Are Aztecs Barbaric?
In today’s society people often accuse or judge the Native Americans as being uncivilized or even barbaric. Most of the cultures during that period participated in human sacrifice for religious beliefs. The Aztecs were more aggressive about human sacrifice than any other culture at that time; they took it to the extreme level of ripping the heart out of their victims. People today consider human sacrifice to be a form of murder. However, to the Aztecs, it was not. The Aztecs believed that they lived in the era of the fifth sun and that one day the world would violently end. This was how the belief of human sacrifice came about in the Aztec culture. The Aztecs wanted to postpone their destruction and believed that feeding the gods with human blood would keep the sun alive. One of the most fascinating ceremonies that the Aztec performed was conducted by the high priest. The priest would ascend the highest hill and at precisely midnight he would cut the heart out of his victim. He would then attempt to start a fire within the victim’s chest cavity. If the priest could not successfully start a fire, the Aztec believed that the world would end. This rare ceremony was only performed every fifty two years. Another ceremony that was performed included taking the life of an innocent child. This ceremony was devoted to the rain god. The Aztec believed that in order to promote fertility they had to sacrifice the life of an innocent child. There was also the small belief that if the priests could make the child cry before dying, the ceremony would be more successful. The evidence and assumption against the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican cultures as being uncivilized and barbaric is incorrect; the Spaniards who invaded and destroyed the Aztec civilization over looked the fact that they were very sophisticated for their time. They were masters of ecology and had very high morals. The Aztec believed in always doing the right thing and being honest.