The Antecedents of Mesoamerican Sacrifice
The practice of human sacrifice was widespread in the Mesoamerican and in the South American cultures during the Inca Empire. Like all other known pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica, the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice. The extant sources describe how the Aztecs sacrificed human victims on each of their eighteen festivities, one festivity for each of their 20-day months. It is unknown if the Aztecs engaged in human sacrifice before they reached the Anahuac valley and started absorbing other cultural influences. The first human sacrifice reported in the sources was the sacrifice and skinning of the daughter of the king Cóxcox of Culhuacán; this story is a part of the legend of the foundation of Tenochtitlan. Several ethnohistorical sources state that under the guidance of Tlacaelel the importance of human sacrifice in Aztec history was given extra emphasis. The Aztecs would give a series of rituals to unlucky nearby tribesman to be sacrificed with an obsidian knife, and donate their blood to Acolnahuacatl, an Aztec god. When they had known he had finished his drink and he was no longer thirsty, they would end the sacrificing. This ritual would go on for a whole weekend, so as to please the gods.
Read more about this topic: Human Sacrifice In Aztec Culture
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