Monday, July 23, 2007
Human Sacrifice and a New Discovery in Mexico
By Allan Wall
Mexico has a wealth of pre-Hispanic archaeological sites, and new discoveries are constantly
being made.
Sometimes discoveries are made by accident. In 1978, workers in downtown Mexico City were
digging down in order to install some cable, and they accidentally discovered the Aztec temple called the Templo Mayor, which
has since been excavated and a museum has been put on the site.
In the spring of 2007 another accidental discovery, at a construction site in central Mexico, revealed
a gruesome example of human child sacrifice.
The tomb was found near Tula, about 50 miles north of Mexico City. Tula was the capital of the
Toltec culture, which thrived from the AD 900s to 1100s. The Aztecs looked up to the Toltecs as their civilizers.
The most famous tourist attraction at Tula is an archaeological site that was the Toltec capital
city. It includes the famous “atlantes” — statues of Toltec warriors, which originally served as pillars
holding up a temple.
This new discovery at Tula is of a tomb containing two dozen sacrificed children.
They appear to have been sacrificed between AD 950 and 1150, during the Toltec Golden Age. Apparently all but one of
them were between the ages of five and 15.
Why do archaeologists think they were sacrificed? For one thing, the ritualistic manner
in which the skeletons are placed together indicates sacrifice, plus cut marks on their bones are consistent with it.
And within the tomb an idol of Tlaloc, worshipped as a rain god, was found, which could provide motive for the sacrifice.
As well, an interesting detail is that a turquoise artifact was recovered from the tomb. Turquoise
was a mineral found in what is now the U.S. Southwest, so this artifact may have been from there, having traveled the long
distance from the Southwest to Tula on the trade routes.
Human sacrifice was widespread in the Mesoamerican civilizations.
The term Mesoamerica refers to the area that was occupied by several civilizations
in pre-Columbian times, an area that includes central to southern Mexico and much of Central America. Just as European
civilization included various cultures, Mesoamerican civilization included various cultures (the Maya, Zapotec, Toltec, Aztec,
et cetera), who all shared common features of civilization.
Some contemporary Mexicans are reticent to recognize that human sacrifice existed among the cultures
of Mesoamerica. As a result, a far-fetched explanation has been cooked up to explain it away.
I’ve been told by some Mexicans that this or that Mesoamerican culture did not practice
human sacrifice, and what they were actually engaged in was advanced medical techniques that the Spaniards misunderstood.
However archaeological and historical evidence is all quite clear that human sacrifice was practiced
in Mesoamerica. The Spaniards reported it in their chronicles. The archaeological record is replete with evidence of
human sacrifice. There are depictions of it in Mesoamerican artwork. And archaeologists have found the skulls and skeletons
of the sacrifice victims. At the Templo Mayor Museum a visitor can actually see the skulls of the sacrificed.
Even Mesoamerican mythology supports the archaeological evidence. The Aztecs, who practiced it
on a large scale, believed that human sacrifice was necessary in order to keep the universe functioning.
Of course Mesoamericans were not the only people on the planet to practice human sacrifice.
In fact, there are examples of it in various cultures around the globe. Some of my Anglo-Saxon ancestors practiced human
sacrifice. I’m not trying to cover that up, but that’s definitely an ancestral custom I don’t wish to practice
myself!
The reticence of some Mexicans to admit the reality of human sacrifice is related to ambivalent
attitudes about Mexican history. The modern nation-state of Mexico has both European and indigenous roots. Without both
the Spaniards and the Indians, today’s Mexico would not exist.
The Mesoamerican civilization produced some great cultural and technical achievements. For
one thing, consider that all their structures were built without the use of iron tools and without draft animals. And
their astronomical science was highly advanced.
Mexican students should be taught about the cultural accomplishments of their indigenous forebears.
However sometimes the teaching of Mesoamerican history goes too far the other way, and presents Mesoamerica as some sort of
paradise.
But just as the Old World had war, slavery, tyranny and human sacrifice, so did Mesoamerica.
On that the historical record is clear.
Mexican history is often presented as just one big melodrama. But a more nuanced view allows
one to appreciate the accomplishments of its various civilizations without denying their obvious cruelties.
Allan Wall, a MexiData.info columnist, recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq.
He currently resides in Mexico, where he has lived since 1991. He can be reached via e-mail at allan39@prodigy.net.mx.
