There is no longer any dispute: the Aztecs and the Maya sacrificed human beings - and brutally

In recent years, archaeological findings have been accumulated that verify the Spanish versions regarding the sacrifice of human sacrifices by the Indian tribes

Excavations at the Aktafek site where findings of human sacrifices were found

Did the Aztecs and Mayans use human sacrifices as frequently and brutally as described in the history books? Or did the Spanish conquerors exaggerate their descriptions in order to justify their war and to describe the natives as primitive? This question has been in dispute for a long time, however, in recent years, archaeological findings have been accumulated that verify the Spanish versions and show that even if the phenomenon was not as widespread as described, sacrifice was indeed an integral part of these cultures. With the help of advanced technological methods, archeologists prove that in the period before the Spanish occupation, the natives also used to sacrifice toddlers as human sacrifices, and even used a variety of brutal killing methods.

For decades, many researchers believed that the stories of the Spanish conquistadors from the 17th-16th centuries were deliberately twisted to slander Native American culture. Others argued that human sacrifice was limited to captured warriors, and there were those who admitted that the Aztecs were cruel, but the Maya were less so. "Now we have tangible evidence that will confirm the written and illustrated data," said archaeologist Leonardo López Lujan, "There were certain 'pro-Indian' movements that tried to deny this and claimed that the texts lie."

"It seems that the Spanish did exaggerate the numerical data regarding the human sacrifices, in order to justify their war on idolatry," said David Carasso, an expert on American religions from the Harvard School of Theology. At the same time, there is no longer any doubt about the murders themselves. Native American paintings and Spanish reports from the same period describe various forms of human sacrifice: victims whose hearts were removed from their bodies, whose heads were beheaded, whose bodies were pierced by arrows, whose nails were removed, whose bodies were sliced, crushed, who were stoned to death, who were skinned, who were buried alive or who were thrown away From the top of the temple. Children were often sacrificed, as they were considered pure.

In excavations conducted in December at the Aktepec site north of Mexico City, archaeologist Nadia Valez Saldana described findings that indicate the offering of human sacrifices to the god of death. "The sacrifice included burning or partial burning of the victims. We found a grave with the remains of four children who were partially burned and four more children who were completely burned." On the site, evidence of the sacrifices was found in paintings made between 1600 and 1650, which depict human parts boiled in a pot, with a group of people sitting around eating, while the god of death watches them from above. "We found cooking pots just like this," said archaeologist Luis Manuel Gamboa, "and next to them are whole skeletons, next to which are dismembered skeletons." However, the researchers do not know if these are human remains that were eaten.

The Mayans, whose civilization reached its peak about 400 years before the Aztecs founded Mexico City in 1325, also seem to have offered human sacrifices. According to anthropologist David Stewart of Harvard University, "The first researchers made a distinction between the 'quiet' Mayans and the 'brutal' cultures of central Mexico. They even claimed that the Mayans did not make human sacrifices." However, in their sculptures and wall paintings "we have now found a lot of similarity between the Mayan culture and the Aztecs", Stewart explained. Among other things, evidence was discovered of a Mayan religious ceremony, in which the priest removes the entrails from the victim bound in front of him while he is still alive, apparently.

Lujan, who is also working on the findings of the Mayur Temple site, confirmed the theory of human sacrifices through advanced chemical tests of the Aztec temple floors. In these tests it was discovered that the floor is soaked in iron, protein and genetic material that indicate the presence of human blood. "Now it's just a question of quantity," said Luhan, who believes that the Spaniards exaggerated the number of victims they described in their reports. In one case they told of 80,400 people who were sacrificed during the dedication celebrations of one of the temples in 1847. "We are not even close to such numbers - even if we add a few zeros to the numbers we have," he explained.

Some researchers believe that human sacrifice was a method of demographic balance or that cannibalism was intended to solve the problem of protein deficiency that the Aztecs suffered from. The cultures before the Spanish conquest believed that the world would come to an end if no sacrifices were made, while the sacrifices themselves were given the honor reserved for the gods, before they were sacrificed. "It's really unimaginable today," said archaeologist Carmen Pihuan, "it was really an honor for them."