At least 42 children were sacrificed in Tenochtitlán to appease the rain god’s anger during a long drought.
Remains at the Templo Mayor temple complex. Image: INAH
The mass sacrifice of young children to the rain god in 15th-century Mexico coincided with a severe drought in the region, according to research published at the “Water and Life” conference at the National University of Mexico. Live Science reported on November 15. The remains of at least 42 children between the ages of 2 and 7 were discovered at Templo Mayor, the most important temple complex in Tenochtitlán, present-day Mexico City, in 1980 and 1981. The remains were located face with folded limbs, placed inside a block ice box on a sandy floor. Some wear jewelry such as necklaces and hold green stones in their mouths.
New research reveals that the sacrifice was likely an attempt to end the severe drought in the region by offering sacrifices to the rain god Tláloc.
“Initially, this city-state sought to minimize the impact of the drought by opening the royal granary to distribute food to the needy, and conducting mass child sacrifices at the Templo Mayor temple to appeasing the wrath of the tlaloque, the dwarves were considered assistants of the god Tláloc,” said archaeologist Leonardo López Luján, director of the Templo Mayor Project of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). “For a while, they coped with the tragedy this way, but the prolonged crisis forced the city-state to migrate en masse.”
To find out why the mass sacrifices took place, INAH’s team of experts studied geological data along with information from the Mexican Drought Atlas network. They discovered that there was a major drought that occurred in central Mexico from 1452 to 1454. The drought occurred during the reign of Moctezuma I and the construction of the Templo Mayor, causing crop failures and devastating settlements. , forcing starving families to sell their children to neighboring towns in exchange for food.
“All data indicate that early summer drought impacts plant germination, growth and flowering before the summer solstice while fall frosts attack corn plants before harvest. Both phenomena are destructive.” destroying crops leads to prolonged famine,” López Luján said.
In an effort to ease the crisis, the bodies of sacrificed children were sprinkled with blue dye, seashells, and small birds, surrounded by 11 statues made from volcanic rock. The statues resemble the face of Tláloc, the Aztec god of rain, water and fertility.