and construction of Tenochtitlan in the Valley of Mexico in 1325, they quickly established their authority across the other societies in the valley.\u00a0 At the time the Valley of Mexico was populated by many different powerful civilizations, including: Chalco, Tepanec, Tlacopan, Texcoco, Culhuacan, and Chichimec. Several of these civilizations were also on the shores of Lake Texcoco, including the Culhuacan which were on the south shore.\u00a0 The Aztec controlled many of these different societies<\/a> by forcing them to provide tributes for payment and ritual sacrifice.\u00a0 For example, conquered city-states, which are referred to as \u2018altepetl\u2019, were allowed to maintain their current rulers and religion so long as they met several requirements, including: support the Aztec Empire and tlatoani<\/a> of Tenochtitlan, pay tribute to Tenochtitlan, and include the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli in their own religious beliefs and practices.\u00a0 As such, the conquered Mesoamerican city-states likely supplied the Aztec with slaves to be used in sacrifice.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was one way in which the Aztec received people for their ritual sacrifice.\u00a0 Another way was from ritualized wars that the Aztec and other Mesoamerican societies participated in called\u00a0Flower Wars<\/a>.\u00a0 These battles occurred at different times of the year than the campaigns of conquest that the Aztec used to expand their empire and were much different in their intent.\u00a0 For example, the Flower Wars were generally organized battles in which members of the Triple Alliance<\/a> including Aztecs faced off against rival city-states.\u00a0 The two sides would structure the battle such that each side has an equal number of warriors<\/a> and used only close-combat weapons.\u00a0 The purpose of the Flower Wars was for warriors to practice and display their combat skills while also allowing them the ability to take prisoners for the purpose of sacrifice.\u00a0 A common participant of the Flower Wars was the Tlaxcala, who were a rival city-state to the Aztec.\u00a0 Historians believe the Flower Wars occurred primarily between 1450 and 1520 when Spanish conquistadors arrived into the region and famously overthrew the city of Tenochtitlan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Flower
Aztec Warriors from the Florentine Codex.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

As stated previously, the actual sacrifice generally took place on top of large temples or pyramids with the most prominent being the Templo Mayor<\/a> in Tenochtitlan.\u00a0 It most commonly involved the removal of the heart of the sacrificed victim.\u00a0 There was even ornate structure built to hold the removed hearts during the ceremony.\u00a0 Once having their heart removed the body was thrown down the steps of the pyramid to the crowd below.\u00a0 With that said, the removal of the heart was not the only method of death in ritual sacrifice.\u00a0 Depending on the god being celebrated and the festival requirements, ritual sacrifice could also include: death by fire, death by starvation, death by flaying (removal of the skin), death in ritual battle, and death by decapitation (removal of the head).\u00a0 As well, who was sacrificed changed with each festival as well.\u00a0 Sometimes it involved adult slaves, other times children, or people of noble birth.\u00a0 As stated above, death by sacrifice was considered to be an honor as your death would be in tribute to the gods and maintain the survival of the universe.\u00a0 For example, during the festival of Panquetzaliztli, of which Huitzilopochtli was the patron, sacrificial victims were dressed in the manner of Huitzilopochtli’s costume and blue body paint, before their hearts would be sacrificially removed.\u00a0 Those being sacrificed were treated as gods until their death.\u00a0 A final important concept related to ritual sacrifice is the idea of \u2018bloodletting\u2019.\u00a0 Some historians have suggested that bloodletting, causing yourself to bleed, was practiced throughout Mesoamerican and the Aztec Empire.\u00a0 The idea is that Aztec people purposefully caused themselves to bleed by puncturing their tongues or skin with sharp blades as a form of offering to the gods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aztec
Aztec god Xiuhtecuhtli from the Codex Fej\u00e9rv\u00e1ry-Mayer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aztec human sacrifice was an important yet brutal aspect of Aztec religion and culture. For instance, the Aztec believed that human sacrifice was necessary to honor the gods and keep the universe in balance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":17,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,80],"tags":[77,15,79],"class_list":["post-2398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aztec-empire","category-mesoamerica","tag-aztec-empire","tag-history","tag-mesoamerica"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2398"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5776,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398\/revisions\/5776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}