The truth about Aztecs

When you think of the Aztecs what comes to mind? Their gold, their human sacrifices, or their cannibalistic tendencies. Why do we not hear of their complex political system or their advanced form of farming or the fact that Europe practiced cannibalism at the same time? Maria Dolan of Smithsonian Magazine wrote how during the 16th century a German-Swiss physician, Paracelsus, argued that there were benefits to drinking fresh human blood. After this, came the medical cannibalism craze, with powdered mummies, powdered blood, and even skulls being sold in the markets. Everyone used these substances as medicine. It is odd that no one ever seems to talk about Europeans practicing cannibalism, but are quick to state how the Aztecs did.

Some believe that the Aztecs sacrificed hundreds a day and that humans were their main source of protein, while others believe that they never sacrificed humans or practiced cannibalism. The truth is actually somewhere in the middle. Historian Camilla Townsend wrote how near the late 1400’s, powerful city-states sacrificed people quite regularly due to their political agendas. Aztec cannibalism was a ritual, the people that were eaten were sacrificed slaves or captives of war; however, those sacrifices were only consumed during droughts or in the winter and only the nobility class had the “honor” to eat them.

Cortes and the conquistadors exaggerated the Aztecs’ practices in their writing to steal the Aztecs’ gold, people, land, and more, convincing everyone and themselves that the “uncivilized” Aztecs deserved to be conquered. Cortes wrote, “they take many girls and boys and even adults, and in the presence of the idols they open their chests while they are still alive and take out their hearts and entrails and burn them before the idols, offering the smoke as sacrifice.” The Aztecs did sacrifice children, but it was extremely rare as almost all sacrifices were adult males. The irony is that while the conquistadors were writing their accounts, they would consume powdered human skulls to relieve their headaches.

It is terrible that we disregard European cannibalism, while the Aztecs remain known as an extremely violent civilization. We cannot pass down this whitewashed story. It is never too late to state the facts, by updating our history books to state their history, our real history.

Kimberly Diaz,

New Oxford