Toltec Child Sacrifice

[DecimusCaesar]

Ancient Tomb Found in Mexico Reveals Mass Child Sacrifice

Kelly Hearn

for National Geographic News

 

June 12, 2007

The skeletons of two dozen children killed in an ancient mass sacrifice have been found in a tomb at a construction site in Mexico.

 

The find reveals new details about the ancient Toltec civilization and adds to an ongoing debate over ritualistic killing in historic Mesoamerica.

 

Read full article - National Geographic - Toltec Sacrifice

[docoflove1974]

Evidence suggests the children sacrificed to Tlaloc were in very poor health when they died and that the sacrifices were not punitive, [Traci Alden] added.

 

This was perhaps the most interesting part of the article. If this is true, it wasn't a healthy child that was usually sacrificed--perhaps this is another way of 'taking care' of kids who weren't deemed healthy enough to survive?

 

Another question...were these sacrifices done in order to bring normal rain, or in order to break drought? If the sacrificed children were ill, perhaps this is a clue, that they were sacrificed in order to break a drought.

[Callaecus]

Another question...were these sacrifices done in order to bring normal rain, or in order to break drought? If the sacrificed children were ill, perhaps this is a clue, that they were sacrificed in order to break a drought.

Human sacrifices are the most desperate of them all and are only done in exceptional circumstances. Your suggestion of a severe drought is possible, though a desperate military or an epidemic situation can also be envisaged.

[ASCLEPIADES]

Salve, guys and Ladies!

 

HERE, IN THIS LINK is an X-traordinary review of human sacrifices in Mesoamerica; unfortunately, it's in Spanish.

 

Apparently the main point of this article is that this is the first archaeological evidence of human sacrifice among the Toltec culture, hardly surprising because there is a lot of literary and graphical evidence.

[docoflove1974]

Actually, no, the article is an overview of the role of human sacrifice of the Aztec-based cultures of Mexico and Central America. It's a good article, noting that sacrifices of all kinds were primarily seen as a 'payment of debt', and that Mexica myths bear reference to sacrifice for this reason. It does make mention that there have been evidence of these sacrifices, mostly on 'writings' and sculptures.

[ASCLEPIADES]

Salve, guys and Ladies!

 

HERE, IN THIS LINK is an X-traordinary review of human sacrifices in Mesoamerica; unfortunately, it's in Spanish.

 

Apparently the main point of this article is that this is the first archaeological evidence of human sacrifice among the Toltec culture, hardly surprising because there is a lot of literary and graphical evidence.

Salve, D!

 

An apology. My posting was confusing, to say the less.

 

Here, I was talking about the first article (the NG link at the head of this topic)

"The Toltec, a pre-Aztec civilization that thrived from the 10th to 12th centuries, had not been previously thought to have sacrificed children... "This new discovery at Tula pushes back the evidence for a relationship between child sacrifice and the [appeasement] of the rain god Tlaloc at least 300 years," she said."

 

Concerning the second article (my link), as far as I can understand it, I totally agree with your explanation.

Edited July 23, 2007 by ASCLEPIADES