The Aztecs, also known as the Mexica or Tenochca, controlled one of the biggest empires in history. They occupied the land that is now known as Mexico. “Aztec religion was syncretistic, absorbing elements from many other Mesoamerican cultures. At base, it shared many of the cosmological beliefs of earlier peoples, notably the Maya, such as that the present earth was the last in a series of creations and that it occupied a position between systems of 13 heavens and 9 underworlds.” (The Editors.) The Aztec participated in human sacrifice in which the heart of a person was offered to the Sun God, Tonatiuh. Usually the victim was a prisoner of war but on occasion the victims would be someone of their tribe who committed a crime. For example, a
