In his 1977 article “The Enigma of Aztec Sacrifice”, Michael Harner, estimates the number of Aztec victims sacrificed in the 15th century as high as 250,000 per year.
The Aztecs claimed that for the re-consecration of the pre Columbian Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, 80,400 prisoners were sacrificed. If this is an example of one single ceremony, the number of human sacrifices performed by the Aztecs must be astounding.
So, who was sacrificed?
Human sacrifices were performed on specific days. It is believed ceremonies occurred for each of the 18 Aztec months. To start the ceremony, purified Aztec pottery vessels were used by Aztec priests to burn the sacred copal (a tree resin).
Each god required a different kind of victim: Xilonen the goddess of maize required young women; children were sacrificed to Tlaloc the god of rain; Huitzilopochtli the war god required courageous prisoners that were captured in battle. And only one single volunteer would be accepted for Tezcatlipoca, god “Smoking Mirror”.
Aztec artwork displayed vivid images of these scenes in pottery and artifacts that today are used in Mexican style décor. particularly popular are ceremonial items used by Aztec shamans to burn the sacred copal and call forth the gods.
All Aztecs were Fierce Warriors
There is still much debate as to what social groups constituted the usual victims of these sacrifices. It is often assumed that all victims were ‘unwanted’ commoners or foreigners. This is not accurate; victims seem to have been persons from any status level, even of Aztec society. Likewise, it is believed that virtually all child sacrifices were offered by noble level parents as the ultimate gift to the demanding gods.
The Aztecs trained all their male population to be warriors. During a military campaign, every Aztec warrior was expected to display his bravery on the battlefield and also to capture at least one prisoner for sacrifice. Only those warriors who continuously succeeded in displaying no fear of death in combat and providing captives for sacrifice could aspire to become full-time members of one of the elite military orders such as the jaguar or eagle orders. Those warriors that were unsuccessful at these tasks were delegated to a less desirable status, but could redeem themselves in future battles. Arranged military campaigns called “Flower Wars” were on a regular basis scheduled for the purpose of offering warriors an opportunity to capture prisoners for sacrifice.
So, How Many Sacrifices Occurred?
This question is very difficult to answer with certainty. Aztec artwork depicted in Codices that chronicles the rites were pictorial not scripted texts. Also, Catholic priests and Spanish conquistadores burned all obtainable texts because they believed the images depicted on the pages were evil.
In the most famous account, the re-consecration of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan, it is believed Aztec priests used only four sacrificial altars during the four-day re-consecration ceremony. To reach the 80,400 human sacrifices during this time period the Aztec priests would have had to average 14 sacrifices per minute. This is a physical impossibility.
moreover human sacrifice was probably used to terrorize subjugated populations and most likely grossly over exaggerated and used as a propaganda tool. It is said that old Aztecs who talked with the Spanish missionaries after the conquest told about a much lower figure for the re-consecration ceremony. According to the Codex Telleriano-Remensis they named approximately 4,000 victims in total. Today, current best estimates from recognized historians and archaeologists range from 250,000 to 20,000 sacrifices per year.
Before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries, fantastic pre-Columbian societies flourished in what is commonly referred as Mesoamerica. View Mexican style décor products that celebrate these ancient lost civilizations at http://www.AncientMexico.biz.