The Aztec performed human sacrifice on a regular basis to keep the gods happy. They believed the gods needed human blood and the sun god needed a fresh, still beating human heart. The high priest performed the ceremony with a sacred knife. Four others held down the victim. While the victim was still alive, the priest cut open his abdomen. The priest grabbed the still beating heart through the diaphragm.
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1 - There were many other civilizations or tribes that used human sacrifice. The Aztecs are well known for it because of the large amount of victims they killed. Every Aztec year had 18 festivals, and human sacrifice was the main part.
2 - The Aztecs believed that the universe would collapse after 52 years unless the gods were fed and kept strong. Human sacrifice was performed as a ritual and offering to the gods to allow the universe to survive and the world to thrive.
3 - The Aztecs killed their own people. Aztec people volunteered for the flower wars. The wars would be between the different cities within the Aztec empire and the warriors were usually volunteers that knew the losers would be sacrificed.
4 - The victim's body was cut open by the priest. The heart taken out of the body as it was still beating. The heart was offered to Huitzilopochtli, the main god. The dead body was cut up and given as a gift; it is thought these pieces were eaten.
5 - The god of night was believed to be a very powerful and dangerous god. The Aztecs believed he fed off the victims of war so when people were sacrificed to him, it was in a staged or fixed fight. The victim would be given a pretend weapon and expected to fight against four other armed warriors before sacrificed.
6 - They also sacrificed to the fire god. They had a huge meal and then set the victims on fire. The burning people were removed from the fire before death and their heart cut out. The Aztecs believed this kept their city from catching fire.
7 - Not all sacrifice ended with human death. Sometimes they used blood letting which was cutting themselves to offer it to the gods. The Aztecs also killed snakes, deer and even butterflies.
8 - Tlaloc was the god of water and rain. The Aztecs were afraid that if they made him angry he would stop the rain which would dry up their crops and cause disease. They believed that the rain god wanted the tears of children so it was the young who were sacrificed to him and they would be made to cry before the sacrifice ritual was performed.
9 - There are many reasons the Aztec were defeated by the Spanish in 1521. Some think human sacrifice was a reason. This bloodthirsty practice made the Aztec tons of enemies. These other tribes teamed up with the Spanish and to help them defeat the Aztecs. It is also thought that the high number of human sacrifices made each year (up to 20,000) physically affected the Aztec making them weaker since they had fewer people.
10 - Spain came and claimed this land for their king when they defeated the Aztec in war. When the Spanish conquered Mexico, they wanted to convert the country to Christianity. The Aztec liked how God sacrificed his only son Jesus for the sins of all men and eventually they stopped human sacrifice and became Christians.