Eat Your Heart Out: An Examination of Aztec Human Sacrifices

The Aztec are an indigenous group of people who controlled a vast Mesoamerican empire for at least two centuries prior to their conquest by the Spanish in 16^th century.  The Aztec empire was characterized by a public education system, extensive trade networks, creation of widespread roadways, state-wide religion, and a large military.  Unfortunately, these great achievements are not what the Aztecs are most popularly known for, and instead it was their sacrificial rituals that they are most remembered for.  This blog post is dedicated to discussing Aztec sacrificial rituals.  Topics that will be discussed include the types of sacrifices, the preferred sacrificial victims, and the potential motivations for these sacrifices. 

The Aztecs are believed to have practiced a number of types of sacrifices.  They were known to practice both animal and human sacrifice, but it appears that human sacrifice was the most popular type of sacrifice.  The Aztecs practiced a variety of different types of human sacrifice.  These types included death by arrows, where individuals were lined up and executed by hundreds of archers who shot them; decapitation, where the head of the victim was removed from the body; drowning; gladiatorial combat, where victims were tied to rocks, given mock weapons, and forced to fight properly clad and weaponized warriors to the death; dying by impact, which involved being thrown or coerced off high temples; squeezing, typically involving victims being wrapped in nets and crushed; and finally through the extraction of the heart.  This latter type of sacrifice appears to have been the most popular, with at least two to ten individuals sacrificed through this method each month in every Aztec city.  This sacrificial method involved the extraction of the still beating heart of the victim who is believed to have witnessed the event.  The body was then removed and dismembered, with various parts of the body being utilized for further ritual purposes. 

The Aztec culture was one that fostered a sense of desire among its members to become sacrificial victims.  To this end there was no limit to the number of individuals who could be recruited as it was one of three ways for individuals to enter a glorious afterlife (with the other two ways being dying in battle or during childbirth).  Men, women, and children (of all ages) were eligible for sacrifice.  The most common sacrificial victims were known as xochimicqui, who were captives of wars.  These prisoners of wars were also used as messengers of the sun as they would be employed to carry messages to the sun god after they were sacrificed.  Slaves and criminals made up the tlaaltilli class of sacrificial victims, while everyday lawful Aztec citizens could participate in the monthly “Flowery Wars” as a means of becoming eligible for sacrifice.  The “Flowery Wars” were ritualized incidences of warfare that enabled the Aztecs to capture symbolic prisoners of war who would later be sacrificed.  Women could volunteer to be sacrificed, as well, whereas children were often sold for the purpose. In either case these individuals would be trained and catered to during the tenure prior to the ritual, which may have been an additional incentive to enter into this situation.

The Aztec sacrifices were very entwined with religious ideologies.  Aztec sacrificial rituals closely mirror the creation and other myths that were central to the Aztec religion.  But how and why those myths were created has been a contentious topic.  One scholar, Michael Harner, believes that the Aztec sacrifices, specifically the removal of the heart, were a means of feeding the Aztec elites.  Harner claims that the Aztec capital existed in an environmentally hazardous area, which did not lend itself to regular production of agricultural crops.  He also points out that the Aztecs did not have any stable beasts of burden or domesticated livestock, which would have provided an additional means of sustenance.  As a result, the Aztec elites may have advocated for cannibalism as a means of providing them a consistent and nutritious food source.  Another scholar, Nathan Young, believes that Aztec ritual sacrifice was a means furthering the agenda of the Aztec elites, who were focused on conquest and expansion of the empire.  The need for prisoners of war to “feed” the gods encouraged warfare, the consequence of which led to conquered peoples and territories.  Young also claims that the institution of sacrifice enabled the elites to control the poor by enticing them to become soldiers as they could rise in the social ranks of the Aztec society by capturing prisoners of war.  In addition, these soldiers were guaranteed the option of having a splendid afterlife if they died during conquest, which would have been an additional means of feeding the military powerhouse that the elites required to meet their goals.   

At the present time, however, it is unclear which of these hypotheses is more supportable in regards to Aztec sacrifices as the Aztec history has been largely destroyed by the Spanish Conquistadors who participated in a campaign to eradicate their culture, as well as the Aztec people.  While this aspect of their culture is poorly understood it appears that Aztec sacrifices played a pivotal role in Aztec culture.   

Bibliography

Harner, M.  1977.  "The Enigma of Aztec Sacrifice."  Natural History.  86: 46-51.

Harner, M.  1977.  "The Ecological Basis for Aztec Sacrifice."  American Ethnologist.  4: 117-135.


Hassler, P.  1992.  "Human Sacrifice among the Aztecs? A Critical Study."  Die Ziet.  World Press Review.  

Kerkhove, RC.  1994.  “Explaining Aztec Human Sacrifice”  MA Thesis.  University of Queensland.


Kramer, S. 2013.  “Aztec Human Sacrifice”.   MSU Website.


Young, N.  20014.  “Aztec Human Sacrifice: Primitive Fanaticism or Genius of Empire?”  Discoveries p. 112-120.