Although it has long been assumed that the Aztecs sacrificed prisoners of war at the Great Temple of Tenochtitlán after battle to appease their gods, new findings suggest that they also offered up people they may have been close to such as their staff, according to the Daily Mail. The findings stem from the analysis of remains of people who were sacrificed between 1469 and 1521, which revealed that not all of them came from conquered lands - in fact, some of them living in the Valley of Mexico among the Aztecs.
Previous theories point to wars and their victims as the answer to who was sacrificed at the Aztec's temple - scientists believed that these people were gradually taken from populations that were conquered by the Mexicas who ruled over Tenochtitlán. However, these new results show that this may not be the case, with some of the sacrificial remains pointing to people who lived with the Mexicas for more than six years, according to Fox News Latino.
"There was this general idea that sacrifices were mostly the result of wars, people taken from the populations gradually conquered," said archaeologist Alan Barrera, who conducted the research.
The analyses were conducted on bones samples stemming from the skulls and teeth of six people who were sacrificed at the temple, which contained a wall of carved skulls, using strontium isotope analysis in order to determine the origins of the deceased individuals.
Based on the results, the experts concluded that the Aztecs not only sacrificed imprisoned warriors but also "captives to be servants for the elite," as in those who served high-ranking Aztecs. Furthermore, the sacrifices were not only warriors, but also women, children and elderly.
Many historians speculate that this practice was the main factor the led to the Aztec downfall and prompted their neighbors to ally with Spanish colonizers and attack their empire, according to the Latin Post.
