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Mesoamerican mythology is a realm full of gods, warriors, and cosmic struggles, where life and death are bound together in an unbreakable cycle. Few mythologies in the world are as vividly intense, and blood plays a central role in both religious rituals and the balance of existence itself.
Whether flowing in sacrifice atop temple pyramids, or offered through self-inflicted wounds, blood was a sacred force that sustained the very existence of the universe. The natural world was unpredictable and often hostile, and sacrifice was believed to be one of the only ways to prevent catastrophe.
But why was brutality so deeply embedded in the Mesoamerican belief systems? And what do these stories reveal about the people who lived, fought, and worshipped in these lands? Click through this gallery to find out.
It should be said that not every Mesoamerican myth or legend speaks to a form of brutality. But the civilizations that thrived in Mexico and Central and South America before the Spanish conquests of the 16th century frequently faced perilous challenges that shaped their beliefs and way of life.
Life in ancient Mesoamerica was full of danger. Deadly wildlife posed a constant danger, and merely tending to a harvest could prove fatal. Even storms and droughts could wreak havoc and wipe out entire crops.
Nature wasn’t the only threat in Mesoamerica. Just as predators stalked their prey, rival tribes lurked, ready to strike. Conflict was inevitable, as expanding civilizations clashed over territory, resources, and power, each vying for dominance in an unforgiving landscape.
The Olmec civilization, which is famous for the Colossal Heads, laid the foundation for many later Mesoamerican religious practices. The civilization existed from about 1200 BCE to 400 BCE, and is considered the earliest known culture to live in present-day Mexico.
Though much of the mythos of the Olmec civilization is lost, evidence suggests that they had early forms of brutal rituals, including bloodletting (intentional harm to release blood) with obsidian blades.
Ritualized bloodletting was primarily carried out by elites, rulers, and religious leaders. These ceremonies often took place in highly visible public settings. By shedding blood, these figures demonstrated their sacred connection to the divine, which helped them maintain their social or political power within the community.
Bloodletting involved piercing a soft body part (most commonly the tongue) and either scattering the blood or collecting it on amate paper (such as the type pictured here). This paper was then burned, with the rising smoke symbolizing the offering's ascension to the gods.
A few of the known deities that were worshipped by the Olmecs also share similarities with other gods found in the mythologies of later civilizations. This includes the feathered serpent god known as Kukulcan to the Maya and Quetzalcoatl to the Aztecs.
Centuries after the Olmec civilization faded, the Maya came into prominence in what is now Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Southern Mexico. The Maya lasted from 250 CE to 950 CE, and their descendants can still be found in Central America today.
The Maya believed humans were created from maize, their staple crop. Their mythos also includes the famous creation story known as Popol Vuh, which spoke of countless dangers in the world (including disease, jaguars, and gods of death).
The Maya pantheon of gods boasted over 250 deities, many of whom were bloodthirsty. Among the most famous figures were the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, who battled the forces of darkness and ultimately resurrected their father from the underworld.
The Maya afterlife, Xibalba, was a terrifying place ruled by deities like Camazotz (a bat god who drank blood) and Cizin (who wore a necklace of human eyes, pictured). These gods punished evildoers in the afterlife.
The formidable god of war known as Buluc-Chabtan was the primary deity honored through the sacrifice of prisoners and civilians. Though their fate was grim, those offered in his name were often portrayed as receiving divine blessings in the afterlife.
Even in ancient Mesoamerica, people knew how important blood was to the human body. Maya rituals often involved self-inflicted wounds using obsidian blades or stingray spines to offer blood to the gods. Indeed, some gods specifically demanded such sacrifices.
Some findings suggest that large-scale human sacrifices among the Maya only became prevalent in the later stages of their civilization. These rituals were performed to secure divine favor, whether to summon much-needed rain, ensure a bountiful harvest, or achieve victory in battle.
The value of blood in sacrifices wasn’t only reserved for people. The Maya also frequently sacrificed animals, including quail, turkeys, deer, and jaguars. Animals were often seen as the “alter ego” to religious leaders.
Long after the Maya civilization had ceased to exist, central Mexico saw the rise of the Aztecs between 1345 CE and 1521 CE. Their people were eventually conquered by European colonialists, who saw indigenous religious practices as barbarism.
The Aztecs believed their war god, known as Huitzilopochtli, protected the sun from darkness. To keep the sun moving, they offered him human hearts, since they believed that without blood the world would end.
In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli beheaded his sister Coyolxauhqui after she attempted to kill their mother. Her severed head was thrown into the sky and it became the moon. This violent myth was used as justification by Aztecs to allow ritualistic sacrifices.
Much like the Mesoamerican civilizations that came before, the Aztecs believed the practice of sacrifice was considered an honor. Occasionally, Aztec people would even consume the flesh of sacrificial victims, viewing it as an act of reverence to the underworld god Mictlantecuhtli.
Human sacrifices in the Aztec civilization were led to the summit of towering temple pyramids, where, elevated closer to the heavens, they were ceremonially slain as offerings to the gods. This ensured cosmic balance and divine favor.
Aside from religious purposes, the Aztecs’ sacrificial practices helped them maintain a reputation for brutality that deterred enemies. Neighboring tribes feared being captured and sacrificed, which discouraged invasions.
Some scholars believe the fierce and brutal image of the Aztecs contributed to their eventual downfall, as news of the civilization’s customs spread across the globe and made them a prime target for European colonization.
When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the early 16th century, they were horrified by Mesoamerican blood sacrifices. Driven by religious zeal and a desire for control, they sought to eradicate these rituals and replace indigenous spiritual practices with Christianity.
To dismantle Mesoamerican religious traditions, Spanish colonizers destroyed temples, burned sacred texts, and forcibly converted indigenous people to Catholicism. Priests and rulers who once conducted bloodletting and sacrifices were executed or coerced into adopting European religious practices.
According to modern standards, the brutality of Mesoamerican mythology may appear extreme, but it was deeply ingrained in how these civilizations interpreted their world. Rituals and sacrifices reflected the immense value they placed on human life (especially blood) as a sacred force in an era where survival was anything but guaranteed.
Sources: (TheCollector) (National Autonomous University of Mexico) (MexicoHistorico.com) (National Geographic)
For years, archaeologists believed that the Maya primarily sacrificed women. But recent DNA analysis of a sacrificial site in Central America revealed that only young boys, aged three to six, had been offered in rituals.
It’s clear that survival in Mesoamerica was uncertain, and so mythology deeply reflected this brutal reality. Human sacrifice was seen as necessary to appease gods and maintain balance in the greater universe.
Why is blood common in Mesoamerican mythology?
Behind the brutality that defined multiple civilizations
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Mesoamerican mythology is a realm full of gods, warriors, and cosmic struggles, where life and death are bound together in an unbreakable cycle. Few mythologies in the world are as vividly intense, and blood plays a central role in both religious rituals and the balance of existence itself.
Whether flowing in sacrifice atop temple pyramids, or offered through self-inflicted wounds, blood was a sacred force that sustained the very existence of the universe. The natural world was unpredictable and often hostile, and sacrifice was believed to be one of the only ways to prevent catastrophe.
But why was brutality so deeply embedded in the Mesoamerican belief systems? And what do these stories reveal about the people who lived, fought, and worshipped in these lands? Click through this gallery to find out.