Aztec Human Sacrifices : Normalization of Violence in Aztec Society

[@MLaserHistory]

! Extra Information & Clarifications ! Corrections are in the description. 0:00 The conversation around Aztec sacrifices and the Aztec normalization of killing humans is often rife with tu quoque argumentation. The most discussed tu quoque argument is that of the Spanish Auto-da-fé. Even though the Spanish were disgusted by the "horrors" of Aztec human sacrifices, it could be argued that they themselves practiced their own type of "religious sacrifice", the Auto-da-fé. The Auto-da-fé was an elaborate execution of a person or people who were found to be guilty of impiety by the Spanish Inquisition. The argument is that in some ways the religious manner of the Auto-da-fé executions could be compared to that of the ritualistic Aztec sacrifices and, therefore, we should not call the Aztecs "barbarians" or even worse. Auto-da-fé is the most common pointed out tu quoque argument but there are many others which people use. As for me, outside of acknowledging at the start of my video that human sacrifices happened in almost every corner of the world at some point in history, I did not find it necessary to partake in the tu quoque arguments. As, I believe the Aztec violence should be discussed in its own context without trying to compare it to other people's violence because that could be done for almost anyone. There are no saints in history. Caroline D. Pennock. "Mass Murder or Religious Homicide? Rethinking Human Sacrifice and Interpersonal Violence in Aztec Society". 0:48 The Mexica weren't just people from the city of Tenochtitlan, however, Tenochtitlan was the most important Mexica city, hence, my use of the word "capital" here. Even though it wouldn't necessarily have been a "capital" of the Mexica in the traditional sense as the word Mexica is an ethnos, not a nationhood. The Mexica also had a "kinship alliance" with Culhua so the ethnos is sometimes referred to as the Culhua-Mexica. Lastly, the Mexica from Tenochtitlan were traditionally referred to as the Tenochca. Tenochca is a specific altepetl name of, in this case, the Mexica from Tenochtitlan, however, altepetls as institutions existed all across pre and even post-Columbian Mexico not just in Mexica society. Altepetl is a kind of pre-Columbian city state that often played into defining people's ethnic identity but did not solely dictate it (more on this later in the comment). These altepetls could form larger polities like the Aztec Empire but could also be created and destroyed by internal and external forces and, as such, specially in the powerful Aztec Empire, they functioned more like state subdivisions rather than actual city states. 2:29 Just like most geographical terms "Central Mexico" isn't a precise term, however, that is on purpose. In the video I show a line defining Central Mexico with a faded border to symbolize the fact that the "Aztec Religion/Culture" didn't really have borders. There were cultural and religious variations among the people in Central Mexico whose differences increased the further apart two specific places where. As such, it is important to know that the religious and cultural difference in Central Mexico worked as a continuum. 2:42 The Aztec Religion involved much more than just human sacrifices. There were elaborate religious rituals without sacrifices, sacrifices of animals, and various other religious aspects. However, this video focuses on the ritual human sacrifices of the Central Mexican societies and, therefore, I largely skipped over the rest of the religious rituals as it would make the already long video even longer. 5:44 The Central Mexicans also believed that the current iteration of the sun, the fifth sun, and its humans (us) will be destroyed with earthquakes and sky monsters. They also believed that the destruction of the world can only happen on one specific day, the new fire day, that occurs every 52 years. The world cannot end on any other day between those 52 years. However, the Aztecs didn't know how many iterations of those 52 years there will be. If you're interested, the next New Fire day is suppose to happen in 2027. 7:41 "Similar" but not identical. Just as the various mythologies differed slightly so did most likely the details of the rituals between various central Mexican cities differed all while sharing common themes. 8:34 The flower wars weren't conducted by the Mexica and other central Mexican peoples just to feed their need for more human sacrifices. There were also political and economic reasons why these wars were conducted but there was no time to mention it. If you want to know more read; Hassig R., Aztec Warfare, University of Oklahoma Press, 1988. 13:45 I did not mention this but speeches by rulers and priests would be common during these ceremonies and, also, dancing and music along with the singing. 19:05 I will briefly mention here the ball game. There were many popular ball games in Mesoamerican culture and the pre-Columbian Central Mexicans had their own version of this ball game called ōllamalitzli. Unlike in some other Mesoamerican cultures, the ballgame in Central Mexican culture was viewed as more of a sport. There was some kind of ritualistic symbolism associated with it but in practice the ballgame was viewed as a game. A game that you could play between different sports teams, different cities, a game that you could bet on. The game was also more associated with the nobility and Noble kids were taught to play it in their special schools. The point of the ball game in Central Mexican culture was for sport, not ritual or sacrifice. On special occasions special ball games were played where the losers did get sacrificed but these were ceremonies, special, and separate from the actual sporting aspect of the game. Scarborough V. L., The Mesoamerican Ballgame, University of Arizona Press, 1991. 26:46 Ok so I said "wrote" here because I did not have the time to go into the complicated nature of pre-Colonial Central Mexican codices. At the moment the scholars are divided on whether the the pre-Colonial codices were semasiographical or grammatological. Either way, all scholars agree that pre-Columbian Central Mexican codices used largely pictures, combined with oral tradition, to transmit most of their information. Therefore, you could say the pre-Columbian peoples of Central Mexico (it wasn't just Nahuas who made codices) "painted" their codices not wrote them. 27:26 There are many accounts of the Spanish calling the Mesoamericans as "illiterate" and "barbarians". Neither of which are really true. Florescano E., National Narratives in Mexico, University of Oklahoma Press, 2006. p. 67-8. 29:32 You could argue that I am showing here (in the video) language differences rather than the ethnic and cultural differences that I am talking about, which is a valid point. However, ethnicity in pre-Columbian Central Mexico is very complicated and, sometimes (I would argue often times), people's ethnic identity was partly defined by their language, which is why I chose to go with the language map. Although, ethnic identity was also defined by ones Altepetl. Even though Altepetls could be and often were multiethnic. So, one must consider the fact that the pre-Columbian people of Central Mexico could have viewed language, ethnic, cultural, and national (city state) identities as separate from each other but also most likely effecting each other. If this is true I don't really have any effective way of showing that in the video hence my use of the language distributions of pre-Columbian Mexico. So just keep in mind this is a very complicated subject that I am kind of glossing over in the video because, I do not have the time nor expertise to address it. 30:28 Also, what I did not mention was the fact that the pre-Columbian central Mexicans "wrote" in a different way than the Europeans. Not only did their picture books rely heavily on pictographs (which means, as we discussed above, the use of the word "written" as I use in the video might be inappropriate here) but they were also considered as works of art not just records of information. Hence they had a different mentality and goals when "writing" these codices compared to European writing. Also Amerindian historical accounts themselves were written in a different way than the European ones. They would often write about the same event multiple times from multiple perspectives. This different style of historical "writing" (painting) or just "writing" in general clashed with the colonial Spanish writing of history that resulted in some books and codices which may seem very chaotic and weird (with a lot of possible mistakes) to our western perceptions of record keeping. Ramos G., Indigenous Intellectuals, Durham, 2014. p. 137-8. 31:08 To continue the idea of the statement in the video but seemed unnecessary to mention directly in it. As Charles Gibson states “Indian poetry and oral tales occasionally touched upon the military glories of Chalco or Acolhuacan (other people than just the Mexica). But these were weak reminders of the tribal structure, and they were deliberately nostalgic … it tended to single out particular towns, to fix its attention on celebrated individuals … or to speak vaguely of a composite Indian (in contrast to the Spanish) culture.” These did not, however, represent the true cultural ethnic difference of the pre-Columbian societies and were often nostalgic for a single world, the "Indian World". As such, in later years the most powerful and well known Nahua tribe, the Mexica, became the main tribe that was written about and looked back to as the heritage of not just all the Nahuas but also most of the Mexican Amerindians. This Amerindian historical narrative survives to this day. After all, there’s a reason the country is called Mexico and not Texcoco or something else. Gibson C., The Aztecs under Spanish Rule, Stanford, 1964. p. 31.

[@VelocityZap]

Very good work. Subscribed.

[@matthewnagel7081]

Why did I think the thumbnail was from terraria.

[@alonsotello4415]

This is really interesting, just want to point out that it's Auto de fe in Spanish (Auto da fé it's Portuguese, I think) and sometimes they'd burn an effigy of the "sinner", not the actual person.

[@bonefetcherbrimley7740]

Good job on the video, for your effort, I shall sub. And leave a comment. May the Algorithm blow this channel up. In a good way, I mean.

[@suondilut5027]

To make it more complex, tenochca is the citizen of tenochtitlan, mexica are the people who live in mexico / lake texcoco

[@DrCruel]

I feel bad for the poor Aztec janitors who had to do festival cleanup.

[@gdcompany]

Hahaha!

[@tree_alone]

in a time without hoses! oAo

[@ProtoForte]

they do it for free

[@CandaEH]

Its been a long youtube career Mr Cruel

[@DrCruel]

@@CandaEH Like the Aztecs used to say. Everyone needs a hobby.

[@pigcatapult]

As a chronic enemy of stairs, I can only imagine how many people must have slipped on a bloodstain and fallen down those stairs trying to climb up

[@arminiusfilms4963]

10,000 have already been killed, there are still 10,000 more to go and yet the steps are gored with an unimaginable quantity of blood and entrails...I expect accidents were quite common.

[@pigcatapult]

@@lovelylullabycovers Least accessible death ritual ever

[@arminiusfilms4963]

@@lovelylullabycovers It wouldn’t surprise me, but I know that in some pyramids they had steps designed to be non-functional, usually too small to be walked up, next to more practical steps. Sounds awful either way, a horrific walk to a mightily grim death.

[@KM-uo4mc]

@@lovelylullabycovers chicken itza lmfaooo. Autocorrect is trolling u rn mate

[@davidcardinal3654]

People weren’t pussies back then and were quite capable of impressive physical feats. Falling most likely would have been a rare occurrence.

[@nocomment2468]

When I visited the Mayan city of Tulum, my guide talked about the importance of science and religion to politics. To maintain what was essentially a dictatorship requires the compliance of the masses. In secret, the priests (scientists) would predict astronomical events down to the hour, and would inform the civilians that the king was causing these events. They would time it with sacrifices, etc, as an elaborate show of what looked like cosmic power, though it truly was the power of suggestion! I know that the Maya culture is distinct from the Mexica, but it shares some elements that may help us understand the latter.

[@lkj974]

The Maya were good astronomers and kept records of astronomical events. This would have revealed that eclipses happened in cycles. However, the paths and exact timing of eclipses are very complicated and require an accurate model of the movement of the Sun, Earth and Moon with respect to each other, as well as a system of mathematics that can describe these movements. The Maya did not have these. They would have known in what year and season eclipses were possible, but no more than that.

[@Max77Prime]

So ther wher bullshiting on ther owen people

[@avrahamzucker2605]

Same happens today, it’s called deception

[@josephbuckley7240]

@@avrahamzucker2605 The laptop is russian disinformation.😆

[@whathell6t]

@@lkj974 Except the Mayan did have advance math. The mathematicians from Oxford and Cambridge verified the proofs and axioms that were translated by the Mayan archeologists.

[@Pyhantaakka]

I wonder if any of the priests wearing bloody flayed skins of their victims ever thought "this is kind of messed up".

[@arthurlecomte8950]

mexica priests be like: "nice drip bro"

[@Marine616]

Mexica priests thought that blood smelled of sanctity so blood for them was something holy and they liked to have it on their skin, Not only blood of others, also their own blood

[@Pyhantaakka]

@@Marine616 Yes 🤓

[@franky5949]

​@@Pyhantaakkayou watched this vidéo🤓

[@Pyhantaakka]

@@franky5949 So I did. Did they ever think "wearing these holy bloody skins is kind of messed up". I also think that blood sausages are delicious and great source of iron, but still sometimes think eating them is a bit weird. Because people have natural aversion towards blood.

[@Abdullah_the_slave_of_Allah]

Pre-colonial Mexico reminds me of how historians talk about the Balkans. Easily simplified but once you go into just ONE layer of complexity then suddenly you have to explain 7-9 different people groups, multiple languages, age old hatred, alliances held together by treads, and many other factors just to talk about one thing.

[@WhiteWolfos]

That sounds very bulky.

[@nikolastoshic542]

Bulkans?

[@Abdullah_the_slave_of_Allah]

@@nikolastoshic542 a region in Europe that contains the countries North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It’s a region of countries people often forget about.

[@nikolastoshic542]

@@Abdullah_the_slave_of_Allah I am from Serbia, and it's Balkans not Bulkans. 😂

[@Abdullah_the_slave_of_Allah]

@@nikolastoshic542 oops my bad, my geography and history are top notch but I’m horrible at spelling. I’ll fix it

[@ColbyNeblett]

I liked the part where you said "Most people think of the sacrifice involving cutting out the heart". Made me think for a second perhaps they weren't all as brutal. But no the alternatives were even worse.

[@andrewgates8158]

Yay. Pfff.

[@Lavender09-r9i]

Think of how u would be held captive, and have ur insides turn inside out, and u see this, feel this horror, all while the aztecs laugh in entertainment, they were evil.🫣

[@casquinhaS2]

Bro, cutting a heart out, located inside a BONY ribcage has got to be the worst way to sacrifice someone.

[@tombombadil6640]

Is it really much diffrent from a roman colloseum or medieval public excecution?@@Lavender09-r9i

[@tidalgrunt]

@@Lavender09-r9i You would be dead long before getting to see it from shock and blood loss. They were no more evil than any other civilization that killed people. It could also be argued that they're hardly out of the ordinary even for the times, when you acknowledge the widespread witch trials of Europe and colonial America.

[@borisdejong8962]

Man I'm so impressed by how you not only manage to pick interesting after interesting niche topic, but then also present everything in such fascinating detail. Excellent video

[@Ghryst]

i just came here to learn about "Ass Tech"

[@blazingstar9638]

@@Ghryst major laser history

[@ZaZaZoo22]

@@Ghryst please link me to that video lol

[@Ghryst]

@@ZaZaZoo22 that would be this video... he talks about the ass tech constantly

[@gamerhegel7780]

> niche

[@disabledmonkey5068]

They just recently found thousands of skulls. It was a litteral mountain of skulls there

[@Gelatinocyte2]

A collection of decades or even centuries of sacrifices.

[@tinobemellow]

Khorne: *IMMENSE BONER*

[@jeefneef9307]

@@Uomo_Universalewell that is extremely extremely exaggerated. A straight up lie and not even possible.

[@ishrendon6435]

​@Uomo_Universale thats obvious false the population wasnt even high at the time

[@ishrendon6435]

​@Uomo_Universale idk what archeologists told you that but most oredict around 1000 a year or slightly more were killed it wasnt that high as once thought

[@lucieciepka1031]

The things that this video made me think about 😱 I remembered a study on pigeons in which the scientists gave the pigeons food on random bases. One of the pigeons accidentally made a full turn in front of the feeding tube just before the grain appeared. So when he did it again the scientists confirmed his conclusion by giving him another grain. By the end of the day all pigeons were turning as approaching the feeding tube. Even when the grain giving whent back to random, the pigeons kept turning multiple times until the food arrived. So I can see how once a group is convinced that human sacrifice is the way to get things (rain, sun…) then no matter how long it take they will sacrifice as many as they have to until the result is accomplished.

[@hectorcorona9536]

Your comment remind me of how many ancient cultures have archeology evidence of successful brain surgery in the form of trepanation. We know that they were successful because most wounds have clearly sings of bone healing, but what we don't know is if those operations were required in the first place. Maybe some were done ritualistically? Maybe those medics diagnose trepanation to cure basic illness?

[@UltimateBingus]

Good thing we've figured out how to determine causality since then, right, haha? ...R-Right?

[@annacichocka7734]

Desperation for water or rain will make you delusional and do weird fn stuff

[@FlaviusMaximus1967]

@@UltimateBingus That's why people no longer believe in conspiracy theories. Can you imagine what life was like before???

[@FlaviusMaximus1967]

@@jazzman_10 When studied conspiracy theorists measure lower on critical thinking, analytical thinking, scholastic achievement, attribute motives to inanimate objects....by any measure of cognitive abilities they measure below average. Do a PubMed search of the research and tell me what you find.....

[@foundationsmedicalinformat2420]

Imagine trying to climb those corpse-strewn bloody steps WHILE tripping out of your mind on hallucinogenic drugs. Like, I’ve seen people have bad trips just sitting on a couch in the comfort of a living room.

[@evilazulan]

And that too on datura 😵 it's not bad enough you had to ascend up slippery, blood-soaked stairs to your own imminent death, you might have had to do it suffering the effects of one of the most ghastly psychoactive drugs on the planet. Experiencing hell inside and outside. I probably would've died of a heart attack a quarter way up those steps

[@agnidas5816]

Datura is not hallucinogenic - it is a deliriant. Not only that it is not like the other well known deliriant at all. Personally I would make a separate category for it. The effects make you super suggestible and you begin to see/experience things which are not there - like 100% realistic things... like a room of people dancing at a party who you could touch if you just stood up and walk over to them .. all touching the same ground you are on and painted perfectly into your vision .. more real than a dream.

[@ProtoForte]

true datura would be horrifying. some of them probably went on dmt though, which would be one of the most peaceful ways to be sacrificed i imagine

[@bathhousealmonds8090]

@@agnidas5816 Hallucinogen is just a term meaning a drug which causes hallucinations - deliriants are a type of hallucinogen, the term distinguishes them from the two other 'primary' subjective classes of hallucinogen - psychedelics and dissociatives.

[@scotttaylor7444]

Datura is a rough ride Heavy on the kidneys and severe thirst

[@Arcaryon]

It pains me greatly on a very personal level how much of history was lost for so many reasons I am sure everyone reading this can think of some themselves. I really hope that our current history will never be lost to some unforeseen turmoil.

[@Automedon2]

It pains you on a personal level? Come on

[@Arcaryon]

@@Automedon2 There are things that are most unfortunate but you wouldn’t find me all that concerned about. This is not one of them.

[@edgarastorga5899]

@@Automedon2 yes, feeling connections to your ancestors is very human

[@chilliecheesecake]

Damn, a personal level huh? I'd hate to see how you handle it when something bad actually happens to you 😹

[@Arcaryon]

@@chilliecheesecake Humans are more varied in character & empathy than you seem to think. Not all pain is equal and it’s not in a race to see what hurts the most.

[@MysticDojo]

I think a huge factor in not only the normalization but glorification of human sacrifice in Aztec society was due to their predecessors the Toltecs. Their priest king Ce Acatl Topiltzin opposed human sacrifice, he was also believed to be an incarnation of Quetzalcoatl the god of compassion who loved humans his creations and abhorred the practice harming them, rather being sustained by animal sacrifices. However this outlaw of the practice upset a political faction and sparked a war resulting in Ce Acatl to flee with his supporters from Tollan and founding other Nahua speaking areas like the Pipil of El Salvador and as far as parts of Costa Rica. But with this hostile takeover of Tollan it legitimized the practice into the culture of central mexico which the Mexica would later pick up.

[@kc-gl9wv]

Stop lying. Leav the El Salvadoreans alone and accept the fact Aztecs were cannibals 😅

[@jsr1296]

​@@kc-gl9wvEl Salvadorean?

[@ishrendon6435]

​@@kc-gl9wv what??

[@ishrendon6435]

​@@kc-gl9wv nobody cares eveyone was brutal back then and cannibalism was common

[@kc-gl9wv]

The Aztecs are on meth now 😂

[@peffiSC2source]

You are basically making thesis-level works as videos for free on the internet. Mad respect. Edit: Before you disagree, read what has already been written in this comment chain and make an actual argument.

[@jansenart0]

Check History Scope's video about the Aztec Empire. It really dovetails well into this one.

[@broodjeal-cohol5033]

Nah theses are way more specific and boring

[@Dell-ol6hb]

@@broodjeal-cohol5033 true

[@jrok4312]

Indeed

[@seke9885]

@@broodjeal-cohol5033 then why are you watching

[@teasp00ns]

I’m really curious about how the lives of the “imitators” actually played out. I feel like giving a young man a literal god complex, 4+ maiden wives, and the power to decide when he is sacrificed, might have had mixed results 😂

[@dirkauditore8413]

At least they enjoyed their life with 4 wives before being sacrificed lol

[@animula6908]

Maybe they had a way of psych screening them

[@elguerobasado]

He could only choose the moment when he was sacrificed, not the day. The day was always exactly a year from when he was chosen to be the sacrifice, if he wanted to back out in the end, they had methods to coerce.

[@benediktron]

@@elguerobasado and drugs. lots of. ritual chocolate was not like today but a powerful mix with stramonium and others. yet today, in many towns of México, jesus crucifixion is portrayed in the streets, with real lashes and blood, here in Tlaxcala they eat many plants that i have found have a parasthaesic effect.

[@ZekeMan62]

@@dirkauditore8413 "Enjoyed their lives with FOUR WIVES?" Sounds like Hell on Earth to me.

[@marioreds7826]

the political explanation is the one that makes sense the most. they used an already existing religion to justify expansion, as you constantly need sacrifices and you don't want to sacrifice your own citizens. this way, they also instilled fear in their enemies. at the end of the day, in every civilization, it's mostly about power.

[@claesvanoldenphatt9972]

And so the downfall of the Aztec empire at the hands of the Spanish with local collaborators isn’t a tragedy nor unjust, especially in the opinion of non-Aztec Mexicans.

[@stellabee2026]

i think it can def be largely unconsciously political, like European countries with christianity or “reclaiming the holy land.” when religion and politics get that intwined they drive each other like any social elements. we live in a time of relatively, tho not entirely, secular governments in many places so it can be hard for most of us who aren’t aren’t generally properly educated in context to think of how it can be perfectly rational to the people of the time to say, sacrifice your enemies and vassals and not think of it as a form of political control.

[@karlazeen]

Sure but they still ended up killing millions of innocent people for no good reason other than dominion regardless.

[@claesvanoldenphatt9972]

@@karlazeen they killed for power and money, some with a pseudoreligious gloss. Like Aztecs did.

[@fleur5782]

it's about drive it's about power we stay hungry we devour

[@dryeraseboredom3645]

"Oh mom! thank god you're here. the town, they're gonna-" "Hey uhhh... once you die, be sure to ask for a profitable harvest this year. Thanks!" "what? mom!" *walks away*

[@thenablade858]

It seems strange to us, but they were indoctrinated in the religion from a young age so many victims saw the sacrifice as honorable due to the belief that they would have a special place with the Gods. Maybe they had a different thought process when they were in the middle of being killed.

[@ThecouncilOf8]

​@keepitsecret-dl1pr it is equally foolish to view history through a modern lens as it is to kill a child for rain...

[@pradyumn2692]

​@@ThecouncilOf8it's still an insane society even by medieval standards. I don't think even Mongols were this cruel to their enemies let alone their own people.

[@ThecouncilOf8]

@@pradyumn2692 it's really not the Mongols just raped a lot but even in Middle Eastern traditions you have plenty of human sacrifice and in the free judeo-christian European traditions you have plenty of human sacrifice I know it's hard for you to wrap your mind around but it was a common practice for a very long time in most cultures

[@eliasvonbrille]

​​​@@ThecouncilOf8 So you do not believe in any kind of Objective morality at all? Is it dependant on the time if it's cruel to burn Children alive or slaughter them and eat their hearts? That's brave. I think the whole "Don't judge history through modern eyes" is very accurate and important. But that goes for understanding why the People did it and why they were not individually evil. It's about understanding that People are made by their surrounding and do what they are taught one way or another. It's about not judging the People morally You can still describe a Culture as gruesome if it was gruesome. That's quite literally describing facts. Besides it's okay to say that you find things morally disgusting. Doesn't mean that you don't acknowledge that it was normal at the time and not due to the people being evil. Saying "don't be disgusted by people sacrificing their children alive and eating their hearts" or the likes is hilarious. It's okay to be disgusted by that 😅

[@c.3636]

damn humans are brutal... imagine a dude dressed up like god, casually strolling the streets smoking a cigar surrounded by his 4 wives on his way to lunch with the mayor of the city. Probably the guy was like " fuck it, live a year like a rockstar ...kill me later, go with a bang." Dude probably played a flute solo before breaking it.

[@Lotan_]

I think playing the flutes was a requirement. Given how the sound was said to be Tezcatlipoca's voice and he taught humans how to make music.

[@extravirginoliveoil4227]

extremely underrated comment

[@crypt0sFX]

Some are more brutal than others.

[@gabrielisaac5084]

Not a bad way to go

[@thomasjamison2050]

You might well find the mythological interpretations of ancient mythology put forward by the Electric Universe people quite interesting, though it's a lot for most to take in. But I find it very much explains why the religion of your ancestors was so brutal in the way it operated, and also why the people had the feelings that they had about their God and the reason to keep that God placated at all times. In particular, also check them out on rock art imagery, and also the video's on the environmental evidence of events in the America Southwest.

[@hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156]

As soon as you started picking appart what the word Aztec actually refered to, you had me. Subscribed.

[@floraposteschild4184]

Same!

[@avacadomangobanana2588]

yuuuup

[@Bernacide]

Same here!

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

Yeah

[@samwallaceart288]

I'm a sucker for context clarification.

[@lewislee9201]

Your presentation sets a really high bar for other KZbin content creators to match. You treat your viewers as intelligent people, you give plenty of information, you do not overdramatise the topic, you consider fairly various possible explanations and views, and you cite your sources so others can read for themselves and check your conclusions. You have produced an impressive work.

[@whitneybaxter3299]

“Hey I know your about to be sacrificed in the most brutal and unusual way imaginable but can you listen to my problems and maybe take it up with the big snake upstairs?” ….just wow.

[@stephenwood6663]

I've climbed the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, and I can easily see why the sacrificial victims were, let's say, less liable to fight back by the time they reached the top. It's a tough climb!

[@zerge69]

To be precise, Teotihuacán is not Aztec. Those pyramids where already there when the Aztecs arrived. The Teotihuacán culture is almost a thousand years older than the Aztecs. But there is evidence that human sacrifice was performed there too. So, yeah, it's a tough climb. Last time I went with the family I didn't even try.

[@aleckcain4142]

Unfortunately, it has been off-limits since 2008

[@stephenwood6663]

@@aleckcain4142 I didn't know that. :( Obviously, I can't blame them for wanting to preserve ancient relics, but I feel bad for people who'll never be able to have that experience.

[@comradegarrett1202]

This is such an excellent video. I'm used to this topic being presented as a sensationalist, salacious detail told for thrill value without any historical or cultural nuance or context. This is the most comprehensive and carefully researched video I have ever seen on this.

[@joshs2734]

I'm not really a big history guy, but decided to give this video a try because it kept getting recommended and it was WAYYY more fascinating that I expected. I think that's the sign of a good educator. If you can make people who don't usually care about a topic become interested in it.

[@toomanysymbols]

This feels almost too well researched for a youtube video. Really amazing effort putting this all together into such a concise yet extensive format. Also, the aesthetics really reflect the time period. I love the color scheme especially. Used to study history myself but wasnt able to stick with it. This reminds me of everything i did love about the field. A+

[@danstvguy]

Try Dan Carlin.

[@WhitneyDahlin]

I agree but he didn't talk much about the archaeological evidence. We know what the Spanish conquistadors wrote about human sacrifice was true because we have archaeological evidence of every single sacrifice they described. We found bowls with human bones inside them and drawings of humans eating other humans arms and legs done by the Maya themselves. We know some victims were burned alive like the Spanish said they were because we found the charred bones in pits. We've found partially burned skeletons. We know victims were tied up and tossed into lakes because we found them at the bottom of these senotes. We know they were sealed alive in caves because people have stumbled across these purposeful cave ins and dug them out to see what was behind the cave-in and found sacrifice victims. We know what the Spanish said was true not because we're only taking their word for it but because their word is backed up by archaeological evidence. 20,000 human sacrifices instead of 80k but literally everything else is right is mindblowing accurate. Especially for being written by conquerors hundreds of years ago. Almost everything the Spanish said was extremely accurate and we know because we found the evidence for it

[@toomanysymbols]

@@WhitneyDahlin wow you seem to be quite knowledgeable on this. is it your field of study by any chance, or just a personal interest?

[@emilianozamora399]

@@WhitneyDahlinit’s not about what they did but the scale they describe it as where they blow the scale that these were happening significantly out of proportion

[@nomihabo9752]

​@@WhitneyDahlin i wonder if any of those were perpetrated/vandalized by the conquistadors, I've heard they were quite vicious with how they killed the natives too

[@philippbobkaufmann4004]

This is one of the most beautiful examples of KZbin's potential to inform rather than disinform. I love the historical criticism you've applied!

[@DVincentW]

@Mr. Melendez if you don't appreciate knowledge, just read a toothpaste tube as to why you shouldn't eat it.

[@DVincentW]

@Mr. Melendez . Irrelevance is a matter of opinion Mr Melendez.

[@williamsmith1744]

@Mr. Melendez what you find irrelevant is only a matter of your own perception. One mans trash is another’s treasure as they say not that any of this is trash. In the grand scheme of things almost any and everything can be considered “irrelevant”. It must be a hollow and uneventful life you live with that dim-witted attitude

[@shimaaalayie9965]

@Mr. Melendezthen what are you really doing here Mr intellectual??

[@shimaaalayie9965]

@Mr. Melendezidk maby not butting in the matters that does not interest me or...are you here just to get some reaction out of your "unique" opinion?

[@s.p5159]

M. Laser History has briefly addressed this in his video and pinned comment, but it is worth bearing in mind that many sacrifices involving humans were not necessarily lethal. Sacrifice could be a communal activity - such as voluntary and non-lethal 'autosacrifice' involving pulling strings of thorns through your own tongue, earlobes, or the fleshy bit between the index finger and thumb. This could also involve general bloodletting or self-flagellation (for Xipe Totec) etc. Of course lethal sacrifices were the most important in a religious sense and in terms of public spectacle

[@MLaserHistory]

Yes.

[@s.p5159]

@@MLaserHistory I really love that you picked this topic to make a video on - it is such an interesting area. I ended up writing my Undergraduate dissertation on Franciscan missionaries and Christian-Aztec syncretism in Mexico. It's actually super interesting in the extent to which indigenous communities (especially outside of the more regulated urban areas) continued to practice small-scale sacrifices (such as non-lethal bloodletting) even after converting to Christianity. It looks like oftentimes they didn't really view Christianity and bloodletting rituals as being in conflict - sometimes even co-opting the symbolism of the sacrifice of Christ to justify everybody's favourite pastime of pulling thorns through your own tongue.

[@MLaserHistory]

That is very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@juwebles4352]

@@s.p5159 Thats the thing about going from a religion that venerates bloodshed to one that venerates martyrdom as those concepts aren't really in conflict

[@hndrwn]

@@s.p5159 pal, do you mind if I want to read/access your dissertation. It interests me so much.

[@makisjnx007]

Great video, but man I can’t wrap my head around how KZbin allows content like mukbangs to be monetized but a video in which someone pours time and effort to share an unbiased version of the history of an important culture doesn’t.

[@PolishBehemoth]

What mukbangs are you talking about? Secondly it's obvious the subject matter is not suitable for all audiences. Most people don't want to hear about massive killings from ancient disgusting cultural rituals

[@makisjnx007]

@@PolishBehemoth I am not referring to A particular mukbang, Einstein, I just mentioned the genre as an example of banal and futile content… And well I guess being cultured about human history is not important to those of us who are blatant racists.

[@PolishBehemoth]

@@makisjnx007 ok. I agree with you. Being informed about history is not important to racists. Not sure why you didn't address my point. But anyway bro have a nice day.

[@kingofcrap4414]

@@PolishBehemoth Lmao, so you agree that you are a racist?

[@peterc.1419]

It's not unbiased. It just includes his own biases and biases of his authors. There is no unbiased history as history is a study of records. TIK History has a great take on this. There are no unbiased sources.

[@FlexibleFlyer50]

Thank you for the video. For years I've commented on various sites that the Aztecs and other civilizations---Mayans and Incas----practiced human sacrifice for one reason or another. Other commenters posted there was no sacrifice in the Americas----that everyone lived a happy existence pre-Columbus, all dancing around sacred fires and trees, with people content with their rulers; no wars ever occurred, no famines, no infanticide, no killing of prisoners, and more importantly----no slavery. These commenters want to rewrite history to remove all the realities of life, but the truth is out there. Thank you for making the video and daring to state that human sacrifice did occur.

[@cevatkokbudak6414]

Suffering is everywhere

[@FlexibleFlyer50]

@@xNightZuNx Perhaps you need to start reading some history books.

[@marcusmaher-triskellionfil5158]

I studied Latin American History at Uni and it's refreshing to listen to someone refer to the Aztecs as Mexica (for they were never called Aztecs- or the people who wandered from Aztlan) that was more a 19c invention.

[@Rick_Cleland]

Hi there!! 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻

[@marcusmaher-triskellionfil5158]

@@xNightZuNx When was that?

[@nerobsc7597]

"It is how it is and it has always been this" I wonder how many lives would have been spared if this mindset wouldn't exist.

[@noambracha2495]

And how advanced humanity could be, as well.

[@joeshmoe5169]

To be fair, change is only good if it makes things better. The Nazis thought that National Socialism was the natural "Progress" of their society. Early 20th century Russians thought it was Stalinist Communism. Both of those societal changes did more harm than good in the long run.

[@PolishBehemoth]

@@joeshmoe5169 I think you made a false comparison. Nazis and russian communists did not kill massive amounts of their own people because of the weather. But killed others because of hatred. It's very fair to say that changing from this sick human killing culture would have been a change for the better.

[@ddmddmd]

@@joeshmoe5169 Agree. Nowadays theres a Country who ‘fights for freedom and democracy’ while in reality just bullies whole nations and wastes its own army and Resources for profit and oil, indoctrinating its own citizens almost as religious freaks.

[@MicahBuzanMUSIC]

@@horatiusromanus Of course progressing in the wrong direction is bad. I think you're getting a little fixated on semantics and arguing against a position no one is making. Progress itself just means moving in the direction of a certain goal or destination.

[@hylacinerea970]

i am head over heels for the “source material” section, this is the first video i’ve seen actually talk about the issue of sources.

[@durandalfeee1227]

For the effort put into this, very informative and I love learning about my Mexican culture. Bs that this isn’t monetized

[@VictorLdVS]

Aztec culture≠Mexican culture

[@TheWallProductions17]

How can you say Aztec culture is not relevant to Mexican culture? No one said its the ONLY relevant mexican culture, jesus christ man

[@WHiT3_SHAD0W]

17:50 it's crazy that they would give someone as low status as a slave a whole year of the best possible life they could have. I mean 4 wives and unlimited wishes sounds pretty sweet, except for the sacrifice thing at the end of the year.

[@someoneinthecrowd4313]

If you were a slave then you would probably get sacrificed the regular way sooner or later anyway. This way you knew 1 year in advance and got to live it to the best. Everything else in this video disgusted me, but this was actually great, and I bet a lot of people not well off today would take this deal in a heartbeat. Trade what, 30--50 years of misery for 1 year of bliss?

[@anasazmi8554]

@@someoneinthecrowd4313 or even have their inevitable death be delayed 1 year with extra perks? Probably anything at that point is better than being killed the next day.

[@lusiusquietus7510]

@@someoneinthecrowd4313 and 30 seconds of having your heart cut out; But i know what you mean

[@KP-fy5bf]

@@someoneinthecrowd4313 I dunno I feel like the thought of being murdered at the end of the year would ruin the whole thing, but I can see why some would take it.

[@ayanlethesomali7357]

@@KP-fy5bf Well you would also have believed in an afterlife, so it wasn’t the end

[@porcelainchips6061]

Exploring the motives was a really fascinating aspect of this video. It's really important never to "excuse" or "shrug off" things from different cultures as "it's just the way they are" or "we'll probably never understand". Something this grand in scale and continuous practice had to have multiple factors that kept it going and exploring all the possible reasons is really interesting to me. The Aztec peoples, of all the different sub-groupings, had a very complex society and were very advanced in different ways from how other cultures had developed; trying to see the "logic" through their eyes, or at least trying to guess, really helps to expand our perspective on how many different ways a human being can take an idea or a premise.

[@petscraftsandwonderfulthin1279]

I'm suspicious about how many people are taking the topic of human sacrifices so lightly or positively... "We can't judge because we don't understand." Oh yes we do! And it's not good stuff.

[@MlSS.S]

This is as fascinating as it is morbid and deeply, disturbing. Sometimes I seriously struggle trying to wrap my mind around stick around some of the atrocities that humans commit in the name of religion, power and greed. What a planet we live on!

[@jeffersonclippership2588]

@@petscraftsandwonderfulthin1279 I'm suspicious of people who point to shitty things non-Europeans as justification for the shitty things Europeans did. Two sides of the same coin.

[@spaceghost8886]

@@jeffersonclippership2588 why does it matter if they’re European or not? People doing evil things is still bad no matter who does it bro I don’t see what point you’re trying to make

[@thesimulator4096]

@@spaceghost8886 it matters because people use stuff like this to justify colonisation. "The indigenous people were savages because they sacrificed people" which for the time was no less brutal than what was going on in Europe and way less savage than the Spaniards raping, pillaging and murdering Indigenous Latin people on a huge scale

[@Artur_M.]

Man, the part about the sources was excellent.

[@cloutmastermemes2007]

Why was that excellent?

[@AtTheDitch]

@@cloutmastermemes2007 distraction

[@based_prophet]

You don't need sources past copy right name sake that 100 year cycles in most nations.

[@Artur_M.]

@@jaremakarwowski1574 Yes, exactly. This video shows the proper critical approach to primary sources.

[@saksma22]

9

[@kingpiece5705]

I threw this video on to try and sleep. I don't know what I was thinking.

[@somedonkus7865]

LMAO SAME

[@youlovechika]

lmfaoooo

[@Winner8501]

The ecological aspect has another dimension. If I remember Jared Diamond's chapter on the Maya collapse right, the environment in which they lived is prone to suffer unexpected, unpredictable droughts. This might have stimulated greater religious extremism in an effort to "make sense of things" and increase "certainty", which humans generally like.

[@thomaskelliher]

The same can be said about ancient Mesopotamia. Geography and environments have had major impacts on the development of religions across the world. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flooded unpredictably and catastrophically. They were surrounded by arid landscapes and deserts; the unpredictability of the floods, and food insecurity made for warring city states. Their afterlife was not a paradise but an "underworld" where they reside as feeble ghosts and that eternal life was meant only for the Gods. A myth about Ishtar's descent into the underworld says: "dust is their food and clay their nourishment, they see no light, where they dwell in darkness." It didn't matter who you were or what you achieved in life. Every human had the same fate. Then compare that to ancient Egypt, where the Nile river flooded annually and predictably, which allowed their civilization to build a great civilization that lasted thousands of years. Their religion wasn't as violent or had a bleak afterlife like their Mesopotamian neighbors.

[@apollofell3925]

This reminds me of the last known "legal" human sacrifice in Chile. A tremendous serious of earthquakes and tsunamis flooded a rural village of indigenous people who, in their panic, begged their religious leader to do anything to stop the rising waters. He did the only desperate thing he had heard about from his elders, but had never actually attempted to do - he sacrificed an orphan. The tides receded. The child was not an orphan, and his parent sought legal recourse, but the government didn't prosecute anyone, how could they? The villagers were desperate, in immediate danger, doing the only thing they could think of, the only thing they had left - blood and prayer. They literally did not know that sacrificing the child wouldn't help, and to them there were no alternatives - it was the boy alone, or everyone, including the boy.

[@Deadsubstance]

Jared diamond is actually an incredibly inaccurate author. He gets a lot of scrutiny from historians

[@roderic3261]

I'd like to know how the new religion of Christianity was adopted relatively quickly and if the refusal of human sacrifices was one of the major factors for that. Indeed I guess that the core belief of a god sacrificing himself to save Mankind instead of having to sacrifice humans to save/help a god had to be a mind blown concept but easy to understand for Aztec peoples and something they could relate to. Furthermore, the kind of "symbolic cannibalism" that happens in the Eucharist where the blood and body of Christ are consumed, it is something that I think an Aztec could understand and adhere to as well.

[@PierredeCur]

ROTFL... The reason why they converted was the same as for everyone else: the power of the Church. If you did not, there was the Inquisition to convince you...

[@mauricioduron3193]

As deplorable as the Inquisition was, it served purposes other than conversion to the Catholic faith.

[@PierredeCur]

@@mauricioduron3193 of course, perverse institutions like this are used in all twisted manners, but that does not change its original purpose that is to impose the Christian religion and orthodoxy on everyone using terror, violence, torture and murder...

[@DovahFett]

@@PierredeCur It is foolish to think that people only covert to a faith because of fear of being targeted by its church. I am an Atheist and even I acknowledge that. Do you think that the original Christians who chaffed under the rule of pagan Romans for almost 300 years converted out of fear of the nascent Christian Church? Their places of worship were burned to the ground and they themselves risked being put to death. Worship was of God was condemned by every emperor until Constantine, and was forced underground. It would have been far safer for someone to not convert at all, and yet they continued to do so anyways. That conviction did not arise from fear of what religious authorities would do if they didn't tow the party line, it came from a genuine belief in the words of Christ. If you think that people only convert out of fear of retribution from the Church, you need to talk to more religious people. Promises of salvation can be very persuasive, and it isn't fear that motivates people to pursue that promise. It's hope, however misguided it may seem to some of us.

[@drfate7863]

It was adopted quickly because the Aztecs had been almost entirely wiped out by plagues and conquistadors. The remaining tribes hated the Aztecs and also succumbed to plague before being converted by missionaries. Smallpox and disease in general killed over 90% of the native population. Most of the spread wasn’t even intentional and just happened through trade and missionary work.

[@Zenboy23]

As a Mexican thanks for clearing right away in the first 3 minutes why Mexica are not "Aztecs". Now if only we could do something to stop people calling Moctezuma "Montezuma". :p

[@Zenboy23]

@@lovelylullabycovers Most Americans do.

[@BewitchedMelvy]

Montie zoomies

[@Lotan_]

I'm somewhat of a noob on the specifics when it comes to the difference between the Mexica and the Aztec. Am I right in thinking that the Aztec Empire was a conglomerate of different tribes/peoples, and the Mexica were the ruling group?

[@Zenboy23]

@@Lotan_ Not quite. To put in simple terms "Aztecs" means "the ones who come from Aztlan" (the originary and some would say mythical land) from which a splinter of that tribe left on a 210 year pilgrimage to find a promised new land by their god Huitzilopochtli which ended with the founding of Tenochtitlan. That group was the Mexica. The confusion started with lazy foreign historians who lacked the details and thought the word Mexica and (modern day) Mexican would create confusion.

[@Lotan_]

@@Zenboy23 Ah, so it's like an old, outdated name. Similar to how Persia is called Iran nowadays?

[@DemonPrinceofHell]

As a native American, I thank you for making this video. A lot of people don't like to talk about the savage history of the tribes nor even admit to the horrible things that many tribes have done.

[@dadevi]

Weird comment. The crimes of the Spanish and other europeans were a lot more heinous.

[@erenjaeger1738]

Yeah I'm all for history and have open mind

[@stone0234]

Those weren't tribes but civilizations

[@dslai2938]

@@stone0234Yeah and I really, and I mean really hate it when people keep treating crimes and horrible things their country has done to another or others as a taboo because not only does it just strain broken relationships further, but it even makes it encouraging for other people to do hate crimes and horrible things knowing they’ll never be brought up and knowing they can just get away with it scot-free.

[@VagrantDune]

The usage of the word "savage", especially in this context, should stop and you're really not helping fix the image your American ancestors have been given throughout most of modern history when you describe them that way.

[@MC-ry3by]

Man I'm getting pretty tired of KZbin censoring everything. History has to be about debate and hypothesis and this video was very balanced and without agenda. I hope people have been kind with donations

[@teresahiggs4896]

That’s what happens when the rights that you are given by God, that the goverment is supposed to protect and support…..are slowly eroded and the goverment doesn’t protect them . Welcome to the beginning of the Liberal Leftist “utopia”

[@robertrobert7924]

Thank you so much for this video which I encourage anyone watching it to watch all the way to the end. As an Anthropologist, I have spent most of my life studying AmeriIndian cultures from North of the Rio Grande. This video was a refresher course for me and I really appreciate it. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, 2000 - 2004.

[@LilyGazou]

Thanks for sharing that.

[@CivilizedWasteland]

Imagine how bad those stairs smelled

[@citricdemon]

Probably smelled like your room

[@CivilizedWasteland]

@@citricdemon it smelled great before your mom came in

[@kayquealbuquerque7213]

Blood doesn't smell bad

[@glenncordova4027]

They had large numbers of slaves to clean the cities, including the temples. The Spanish were sickened by the smell of the interiors of the temples. You can only clean so much.

[@Heythere12344]

@@glenncordova4027the Spanish where way dirtier

[@nicolasmarazuela1010]

It isn't a surprise surprise that when Cortez conquered the Aztec Empire, his army was supported by over 200k native allies.

[@trellnebula]

@@xNightZuNx and the Tlaxcalans continued to act as the Spanish’s new world army

[@Ostsol]

Pretty interesting, though it presents a culture really quite alien to our own -- as it must have been to the first Europeans to encounter it. It's tempting to say that genocide and public executions are similar, but those things are generally treated as exceptional events. They are pursued with a single end goal in mind and are not carried out as a matter of course in perpetuity. The simple fact that many sacrifices went so willingly and even enthusiastically to their deaths, to the rapturous approval of their fellow citizens (and family members), makes this something utterly different. It's not an act of hate or reprisal, but of worship. That's what makes it so bizarre.

[@MLaserHistory]

Exactly. The paper I recommended at the end of the video pretty much looks at this aspect of the Aztec human sacrifices. Caroline Dodds Pennock. "Mass Murder or Religious Homicide? Rethinking Human Sacrifice and Interpersonal Violence in Aztec Society." Historical Social Research (Köln) 37, no. 3 (141) (2012): pp. 276-302.

[@georgethompson1460]

@Opinions only matter if you read books But the Aztecs could build massive temples and such, they probably never built anything as large as the pyramid of the sun. But they built very large things. Also I don't think the Aztecs ever had a naval presence, and I don't think they ever developed science. (Hell the greeks didn't have science). Also human sacrifices were rampant in every society, their predecessors probably also practiced it.

[@montse3139]

@@georgethompson1460 I have to say that the aztecs made herbalism studies, they as other cultures had succesfully done surgeries like dental ones; and they made aqueducts in order to bring fresh water to all the neigborhoods in the city, and as the Mayans they also had it's own calendars showing the exact dates for eclipses for example.

[@automatic5]

@Opinions only matter if you read books and then spain made south america so much more worse. go figure, its always the europeans lol

[@monsterhunter445]

@@georgethompson1460 what do you mean they didn't have science?

[@leggonarm9835]

Man I hope the Maize crop is doing well this year.

[@stingingmetal9648]

LOOOOL

[@ImYourHucklebery117]

Not enough rain, lol

[@hectorcorona9536]

Don't worry buddy, the gods gave us the nixtamal process, even if the yield is low there will be enough protein and amino acids for us not to famine. We still better kill a dude to thanks them for giving us this technology, just to be sure.

[@NPNN-xt4ot]

Good news: Biggest corn harvest ever. More good news: We planted popcorn by mistake.

[@chriscodrington5464]

Thank you for a notable effort and for forging ahead with well presented work about the “unpleasant” detail. All cultures present these unpalatable challenges and without grappling with them in proper cultural context we miss the lesson so to speak!

[@Elyseon]

No cultural context justifies such evil.

[@cokie8706]

@@Elyseon did you even attempt to read the comment you’re replying to?

[@Lotan_]

@@cokie8706 Did they even attempt to learn anything from this video is the more important question.

[@komododragon6061]

@@Elyseon , They weren't justifying it clown, read the comment

[@shannsimms9072]

I’ve rewatched this video a few times now. It is so incredibly fascinating.

[@Nyctophora]

It sounds like an almost industrialised process, so much sacrifice was done. Thank you for an excellent video!

[@PolishBehemoth]

How you are not disgusted by the industrialized human slaughter is beyond me. Thank God these cultures were wiped out.

[@wessparks5204]

@@PolishBehemoth I agree. And self hating Western leftists try to paint these cultures as noble!

[@Edith.G.G.]

@@wessparks5204 I'm Mexican from this mere region described in the video and I'm too thankful than this horrible practices have almost gone; but we have to be realistic, and accept that the human sacrifice and brutality hasn't gone from Mexico and maybe never disappear. The drugs, violence and brutality is really encrypted in the collective subconscious.

[@wessparks5204]

@@Edith.G.G. I have wondered before if perhaps the brutality we see from the cartels has cultural roots in the brutality of native Mexican cultures.

[@miilodude_8529]

@@Edith.G.G. True, the cartels are literally practicing those rituals by filming snuff videos executing people in horrible ways and even sending it on the internet like weekly, thats f*ck up.

[@DrDeadlifts]

The issue with cannibalism is also that it is wildly inefficient, for the same reason that we don't raise carnivores as livestock. Large herbivores turn inedible plants like grass into huge slabs of meat, whereas carnivores turn huge slabs of meat into lesser slabs of meat. This is because in addition to building muscle, the nutrients from eating another animal are also lost to keep the carnivore alive and are lost in a myriad of ways (e.g., heat, sweat, respiration). You could argue that eating humans from a different tribe is a gain regardless because the nutrients used to make that person come from elsewhere, or that you could raise human livestock solely on fruits and vegetables, but it is still wholly inefficient to feed a large scale human population with other humans. Also, if you could raise human livestock on vegetables than that negates the need for eating human meat entirely. At most, you might consider it a delicacy. Now I'm interested in reading these historian's papers to see how they defend their hypotheses.

[@tenzinsmith]

From what I recall, most ritualistic cannibalism has less to do with the pure sustenance and more to do with absorbing the deceased’s “essence”, “soul”, or other intangible energy. It is also often practiced as a form of respect, such as in some types of funerary cannibalism where the family and friends of the deceased would eat them so that they could partially become the person, in a way. But you’re right that it’s inefficient. I feel that a society that ate humans for most meals would not last very long at all (for other reasons too obviously).

[@Parkerspuffin]

@@tenzinsmith this would definitely back up the research

[@thenablade858]

Interesting, but the clinical way this is written reminds me of Hannibal Lecter.

[@juangarcia6473]

This topic is so complex, there’s so many possibilities for how and why the sacrificial culture formed that my mind is endlessly fascinated by it as I come up with my own theories and ideas. It’s fun to wonder about the people that came long before us and the ones that will be here long after we’re gone. What I would give to read the personal journals of individuals across times and cultures. Its crazy how little of human history is recorded.

[@marciegalo]

Are YOU recording your todays for tomorrow? There's a reason for why there's so little sources and a lot has to do with it not being anything special for the people of the past

[@Vitorruy1]

@Deep Moticons Dude chill out

[@plushdogg124]

And how much has been destroyed. “History is written by the victors.”

[@TheIsaacShin]

It's very saddening to think about how much history was destroyed as well..

[@Seoyeaji921]

@@plushdogg124 but that is the truth.

[@abagpiperyoumetinmexico211]

as a mexican myself, i thank you for contributing to shedding light on this intresting part of our history.

[@abagpiperyoumetinmexico211]

every civilization did their fair share of what we could nowadays consider as horrible things. Im just being proud of my blood and of my forefathers, not of what they do or didnt do. We can not judge them with todays ethical and moral standards. That would be absurd For a maori warrior in the XIX century it was perfectly rigt to consume the flesh of the fallen enemy, and now it would be considered a violation of tikanga. Values change overtime and that should be understood

[@ahmedhussein1694]

@@abagpiperyoumetinmexico211 Very true when people look at history through the lens of the present day it is called presentism and is ultimately not conducive or useful to understanding these cultures.

[@richlisola1]

Yes, eating thousands of people per year is an interesting quirky cultural thing…

[@Around_blax_dont_relax]

​@@richlisola1hey dipshit. Thats how life was back then, instead of judging the lives of people you have no comprehension of, maybe just try to understand them....

[@KCCC326]

@@richlisola1 and the best part is the Cartels are bringing it back. What a rich and beautiful culture.

[@shaiaheyes2c41]

I just read the book "The Conquest of New Spain" by Diaz. Wow, what a story. Much of it sounds like a story from millennium past, but it was only 500 years ago. Great book, a thriller.

[@Fahrenheit2030]

Thanks -I think I’ll check it out

[@lemondude9868]

I just read it as well. Crazy to hear about what horrors happened only so little a time ago. The spanish truly did the world a favor by defeating the aztec empire of blood sacrifice

[@benediktron]

@@lemondude9868 Not so. 1) aztecs were several nations, one of them was the Mexica. They were defeated by the tlaxkaleans with help of spanyards. 3) Human sacrifices were really non important, allies of Spain also performed them when a chance. In the end, no one did better than the other.

[@JB-pd3ir]

@@lemondude9868 undoubtedly it was very terrible but take a look at what happened during the Spanish inquisition (not very pretty also)

[@jonatan236]

any spanish book is heavily skewed to justify several undefendible aspects of the conquest, mathew restall would be much more recommendable for a more objective description of what happened in prehispanic mexico

[@cliffordjensen8064]

Nicely done video, learned a lot from it. It is kind of interesting how a successful group in a culture can magnify a cruel practice to an unprecedented scale.

[@nocomment3294]

I thank you for your effort. We are in a sad place when good material can be so easily drowned out and people have to almost hunt for it. While also adressing the inherent difficulty of trying to convey a point of view from little and in some form biased sources. Like having 15 pieces of a 15 000 hundred piece puzzle and that might be optimistic^^. you enlarged my horizon and for that i can only thank you and try to drag the algorythm in your favor ^^.

[@willoworm]

Really interesting and well-written. You've got great pacing! Thank you for the info!

[@Amphibax]

If you grew up in a society were human sacrifice is considered normal you would probably never question it. I mean back then you couldn't just look up other countries and traditions on the internet and see how they do stuff if a society with sacrifice is all you know, you mostly had no reason to question that traditions.

[@sirchafa8472]

"human sacrifice may be bad but is the best system we have"

[@boygenius538_8]

I would question it, people grew up in societies filled with injustice and questioned it.

[@lordtrikill1508]

Can't that argument be used to try and justify what the Spanish did since colonizing was seen as normal back then

[@babymaharaja7638]

some people did question it and refuse, he mentioned some people were dragged against their will to the alter to be sacrificed. so they were either against it or snapped out of the brainwashing once they were selected

[@verybarebones]

I dont know, questioning their own society's values was a pretty common topic in philosophy across history. Id be surprised if there weren't many against it, just away from power. What makes you think aztecs would be more thoughtless than greeks or chinese?

[@ThePizzaGoblin]

What are those holes in the middle of the empire? Cities that never bowed? Also, the idea of the priests and sacrificial victims tripping balls all the time is the fucking wildest thing I can think of

[@MLaserHistory]

Yes, cities or "states" that never where fully incorporated into the Aztec Empire. Often the Aztecs had large influence over those cities but could never fully conquer them.

[@fenrirgg]

The spot southeast of Tenochtitlán is Tlaxcala, something like a hunting field where Mexica warriors proved their skills and strength by capturing Tlaxcalteca warriors for sacrifice (Mexica warriors needed to capture warriors in order to get promoted). When Spaniards came as liberators the Tlaxcaltecas allied to them, after the conquest Tlaxcala reminded as one of the few free Native American countries in the New Spain for several years.

[@kamilareeder1493]

Hi 👋🙂 herbalist here, these "religious, tripping balls" drugs probably wouldn't have been available during certain seasons. hallucinogenic plants taken raw or fresh/untreated means that you can only do it when the plant is in a certain season. The process of harvesting and distilling these plants would have taken a while and have been labor intensive af. Taking Datura, DMT or any other plant hallucinogens native to that region would be expensive and take many mo the to prep for so im sure they were super careful with it. Im sure people used recreational drugs but I'd consider Datura (as pictured) to be a HARD drug. Like it could do damage if abused over time much like morning glory or nightshade 🤔🤔🤔. I could be wrong, who can say what they did lol? But that's my guess from my knowledge of plants and process of preparing them 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@kamion53]

The "Aztec Rule"did not replace the ruling system of the conquered states, but they were obliged to pay tribute, The Codex Mendoza specifies what kind of tribute. The tribute of the states like Tlaxcallan, Huexotzincoen, Tliliuquitepec was the flowerwar. One can say those provinces payed a far more precious tribute then those who payed animal skins quetzan feathers or bags of cacao beans. they payed with human sacrifices. The fourth "hole" in the map is Chollolan, it was revered as a religious cente for the whole of Central Mexico as it was the city of Quetzalcoatl and had the highest temple piramide, nowadays a bif hill with on top a church dedicated to the Virgin of the Remedies, a replacement of the goddes Chiconauhquiauhitl (Goddess of the Nine Rains).

[@1911Earthling]

The series of historical novels by Gary Jennings called Aztec are spectacular if you want to journey back into the Aztec world on a intimate level. Could not get that book out of my head for years.

[@eulyer3722]

Fiction xd

[@JayofLemuria]

I hope it feels good to see something you put so much effort into getting such great views. I don’t know what in my algorithm led me here, but I’m so, so glad it did. I graduated from an anthropology/religious studies bachelor’s program in 2020 and I miss it SO much lately. This video made me feel like I was back home, in a way. Thank you 🥰

[@hussienbintalal91]

It's insane to realise those people existed they were doing this in the 16th century , when you hear about them they almost sound like they are living in 3000bc or something

[@pterafirma]

Or in a Saudi Embassy in 2018.

[@AsiaMinor12]

Why would it be insane? It's the 16th century, what did you expect? Witch burnings we're still a thing at the time.

[@tomjeff1743]

As usual, fear of envy, shame, ridicule, embarrassment, cowardice, and shunning outweighed the fear of death. This is true in almost all societies past and present in one form or another.

[@RhodokTribesman]

It makes sense evolutionarily. Being separated from the "group" is certain death but cultural/religious beliefs change the perception on actual death, lessening it's weight while the naturally selected tribalism remains.

[@thelostronin]

This is such a well-researched video and the production is top notch 👌 the narration is well written and delivered clearly. I appreciate the pronunciations and clarifications. The subject is fascinating. A great video!

[@elliejohnson2786]

These sorts of videos ALWAYS skip out on in-depth source analysis, but this video really drills deep into it. I absolutely loved to see that, it's fantastic!

[@LetsFindOut1]

I'm aiming to give presentations as interesting and detailed as this one. Excellent content man

[@MBGA2025]

You need to eat the flesh of your sacrifice first 🤪

[@markw4206]

@Sir Scofferoff Keeping up a varied inflection and cadence is a lot harder than you'd imagine until you actually try it. Given how little he messes up, he must be reading. You have to with such a long lecture.

[@bringinthedope5929]

@Sir Scofferoff did you at least enjoy the content ??

[@breadandwater7038]

this has got to be the most accurate representation of a Nahuatl subject I have seen on KZbin.. ngl I didn’t see anything before you started going into the problems with the source material just because I know basically everything already.. but I have never seen anyone explain the problems with the source material in one of their videos. Something to add to your detail about human sacrifice/cannibalism possibly being a religious cult is that 1: it’s not easy to just kidnap someone and fucking eat their heart, it’s just fact that most regular working class people couldn’t just sacrifice humans whenever they wanted.. animals yes but humans no. Also once the Mexica knew about the Spanish they apparently began sacrificing A LOT more people as a sign of intimidation (moctezuma was a religious nut forsure). Last detail that I want to mention that was funny was that my professor would often tell us, when speaking on the subject of cannibalism/human sacrifice.. he would say “don’t knock it till you try it” LMAO again thank you for this video, you did really a superb job

[@Selendeki]

This is so next level. Its like a horrific fantasy civilization was brought into real life.

[@UATU.]

You did an amazing job of handling a controversial topic with respect.

[@ericklopes4046]

> Wears the coolest drip in town > Bangs the hottest chicks > Treated with utmost respect > Learns arts and instruments > Dies ceremoniously at their own time on top of a pyramid as thousands whip themselves down below in a historic ritual *W O R T H I T*

[@the_original_Bilb_Ono]

>His entire skin was cut and peeled off in one piece while he was alive and conscious.

[@pottertheavenger1363]

​@@the_original_Bilb_Ono The video just said he was dead by that point.

[@pottertheavenger1363]

Not whipping. Cutting with flint daggers and piercing oneself with maguey needles.

[@chadkline4268]

No thanks 😂

[@thenablade858]

It only lasts like a year. It’s Make a Wish at that point.

[@RealZefrety67]

As a history lover. This definitely should’ve been explain and taught in school mostly for the complicity. Would be way better to learn in a month than a 10 minute video so they could soak it in more great video tho 🖤

[@diegonahuel9060]

They taught me this in Mexico but I was like 7 so I don't remember anything other than the basics

[@ldeue4837]

Makes me wish KZbin was around when I was in school. Talk about snagging a free paper.

[@maryjoyce7520]

I lived in El Paso for a time. Walking across the border to Juarez and the marketplace I was educated about the history and shown some original and some copies of sacrificial knives for human killing. Your presentation was excellent. Thanks.

[@diro5910]

As a Mexican, this is excellently done. I thank you for making this. It had some things I didn’t know. Keep it up! I have a few comments: 1) For “Central Mexico” you could use Mesoamerican, it isn’t very accurate either but it is cooler. 2) The Aztec Empire was so convoluted it even ruled far from Central Mexico, they had a sort-of client state in Central America, in what today is called the Soconusco. 3) Quetzalcoatl is probably the most important Mesoamerican deity, as ir appears even in the Mayan culture.

[@jose13neo]

Most of Nahuatl characters not just K'uk'ulkan also appear in Maya since both religions are basically the same with the main difference being Nahuatl puts a higher emphasis on the human sacrifice part while Maya did not. It actually is kind of similar to the Roman and Hellenic thing.

[@diro5910]

Jose NEO Yes, that is true, but the idea of Kukulkán is far more “standardized” than the others.

[@k1m6a11]

Amazingly informative and well-balanced video on a very complex subject! Congratulations on a fantastic video. You definitely deserve some nice coffee!

[@MLaserHistory]

All my project including this one would not be possible without coffee or tea.

[@isaacpeachey8609]

Your channel is so underrated. This has to be one of, if not my favorite channels on historical subjects.

[@Ndw1995]

Thank you for not hiding history like so many others do. Certain groups of people love to attack others from behind a false shield of “my history is better than yours” and this shatters that narrative. Thank you

[@AE-jo2fy]

I aplaud you dedication to balance, I can tell you're not just shoveling blind sympathy or antipathy through your dedication to neuance, accuracy and transparancy.

[@lilith4961]

Great job clarifying the difference between Aztec and Mexica. Shows you put in the effort in your research!

[@BHam336]

I’m so glad some actually finally got it right to differentiate the Aztec empire as a whole from the Mexicas… Subscribed

[@VinnieG-]

I can't imagine living in such cultures, I literally faint when I get blood drawn, let alone watching people get their hearts cut out

[@c.w.8200]

It's crazy but the ancient Germans and Celts performed human sacrifices in as late as Roman times. Close to where I live there's a primitive stone monument that very likely served as an altar for human sacrifices.

[@crowe6961]

It fed pretty hard into Roman propaganda too. They rightly championed the abolition of human sacrifice as a mark of civilization over barbarity.

[@c.w.8200]

@@crowe6961 I find it rather ironic that they purported to have an issue with "barbarian" human sacrifices keeping in mind the bloody excesses of their own culture.

[@Galaron100]

@@c.w.8200 Comparatively, roman culture was pretty bloodless (which is exactly their point). Even the famous colosseums and arenas were mostly death-free and only seldom involved actual matches to the death.

[@Egilhelmson]

The Norse had human sacrifices in Uppsala, once every seven years into the 900s. Not nearly as many, though.

[@marmolejomartinezjoseemili9043]

@@Galaron100 im curious, do you have a source (or various) for the arenas being mostly bloodless? also, the romans were most defenetly not a bloodless society, they were also expantionist and waged in wars to colonise

[@mikeharrington5593]

A very well presented narrative which whilst cataloging a wealth of data doesn't attempt to be a definitive history because it recognises that the history of the conquerors is not always the same as a factual account. An impressive tour de force, congratulations.

[@adamdarmstaedter1256]

I have Nat Geo magazine with an article about the mass graves they dug up near the temples and there was extensive butchery marks on the bones. IF the warriors and their families were the only ones to cannibalize the flesh, it would be interesting to know if they exhibited signs of the human version of "mad cow" disease like the cannibals of the Pacifc islands.

[@PolishBehemoth]

Which temples and mass graves are you talking about? A specific city? Within the aztec empire?

[@chadlefeber347]

Of course the dead bodies were used extensively for food. It makes no sense that they were not. Just dealing with all the potentially rotting flesh would be enough reason to do something. People just don't want to go there. Modern humans have a 'sanctity of human life above all else' ... complex, is really the only word for it. (complex = "a related group of emotionally significant ideas that are completely or partly repressed and that cause psychic conflict leading to abnormal mental states or behavior.")

[@0rganopleno]

It would depend on whether they ate the brains or not. I know some tribes from Papua Guinea have high rates of Kreutzfeld-Jacob because they eat the brains of their deceased tribe members, which according to their beliefs sort of like lets them live on inside yourself. I'm not familiar with the diet of the Aztecs but generally brains are not a very popular food for humans so I'm guessing this wasn't really an issue.

[@ramonpliego1118]

the Aztecs do not eat the brains, the head went to the wall of heads, it is curious because in the many documents where they talk about this subject the same thing is always pointed out, the head was never eaten, I imagine that they knew the consequences of eating the brains

[@Calibree420]

NO.

[@quesera877]

Crazy how with the right circumstances and enough conviction, societies would do anything.

[@jamesewanchook2276]

Excellent content. Well written with a really clear narration. Thanks, I'll now watch another of yours. Cheers from Vancouver.

[@ChrispyChris3]

For randomly coming across this and watching it all, I'm impressed by how this was put together! Super good job man. I bet it was an interesting time to live haha.

[@noahinvero351]

Or to die in

[@melissapinol7279]

Thank you for trying to present a fairer, more rational view of this difficult subject. The Aztecs are usually depicted as horrible evil people who worship horrible evil gods. In reality I think that they were basically regular people who got caught up in a system of ritual and belief that they couldn't get out of for fear that the world would come to an end. They sincerely believed that what they were doing was a selfless attempts to preserve all human life. They believed their gods had suffered to keep human life alive, and needed their help to protect it. Once the Aztecs had allowed themselves to be trapped in this mindset, societal pressure kept the cycle going. Rather than feeling judgemental I see it as really sad, and a warning to other future cultures.

[@Arthur-pc1eh]

That's called mass delusion. It still happens today. Humans are shit.

[@MarikHavair]

Nah, horrible evil people worshipping literal demons and loving it. Don't do drugs kids. Cultures that do drugs always end up psychopathic and demented.

[@TheRealNickG]

Pro tip: Don't eat jerky while watching the parts about cannibalism.

[@frankomendizabal2348]

20:03 Noice!! You also could have mentioned the efficient agriculture systems, such as, the milpa and the chinampas which would yield harvests year round. Also worth noting, was the consumption of nixtamalized corn products, aka tortillas. This process unlocked key nutrients, which was the reason pelagra was unknown in Mesoamerica. Additionally, the fact that turkeys were domesticated in Mesoamerica thousands of years before the Aztecs were even a thing. One last detail, amaranth was widely consumed in that region, which is considered a ‘superfood’. To this day, a candy made of amaranth still exists today, called alegrías, meaning joy in Spanish. This is because of the festivals that involved said food, a cheery atmosphere was present.

[@frankomendizabal2348]

Forgot to mention that chia is also from Mexico, and nutritious greens like huauzontles, as well was carb heavy seed based sauces, known as pipián.

[@Zenboy23]

@@frankomendizabal2348 They even ate Spirulina, baked in the form of tortillas called Tecuitlatl. Plus the accounts of the Tlatelolco market by the Spanish sources tell of plenty of fish, animals, and produce like they hadn't seen before. The abundance of food on the area was key to their rise.

[@frankomendizabal2348]

@@Zenboy23 Exactly, and I even forgot to mention all the edible insects, such as chapulines and chicatanas, abundant source of animal protein.

[@Zenboy23]

@@frankomendizabal2348 Yup, food was abundant, the theory about human sacrifices caused by food scarcity is just ridiculous 😂

[@GetCareless]

@@Zenboy23 not too ridiculous when considering people lie to each other to get what they want. The politics. The manipulation. We are may more advanced now yet are being controlled by the globalist agenda. Nothing is too ridiculous. I'm certain they sacrificed themselves for MUCH less.

[@artkoenig9434]

Thank you for your exhaustive description of this topic! Well done!

[@Trenz0]

The section about butchering the sacrificed bodies and the parts being sent to be used in various ways including being given to the original captor to be eaten in a shared ritual with their family really got me. Insane

[@ikengaspirit3063]

More like BASED.

[@yucatansuckaman5726]

They're still chowing down on people in th3 modern age. You can find it on certain websites

[@listrahtes]

​@@yucatansuckaman5726 you mean in modern day mexico?

[@yucatansuckaman5726]

@@listrahtes yes

[@ap3montes739]

Nice video. I'd like to add: they threw the dead bodies down the stairs of the Temple to imitate what Huitzilopochtli did; the legend says, he decapitated her sister and threw her dismembered body down a mount. The Templo Mayor symbolized that mount, and there's even a stone disc on the bottom of the stairs with the image of Huitzilopochtli's sister (the bodies of the sacrificed ended on there). That disc can be seen in the remains of the Templo Mayor nowadays, in Mexico City, in case you're curious.

[@xylsky1300]

Isn't it scary how in modern times with the understanding of many things and yet we still kill over beliefs, greed and sometimes just for fun?

[@samwallaceart288]

That was a tremendous video. Got to the point, gave caveats and context, shouted out alternative sources, and did it all with a non-pretentious, briskly paced, but very viewer friendly presentation. This is what every history video should be. Can definitely tell you spent a year on this and appreciate that you had the restraint to keep it short and simple when with that much research time it's easy to be tempted to drag it out with more shaky material.

[@noahinvero351]

A year ago I found this video and I became fixated, a contribution was my father giving me "the aztec" by Gary Jennings, I've been trying to learn culture and language on my own and it sparked curiosity for other languages as well, it pretty much randomly changed my life, really weird, thanks

[@MLaserHistory]

The whole point of my channel is to spark people's interest in history so I am really glad to hear this.

[@taramungoognumarat2989]

Great video man! Love your properly academic, unagitated approach A small note on priests holding a person to be sacrificed by extracting their heart (~15:30): The reason for that is not just to keep them from fleeing the scene, but also to have their body in a certain position and thus enable the extracting priest to slice the guy open beneath his rib cage and get to the heart more easily

[@JBmstr]

I study history and i am always impressed by your scientific work. Great job! You are one of the few history channels which i can watch without being confronted by a misleading histotainment mix of false approaches on history

[@patriciapalmer1377]

No one has explained "Aztec" its peoples, language, culture, and customs, so incisively before. Interesting and informative, I thank you for your time and effort.

[@gabebarbieri194]

I cannot imagine taking Datura during a sacrificial ritual… Datura often makes it look as if blood is flowing from someone’s every orifice

[@toddberkely6791]

idk from that description makes it sound easier.

[@josephjucker5620]

The sun/moon dichotomy in human lore is really interesting. One of those things that are simultaneously similar and different though the Aztec(ian?) version seems similar to ancient eqypt