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==Human Sacrifice==

==Human Sacrifice==

The Aztecs have become somewhat infamous in the modern era for their religious practice of human sacrifice. Before the arrival of the first European Christians to encounter the civilization, human sacrifice was very profound in Aztec civilization. At the sanctification of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlán in 1487 for example, records report the sacrifice of tens of thousands of prisoners over the span of a period of four weeks.  

The Aztecs have become somewhat infamous in the modern era for their religious practice of human sacrifice. Before the arrival of the first European Christians to encounter the civilization, human sacrifice was very profound in Aztec civilization. At the sanctification of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlán in 1487 for example, surviving Aztec codicies (texts) puts one specific sacrifice at 20,000 individuals over four days. Aztecs believed that their gods required nourishment to keep the world in balance and human blood was the highest form of sacrifice the Aztec could offer.

According to [[Spain|Spanish]] texts referencing the affair, <ref>Díaz, Bernal (2005, published posthumously in 1632), Historia verdadera de la conquista de Nueva España (Introducción y notas de Joaquín Ramírez Cabañas). Editorial Porrúa, 24.</ref> the Aztecs tore the heart from the sacrificed, while the victims were still alive.

According to [[Spain|Spanish]] texts referencing the affair, <ref>Díaz, Bernal (2005, published posthumously in 1632), Historia verdadera de la conquista de Nueva España (Introducción y notas de Joaquín Ramírez Cabañas). Editorial Porrúa, 24.</ref> the Aztecs tore the heart from the sacrificed, while the victims were still alive.