Between February and June of 2015, a major archaeological find was made on an island in Lake Texcoco. Archeologists, according to Lorenzi’s article, “unearthed gruesome evidence of brutal rituals as they excavated what could be the largest ceremonial skull rack built by the Aztecs more than 500 years ago” (2015:par. 1). The Aztec culture is known for their sacrificial rituals, and here the skulls are thought to be those of enemies. Display of these skulls might be for showing the strength of the Aztecs, as well as for ritualistic purposes. The skulls were found in Tenochtitlan, which is used to be an Aztec city located in the Valley of Mexico. As of now, the partially unearthed skull rack is thought to be over thirty-four meters long and twelve
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The Aztecs are associated with human sacrifice more often than any other indigenous culture (Pennock 2012:277). The Aztecs executed both their own and enemies captured from war. Nobody was exempt from sacrifice, as even children and women were involved in the rituals. Autosacrifice was common in Aztec culture. Autosacrifice was practiced by all people somewhere in their lives. A form of autosacrifice would include ear piercing, which was actually the most common form. Different body parts could also be pierced, which could even include genitals. “The most devout practitioners (priests, for the most part) would pierce their flesh and then pull hollow straws or reeds through the hole. Priests engaged in autosacrifice nightly” (Smith 1996:221). Although autosacrifice was important to Aztec culture, it only acted as a substitute for human …show more content…
Once laid on a sacrificial stone, the chest was cut open. The priest would seize the heart from the victim, who was usually still alive, and offer it to the sun. Afterwards, the victim’s body rolled down the stairs to the bottom of the temple. “A priest then cut off the head for mounting on a skull rack next to the pyramid” (Smith 1996:223). Victims were often seen as deities, and their deaths were representations of the gods who were sacrificed in myth. Different gods required different sacrificial victims. For instance, the god Tlaloc required children to be the sacrificial victims. The children to be sacrificed could be “either purchased as slaves or the secondary offspring of nobles” (Smith 1996:224). As negative as “victim” sounds, many of the individuals sacrificed were treated with honor, and even viewed their sacrifice with pride. Victims were sometimes picked a year before the sacrifice would take place. The victim was to transform from a human to a god through multiple ceremonies, and would be treated as one up until the sacrifice. Cutting out the heart was not the only way the Aztecs sacrificed humans. Other forms of sacrifice included a type of “gladiatorial sacrifice” where the victim was to face an armed veteran fighter with only a feathered blade. Other forms of
The Aztecs are associated with human sacrifice more often than any other indigenous culture (Pennock 2012:277). The Aztecs executed both their own and enemies captured from war. Nobody was exempt from sacrifice, as even children and women were involved in the rituals. Autosacrifice was common in Aztec culture. Autosacrifice was practiced by all people somewhere in their lives. A form of autosacrifice would include ear piercing, which was actually the most common form. Different body parts could also be pierced, which could even include genitals. “The most devout practitioners (priests, for the most part) would pierce their flesh and then pull hollow straws or reeds through the hole. Priests engaged in autosacrifice nightly” (Smith 1996:221). Although autosacrifice was important to Aztec culture, it only acted as a substitute for human …show more content…
Once laid on a sacrificial stone, the chest was cut open. The priest would seize the heart from the victim, who was usually still alive, and offer it to the sun. Afterwards, the victim’s body rolled down the stairs to the bottom of the temple. “A priest then cut off the head for mounting on a skull rack next to the pyramid” (Smith 1996:223). Victims were often seen as deities, and their deaths were representations of the gods who were sacrificed in myth. Different gods required different sacrificial victims. For instance, the god Tlaloc required children to be the sacrificial victims. The children to be sacrificed could be “either purchased as slaves or the secondary offspring of nobles” (Smith 1996:224). As negative as “victim” sounds, many of the individuals sacrificed were treated with honor, and even viewed their sacrifice with pride. Victims were sometimes picked a year before the sacrifice would take place. The victim was to transform from a human to a god through multiple ceremonies, and would be treated as one up until the sacrifice. Cutting out the heart was not the only way the Aztecs sacrificed humans. Other forms of sacrifice included a type of “gladiatorial sacrifice” where the victim was to face an armed veteran fighter with only a feathered blade. Other forms of