Human Sacrifice: Satisfying And Surviving The Gods

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In order for the gods to be satisfied; and in order for the people of this great civilization to survive and live a steadfast, healthy, and rewarding life, a human sacrifice must be given to the gods. In order for this great civilization to prosper and grow there must be a human sacrifice offered up unto the gods. In order for the sun to keep burning and producing light and heat, which is necessary for our crops, agriculture, and all of life, there must be human sacrifice given to the gods. Thankfully, in today’s society this is not the case and people no longer believe that sacrificing a living human being is what makes the world go around. However, in the ancient Aztec civilization ranging from approximately 1100 to 1522 B.C.E. this is how the world revolved and without this procedure and practice all of human kind would fall and disappear within a short amount of time and the gods as we know would shun civilization forever. This practice of offering human sacrifice was very vital to the Aztec civilization and plays a very significant role within the military, political, and religious practices, as well as having a profound impact on the social structure of Mexica, and has had varied explanations far and near from scholars who have studied what seems to be inexplicable practices of the Aztec civilization.

To begin with, in order to maintain a profound and efficient life by living off of the land, the society must offer human sacrifices as a way to keep the gods happy and rain down their blessings upon their people. According to the text in Understanding World Societies, in Mexica society religion was the dynamic factor that transformed other aspects of the culture within economic security, social mobility, education, and war....

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...is was the every day beliefs and the faith that the Aztecs held true to life, as they knew. In today’s society, offering up a human sacrifice sounds absolutely insane and absurd, yet this was a way of life and an everyday ritual. Perhaps this was just a belief without any scientific proof that this was indeed what caused life to continue and what was needed; however, what if these findings became true and the sun really did require human blood to continue to move. What would society do? Perhaps there is some hidden village or society that is still practicing these acts and allowing the earth, the gods, and the sun to remain in constant and they have never strayed away from their beliefs that originated many years ago.

Works Cited

John P. McKay et al., Understanding World Societies A Brief History Volume 1 to 1600. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. Print.

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