In 1325 AD, the Aztec people moved to an island in Lake Texcoco to set up their capital, Tenochtitlán. The story goes that they saw an eagle holding a rattlesnake in its talons, perched on a cactus. Believing this vision was a prophesy sent by the god Huitzilopochtli, they decided to build their new home on that exact site. And so the city of Tenochtitlán was founded.

To this day, this story of their great migration from their legendary home of Aztalan is pictured on the coat of arms of Mexico. It is clear, then, that mythology and religion played a key role in Aztec culture.

The Aztec gods were divided into three groups, each supervising one aspect of the universe: weather, agriculture and warfare. Here are 8 of the most important Aztec gods and goddesses.

1. Huitzilopochtli – ‘The Hummingbird of the South’

Huitzilopochtli was the father of the Aztecs and the supreme god for the Méxica. His nagual or animal spirit was the eagle. Unlike many other Aztec deities, Huitzilopochtli was intrinsically a Mexica deity with no clear equivalent in earlier Mesoamerican cultures.

Huitzilopochtli, as depicted in the ‘Tovar Codex’

Image Credit: John Carter Brown Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

He was also the Aztec god of war and the Aztec sun god, and of Tenochtitlán. This intrinsically tied up the “hunger” of gods with the Aztec penchant for ritual war. His shrine sat on top of the pyramid of Templo Mayor in the Aztec capital, and was decorated with skulls and painted red to represent blood.

In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli was engaged in a sibling rivalry with his sister and the goddess of the moon, Coyolxauhqui. And so the sun and the moon were in a constant battle for control of the sky. Huitzilopochtli was believed to be accompanied by the spirits of fallen warrior, whose spirits would return to earth as hummingbirds, and the spirits of women who died during childbirth.

2. Tezcatlipoca – ‘The Smoking Mirror’

Huitzilopochtli’s rival as the most important Aztec god was Tezcatlipoca: god of the nocturnal sky, of ancestral memory, and of time. His nagual was the jaguar. Tezcatlipoca was one of the most important gods in post-classic Mesoamerican culture and the supreme deity for the Toltecs – Nahua-speaking warriors from the north.

Aztecs believed that Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca together created the world. However Tezcatlipoca represented an evil power, often associated with death and cold. The eternal antithesis of his brother Quetzalcóatl, the lord of the night carries with him an obsidian mirror. In Nahuatl, his name translates to “smoking mirror”.

3. Quetzalcoatl – ‘The Feathered Serpent’

Tezcatlipoca’s brother Quetzalcoatl was the god of winds and rain, intelligence and self-reflection. He plays a key role in other Mesoamerican cultures such as Teotihuacan and the Maya.

His nagual was a mix of bird and rattlesnake, his name combining the Nahuatl words for quetzal (“the emerald plumed bird”) and coatl (“serpent”). As the patron of science and learning, Quetzalcoatl invented the calendar and books. He was also identified with the planet Venus.

With his dog-headed companion Xolotl, Quetzalcoatl was said to have descended to the land of death to gather the bones of the ancient dead. He then infused the bones with his own blood, regenerating mankind.

4. Coatlicue – ‘The Serpent Skirt’

Venerated as the “mother of gods and mortals”, Coatlicue was the feminine god who gave birth to the stars and moon. Her face was made up of two fanged serpents, her skirt of interwoven snakes and she wore a necklace of hands, hearts and a skull.

Coatlicue was as feared as she was beloved, symbolising the antiquity of earth worship and of childbirth. She was also associated with warfare, governance and agriculture.

In Aztec mythology, Coatlicue was a priestess who was sweeping a shrine on the legendary sacred mountain Coatepec, when a ball of feathers fell from the sky and impregnated her. The resulting child was Huitzilopochtli, god of war.

5. Tonatiuh – ‘The Turquoise Lord’

Tonatiuh was the sun god, depicted as a symbolic sun disk, or sometimes as a squatting man with a disk on his back. Tonatiuh was a nourishing deity who required sacrificial blood to provide warmth to the people. He was also the patron of warriors.

In many post-classic Mesoamerican cultures, the hearts of sacrificial victims were seen as symbolic nourishment for the sun. Tonatiuh was the god most associated with ritual sacrifice; he needed the nourishment to defeat darkness on a daily basis.

Soldiers would be tasked with defeating and rounding up prisoners of war, many of which would be chosen as sacrificial victims for him.

6. Tlaloc – ‘He Who Makes Things Sprout’

The enigmatic god of rain, Tlaloc was represented wearing a mask with large round eyes and long fangs. He bore a striking familiarity to Chac, the Maya rain god. Tlaloc was seen both as a benevolent deity, providing life-giving rain to crops, but also as an unforgiving and destructive being who sent storms and drought.

He was associated with any rain-related meteorological events, such as storms, floods, lightning, ice and snow. He also ruled the other-worldly paradise of Thalocan, which hosted the victims of floods, storms and diseases such as leprosy.

Tlaloc’s main shrine was the second shrine after Huitzilopochtli’s, on top of the Templo Mayor, the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan.

7. Chalchiuhtlicue – ‘She Who Wears a Green Skirt’

The wife (or sometimes sister) of Tlaloc, Chalchiuhtlicue was the Aztec goddess of running water and all aquatic elements. Like other water deities, Chalchiuhtlicue was often associated with serpents. She was mostly depicted wearing a green or blue skirt from which flows a stream of water.

Chalchiuhtlicue in ‘Codex Borgia’, page 65. Chalchiuhtlicue pictured at right

Image Credit: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Chalchiuhtlicue was also the patroness of childbirth and a protector of newborn babies. In Aztec mythology, she played a key role in the Mexica version of the deluge myth. However, despite bringing forth a cataclysmic flood, she transformed humans into fish – thereby saving them.

The festival of Chalchiuhtlicue usually involved rituals such as fasting, feasting, bloodletting and brutal human sacrifice – sometimes even including that of women and children.

8. Xipe Totec – ‘Our Lord the Flayed One’

The Aztec god of agricultural fertility, Xipe Totec was usually represented wearing a flayed human skin symbolising the death of the old and the growth of new vegetation. The gruesome-sounding Nahuatl moniker originated from the legend where the Aztec god flayed his own skin to feed humanity.

Xipe Totec was usually venerated with human sacrifice, carried out during the March festival of Tlacaxipehualiztli – which literally translates as “flaying of men”. A prisoner would be tied to a stone and given a macuahuitl – a wooden club with obsidian blades – made of feathers instead of knives – and made to ‘fight’ an Aztec warrior.

His skin would then be ritually flayed and worn by reenactors of Xipe Totec who were then worshipped and treated as gods. These reenactors would then be killed and have their hearts cut out, their skins worn by Aztec priests for 20 days and then shed to represent the rebirth aspect of Xipe Totec.

As a result, whether it was acquiring new territory, quashing rebellions or capturing sacrificial victims, the equilibrium of Aztec life was maintained by war. Warfare was a fundamental part of the culture, with nearly all males expected to participate in battle – referred to in Nahuatl poetry as ‘the song of shields’ – for both religious and political reasons.

From training rituals to battle strategies, here’s the history of Aztec warfare.

Warfare was ingrained into Aztec mythology

Aztecs believed that their sun and war god Huitzilopochtli had been fully armed and prepared for war since birth. Indeed, the first thing he is said to have done upon his birth was to kill his 400 siblings before dismembering and scattering their bodies, which then became stars in the night sky that served as a regular reminder of the importance of warfare to the Aztec people.

Moreover, the god Huitzilopochtli’s name is derived from the words for ‘hummingbird’ and ‘left’. Aztecs believed that dead warriors helped Huitzilopochtli defeat yet more enemies in the warrior afterlife, before eventually returning as hummingbirds on the ‘left side’ of the world, the south.

Important human sacrifices were regularly made to Huitzilopochtli at his temple at the peak of the great pyramid Templo Mayor in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.

Warriors were trained from a young age

A representation of a Quauholōlli, a mace-like weapon, from the Codex Duran, which was completed in around 1581.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

From a young age, all Aztec males excluding nobles were expected to be trained as warriors. This was partly in response to the fact that Aztec society as a whole had no standing army. Instead, warriors would be drafted to a campaign through a ‘tequital’, a payment of goods and labour. Outside of battle, many warriors were simple farmers or tradesmen.

At birth, baby boys would be given the warrior symbols of a specially-made shield and arrow to hold. The umbilical cord, along with the shield and arrow, would then be ceremoniously taken to a battlefield to be buried by a renowned warrior.

From the age of 15, boys were formally trained to become warriors. They attended special military compounds where they were taught about weaponry and tactics alongside being regaled with stories from battle veterans. Boys would later accompany the Aztec army on campaigns as baggage handlers.

When they finally became warriors and took their first captive, boys were allowed to cut off the lock or ‘piochtli’ hair at the back of their necks which they had worn since the age of ten. This symbolised their transition into being true warriors and men.

The aim of warfare was to dominate not kill

The Aztec Empire depended on trade, agriculture and income from captured territories. The Aztecs’ primary objective was therefore not to mercilessly slaughter enemies, but instead subjugate other cities and lands to extract wealth, extend their lucrative trade network and capture people for human sacrifice.

Defeated enemies did not necessarily have to give up their way of life, and conquered rulers were often left in power, with only their temples destroyed and religious idols captured and displayed in Tenochtitlan as tokens of war and newly-captured territory.

This page from the Codex Tovar, completed in the late 16th century, depicts the burning of a temple from an annexed city.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Instead, the defeated party generally agreed to pay regular tributes in both goods and people. Tributes were often in the form of slaves, military service, precious metals, jewellery, fabrics, exotic feathers, foodstuffs and weaponry.

The head of the military was the king

The military commander-in-chief was the king, known as the tlatoani. He was assisted by two second-in-commands, who had to name their successors prior to battle so that they could be immediately replaced if they were killed in combat.

The military itself was composed of a large number of commoners who possessed only basic military training and were organised into wards that were commanded by leaders. A smaller number of professional warriors who belonged to the nobility were organised into warrior societies according to their achievements.

Priests also took part in warfare by carrying the effigies of deities into battle.

Bravery in battle was rewarded with privileges

Being a warrior in Aztec society was one of the few ways that commoners could improve their social standing. Though diverse units of warriors with varying levels of status reported to the council, brave and able soldiers were allowed to rise in the ranks if they took a certain number of captives.

Symbols of rank included the right to wear certain feather headdresses, cloaks and jewellery, such as lip, nose and earplugs. Officers were permitted to wear ensigns made of reeds and feathers. Even the lowest ranks could win privileges through heroic deeds such as the right to eat in the royal palaces, have concubines and drink beer in public.

The most prestigious units were the cuauhchique (‘shaved ones’) and the otontin or otomies. These elite units could only be joined by warriors who had displayed at least 20 acts of bravery in battle and were already members of the prestigious jaguar and eagle warrior groups. These groups were regarded as nobility, with the warriors within them working full time as a kind of police force for the city-state.

The Aztecs were always fighting

This page from the Codex Tovar depicts the scene of a gladiatorial sacrificial rite, celebrated on the festival of Tlacaxipehualiztli (Feast of the Flaying of Men).

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Everyone in Aztec society benefitted from a successful battle or campaign. Alongside the desire for new territory and physical goods, prisoners captured during warfare were sacrificed to the gods which ensured continued benevolence to the Aztecs.

Obtaining the prisoners was another matter, and required the Aztecs to constantly go on campaigns to acquire sacrificial victims. Indeed, both sides agreed in advance that the losers would provide warriors for sacrifice. The Aztecs believed that the blood of sacrificial victims, especially of brave warriors, fed their god Huitzilopochtli.

These campaigns were known as ‘Flower Wars’, since the defeated warriors and future sacrifice victims were decorated in splendid feather war costumes as they were transported back to Tenochtitlan. Awaiting them was a sacrificial process that involved having their heart removed before their corpse was skinned, dismembered and decapitated.

Their method of warfare contributed to their downfall

Aztecs were fierce fighters. Upon seeing their enemy, the first weapons used were dart throwers, slings, spears and bows and arrows. When engaging in hand-to-hand combat, razor-sharp obsidian clubs, swords and daggers were used. As fierce warriors, often their mere presence and the threat of war was enough for other Mesoamerican cities to surrender.

This isn’t to say they were never defeated: in 1479, their army of 32,000 was slaughtered by one of their prime enemies, the Tarascans. However, this was the beginning of a number of successive defeats that would eventually lead to the downfall of the empire.

Aztecs would engage in pre-battle diplomacy and didn’t rely upon surprise or massacring their enemy. This gave Spanish conquerors a distinct advantage when they sought to colonise Mexico in 1519. Moreover, conquered people under the Aztecs were more than happy to side with European invaders, with token victories such as the Flower Wars paling in comparison to the military prowess of the colonisers.

After centuries of violent expansion, the Aztec Empire was consigned to history in 1521 when the Spanish seized control of Tenochtitlán.

Since it was easier to grow crops than hunt, the Aztec diet was primarily plant-based and focused on a few major foods. Maize, beans, salt and chilli peppers were the constants of Aztec cuisine, providing the average Aztec with a well-rounded diet without major deficiencies in vitamins and minerals.

Daily meals

Most Aztecs ate twice a day: the first after a few hours of morning work, and the second during the hottest hour of the day: at around 3 o’clock.

Aztec men sharing a meal

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Breakfast would usually be a maize porridge with chillies or honey, or tortillas, beans and sauce. In the afternoon, the main meal would consist of tamales, beans, tortillas, and a casserole of squash and tomatoes.

Feasts

Banquets and feasts, as well as the ceremony surrounding them, played a key role in Aztec culture. Feasts were determined by the religious calendar, and were used as a display of material wealth. They featured singing, dancing, storytelling, incense burning, offerings, tobacco, flowers, and gift-giving.

Festivities would begin at midnight. Some attendees would drink chocolate and consume hallucinogenic mushrooms so that they could describe their experiences and visions to the other guests.

Before eating, each guest would drop some food on the ground as an offering to the god Tlaltecuhtli.

Fasting

In all aspects of life, the Aztecs stressed frugality, simplicity and moderation. All members of Aztec society engaged in fasting to some extent. The main purpose of an Aztec fast was to abstain from salt and chillis. There were no regular exceptions from the fast.

Once every 52 years during the New Fire ceremony, some priests would fast for an entire year. Commoners also engaged in fasting, but less rigorously.

Food preparation

Aztec women were responsible for cooking, as for almost all domestic duties. Not using oils or fats, the main method of food preparation was boiling, grilling or steaming in two-handled clay pots or jars called xoctli.

Staple foods

The most common Aztec foods were tortillas, tamales, casseroles and the sauces that went with them – the Aztecs loved their sauces.

Maize, beans and squash were the three staple foods, to which nopales and tomatoes were usually added. Chilli and salt were ubiquitous.

The Aztec diet was dominated by fruit and vegetables, but at times also included domesticated animals such as dogs, turkeys, ducks and honey bees.

Maize

Aztec woman blowing on maize before putting it into the cooking pot

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The most important Aztec staple was maize, a crop held in such high regard that it played a central part in Aztec mythology. To some of the first Europeans, the Aztecs described it as “precious, our flesh, our bones”.

Maize came in varieties of colour, texture, size and quality, and was eaten as corn tortillas, tamales or ātōlli, maize gruel. Maize was broken down by nixtamalization: dry maize grain would be soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater.

This process would release the outer hull of the grain, and make a maize easier to grind. It transformed the maize from simple carbohydrates to a nutritional package of calcium, iron, copper and zinc.

Beans

Another important staple in the Aztec diet, beans served as a good source of protein. They were served at every meal. The beans would be soaked in water for several hours and then boiled until they were soft. They would sometimes be mixed with other vegetables to make a soup or stew.

Fruit and vegetables

The most important fruit and vegetables were chilli peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and avocados. Squash was also extremely popular, including courgettes and pumpkins. The seeds were eaten fresh, dried or roasted.

Red and green tomatoes were often mixed with chilli in sauces or as filling for tamales. The Aztecs also ate various mushrooms and funghi, including the parasitic corn smut which grows on ears of corn. The main fruits consumed were guavas, papayas, custard apples, zapotes, mamey and chirimoyas.

Meat and fish

Illustration of an Aztec feast

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Aztec diet was mostly dominated by fruit and vegetables, however they did eat a variety of fish and wild game. Rabbits, birds, frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, green iguanas, pocket gophers and insects (and their eggs and larvae) all served as valuable food sources.

The Aztecs also ate domesticated turkeys, duck and dogs, and at times larger wild animals such as deer. These, however, were eaten only on rare occasions.

Spices

A wide range of herbs and spices were available to the Aztecs, who loved seasonings and sauces.

Chilli peppers, which came in a variety of species, were often dried and ground up for storage and use in cooking.

The Aztec cuisine featured a significant number of flavours, including sweet, fruity, earthy, smoky and fiery hot.

Drink

An illustration depicting elderly Aztecs smoking and drinking pulque

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The most common Aztec drinks were ātōle, and pulque – a fermented juice of maguey (the century plant) which was the main drink of commoners. The rich made a point to not drink pulque.

Ātōle accounted for a considerable amount of the daily calorie intake. Made up of 8 parts water and 6 parts maize with lime, the mixture would be cooked until softened and thickened.

Alcohol

Alcoholic drinks were made from fermented maize, honey, cacti, pineapple and other plants and fruits. Drinking was tolerated, even for children, however becoming drunk was absolutely not acceptable. The penalties could be severe, even more so for the elite.

A commoner would be punished by having their house destroyed and sent off to live in a field like an animal. A noble could be executed for drinking too much alcohol for their first transgression.

Cacao

The cocoa bean was highly treasured and of high symbolic value in the Aztec Empire. In some cases, it was used as a currency. Cacao was a rare luxury, favoured by rulers, warriors and nobles. It was most commonly drunk as cacahuatl (“cacao water”), flavoured with chilli peppers, honey, vanilla and spices and herbs.

Although cocoa was introduced to Europe in the early 16th century by Christopher Columbus, it was not until Hernan Cortes substituted sugar for spices that it became a commercial success. The word “chocolate” comes from the Aztec word, chocolatl.

Cannibalism

A scene depicting ritualistic cannibalism

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Cannibalism was deeply connected to Aztec mythology. Aztec gods and goddesses needed to consume the sacrificed flesh and blood of humans in order to sustain themselves – and the world.

Since human flesh was seen as the food of the gods, ritual cannibalism had a sacred meaning, bringing the consumer closer to the deities.

Victims, often prisoners of war, would be sacrificed in public on top of pyramids and temples by having their hearts cut out. Their bodies would then be thrown to the ground where they were dismembered.

The pieces were then distributed to the elite, and consumed in the forms of stews flavoured with salt and eaten with corn tortillas – but without chilli.

Before the Europeans arrived, battles in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica typically began with a face-off: drums were pounded and both sides postured and readied for conflict. As the two forces approached, projectiles such as spears and poison-tipped darts would be launched. Then came the messy melee of hand-to-hand combat, in which warriors would wield axes, spears and clubs lined with obsidian blades.

Obsidian was a volcanic glass available in abundance to the Aztecs. Though fragile, it could be made razor-sharp, so it was utilised in many of their weapons. Crucially, the Aztecs possessed only a rudimentary knowledge of metallurgy, so they weren’t capable of crafting metal weapons that could rival European armaments like swords and cannon.

From clubs lined with obsidian blades to sharp, shovel-headed spears, here are 7 of the deadliest weapons used by the Aztecs.

A modern recreation of a ceremonial macuahuitl made by Shai Azoulai. Photo by Niveque Storm.

Image Credit: Zuchinni one / CC BY-SA 3.0

1. Obsidian-edged club

The macuahuitl was a wooden weapon somewhere between a club, a broadsword and a chainsaw. Shaped like a cricket bat, its edges were lined with razor-sharp obsidian blades that would have been capable of severing limbs and inflicting devastating harm.

As Europeans invaded and colonised Aztec lands, the macuahuitl earned notoriety as the most fearsome of all Aztec weapons, and a number of them were sent back to Europe for inspection and study.

The Aztecs also used a range of variations on the classic macuahuitl. For example, the cuahuitl was a short hardwood club. The huitzauhqui, on the other hand, was a club shaped liked a baseball bat, sometimes lined with small blades or protrusions.

2. Dart gun

Known as tlacalhuazcuahuitl, blowguns – typically a narrow tube used to fire darts – were regularly used by Aztec hunters. It’s thought that they may have been utilised in battle when necessary, too: trained hunters would have been deployed to fire poison-tipped darts at enemies.

3. Shovel-headed spear

A sort of spear, the tepoztopilli was a long, wooden weapon with a shovel-like tip that would be lined with obsidian blades. The weapon varied from roughly 3 feet long to the height of a man, sometimes 7 feet in length.

Due to its length, tepoztopilli would have been held by those on the front line of the Aztec army. Its superior reach would be extended forwards and used to slice, jab and topple enemies.

4. Spear-thrower

Aztec warriors used tools known as atlatl to launch spears, darts and arrows. They were essentially sticks that acted like levers to extend a person’s throwing arm. The butt end of a projectile would be placed in its end, and the wielder would swing the tool overarm, launching the dart or spike.

Atlatl, or variations of the device, were popular throughout pre-Columbian America and were also used by the Maya civilisation.

5. Shield

A mosaic-adorned Aztec or Mixtec chimalli (shield) on display in the British Museum.

Image Credit: Adrian Hernandez / CC BY-SA 4.0

Aztec shields, known as chīmalli, were typically made out of animal skins, feathers and sometimes precious metals. Both defensive aids and pieces of art, Aztec chīmalli were meticulously crafted and could feature feathers motifs and impeccable mosaics.

Though not technically weapons, chīmalli formed a vital part of an Aztec warrior’s arsenal, and would have been used to barge, strike and parry during assaults and military advances.

6. Bow and arrow

Aztec armies utilised longbows known as tlahhuitolli. Typically around 5 feet long, these bows would have been strung with animal sinew. Aztec arrows were balanced with animal feathers and often spiked with obsidian or stone.

7. Axe

The Aztecs are known to have used axe-like weapons named itztopilli during battle. They were largely similar to tomahawks or modern hatchets, with wooden handles and sharpened metal or stone heads.

In general, Aztec Emperors left the ruling of the city-states well alone, so long as they each paid him their tribute that was due. However, this loosely-connected alliance between city states did share a common Emperor and overlapping heritage, meaning that laws were similar though not identical throughout the empire. As a result, jurisdiction varied from city to city.

Furthermore, as a fairly nomadic people, a system of prisons was impossible, meaning that crime and punishment had to evolve in a totally different way. As a result, punishments were harsh, with rule-breakers suffering fates such as strangulation and burning.

There was a strictly hierarchical system of rule

Like a monarchy, the Aztec government was headed by the leader known as ‘Huey Tlatoani’, who was believed to be divinely appointed and could channel the will of the gods. The second in command was the Cihuacoatl, who was in charge of running the government on a daily basis. Working for him were thousands of officials and civil servants.

Priests also played an important role, offering religious guidance alongside law enforcement, while judges ran the court system and military leaders organised warfare, campaigns and army training.

Surprisingly however, when it came to law, religion was less of a factor than in most of Aztec daily life. Practicality played a larger role.

Most crime was dealt with locally

A tzompantli, or skull rack, as shown in the post-Conquest Ramirez Codex. Skull racks were used for the public display of human skulls, typically those of war captives or other sacrificial victims.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Those who had committed a crime were normally tried in a local court, where senior warriors in the area were the judges. If it was a more serious crime, it would be tried in the capital city of Tenochtitlan in the ‘teccalco’ court.

For the most serious crimes, such as those involving nobles, who were supposed to set an example, the Emperor’s Palace was sometimes used. For these crimes, the Emperor himself would occasionally be the judge.

That much of Aztec crime and punishment jurisdiction was swift and local made the system surprisingly efficient, which, in the absence of a system of prisons, was necessary and effective.

Many crimes warranted the death sentence

Punishment was severe for a range of crimes. Homicide, perjury, rape, abortion, highway robbery, moving boundary markers, serious defamation of character, destruction of crops, selling stolen property, weight and measure fraud, witchcraft, incest, official graft, pederasty, inciting a public disturbance, sedition, treason, desertion or insubordination by soldiers, use of the emperor’s insignia and serious judicial misconduct all resulted in death.

Theft was a particularly serious crime. Offences which warranted the death penalty included theft from merchants, theft from a temple, theft of arms or military insignia, and theft of more than 20 ears of corn. Petty theft was generally punished through restitution. However, if the thief wasn’t able to pay for the stolen item, they became the victim’s slave.

Adultery was punishable by death, both for the guilty couple and those who were aware of the offence and failed to report it. There was, as ever, a double standard – men were punished only if they had relations with a married woman, whereas married women were considered guilty regardless of the circumstances of the marital status of their lovers.

Public drunkenness was punishable by death for younger people. However, elders over 70 were permitted to consume as much alcohol as they wished without consequence.

Punishments were gruesomely creative

Human sacrifice as shown in the Codex Magliabechiano, Folio 70. Heart-extraction was viewed as a means of liberating the Istli and reuniting it with the Sun: the victim’s transformed heart flies Sun-ward on a trail of blood.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Punishments were often severe. Since there were no prisons, and no torture, the death penalty was a common punishment. The condemned criminal could be taken to the local temple altar and put to death, strangled or even stoned on the spot upon the pronouncement of the sentence.

The nobles, who were supposed to set a positive example, were often punished more harshly. Equally, for first offences or less severe crimes, punishments might include having your home demolished or your head shaved.

Equally, there were many crimes which were not considered to be particularly serious. In these cases, the perpetrator would have to pay back the victim. For example, if there was a fight, the person who started it might have to pay the medical costs. Slavery was often a common punishment, and exile, though rare, was also implemented.

Hard and fast laws developed later

Though many punishments were decided by groups of city warriors or elders in a local court, a common rule of law was most extensively developed in the city-state of Texcoco under its ruler Nezahualcoyotl (1402-1472). It was legalistic, in that its cases were tried by particular types of evidence which disregarded the social status of those involved.

The law consisted of 80 written laws that called for severe, publicly administered punishments, which in turn created a legal framework of social control.

Children could be sentenced to death

Children under the age of ten were considered to be legally unable to commit criminal acts. However, they were still expected to respect and obey their parents, and if they failed to do so, their parents could bring them before the court. The court could order punishments such as beatings, disinheritance, or even death, especially in cases where the children assaulted their parents.

It was even harsher for children of nobility, who could be sentenced to death for being disrespectful, cowardly or wasteful.

Prisoners of war were treated viciously

The Aztecs also had lots of creative ways of killing prisoners of war. Though they were treated as ritual sacrifices, they were already captives which suggests that there was a clear punishment element to their treatment as well.

One of the most grisly forms of murder was to slowly cook the prisoner in a bonfire. The condemned would be thrust in and out of the fire repeatedly until they were nearly dead. Then, their still-beating heart would be cut out of their chest.

A simpler approach was to lay the prisoner on a sacrificial stone, cut open their chest with an obsidian blade, then pull out their heart.

A depiction of the heart being cut out as part of Aztec human sacrifice.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Captured warriors were often revered by the Aztecs and were therefore given a soldier’s death. Some would be tied to a rock then given a flattened club to defend themselves against an Aztec fighter, who would be armed with a similar weapon but with a sharpened edge. Similarly, they might be chained by their ankle to a platform and made to fight. If the captive warrior won, they were often given their freedom.

The Aztecs also employed the used of a type of firing squad. The condemned would be tied in a standing position between two posts, and a white spot would be painted onto the point where their heart was. Archers would then shoot arrows into every part of the body except for the heart and head, which they saved until last.

Female victims had a different and more curious experience. They would be treated as goddesses before being beheaded later.

The most famous of Aztec emperors, Moctezuma is seen as a symbol of resistance against the Spanish and his name was invoked during several rebellions centuries later. Yet according to a Spanish source, Moctezuma was killed by a group of rebels amongst his own people who were angry at his failure to deal with the invading army.

Here are 10 facts about Moctezuma.

1. He was something of a family man

Moctezuma could give the King of Siam a run for his money when it came to fathering children. Known for his countless wives and concubines, a Spanish chronicler claims he may have sired over 100 children.

Of his female partners only two women held the position of queen, in particular his favourite and most highly ranked consort, Teotiaico. She was a Nahua princess of Ecatepec and the Aztec Queen of Tenochtitlan. Not all the emperor’s children were considered equal in nobility and inheritance rights. This depended on the status of their mothers, many of whom were without noble family connections. 

Moctezuma II in the Codex Mendoza.

Image Credit: Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo

2. He doubled the size of the Aztec Empire 

Despite portrayals of Moctezuma as indecisive, vain and superstitious, he doubled the size of the Aztec Empire. By the time he became king in 1502, Aztec influence spread from Mexico into Nicaragua and Honduras. His name translates as ‘Angry Like A Lord’. This reflects his importance at the time as well as the fact that he was the fully independent ruler of the Aztec Empire until its collapse in the 16th century. 

3. He was a good administrator

Moctezuma had a talent as an administrator. He set up 38 provincial divisions in order to centralize the empire. Part of his plans to maintain order and secure revenues was to send out bureaucrats accompanied by a military presence to make certain that tax was being paid by the citizens and that national laws were being upheld.

This skill at bookkeeping at a grand scale and an apparent administrative zeal contrasts with his image as a warrior who secured territories through warfare.

4. Little tangible evidence documents his rule

Very little is known about Emperor Moctezuma or what it was like to rule over the Aztec kingdom. The Spanish Conquistadors’ destruction of the grand city Tenochtitlan, as well as its artefacts and art, left little information about the Aztec ruler for posterity. Born into Aztec royalty, Moctezuma’s nearly two decades of leadership saw him expand his empire’s region until it dominated modern day Mexico.

When the Spanish explorers arrived on South American shores led by the Conquistadors’ leader Hernan Cortes, Moctezuma could do little but watch his world crumble. Though he was followed by two successors, he was the last of the Aztec emperors with widespread authority.

5. He was part of an Aztec royal family

Moctezuma’s father was the Aztec ruler Axayacatl and his uncle was the emperor Ahuitzotl. Nothing is known about what Moctezuma was like as a child or a young man, nor of his relationships with family members.

What is known is that he came of age during a time of transformation and that as the prince of Axayacatl he was pampered and feted as divine. Living in the most opulent of palaces, Moctezuma II received the best education, learning the disciplines of warfare and politics for his future as emperor.  

6. He ruled several million people

At its height, the Aztec Empire incorporated between 6 to 12 million people, around 500 cities and stretched from modern central Mexico to the fringes of modern Guatemala. During the reign of Moctezuma’s father Axayacatl, the Aztec empire had only been in existence for half a century.

The Aztecs encompassed multiple ethnic groups of central Mexico and proliferated as a culture in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Aztec civilisation emerged from violent competition between numerous city-states. As the Aztecs excelled in warfare, by 1325 AD they had established a seat of power in the great city of Tenochtitlan, upon an island in the Valley of Mexico.

7. He inherited his throne from his uncle

In 1479, when Montezuma was 10 years old, his father Axatacatl saw his entire army wiped out by the rival Purepecha Empire. Shortly afterwards he succumbed to a wasting disease, possibly the result of assassination by poisoning. After a short reign by Tizoc, Moctezuma’s uncle Ahuitzotl took over as ruler in 1486 and ushered in what is recognised as the Aztec golden age.

During this time, the Aztecs continued to conquer other regions. One of the first things Ahuitzotl did to celebrate his new reign was to sacrifice as many as 20,000 prisoners on top of the gargantuan Templo Mayor pyramid in a brutal ritual. (The Spanish chronicler Fray Diego Duran puts the number at a staggering, and improbable, 80,000.)

8. He made up for his father’s failures

While Montezuma’s father Axatacatl was generally an effective warrior, a major defeat by the Tarascans in 1476 damaged his reputation. His son, on the other hand, was noted not only for his skills in fighting but also in diplomacy. Perhaps intent on distancing himself from his father’s failures, he conquered more land than any other Aztec in history. 

9. He welcomed Cortés to Tenochtitlan

After a series of confrontations and negotiations, the leader of the Spanish conquistadors Hernan Cortés was welcomed to Tenochtitlan. Following a frosty encounter, Cortés claimed to have captured Moctezuma, but this may have taken place later. A popular historical tradition has long ascribed to the Aztecs the belief that the white-bearded Cortés was the embodiment of the deity Quetzalcoatl, which led the wretched and omen-obsessed Aztecs to look towards the conquistadors as if they were gods.

However, the story seems to originate in the writings of Francisco López de Gómara, who never visited Mexico but was a secretary to the retired Cortés. Historian Camilla Townsend, author of Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs, writes that there is “little evidence that indigenous people ever seriously believed the newcomers were gods, and there is no meaningful evidence that any story about Quetzalcoatl’s returning from the east ever existed before the conquest.”

Returning to the city later with reinforcements and superior technology, Cortes eventually conquered the great city of Tenochtitlan and its people through violence.

10. The cause of his death is uncertain

The death of Moctezuma was attributed by Spanish sources to an angry mob in the city of Tenochtitlan, who were frustrated at the failure of the emperor to defeat the invaders. According to this story, a cowardly Moctezuma attempted to evade his subjects, who threw rocks and spears at him, wounding him. The Spanish returned him to the palace, where he died.

On the other hand, he may have been murdered while in Spanish captivity. In the 16th century Florentine Codex, Moctezuma’s death is attributed to the Spaniards, who cast his body from the palace.

While many aspects of Mexican culture are Hispanic, there are also many ties to the Aztec civilization as well as other Mesoamerican cultures, making the modern country a true blend of New and Old World.

1. They called themselves the Mexica

The word ‘Aztec’ would not have been used by the Aztec people themselves. ‘Aztec’ refers to the ‘people of Aztlán’ – the ancestral home of the Aztecs, thought to be in northern Mexico or the southwestern United States.

The Aztec people actually called themselves the ‘Mexica’ and spoke the Nahuatl language. Some three million people continue to speak the indigenous language in central Mexico today.

2. The Mexica originated from northern Mexico

Nahua speaking people began to migrate to the Basin of Mexico around 1250 AD. The Mexica were one of the last groups to arrive, and most of the fertile farming land had already been taken.

A page from the Codex Boturini depicting the departure from Aztlán

Image Credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

3. They founded Tenochtitlan in 1325 AD

They moved to an island in Lake Texcoco, where an eagle nested upon a cactus eating a snake (the symbol in the middle of the modern Mexican flag). They saw this as a prophesy and founded Tenochtitlan on this island on 13 March 1325.

4. They defeated the Tepanecs to become the most powerful state in Mexico

From 1367, the Aztecs had been militarily supporting the nearby state of Tepanec and benefited from the expansion of that empire. In 1426, the Tepanec ruler died and his son Maxlatzin inherited the throne. He sought to reduce Aztec power, but was crushed by the former ally.

5. The empire wasn’t strictly an empire as we might think

The Aztecs didn’t directly rule their subjects in the same way a European empire like the Romans did. Rather than direct control, the Aztecs subjugated nearby city states but left the local rulers in charge, then demanded regular tribute – leading to great wealth for Tenochtitlan.

6. Their combat became focused on capture over killing on the battlefield

While the Aztec did fight pitched battles, from the mid-1450s fighting became something rather more like a blood sport, with ornately dressed nobles attempting to make their enemies submit so they could be captured and then sacrificed.

Folio from the Codex Mendoza showing a commoner advancing through the ranks by taking captives in war. Each attire can be achieved by taking a certain number of captives

Image Credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

7. The ‘flowery wars’ prioritised military training and religion over conquest

The ritualised ‘flowery war’ was practiced against enemies like Tlaxcala and Cholula – whereby the Aztecs could have conquered the cities, but decided not to as the constant war helped train Aztec soldiers and served as a source for gathering sacrifices.

8. Their religion was based on existing Mesoamerican belief systems

The polytheistic pantheon that the Aztec religion was based upon had existed for thousands of years prior to their own civilisation. For instance, a feathered serpent – which the Aztecs called Quetzalcoatl – were present in Omec culture which dated to 1400 BC.

The pantheon of the Teotihuacan city state, which was one of the world’s largest cities between 200-600 AD, had many similarities with the Aztec pantheon. Indeed, the word ‘Teotihuacan’ is Nahuatl language for ‘birthplace of the gods’.

9. There were over 200 deities within their Pantheon

Aztec gods were divided into groups, such as for the weather, agriculture and warfare. The patron god was called Huitzilopochtli, who was associated with war and sacrifice. Tlaloc, the god of rain, and Quetzalcoatl, the god of knowledge and wisdom are other prominent gods common in art and stonework.

10. Their religion practiced human sacrifice

Captives would be sacrificed to please the gods, which was common throughout Mesoamerican religion. While the Aztecs certainly increased the amount of sacrifice that occurred in the region, the true extent of how much it occurred is unclear. Spanish sources are almost certainly exaggerated.

Aztec ritual human sacrifice portrayed in the Codex Magliabechiano

Image Credit: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

11. They lacked metallurgy for warfare

In terms of military technology, the peoples of the Mexico region were a long way from the Europeans at the time – they had not developed either bronze or iron for widespread battle use and most metalwork was for jewellery or small ornaments.

Most Aztec weaponry was based on a volcanic glass called obsidian, which was sharp and strong enough to fashion primitive weapons. Militarily they were only as advanced as European peoples in the Neolithic (Stone Age) period.

12. …and pack animals for building

There were no horses, cows or sheep native to the region. This meant armies could not be easily supported and all of the structures in the region were built purely by man power. Communications in central Mexico could only run as fast as a man.

13. They were advanced in architecture, art and astronomy

Despite primitive technologies and the lack of load bearing animals, the Aztecs constructed many great religious buildings – notably the large Templo de Mayor complex at the heart of Tenochtitlan. Aztec society placed great emphasis on skilled masonry, and intricate stonework is a regular feature on many of their buildings. The remarkable 24 ton Aztec Sun Stone consists of detailed motifs and the heart of Aztec cosmogony.

14. They were agricultural innovators

For centuries prior to the Aztec arrival the Valley of Mexico had complex irrigation systems called chinampas. The Aztecs developed these for large scale cultivation. Soil from the bottom of the shallow Lake Texcoco was piled up to create ridges between ditches, and small rectangular fields were formed.

The rich soil combined with a constant water supply and a favourable climate meant there were three harvests every year, leading to a very high population density.

15. Maize was the principle Aztec crop

Maize (corn) was the staple of the Aztec diet – similar to rice in Asia or Wheat in Europe. This could be eaten on the cob, in corn tortillas or in a gruel. Maize was so important to the Aztecs that they had a god for it – Centeotl – which translates to “Maize cob Lord.”

Aztec woman blowing on maize before putting it into the cooking pot

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

16. Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities in the world by 1500

The city’s population was over 200,000 by the early 16th century – only Paris and Constantinople were bigger cities at the time.

17. Moctezuma was emperor of the Aztecs when they met the Spanish conquistadors under Hernan Cortes

He was the ninth ruler of the Aztecs, reigning from 1502 until his death in 1520. Under his rule, the Aztec Empire reached its greatest size, but was also conquered. He first met the Spanish expedition led by Cortez in 1519.

18. Moctezuma was already facing internal problems when the Spanish arrived

Many subdued tribes under Aztec rule were very discontent. Having to pay regular tribute and provide sacrificial victims built up resentment. Cortes was able to exploit the poor communications and turn city states against the Aztecs.

His first meeting with indigenous people, with the Totonacs at Cempoala near modern day Veracruz, quickly informed him of the resentment towards the Aztec overlords.

19. The empire was crushed by the Spanish conquistadors and their allies in 1521

Cortes was initially cordial towards the uncertain Moctezuma, but then took him hostage. After an incident when Moctezuma was killed, the Conquistadors were forced out of Tenochtitlan. They rallied with indigenous allies like Tlaxcala and Texcoco, to build a vast force which besieged and sacked Tenochtitlan in August 1521 – crushing the Aztec empire.

20. Spanish brought smallpox that devastated the Aztec population

The defense of Tenochtitlan was severely hindered by smallpox, a disease from which Europeans were immune. Very shortly after the Spanish arrival in 1519, between 5-8 million people in Mexico (about a quarter of the population) died from the disease.

It subsequently ravaged the indigenous population of the Americas at a greater scale than even the Black Death in Europe during the late 14th century.

21. There were no revolts in favour of the Aztec empire once it had fallen

Unlike the Incas in Peru, people in the region did not rebel against the Spanish conquerors in favour of the Aztecs. This is possibly indicative of the empire’s fragile and fractured power base. Spanish rule of Mexico ended exactly 300 years later – in August 1821.

Starting afresh in the New World

Like many men who set off to explore distant lands, Cortés was not a success back at home. Born in 1485 in Medellín, the young Spaniard was a disappointment to his family after quitting school early and allegedly badly injuring himself whilst escaping out of the window of a married woman.

Bored of his small-town life and distant family, he left for the New World in 1504 aged just just 18, and settled in the newly created colony of Santo Domingo (now in the Dominican Republic.) Over the next few years, he caught the eye of his colonial masters as he took part in expeditions to conquer Hispaniola (Haiti) and Cuba.

With Cuba newly conquered by 1511, the young adventurer was rewarded with a high political position on the island. In typical fashion, relations between him and the Cuban governor Velazquez began to sour over Cortes’ arrogance, as well as his rakish pursuit of the governor’s sister-in-law.

Eventually, Cortés decided to marry her, thus securing the good will of his master, and creating a newly wealthy platform for some adventures of his own.

An illustration of Emperor Moctezuma welcoming Cortés to Tenochtitlan.

Into the unknown

By 1518, many of the Caribbean islands had been discovered and colonised by Spanish settlers, but the great uncharted mainland of the Americas remained a mystery. That year Velazquez gave Cortés permission to explore the interior, and though he quickly revoked this decision after another squabble, the younger man decided to go anyway.

In February 1519 he left, taking 500 men, 13 horses and a handful of cannon with him. Upon reaching the Yucatan peninsula, he scuttled his ships. With his name now blackened by the vengeful governor of Cuba, there would be no going back.

From then on Cortés marched inland, winning skirmishes with natives, from whom he captured a number of young women. One of them would one day father his child, and they told him of a great inland Empire stuffed with staggering riches. In what is now Veracruz, he met with an emissary of this nation, and demanded a meeting with the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma.

A 19th century portrait of Hernan Cortés by Jose Salome Pina. Image credit: Museo del Prado / CC.

Tenochtitlan – the island city

After the emissaries haughtily refused him many times, he began to march onto the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan – refusing to take no for an answer. On the way there he met with other tribes under the yoke of Moctezuma’s rule, and these warriors quickly swelled the Spanish ranks as the summer of 1519 went slowly by.

Finally, on 8 November, this ragtag army arrived at the gates of Tenochtitlan, an island city said to have been astonishingly rich and beautiful. Seeing this host at the gates of his capital, Moctezuma decided to receive the strange newcomers peacefully, and he met with the foreign adventurer – who was basking in the local belief that this strange armoured man was actually the serpent God Quetzalcoatl.

The meeting with the Emperor was cordial, and Cortés was given large amounts of gold – which was not seen to be as valuable to the Aztecs. Unfortunately for Moctezuma, after coming all this way the Spaniard was fired up rather than placated by this show of generosity.

Cortés’ bloody road to power

While in the city he learned that some of his men left by the coast had been killed by locals, and used this as a pretext to suddenly seize the Emperor in his own palace and declare him to be a hostage. With this powerful pawn in his hands, Cortés then effectively ruled the city and its Empire for the next few months with little opposition.

This relative calm did not last long. Velazquez had not given up on finding his old enemy and dispatched a force which arrived in Mexico in April 1520. Despite being outnumbered, Cortés rode out of Tenochtitlan to meet them and incorporated the survivors into his own men after winning the ensuing battle.

In a vengeful mood, he then marched back to Tenochtitlan – in his absence, his second-in-command, Alvarado, had ordered the killing of hundreds of Aztec people after they attempted to perform a ritual human sacrifice as part of their celebrations for the festival of Toxcatl. Shortly after Cortés returned to Tenochtitlan, Moctezuma was killed. Despite claiming that it had happened in an uncontrollable riot, historians have suspected foul play ever since.

As the situation in the city escalated terribly, Cortés had to flee for his life with a few of his men on what is now known as La Noche Triste: in his confidence, he had underestimated the Aztecs, failed to understand their tactics and overestimated the ability of his own troops. He lost 870 men, a significant percentage of the Spanish forces in Mexico, as a result.

A depiction of the founding of Tenochtitlan taken from the Codex Mendoza, a 16th century Aztec codex.

After forming alliances with local rivals, Cortés returned to Tenochtitlan and besieged the city, almost razing it to the ground, and claiming it for Spain under the name of Mexico City. With no one to tell him otherwise, he then ruled as the self-styled governor of all Mexico from 1521-1524.

Cortés’ legacy

In the end, Cortés got what he probably deserved. His demanding of recognition and wilful arrogance gradually alienated the King of Spain, and when the ageing explorer returned to the Royal court he met with a chilly reception.

Cortés retired back to Mexico, where he spent time on his extensive states, as well as engaging in some Pacific exploration: he is credited with the Western ‘discovery’ of the Baja California peninsula.

He eventually died, embittered, in 1547, having left behind a legacy of European empire-building in the Americas, and wiped a powerful civilisation off the face of the earth.

History of the Aztec Ruins National Monument

Built and occupied from around the 12th century, the Ancestral Pueblo people used the site for over 200 years. In its heyday, it contained several multi-story ‘great houses’ – including one which had 500 rooms –  as well as plenty of smaller structures. There would also have been a “kiva” or ceremonial building, which has now been reconstructed.

Excavations in more recent periods have discovered a wealth of artefacts, providing a fascinating insight into the world in which these people lived: some walls even contain fingerprints from those who built them, 900 years ago.

The ruins were rediscovered in the 19th century by settlers who misattributed them to the Aztecs. The Aztec Ruins National Monument is part of the “Chaco Culture” UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Aztec Ruins National Monument today

Visitors to the Aztec Ruins National Monument can tour these fascinating ruins, with much of the structure of some rooms still intact and some of their original wood beams still visible. A short (1/2 mile) trail through the site is the best way to explore: it feels remarkably intimate. The reconstructed great kiva is particularly impressive: despite the fact that this site was last inhabited 700 years ago, something about it feels strangely tangible and close.

There’s also a visitor centre with exhibits of excavated finds from the site and a film about the history of the Four Corners region. Allow an hour or two for your visit. The park is open daily (except Thanksgiving and Christmas) – hours vary by season so it’s worth double checking before you go.

Getting to the Aztec Ruins National Monument

The site is is northwest New Mexico, about a 3 hour drive from Albuquerque. Highway 550 and 64 are both close by: the ruins road is well signed from both. It’s possible to get here by bus from Farmington – take the Aztec Tiger Bug Route to the Safeway/W Express stop. From there, it’s about a 20 minute walk to reach the site.

History of Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan reached its zenith in the mid-1st millennium AD: it sprawled over 30 square kilometres and housed around 150,000 people, making it roughly the 6th largest city in the world at the time. The city’s relatively sudden collapse remains something of a mystery to historians and archaeologists. Some believe it was sacked and burned by neighbouring rival city states, whilst others have correlated the city’s decline with major droughts and climate change at that time.

While today the buildings around the Calzada de los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead) are grey, they would once have been painted with bright ceremonial murals. The road still forms the heart of the complex today: over 40m wide, most of the 4km site is centred around it.

Literally translated as the place “where gods are created”, Teotihuacan was clearly a city of significant religious importance to its inhabitants, as illustrated by the wealth of monuments at the site. Characterised by looming stepped monuments, one of the most impressive aspects of the city are Teotihuacan’s pyramids.

Teotihuacan today

Teotihuacan and its pyramids make up a big site, so go wearing comfortable footwear. There isn’t much shelter from the elements. Bring water and refreshments if you don’t want to buy overpriced food on site. Take your time, photograph a map on arrival, and enjoy this majestic site. Climbing the pyramids where possible gives phenomenal views and helps understand the layout of the site.

1. La Ciudadela

La Ciudadela is a large sunken square complex: many believe it served as the city’s administrative centre and as the residence of the ruler. Its walls, topped with 15 pyramids, are sculpted in relief and contain traces of the original bright colours that they would have been painted. Look out for the heads of Quetzacoatl and Tlaloc, which also feature.

This complex also encloses the Temple of Quetzacoatl, which was another site of ritual sacrifice. Teotihuacan was a cultural melting pot, with a variety of ethnicities living in the city. The same was true of those they sacrificed: DNA testing suggests they were brought from a variety of corners of Mesoamerica to Teotihuacan.