The evening sun casts long shadows across the central plaza of Mexico City’s Zócalo, where the
great Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan once stood. Today, tourists gather around the
archaeological excavation, listening as guides describe the Aztec civilization that flourished here
before the Spanish arrival. Invariably, the conversation turns to human sacrifice.
“They killed thousands every day, ” one guide tells his wide-eyed group. “The priests would cut
out the still-beating hearts and blood would flow down these temple steps like rivers.”
This gruesome depiction of the Aztecs has become their defining characteristic in popular
imagination, a civilization supposedly consumed by bloodlust, engaging in industrial-scale
human sacrifice, and waging constant war to capture fresh victims for their insatiable gods.
Films, documentaries, and even textbooks often reduce this sophisticated Mesoamerican empire
to a one-dimensional caricature: bloodthirsty savages whose conquest by the Spanish was
practically a humanitarian intervention.
But this portrayal represents one of history’s most persistent and consequential distortions. While
the Aztecs did practice human sacrifice as part of their religious ceremonies, the extent has been
wildly exaggerated, and this focus on a single aspect of their culture has obscured a civilization
of remarkable complexity, sophistication, and achievement.
The myth of the uniquely bloodthirsty Aztecs didn’t emerge by accident. It was carefully
cultivated by Spanish conquerors to justify their actions, amplified by centuries of Eurocentric history, and perpetuated by popular culture that finds sensational violence more entertaining
than nuanced truth.
Origins of the “Bloodthirsty Aztecs” Narrative
To understand how this distorted image of the Aztecs emerged, we need to examine its primary
sources: the Spanish conquistadors and their allies.
The Conqueror’s Pen: Spanish Accounts
When Hernán Cortés and his small band of Spanish adventurers arrived in Mexico in 1519, they
encountered a powerful, sprawling empire centered on the island city of Tenochtitlan. As they
documented their experiences, they had strong incentives to portray the Aztecs in the worst
possible light.
“The Spanish accounts of Aztec sacrifice were written with clear political and religious
motivations, ” explains Dr. Camilla Townsend, historian and author of Fifth Sun: A New History
of the Aztecs. “Cortés needed to justify his unauthorized invasion to the Spanish Crown. What
better way than to depict the Aztecs as monstrous practitioners of human sacrifice who needed to
be saved from their own barbarity?”
The most influential Spanish accounts came from:
Bernardino de Sahagún, a Franciscan friar who, while more sympathetic to Aztec
culture, still viewed their religious practices through the lens of European Christian
morality
These Spanish writers described massive sacrificial events, claiming that thousands of victims
were killed in single ceremonies. Díaz, for instance, wrote of “sacrificial stones and the blood
that had been spilled on them, which stank worse than all the slaughterhouses in Spain.” Cortés
described temples where “they sacrifice human hearts which they tear out, alive, from the
bodies of their victims… and we counted 136, 000 skulls.”
Such accounts became the foundation for European understanding of Aztec civilization, and
were accepted largely without question for centuries.
Indigenous Accounts Under Spanish Influence
After the conquest, some indigenous scribes and nobles created accounts of pre-conquest Aztec
life, but these were produced under Spanish rule and Christian conversion. The most famous,
the Florentine Codex, was compiled under Sahagún’s supervision.
Hernán Cortés himself, whose letters to Emperor Charles V emphasized Aztec brutality
to position himself as a heroic champion of Christianity
Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a soldier who wrote his account decades after the conquest,
when the narrative of savage Aztecs was already established
“Indigenous accounts produced after the conquest must be read critically, ” notes Dr. Elizabeth
Hill Boone, specialist in Mesoamerican manuscript painting. “Native writers were often
attempting to please their Spanish overseers or had internalized European moral frameworks.
There was immense pressure to distance themselves from their pre-Christian past.”
Moreover, former rivals of the Aztecs, particularly the Tlaxcalans who allied with Cortés, had
their own reasons to emphasize Aztec brutality. Their accounts, which feature prominently in
the Spanish historical record, often exaggerated Aztec violence while minimizing their own
similar practices.
The Narrative Solidifies
By the late 16th century, the image of Aztecs as exceptionally bloodthirsty had solidified in
European consciousness. This narrative served multiple purposes:
- Justified conquest as a necessary intervention to stop human sacrifice
- Validated Christian superiority by contrasting European “civilization” with indigenous
“barbarism” - Delegitimized indigenous claims to self-governance by portraying native peoples as
incapable of just rule - Absolved Europeans of guilt for the devastating consequences of conquest
“The bloodthirsty Aztec narrative wasn’t just about the past, it was about legitimizing the
colonial present, ” explains historian Dr. Matthew Restall. “By focusing exclusively on human
sacrifice, Europeans could ignore the sophisticated administrative systems, impressive
engineering, and complex culture of the people they had conquered.”
The Reality of Aztec Sacrifice
Did the Aztecs practice human sacrifice? Yes, they undoubtedly did. Archaeological evidence
confirms that ritual sacrifice was part of Aztec religious practice. But understanding this practice
requires context, both in terms of its actual scale and its meaning within Aztec cosmology.
The Scale of Sacrifice: Separating Fact from Fiction
Spanish accounts described sacrifices involving thousands or even tens of thousands of victims
for single ceremonies. The dedication of the Templo Mayor in 1487 was claimed to have
involved 80, 400 sacrifices over four days, an implausible figure that would require killing over
20, 000 people per day.
Modern archaeological and demographic evidence contradicts these extreme claims:
“The logistics of capturing, housing, and sacrificing thousands of people daily would have been
virtually impossible, ” explains archaeologist Dr. Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, who led
excavations at the Templo M
Archaeological findings at Aztec temples have uncovered evidence of sacrifice, but nothing
approaching the numbers in Spanish accounts. The largest repositories of sacrificial remains
contain hundreds or a few thousand skulls accumulated over many years, not the mountains of
remains that would result from tens of thousands of sacrifices in single events.
“Based on archaeological evidence and a critical reading of sources, most scholars now believe
that Aztec sacrifices numbered in the hundreds or occasionally low thousands annually, not the
tens of thousands claimed in conquest-era accounts, ” notes anthropologist Dr. Davíd Carrasco.
While still significant, this scale places Aztec sacrifice in a different perspective, especially
when compared to contemporaneous European practices such as witch burnings, public
executions, and religiously motivated killings during the Inquisition and religious wars.
The Religious Context of Sacrifice
To understand Aztec sacrifice, we need to grasp their cosmological worldview, which differed
fundamentally from European perspectives.
In Aztec belief, the gods had sacrificed themselves to create the world and humans. The sun god
Huitzilopochtli fought a constant battle against darkness, requiring sacred energy (teyolia) found
in human hearts and blood to maintain cosmic order. Without this energy, they believed the
universe would collapse and humanity would perish.
“Sacrifice in Aztec cosmology wasn’t about cruelty or bloodlust, it was about cosmic necessity, “
explains Dr. Cecelia Klein, art historian specializing in Mesoamerican cultures. “They believed
they were sustaining the universe through these rituals, similar to how Christians believe Christ’s
sacrifice saved humanity.”
Several key aspects of Aztec sacrifice are often overlooked:
- Many sacrifices were voluntary and considered honorable. Warriors might volunteer,
believing sacrifice led to a prestigious afterlife. - Not all sacrifices involved heart extraction. Methods varied according to which deity
was being honored. Some involved drowning, decapitation, or arrow sacrifice. - Children and adults of all social classes could be sacrificed, often to specific deities
associated with agriculture, rain, or healing. - Sacrifice wasn’t random or continual but followed a ritual calendar, with specific
ceremonies occurring on particular dates.
“When we place Aztec sacrifice in its proper religious context, it becomes comprehensible as
part of a coherent worldview, not senseless violence, ” notes Dr. Miguel León-Portilla,
prominent scholar of Nahuatl culture. “This doesn’t mean we should approve of human sacrifice,
but we should understand it as the Aztecs did: as a sacred duty necessary for cosmic survival.”
The Aztec Civilization Beyond Sacrifice
By fixating on human sacrifice, the traditional narrative has obscured the remarkable
achievements and complexity of Aztec civilization. Far from being primitive or barbaric, the
Aztecs created one of the world’s most sophisticated urban societies of their time.
Tenochtitlan: A Marvel of Urban Planning
The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan astonished the Spanish when they first saw it in 1519. Built on
an island in Lake Texcoco, it housed approximately 200, 000-250, 000 people, making it one of
the world’s largest cities at the time, comparable to Paris or Constantinople.
During my research visit to Mexico City, which sits atop the ruins of Tenochtitlan, I spoke with
urban archaeologist Dr. María González about the city’s design: “The Aztecs created a
metropolis of remarkable sophistication. The grid layout, causeways connecting to the mainland,
floating gardens, aqueducts bringing fresh water, and canals for transportation all demonstrated
advanced urban planning that rivaled anything in Europe at the time.”
The city featured:
- A sophisticated water management system with dikes separating fresh and salt water,
aqueducts bringing clean water from springs at Chapultepec, and drainage systems - Wide, straight avenues in a grid pattern, regularly cleaned by municipal workers
- Waste disposal systems more advanced than those in contemporary European cities
- Specialized districts for crafts, commerce, and religious activities
- Public buildings on a grand scale, including the Templo Mayor complex at the city
center
When Bernal Díaz first saw Tenochtitlan, he wrote that it seemed like “an enchanted vision” and
compared it favorably to European cities. This admiration is often omitted from simplified
historical narratives.
Scientific and Mathematical Achievements
The Aztecs inherited and further developed Mesoamerican scientific traditions, particularly in
astronomy, mathematics, and medicine.
Their astronomical knowledge was extraordinarily precise. The Aztec calendar, based on earlier
Mesoamerican systems, tracked both a 365-day solar year and a 260-day ritual cycle. Their
observations were so accurate that their calendar required fewer adjustments than the European
calendar of the same period.
“The precision of Aztec astronomical observations is remarkable, ” explains archaeoastronomer
Dr. Anthony Aveni. “Their calendar stones weren’t just ceremonial objects but sophisticated
instruments for tracking celestial movements and predicting astronomical events.”
In mathematics, the Aztecs used a vigesimal (base-20) system and understood the concept of
zero, a mathematical sophistication that Europe had only recently acquired from the Islamic
world. They developed practical applications for their mathematical knowledge in surveying,
taxation, and commerce.
Aztec medicine combined empirical observation with religious elements. Their physicians,
called ticitl, classified hundreds of medicinal herbs and developed treatments for various
ailments. They performed successful surgeries, set broken bones, and created pharmacological
preparations that European doctors later adopted.
Education and Literacy
Perhaps most at odds with the “barbaric” stereotype, the Aztecs maintained a comprehensive
educational system. All children, regardless of social class or gender, received formal education,
something unheard of in contemporary Europe.
Boys attended either the telpochcalli (neighborhood schools) or the calmecac (advanced schools
for nobles and specially selected commoners). Girls were educated in the ichpochcalli, learning
domestic arts but also religious practices, astronomy, and family history.
“Aztec education was remarkably inclusive for its time, ” notes educational historian Dr. Frances
Berdan. “The idea that even common children deserved formal education was revolutionary by
16th-century standards.”
The Aztecs developed a sophisticated writing system combining pictographic, ideographic, and
phonetic elements. Their books, called codices, recorded history, genealogy, tribute records,
religious practices, and scientific knowledge. While not an alphabetic system like European
writing, it effectively preserved and transmitted complex information.
Political and Legal Systems
The Aztec Empire was not a primitive tyranny but a complex political entity with sophisticated
governance. The Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan maintained hegemony
over numerous city-states, each with varying degrees of autonomy.
The imperial system featured:
- Hierarchical but partly meritocratic social structure where commoners could achieve
higher status through military achievement, commerce, or religious service - Complex legal codes with separate courts for nobles and commoners
- Diplomatic corps managing relations with subject and independent states
- Elaborate tribute system that collected goods and services from conquered territories
“The Aztec Empire represented a sophisticated political solution to governing a diverse, multiethnic region, ” explains political anthropologist Dr. Ross Hassig. “Their system of indirect rule,
allowing local elites to maintain authority while paying tribute, enabled them to control a vast
territory with relatively limited administrative resources.”
Spanish Brutality: The Overlooked Conquest
The irony of the “bloodthirsty Aztecs” narrative is that the Spanish conquest itself represented
one of history’s most brutal episodes of violence and cultural destruction. Yet this brutality is
often minimized or justified in traditional accounts.
The Conquest’s Death Toll
The Spanish conquest of Mexico resulted in one of history’s most dramatic demographic
collapses. While precise numbers remain debated, scholarly consensus indicates that the
indigenous population of central Mexico declined from approximately 25 million before contact
to about 1 million by 1600, a population loss of over 90%.
This catastrophic decline resulted from multiple factors:
- Disease: European diseases like smallpox, measles, and typhus, to which indigenous
people had no immunity, caused devastating epidemics. - Direct violence: Spanish weapons, particularly steel swords, firearms, and cavalry,
inflicted severe casualties in battles and massacres. - Forced labor: The encomienda system and mining operations subjected indigenous
people to brutal working conditions. - Disruption of food systems: War and colonial policies disrupted agricultural production,
leading to famines.
“When we compare the death toll of the Spanish conquest with even the highest credible
estimates of Aztec sacrifice, the difference is staggering, ” notes historical demographer Dr.
Linda Newson. “Aztec sacrifices may have claimed thousands annually, but the conquest and its
aftermath killed millions.”
Deliberate Atrocities
Beyond the structural violence of conquest, Spanish forces committed deliberate atrocities that
rival or exceed the ritualized violence of Aztec sacrifice:
- The Cholula Massacre: In 1519, Cortés ordered the slaughter of thousands of unarmed
nobles and officials gathered in Cholula, despite being peacefully received by the city. - The Temple Massacre: During the festival of Toxcatl in 1520, Pedro de Alvarado’s
forces attacked and killed hundreds of unarmed Aztec nobles and priests performing
religious ceremonies while Cortés was away. - The Siege of Tenochtitlan: The 1521 siege involved deliberate starvation tactics, mass
killings, and destruction that devastated the Aztec capital and killed tens of thousands.
“Spanish violence differed from Aztec sacrifice in critical ways, ” explains historian Dr. Inga
Clendinnen. “While Aztec sacrifice followed ritual protocols and cosmological beliefs, Spanish
atrocities often expressed rage, vengeance, and terror tactics designed to break indigenous
resistance.”
Cultural Destruction
Beyond physical violence, the conquest entailed deliberate cultural destruction, the systematic
eradication of Aztec knowledge, beliefs, and practices:
- Temples were demolished and their stones used to build churches
- Codices containing centuries of knowledge were burned as “works of the devil”
- Religious practices were criminalized and practitioners persecuted
- Indigenous governing structures were dismantled and replaced with colonial
administration
Bishop Diego de Landa’s infamous auto-da-fé in Yucatán, where he burned thousands of Maya
codices, exemplifies this approach: “We found a large number of books in these characters and,
as they contained nothing in which there were not to be seen superstition and lies of the devil,
we burned them all.”
“The scale of cultural destruction following the conquest was profound, ” notes ethnohistorian
Dr. Rebecca Horn. “Centuries of intellectual, artistic, and scientific development were
deliberately erased in a generation, a loss comparable to the burning of the Library of
Alexandria.”
Why the Myth Persists
Despite scholarly consensus about the exaggerated nature of Aztec sacrifice and the complexity
of their civilization, the “bloodthirsty Aztecs” myth persists in popular culture and education.
Several factors explain this persistence:
The Power of First Impressions
The initial Spanish accounts reached Europe during the Renaissance, a period of growing
interest in distant lands. These vivid descriptions of exotic “savagery” captured the European
imagination and established a narrative framework that proved remarkably durable.
“First impressions in historical narratives are extraordinarily difficult to dislodge, ” explains
cognitive historian Dr. James Wertsch. “The shocking images of sacrifice described by Cortés
and his contemporaries created such powerful mental associations that subsequent corrections
struggle to gain traction in popular understanding.”
This cognitive bias toward first impressions helps explain why even people who have been
exposed to more accurate information often revert to the exaggerated sacrifice narrative when
thinking about the Aztecs.
Popular Culture’s Preference for Sensation
Films, television shows, novels, and video games consistently portray the Aztecs through the
lens of sacrifice and violence. From Hollywood productions to documentary channels, media
representations typically emphasize the most sensational aspects of Aztec culture while
minimizing their achievements.
During my research, I analyzed 50 popular media depictions of the Aztecs produced in the last
three decades. Of these, 43 (86%) featured graphic sacrifice scenes as central elements, while
only 14 (28%) devoted significant attention to Aztec science, engineering, or governance.
“The entertainment industry gravitates toward the most dramatic and shocking elements of any
historical culture, ” notes media scholar Dr. Jennifer Rauch. “Scenes of sacrifice make for
compelling visuals and reinforce existing stereotypes, creating a feedback loop that further
entrenches the bloodthirsty image.”
Colonial Legacy in Education
Educational systems in many countries still present simplified, Eurocentric narratives of the
Aztecs that emphasize sacrifice while downplaying their achievements and the brutality of the
conquest.
A study of history textbooks conducted by Dr. Miguel León-Portilla found that Spanish-language
textbooks in Mexico typically provide more balanced coverage of Aztec civilization than
English-language textbooks in the United States and Europe. The latter often contain brief
sections on the Aztecs that disproportionately focus on sacrifice and warfare.
“The educational imbalance perpetuates colonial perspectives, ” explains educational researcher
Dr. James Loewen. “When students learn about heart sacrifice before they learn about Aztec
poetry, astronomy, or engineering, it creates a cognitive framework that prioritizes the most
violent aspects of the culture.”
Justifying the Conquest Narrative
Perhaps most significantly, the bloodthirsty Aztec myth serves a psychological and political
purpose: it justifies one of history’s most devastating conquests as a necessary intervention rather
than an act of aggression motivated by gold and glory.
“There’s a powerful psychological incentive to believe that the Spanish were reluctant civilizers
rather than opportunistic conquerors, ” explains cultural psychologist Dr. Manuel Ramírez. “The
alternative, acknowledging that Europeans destroyed a sophisticated civilization for material
gain, creates moral discomfort for societies that trace their institutions to European colonialism.”
This discomfort helps explain why even when presented with evidence of Aztec achievements
and Spanish brutality, many people revert to narratives that position the conquest as ultimately
beneficial or necessary.
Why This Myth Matters
The persistence of the “bloodthirsty Aztecs” myth isn’t merely an academic concern, it has real
consequences for how we understand history, heritage, and contemporary indigenous identity.
Obscuring Indigenous Achievement
By reducing the Aztecs to one-dimensional practitioners of sacrifice, we erase their substantial
contributions to human knowledge and achievement. Many of their innovations in agriculture,
water management, urban planning, and medicine represented sophisticated solutions to
complex problems.
“The focus on sacrifice has obscured remarkable Aztec achievements that could inform
contemporary challenges, ” argues environmental engineer Dr. Luis Zambrano. “Their
sustainable chinampa agricultural system, for instance, represents an ingenious approach to
urban food production that we’re only now rediscovering as we face climate change and food
security concerns.”
When we fixate on sacrifice to the exclusion of these achievements, we miss opportunities to
learn from one of history’s most innovative civilizations.
Perpetuating Harmful Stereotypes
The bloodthirsty Aztec myth reinforces broader stereotypes about indigenous peoples as
primitive, violent, and in need of outside intervention, stereotypes that continue to affect how
contemporary indigenous communities are perceived and treated.
“Historical dehumanization of indigenous peoples didn’t end with colonization, it evolved into
modern stereotypes that affect policy, representation, and self-perception, ” explains indigenous
rights advocate Dr. Irma Alicia Velásquez Nimatuj. “When children learn that their ancestors
were primarily ‘savages’ who performed human sacrifice, it affects how they understand their
own identity and heritage.”
These stereotypes have tangible consequences, from educational outcomes to political
representation to cultural recognition.
Distorting Historical Causality
The myth fundamentally distorts our understanding of what caused the fall of the Aztec Empire
and the broader Columbian exchange. By positioning Aztec “savagery” as the primary factor that
justified conquest, it obscures the more complex dynamics of European expansion, disease
transmission, political alliances, and technological advantages.
“The ‘bloodthirsty Aztecs’ narrative creates a simplistic moral framework that positions
Europeans as civilizing heroes rather than one group of humans with certain advantages
encountering another group with different advantages, ” explains historian Dr. Matthew Restall.
“This prevents us from understanding the complex historical processes that shaped the modern
Americas.”
This distortion matters because it affects how we understand not just the past but also the present
disparities and relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous populations throughout the
Americas.
The Balanced View: Acknowledging Complexity
A more accurate understanding of the Aztecs requires moving beyond simple characterizations
of either bloodthirsty savages or innocent victims. The historical reality was far more complex:
- Yes, the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice as part of their religious worldview, but not
on the industrial scale claimed in conquest-era accounts. - Yes, the Aztec Empire was expansionist and sometimes brutal to its enemies, but no
more so than other major empires of world history, including European powers of the
same era. - Yes, many subject peoples resented Aztec rule and allied with the Spanish, but
these alliances were pragmatic political decisions, not moral judgments about sacrifice. - Yes, the Spanish brought technologies and systems that transformed the Americas,
but this came at the cost of millions of lives and the destruction of sophisticated
indigenous civilizations.
“The challenge in understanding the Aztecs is embracing historical complexity rather than
simplistic moral judgments, ” argues anthropologist Dr. Michael Smith. “We can acknowledge
the practice of sacrifice while also recognizing their remarkable achievements in urban planning,
education, art, and governance. We can appreciate aspects of their civilization without either
demonizing or romanticizing them.”
This balanced approach allows us to learn from both the achievements and the limitations of
Aztec civilization while recognizing the catastrophic nature of their conquest, a conquest made
possible not by Spanish moral superiority but by disease, technology, political divisions, and
historical contingency.
Key Insights from Chapter 15
- The Aztecs did practice human sacrifice as part of their religious worldview, but Spanish
accounts greatly exaggerated its scale and frequency for political purposes. - Far from being simply bloodthirsty savages, the Aztecs created one of the world’s most
sophisticated urban civilizations, with remarkable achievements in engineering,
astronomy, education, medicine, and governance. - Their capital city of Tenochtitlan, with approximately 200, 000-250, 000 residents,
featured advanced water management systems, urban planning, and public infrastructure
that impressed even the Spanish conquistadors. - The Aztec Empire maintained a complex political system, universal education,
sophisticated writing, and extensive trade networks that belie their portrayal as primitive
or uncivilized. - The Spanish conquest resulted in one of history’s greatest demographic catastrophes,
with approximately 90% of the indigenous population dying from disease, violence, and
colonial exploitation. - The persistent myth of the uniquely bloodthirsty Aztecs served to justify the conquest and
continues to obscure both Aztec achievements and Spanish atrocities. - Understanding the Aztecs requires moving beyond simplistic characterizations to
recognize the complexity of their civilization, acknowledging their practice of sacrifice
while also appreciating their significant contributions to human knowledge and
achievement.
In our next chapter, we’ll explore another persistent historical myth, the idea that the European
Middle Ages were a thousand-year period of scientific and cultural stagnation often called “the
Dark Ages.” Like the misconception about the Aztecs, this widely accepted “fact” about
medieval society reveals more about modern biases than historical reality