Part III: The Aztecs: Sun, Blood and Sacrifice

The Aztecs are an astounding story themselves. They were an upstart tribe from the north – Aztlan – who moved into Mexico with nothing going for them but arrogance and belligerence. Yet they somehow surpassed more sophisticated neighbors and carved out a widespread empire that stretched across Central America.

The rise of the Aztec civilization was nothing short of meteoric. They absorbed the skills and accomplishments of their conquered subjects, and built on them. We might thank our lucky stars that we discovered them; another few hundred years and THEY might have discovered US.

The Aztecs terrorized everyone into yielding to their rule with tortures that could make Torquemada wince. They practiced human sacrifice constantly – their pitiless god, Huitzilopochtli, was the god of war and the sun, and he lived on a diet of human blood, usually slurped from still-beating human hearts torn from victims’ bodies.

The Aztecs also had a lot of gold, though their streets were not – much to Cortez’ disappointment – paved with the yellow metal. The Aztecs didn’t value gold except as a metal to make shiny things. They called it the “excrement of the gods” (I’m not making this up!) and traded it for the feathers and stones they prized more highly for their elaborate costumes.

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