1 HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE
AZTECS? - Peter Hassler
HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE AZTECS?
Copyright World Press Review Dec 1992
An aura of lurid fascination surrounds our interest
in the Aztecs, the people who, at the beginning of
the
16th century, inhabited one of the largest cities of
the world: Tenochtitlan. In 1521, this metropolis
was erased from the face of the Earth by the
Spanish conquerors under Hernando Cortes and
his Indian allies. As a justification for their
destructive acts, the conquistadors generated
propaganda designed to offend the sensibilities of
their Christian audience: They described the Aztec
practice of human sacrifice. Later chronicles by
Spanish writers, missionaries, and even Indian
converts also told repeatedly of this cult. Even
when scientists called these reports grossly
exaggerated, the fact that the Aztecs sacrificed
humans remained undisputed. Cutting out the
victim's heart with an obsidian knife [fashioned
from volcanic glass] was supposedly the most
common method of sacrifice, although other
forms were practiced as well. These included
beheading, piercing with spears or arrows, and
setting victims against each other in unequal
duels. We are also told that some victims were
literally skinned alive; a priest then donned this
macabre "skin suit" to perform a ritual dance.
There has been no shortage of theories and
explanations for what lay behind these archaic
cults. Some researchers have deemed them
religious rituals. Others have called them displays
of repressed aggression and even a method of
regulating population. Although human sacrifice
has been the subject of much writing, there has
been almost no critical examination of the sources
of information about it. A critical review is
urgently needed.
Bernal Diaz del Castillo is the classic source of
1 ¿SACRIFICIO HUMANO ENTRE LOS
AZTECS? - Peter Hassler
¿SACRIFICIO HUMANO ENTRE LOS
AZTECS? Copyright World Press Review
Diciembre de 1992
Un aura de fascinación espeluznante rodea nuestro
interés por los aztecas, las personas que, al
principio de la
Siglo XVI, habitaba una de las ciudades más
grandes del mundo: Tenochtitlan. En 1521, esta
metrópolis fue borrada de la faz de la Tierra por
los conquistadores españoles bajo Hernando
Cortés y sus aliados indios. Como justificación de
sus actos destructivos, los conquistadores
generaron propaganda diseñada para ofender las
sensibilidades de su público cristiano:
describieron la práctica azteca del sacrificio
humano. Las crónicas posteriores de los
escritores, misioneros e incluso de los conversos
indios también contaron repetidamente este culto.
Incluso cuando los científicos llamaban a estos
informes exageradamente exagerados, el hecho de
que los aztecas sacrificaran seres humanos
permanecía indiscutible. Cortar el corazón de la
víctima con un cuchillo de obsidiana [a partir de
vidrio volcánico] era supuestamente el método
más común de sacrificio, aunque también se
practicaban otras formas. Éstas incluían la
decapitación, la perforación con lanzas o flechas y
el establecimiento de víctimas entre sí en duelos
desiguales. También se nos dice que algunas
víctimas fueron literalmente vivas; Un sacerdote
se puso este macabro "traje de piel" para realizar
un baile ritual.
No ha habido escasez de teorías y explicaciones
para lo que estaba detrás de estos cultos arcaicos.
Algunos investigadores los han considerado
rituales religiosos. Otros los han llamado
exhibiciones de agresión reprimida e incluso un
método para regular la población. Aunque el
sacrificio humano ha sido objeto de mucha
escritura, no ha habido casi ningún examen crítico
information about mass sacrifice by the Aztecs. A de las fuentes de información al respecto. Es
literate soldier in Cortes' company, Diaz claimed urgente realizar una revisión crítica.
to have witnessed such a ritual. "We looked over
toward the Great Pyramids and watched as [the
Aztecs] ... dragged [our comrades] up the steps Bernal Díaz del Castillo es la fuente clásica de
and prepared to sacrifice them," he wrote in his información sobre el sacrificio masivo por los
Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva aztecas. Un soldado letrado en la compañía de
Espana (The True History of the Conquest of New Cortés, Díaz afirmó haber presenciado tal ritual.
Spain), published posthumously in 1632. "After "Miramos hacia las Grandes Pirámides y vimos
they danced, they placed our comrades face up cómo [los Aztecas] arrastraron [a nuestros
atop square, narrow stones erected for the compañeros] por los peldaños y se dispusieron a
sacrifices. Then, with obsidian knives, they sawed sacrificarlos", escribió en su Historia Verdadera de
their breasts open, pulled out their still-beating la Conquista de la Nueva España De la Conquista
hearts, and offered these to their idols." de la Nueva España), publicadas póstumamente en
1632. Después de bailar, colocaron a nuestros
camaradas boca arriba sobre piedras cuadradas y
The scene of these sacrificial rituals was the estrechas erigidas para los sacrificios, luego, con
main temple in the island-city of Tenochtitlan. cuchillos de obsidiana, se asearon los senos,
The observers, however, were watching from their -gritando corazones, y ofreciéndolos a sus ídolos.
camp on the shore of a lake three or four miles
away. From that point, Diaz could have neither
seen nor heard anything. To follow the action at
the foot of the pyramid, he would have to have La escena de estos rituales de sacrificio era el
been inside the temple grounds. But this would templo principal en la isla-ciudad de Tenochtitlan.
have been impossible: The Aztecs had just beaten Los observadores, sin embargo, estaban
back the Spanish and their allies, who had been observando desde su campamento en la orilla de
besieging the city from all sides. un lago a tres o cuatro millas de distancia. A partir
de ese momento, Díaz no pudo haber visto ni
escuchado nada. Para seguir la acción al pie de la
But Diaz is not the inventor of the legend of ritual pirámide, tendría que haber estado dentro de los
murder. Cortes fathered the lie in 1522, when he terrenos del templo. Pero esto habría sido
wrote a shorter version of the tale to Emperor imposible: los aztecas acababan de derrotar a los
Charles V. He would have been confident that his españoles ya sus aliados, que habían sitiado la
reports would ciudad desde todos los lados.
2 HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE
AZTECS? - Peter Hassler
Pero Díaz no es el inventor de la leyenda del
asesinato ritual. Cortés engendró la mentira en
1522, cuando escribió una versión más corta de la
find ready ears, for in the 15th and 16th centuries historia al emperador Charles V. Él habría
many lies were being spread in Spain about ritual confiado en que sus informes
murders carried out by the Jews, who were being 2 ¿SACRIFICIO HUMANO ENTRE LOS
expelled from the Iberian peninsula along with the AZTECS? - Peter Hassler
Moors. Cortes' lies were a tremendous
success: They have endured for almost 500
years without challenge. Along with the lies of
the conquistadors, there also have been
secondhand reports--what could be called Encuentran en los siglos XV y XVI muchas
"hearsay evidence"--in the writings of Spanish mentiras en España sobre los asesinatos rituales
missionaries and their Indian converts, who, in perpetrados por los judíos, expulsados de la
their new-found zeal, scorned their old religion. Península Ibérica junto con los moros. Las
The accounts are filled with vague and banal mentiras de Cortés fueron un éxito tremendo: Han
phrases such as, "And thus they sacrificed," which soportado durante casi 500 años sin desafío. Junto
indicates that the writers cannot have witnessed a con las mentiras de los conquistadores, también
real human sacrifice. hubo informes de segunda mano - lo que podría
llamarse "evidencia de oídas" - en los escritos de
misioneros españoles y sus conversos indios,
The only concrete evidence comes to us not from quienes, en su nuevo celo, despreciaban su vieja
the Aztecs but from the Mayan civilization of the religión . Los relatos están llenos de frases vagas y
Yucatan. These depictions are found in the records banales como "Y así sacrificaron", lo que indica
of trials conducted during the Inquisition, between que los escritores no pueden haber presenciado un
1561 and 1565. These supposed testimonies about verdadero sacrificio humano.
human sacrifice, however, were coerced from the
Indians under torture and have been judged
worthless as ethnographic evidence. La única evidencia concreta no nos viene de los
aztecas sino de la civilización maya de la
Yucatán. Estas descripciones se encuentran en los
Along with the written accounts, many registros de ensayos realizados durante la
archeological finds--sculptures, frescoes, wall Inquisición, entre
paintings, and pictographs--have been declared by 1561 y 1565. Estos supuestos testimonios sobre el
the Spanish, their Indian converts, and later sacrificio humano, sin embargo, fueron
anthropologists to be connected to human coaccionados
sacrifice. Yet these images are in no way proof Indios bajo tortura y han sido juzgados inútiles
that humans were in fact sacrificed. como evidencia etnográfica.

Until now, scientists have started from a position Junto con los relatos escritos, los españoles, sus
of believing the lies and hearsay reports and conversos indios y antropólogos posteriores han
interpreting the archeological evidence declarado que muchos hallazgos arqueológicos
accordingly. The circularity of such reasoning is -esculturas, frescos, pinturas murales y
obvious. There are plenty of possible pictografías- están relacionados con el sacrificio
interpretations of the images of hearts and even humano. Sin embargo, estas imágenes no son en
killings in these artifacts. They could depict myths modo alguno la prueba de que los seres humanos
or legends. They could present narrative images-- fueron de hecho sacrificados.
allegories, symbols, and metaphors. They could
even be images of ordinary executions or murders.
Human bones that appear to have been cut also do Hasta ahora, los científicos han comenzado desde
not serve as evidence of human sacrifice. In una posición de creer las mentiras y los informes
tantric Buddhism, skulls and leg bones are used tode oídas e interpretar la evidencia arqueológica en
make musical instruments used in religious consecuencia. La circularidad de tal razonamiento
rituals; this is in no way connected to human es obvia. Hay un muchisimas posibles
sacrifice. interpretaciones de las imágenes de los corazones
e incluso asesinatos en estos artefactos. Podían
representar mitos o leyendas. Podían presentar
Leslie J. Furst, a student of symbols used by the imágenes narrativas - alegorías, símbolos y
Aztecs, has seen depictions of magic where others metáforas. Incluso podrían ser imágenes de
have seen tales of human sacrifice. For example,
one image shows the incarnation of a female god
"beheaded" in the same way that a plant's blossom
is removed in the ritual connected to the making
of pulque, an alcoholic drink. Why scholars have
interpreted images of self-beheadings and other
things that depart from physical reality as
evidence of human sacrifice will puzzle future
generations.
There is another important symbolic background
for images of killing in Aztec artifacts: the
initiation ceremony, whose central event is the
mystical death. The candidate "dies" in order to be
reborn. This "death" in imaginary or symbolic
forms often takes on a dramatic shape in
imagery--such as being chopped to pieces or
swallowed by a monster. There has been no
research into the symbolism of death in the high
culture of the Indians of Mesoamerica, however,
even though there were many reincarnation myths
among these peoples.
3 HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE
AZTECS? - Peter Hassler
The ritual of "human skinning" surely belongs in
this same category. In our depictions, we see the
skin removed quickly from the victim, with a
single cut along the spine, and coming off the
body in a single piece. This is scarcely practicable.
This "human skin suit" may be nothing but a
metaphorical-symbolic representation, as indeed is
appropriate for the image-rich Aztec language.
And all of the heart and blood symbolism may be
just a metaphor for one of the Aztecs' favorite
drinks, made from cacao.
The heart is a symbolically important organ in
more than just European cultures. In the Indian
languages, as well, it is a symbol of courage and
the soul. And "cutting the soul from the body,"
after all, is not a surgical operation. This may
explain why no massive catacombs with what
would have been the bones of sacrifice victims
ejecuciones ordinarias o asesinatos. Los huesos
humanos que parecen haber sido cortados
tampoco sirven como evidencia de sacrificio
humano. En el budismo tántrico, los cráneos y los
huesos de las piernas se usan para hacer
instrumentos musicales usados en rituales
religiosos; Esto no está de ninguna manera
conectado con el sacrificio humano. El señor J.
Furst, un estudiante de símbolos usados por los
aztecas, ha visto representaciones de magia donde
otros han visto cuentos de sacrificio humano. Por
ejemplo, una imagen muestra la encarnación de un
dios hembra "decapitado" de la misma manera que
la flor de una planta se elimina en el ritual
relacionado con la fabricación de pulque, una
bebida alcohólica. Por qué los eruditos han
interpretado imágenes de auto decapitaciones y
otras cosas que se apartan de la realidad física
como evidencia del sacrificio humano, encubrirán
futuras generaciones. Hay otro fondo simbólico
importante para las imágenes de matar en
artefactos aztecas: la ceremonia de iniciación,
cuyo evento central es el Muerte mística. El
candidato "muere" para renacer. Esta "muerte" en
formas imaginarias o simbólicas adquiere a
menudo una forma dramática en imágenes, como
ser cortada en trozos o tragada por un monstruo.
Sin embargo, no ha habido ninguna investigación
sobre el simbolismo de la muerte en la alta cultura
de los indios de Mesoamérica, a pesar de que hubo
muchos mitos de reencarnación entre estos
pueblos.3 ¿EL SACRIFICIO HUMANO ENTRE
LOS AZTECS? - Peter HasslerEl ritual de la
"desolladura humana" pertenece ciertamente en
esta misma categoría. En nuestras
representaciones, vemos la piel removida
rápidamente de la víctima, con un solo corte a lo
largo de la columna vertebral, y saliendo del
cuerpo en una sola pieza. Esto es prácticamente
imposible. Este "traje de piel humana" puede ser
nada más que una representación metafórico-
simbólica, como es de hecho apropiada para el
lenguaje azteca rica en imágenes. Y todo el
simbolismo del corazón y de la sangre puede ser
simplemente una metáfora para una de las bebidas
preferidas de los aztecas, hechas del cacao. El
corazón es un órgano simbólicamente importante
en más que apenas culturas europeas. En las
have ever been found in Mesoamerica. lenguas indias, también, es un símbolo de coraje y
el alma. Y "cortar el alma del cuerpo", después de
todo, no es una operación quirúrgica. Esto puede
After careful and systematic study of the sources, explicar por qué no se han encontrado catacumbas
I find no sign of evidence of institutionalized mass masivas con lo que hubieran sido los huesos de las
human sacrifice among the Aztecs. The víctimas del sacrificio en Mesoamérica. Después
phenomenon to be studied, therefore, may be not de un estudio cuidadoso y sistemático de las
these supposed sacrifices but the deeply rooted fuentes, no encuentro signo de evidencia de
belief that they occurred. sacrificio humano masivo institucionalizado entre
los aztecas. El fenómeno a estudiar, por lo tanto,
puede no ser estos supuestos sacrificios, sino la
From the liberal weekly "Die Zeit" of Hamburg. creencia profundamente arraigada de que
Peter Hassler, an ethnologist at the University of ocurrieron. Del semanario liberal Die Zeit de
Zurich, is the author of "Human Sacrifice Among Hamburgo. Peter Hassler, etnólogo de la
the Aztecs? A Critical Study," published recently Universidad de Zurich, es autor de "Human
in Switzerland. Sacrifice Among the Aztecs, un estudio crítico",
publicado recientemente en Suiza.
 HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE AZTECS? - Peter Hassler
1
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE AZTECS?

Copyright World Press Review Dec 1992

An aura of lurid fascination surrounds our interest in the Aztecs, the people who, at the beginning of the
16th century, inhabited one of the largest cities of the world: Tenochtitlan. In 1521, this metropolis was
erased from the face of the Earth by the Spanish conquerors under Hernando Cortes and his Indian allies.
As a justification for their destructive acts, the conquistadors generated propaganda designed to offend the
sensibilities of their Christian audience: They described the Aztec practice of human sacrifice. Later
chronicles by Spanish writers, missionaries, and even Indian converts also told repeatedly of this cult.
Even when scientists called these reports grossly exaggerated, the fact that the Aztecs sacrificed humans
remained undisputed. Cutting out the victim's heart with an obsidian knife [fashioned from volcanic glass]
was supposedly the most common method of sacrifice, although other forms were practiced as well.
These included beheading, piercing with spears or arrows, and setting victims against each other in
unequal duels. We are also told that some victims were literally skinned alive; a priest then donned this
macabre "skin suit" to perform a ritual dance.

There has been no shortage of theories and explanations for what lay behind these archaic cults. Some
researchers have deemed them religious rituals. Others have called them displays of repressed aggression
and even a method of regulating population. Although human sacrifice has been the subject of much
writing, there has been almost no critical examination of the sources of information about it. A critical
review is urgently needed.

Bernal Diaz del Castillo is the classic source of information about mass sacrifice by the Aztecs. A literate
soldier in Cortes' company, Diaz claimed to have witnessed such a ritual. "We looked over toward the
Great Pyramids and watched as [the Aztecs] ... dragged [our comrades] up the steps and prepared to
sacrifice them," he wrote in his Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva Espana (The True History
of the Conquest of New Spain), published posthumously in 1632. "After they danced, they placed our
comrades face up atop square, narrow stones erected for the sacrifices. Then, with obsidian knives, they
sawed their breasts open, pulled out their still-beating hearts, and offered these to their idols."

The scene of these sacrificial rituals was the main temple in the island-city of Tenochtitlan. The
observers, however, were watching from their camp on the shore of a lake three or four miles away. From
that point, Diaz could have neither seen nor heard anything. To follow the action at the foot of the
pyramid, he would have to have been inside the temple grounds. But this would have been impossible:
The Aztecs had just beaten back the Spanish and their allies, who had been besieging the city from all
sides.

But Diaz is not the inventor of the legend of ritual murder. Cortes fathered the lie in 1522, when he wrote
a shorter version of the tale to Emperor Charles V. He would have been confident that his reports would
 HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE AZTECS? - Peter Hassler
2
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

find ready ears, for in the 15th and 16th centuries many lies were being spread in Spain about ritual
murders carried out by the Jews, who were being expelled from the Iberian peninsula along with the
Moors. Cortes' lies were a tremendous success: They have endured for almost 500 years without
challenge. Along with the lies of the conquistadors, there also have been secondhand reports--what could
be called "hearsay evidence"--in the writings of Spanish missionaries and their Indian converts, who, in
their new-found zeal, scorned their old religion. The accounts are filled with vague and banal phrases
such as, "And thus they sacrificed," which indicates that the writers cannot have witnessed a real human
sacrifice.

The only concrete evidence comes to us not from the Aztecs but from the Mayan civilization of the
Yucatan. These depictions are found in the records of trials conducted during the Inquisition, between
1561 and 1565. These supposed testimonies about human sacrifice, however, were coerced from the
Indians under torture and have been judged worthless as ethnographic evidence.

Along with the written accounts, many archeological finds--sculptures, frescoes, wall paintings, and
pictographs--have been declared by the Spanish, their Indian converts, and later anthropologists to be
connected to human sacrifice. Yet these images are in no way proof that humans were in fact sacrificed.

Until now, scientists have started from a position of believing the lies and hearsay reports and interpreting
the archeological evidence accordingly. The circularity of such reasoning is obvious. There are plenty of
possible interpretations of the images of hearts and even killings in these artifacts. They could depict
myths or legends. They could present narrative images--allegories, symbols, and metaphors. They could
even be images of ordinary executions or murders. Human bones that appear to have been cut also do not
serve as evidence of human sacrifice. In tantric Buddhism, skulls and leg bones are used to make musical
instruments used in religious rituals; this is in no way connected to human sacrifice.

Leslie J. Furst, a student of symbols used by the Aztecs, has seen depictions of magic where others have
seen tales of human sacrifice. For example, one image shows the incarnation of a female god "beheaded"
in the same way that a plant's blossom is removed in the ritual connected to the making of pulque, an
alcoholic drink. Why scholars have interpreted images of self-beheadings and other things that depart
from physical reality as evidence of human sacrifice will puzzle future generations.

There is another important symbolic background for images of killing in Aztec artifacts: the initiation
ceremony, whose central event is the mystical death. The candidate "dies" in order to be reborn. This
"death" in imaginary or symbolic forms often takes on a dramatic shape in imagery--such as being
chopped to pieces or swallowed by a monster. There has been no research into the symbolism of death in
the high culture of the Indians of Mesoamerica, however, even though there were many reincarnation
myths among these peoples.
 HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE AZTECS? - Peter Hassler
3
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The ritual of "human skinning" surely belongs in this same category. In our depictions, we see the skin
removed quickly from the victim, with a single cut along the spine, and coming off the body in a single
piece. This is scarcely practicable. This "human skin suit" may be nothing but a metaphorical-symbolic
representation, as indeed is appropriate for the image-rich Aztec language. And all of the heart and blood
symbolism may be just a metaphor for one of the Aztecs' favorite drinks, made from cacao.

The heart is a symbolically important organ in more than just European cultures. In the Indian languages,
as well, it is a symbol of courage and the soul. And "cutting the soul from the body," after all, is not a
surgical operation. This may explain why no massive catacombs with what would have been the bones of
sacrifice victims have ever been found in Mesoamerica.

After careful and systematic study of the sources, I find no sign of evidence of institutionalized mass
human sacrifice among the Aztecs. The phenomenon to be studied, therefore, may be not these supposed
sacrifices but the deeply rooted belief that they occurred.

From the liberal weekly "Die Zeit" of Hamburg. Peter Hassler, an ethnologist at the University of Zurich, is the
author of "Human Sacrifice Among the Aztecs? A Critical Study," published recently in Switzerland.

FIN