Aztec Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism




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Florentine Codex, Page I, F, 6r. 

 
 
    A heart sacrifice is done before the altar of
    an earth or underworld deity with a ferocious
    image. The sacrificial priest wears black body
    paint. Below, two worshippers carrying white
    incense pouches pierce their tongues and
    ears with large bone awls. On their right, a
    ball of copal burns above an offering of paper.
    Tudela Codex.

 
 
     The great droughts of 1450-1454 led to massive sacrifice of children to
     water deities. Telleriano-Remensis Codex.

 
 
     Tlatelolco. The remains of 41 sacrificial victims. 30 infants and
      the rest youths and adults found at the foot of the stairway of
      the Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl temple.

 
 

 

ARTIFACTS ASSOCIATED WITH HUMAN SACRIFICE
Tzompantli
Sacrificial knives
Offering Vessels
    Tiger
    Eagle
 

ARTICLES:
Aztec Cannibalism: An Ecological Necessity?
The Enigma of Aztec Sacrifice
The Incidence and Significance of Disease among the Aztecs and Related Tribes