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Until now, scientists have started from a position Junto con los relatos escritos, los españoles, sus
of believing the lies and hearsay reports and conversos indios y antropólogos posteriores han
interpreting the archeological evidence declarado que muchos hallazgos arqueológicos
accordingly. The circularity of such reasoning is -esculturas, frescos, pinturas murales y
obvious. There are plenty of possible pictografías- están relacionados con el sacrificio
interpretations of the images of hearts and even humano. Sin embargo, estas imágenes no son en
killings in these artifacts. They could depict myths modo alguno la prueba de que los seres humanos
or legends. They could present narrative images-- fueron de hecho sacrificados.
allegories, symbols, and metaphors. They could
even be images of ordinary executions or murders.
Human bones that appear to have been cut also do Hasta ahora, los científicos han comenzado desde
not serve as evidence of human sacrifice. In una posición de creer las mentiras y los informes
tantric Buddhism, skulls and leg bones are used tode oídas e interpretar la evidencia arqueológica en
make musical instruments used in religious consecuencia. La circularidad de tal razonamiento
rituals; this is in no way connected to human es obvia. Hay un muchisimas posibles
sacrifice. interpretaciones de las imágenes de los corazones
e incluso asesinatos en estos artefactos. Podían
representar mitos o leyendas. Podían presentar
Leslie J. Furst, a student of symbols used by the imágenes narrativas - alegorías, símbolos y
Aztecs, has seen depictions of magic where others metáforas. Incluso podrían ser imágenes de
have seen tales of human sacrifice. For example, ejecuciones ordinarias o asesinatos. Los huesos
one image shows the incarnation of a female god humanos que parecen haber sido cortados
"beheaded" in the same way that a plant's blossom tampoco sirven como evidencia de sacrificio
is removed in the ritual connected to the making humano. En el budismo tántrico, los cráneos y los
of pulque, an alcoholic drink. Why scholars have huesos de las piernas se usan para hacer
interpreted images of self-beheadings and other instrumentos musicales usados en rituales
things that depart from physical reality as religiosos; Esto no está de ninguna manera
evidence of human sacrifice will puzzle future conectado con el sacrificio humano. El señor J.
generations. Furst, un estudiante de símbolos usados por los
aztecas, ha visto representaciones de magia donde
otros han visto cuentos de sacrificio humano. Por
There is another important symbolic background ejemplo, una imagen muestra la encarnación de un
for images of killing in Aztec artifacts: the dios hembra "decapitado" de la misma manera que
initiation ceremony, whose central event is the la flor de una planta se elimina en el ritual
mystical death. The candidate "dies" in order to be relacionado con la fabricación de pulque, una
reborn. This "death" in imaginary or symbolic bebida alcohólica. Por qué los eruditos han
forms often takes on a dramatic shape in interpretado imágenes de auto decapitaciones y
imagery--such as being chopped to pieces or otras cosas que se apartan de la realidad física
swallowed by a monster. There has been no como evidencia del sacrificio humano, encubrirán
research into the symbolism of death in the high futuras generaciones. Hay otro fondo simbólico
culture of the Indians of Mesoamerica, however, importante para las imágenes de matar en
even though there were many reincarnation myths artefactos aztecas: la ceremonia de iniciación,
among these peoples. cuyo evento central es el Muerte mística. El
3 HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE candidato "muere" para renacer. Esta "muerte" en
AZTECS? - Peter Hassler formas imaginarias o simbólicas adquiere a
menudo una forma dramática en imágenes, como
ser cortada en trozos o tragada por un monstruo.
Sin embargo, no ha habido ninguna investigación
The ritual of "human skinning" surely belongs in sobre el simbolismo de la muerte en la alta cultura
this same category. In our depictions, we see the de los indios de Mesoamérica, a pesar de que hubo
skin removed quickly from the victim, with a muchos mitos de reencarnación entre estos
single cut along the spine, and coming off the pueblos.3 ¿EL SACRIFICIO HUMANO ENTRE
body in a single piece. This is scarcely practicable. LOS AZTECS? - Peter HasslerEl ritual de la
This "human skin suit" may be nothing but a "desolladura humana" pertenece ciertamente en
metaphorical-symbolic representation, as indeed is esta misma categoría. En nuestras
appropriate for the image-rich Aztec language. representaciones, vemos la piel removida
And all of the heart and blood symbolism may be rápidamente de la víctima, con un solo corte a lo
just a metaphor for one of the Aztecs' favorite largo de la columna vertebral, y saliendo del
drinks, made from cacao. cuerpo en una sola pieza. Esto es prácticamente
imposible. Este "traje de piel humana" puede ser
nada más que una representación metafórico-
The heart is a symbolically important organ in simbólica, como es de hecho apropiada para el
more than just European cultures. In the Indian lenguaje azteca rica en imágenes. Y todo el
languages, as well, it is a symbol of courage and simbolismo del corazón y de la sangre puede ser
the soul. And "cutting the soul from the body," simplemente una metáfora para una de las bebidas
after all, is not a surgical operation. This may preferidas de los aztecas, hechas del cacao. El
explain why no massive catacombs with what corazón es un órgano simbólicamente importante
would have been the bones of sacrifice victims en más que apenas culturas europeas. En las
have ever been found in Mesoamerica. lenguas indias, también, es un símbolo de coraje y
el alma. Y "cortar el alma del cuerpo", después de
todo, no es una operación quirúrgica. Esto puede
After careful and systematic study of the sources, explicar por qué no se han encontrado catacumbas
I find no sign of evidence of institutionalized mass masivas con lo que hubieran sido los huesos de las
human sacrifice among the Aztecs. The víctimas del sacrificio en Mesoamérica. Después
phenomenon to be studied, therefore, may be not de un estudio cuidadoso y sistemático de las
these supposed sacrifices but the deeply rooted fuentes, no encuentro signo de evidencia de
belief that they occurred. sacrificio humano masivo institucionalizado entre
los aztecas. El fenómeno a estudiar, por lo tanto,
puede no ser estos supuestos sacrificios, sino la
From the liberal weekly "Die Zeit" of Hamburg. creencia profundamente arraigada de que
Peter Hassler, an ethnologist at the University of ocurrieron. Del semanario liberal Die Zeit de
Zurich, is the author of "Human Sacrifice Among Hamburgo. Peter Hassler, etnólogo de la
the Aztecs? A Critical Study," published recently Universidad de Zurich, es autor de "Human
in Switzerland. Sacrifice Among the Aztecs, un estudio crítico",
publicado recientemente en Suiza.
HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE AZTECS? - Peter Hassler
1
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An aura of lurid fascination surrounds our interest in the Aztecs, the people who, at the beginning of the
16th century, inhabited one of the largest cities of the world: Tenochtitlan. In 1521, this metropolis was
erased from the face of the Earth by the Spanish conquerors under Hernando Cortes and his Indian allies.
As a justification for their destructive acts, the conquistadors generated propaganda designed to offend the
sensibilities of their Christian audience: They described the Aztec practice of human sacrifice. Later
chronicles by Spanish writers, missionaries, and even Indian converts also told repeatedly of this cult.
Even when scientists called these reports grossly exaggerated, the fact that the Aztecs sacrificed humans
remained undisputed. Cutting out the victim's heart with an obsidian knife [fashioned from volcanic glass]
was supposedly the most common method of sacrifice, although other forms were practiced as well.
These included beheading, piercing with spears or arrows, and setting victims against each other in
unequal duels. We are also told that some victims were literally skinned alive; a priest then donned this
macabre "skin suit" to perform a ritual dance.
There has been no shortage of theories and explanations for what lay behind these archaic cults. Some
researchers have deemed them religious rituals. Others have called them displays of repressed aggression
and even a method of regulating population. Although human sacrifice has been the subject of much
writing, there has been almost no critical examination of the sources of information about it. A critical
review is urgently needed.
Bernal Diaz del Castillo is the classic source of information about mass sacrifice by the Aztecs. A literate
soldier in Cortes' company, Diaz claimed to have witnessed such a ritual. "We looked over toward the
Great Pyramids and watched as [the Aztecs] ... dragged [our comrades] up the steps and prepared to
sacrifice them," he wrote in his Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva Espana (The True History
of the Conquest of New Spain), published posthumously in 1632. "After they danced, they placed our
comrades face up atop square, narrow stones erected for the sacrifices. Then, with obsidian knives, they
sawed their breasts open, pulled out their still-beating hearts, and offered these to their idols."
The scene of these sacrificial rituals was the main temple in the island-city of Tenochtitlan. The
observers, however, were watching from their camp on the shore of a lake three or four miles away. From
that point, Diaz could have neither seen nor heard anything. To follow the action at the foot of the
pyramid, he would have to have been inside the temple grounds. But this would have been impossible:
The Aztecs had just beaten back the Spanish and their allies, who had been besieging the city from all
sides.
But Diaz is not the inventor of the legend of ritual murder. Cortes fathered the lie in 1522, when he wrote
a shorter version of the tale to Emperor Charles V. He would have been confident that his reports would
HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE AZTECS? - Peter Hassler
2
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
find ready ears, for in the 15th and 16th centuries many lies were being spread in Spain about ritual
murders carried out by the Jews, who were being expelled from the Iberian peninsula along with the
Moors. Cortes' lies were a tremendous success: They have endured for almost 500 years without
challenge. Along with the lies of the conquistadors, there also have been secondhand reports--what could
be called "hearsay evidence"--in the writings of Spanish missionaries and their Indian converts, who, in
their new-found zeal, scorned their old religion. The accounts are filled with vague and banal phrases
such as, "And thus they sacrificed," which indicates that the writers cannot have witnessed a real human
sacrifice.
The only concrete evidence comes to us not from the Aztecs but from the Mayan civilization of the
Yucatan. These depictions are found in the records of trials conducted during the Inquisition, between
1561 and 1565. These supposed testimonies about human sacrifice, however, were coerced from the
Indians under torture and have been judged worthless as ethnographic evidence.
Along with the written accounts, many archeological finds--sculptures, frescoes, wall paintings, and
pictographs--have been declared by the Spanish, their Indian converts, and later anthropologists to be
connected to human sacrifice. Yet these images are in no way proof that humans were in fact sacrificed.
Until now, scientists have started from a position of believing the lies and hearsay reports and interpreting
the archeological evidence accordingly. The circularity of such reasoning is obvious. There are plenty of
possible interpretations of the images of hearts and even killings in these artifacts. They could depict
myths or legends. They could present narrative images--allegories, symbols, and metaphors. They could
even be images of ordinary executions or murders. Human bones that appear to have been cut also do not
serve as evidence of human sacrifice. In tantric Buddhism, skulls and leg bones are used to make musical
instruments used in religious rituals; this is in no way connected to human sacrifice.
Leslie J. Furst, a student of symbols used by the Aztecs, has seen depictions of magic where others have
seen tales of human sacrifice. For example, one image shows the incarnation of a female god "beheaded"
in the same way that a plant's blossom is removed in the ritual connected to the making of pulque, an
alcoholic drink. Why scholars have interpreted images of self-beheadings and other things that depart
from physical reality as evidence of human sacrifice will puzzle future generations.
There is another important symbolic background for images of killing in Aztec artifacts: the initiation
ceremony, whose central event is the mystical death. The candidate "dies" in order to be reborn. This
"death" in imaginary or symbolic forms often takes on a dramatic shape in imagery--such as being
chopped to pieces or swallowed by a monster. There has been no research into the symbolism of death in
the high culture of the Indians of Mesoamerica, however, even though there were many reincarnation
myths among these peoples.
HUMAN SACRIFICE AMONG THE AZTECS? - Peter Hassler
3
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The ritual of "human skinning" surely belongs in this same category. In our depictions, we see the skin
removed quickly from the victim, with a single cut along the spine, and coming off the body in a single
piece. This is scarcely practicable. This "human skin suit" may be nothing but a metaphorical-symbolic
representation, as indeed is appropriate for the image-rich Aztec language. And all of the heart and blood
symbolism may be just a metaphor for one of the Aztecs' favorite drinks, made from cacao.
The heart is a symbolically important organ in more than just European cultures. In the Indian languages,
as well, it is a symbol of courage and the soul. And "cutting the soul from the body," after all, is not a
surgical operation. This may explain why no massive catacombs with what would have been the bones of
sacrifice victims have ever been found in Mesoamerica.
After careful and systematic study of the sources, I find no sign of evidence of institutionalized mass
human sacrifice among the Aztecs. The phenomenon to be studied, therefore, may be not these supposed
sacrifices but the deeply rooted belief that they occurred.
From the liberal weekly "Die Zeit" of Hamburg. Peter Hassler, an ethnologist at the University of Zurich, is the
author of "Human Sacrifice Among the Aztecs? A Critical Study," published recently in Switzerland.
FIN