Imagine being at an Aztec sacrifice ceremony. Imagine a villager or a noble getting his or her organs chopped out. Imagine a priest holding a heart still beating. Nowadays, we'd arrest him. But then, the Aztecs thought it was for their own good. They thought the world would end if they didn't sacrifice. The Aztecs were very brutal but ceremonies and sacrifices were very important to them.
The Aztecs were savage. They killed an estimated 20,000 people per year. They did not only kill people but they killed animals. There were many types of sacrifices actually. They thought they owed blood to the gods and, if they didn't provide blood, they would be punished. People would even cut themselves to offer blood to the gods so good things would happen. Every month, they would sacrifice at least one person. They would put them on a stone slab and open their chest and take out their heart and hold it to the sun.
Before the ceremony, there would be a fast. The night before, there would be dancing, singing, and instrument playing. Priests and priestess would preform the ceremonies. Four priests or priestesses would hold down the captive while another one would cut under his ribcage to remove his heart. They would burn it and roll him or her down the stairs. If he was noble or brave, they would carry him or her down. Some sacrifices were small and some were huge with many killed.
To the Aztecs, sacrifice was very important. They thought that the god's would punish them if they didn’t. They believed that the world would end if they didn’t sacrifice. If they didn't sacrifice, everything would stop. The animating spirit of humans was located in the blood which was located in the heart when it is beating fast. The gods hungered for the animated spirit which was in the heart. Without sacrifice, they thought the whole world would stop.
Imagine going back in time and watching an Aztec sacrifice. Nowadays it would be considered disgusting. But that was how it was then. Isn't it cool, the difference between now and then?
