Research conducted in 1980-81 at the Templo Mayor, the most important temple complex in Tenochtitlán, now Mexico City, revealed the remains of at least 42 children aged 2 to 7. All the skeletons were upside down, with their limbs tucked in, and were placed in carved stone boxes on a layer of sand. Some of them wore decorations such as necklaces and green stones in their mouths.
The results of new research presented at the ninth meeting of Liberation through knowledge: “Water and Life” at Mexico’s National College indicate that offerings may have been made to the rain god Tláloc (actually, it was believed that he had power over all waters – rain, rivers, lakes). This was supposed to end the great drought in the region.
– At first, the state tried to mitigate its effects by opening the royal granaries to redistribute food to the most needy classes, while at the same time carrying out mass child sacrifices in the Templo Mayor to appease the anger of the tlaloque (rain dwarves who were Tláloc’s assistants), – Professor Leonardo said at the meeting López Luján, archaeologist and director of the Templo Mayor project at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). – For a time, the country faced the tragedy in this way, but the excessive duration of the crisis left it vulnerable to attack, forcing it to allow a mass exodus of its people.
To learn more about the find, scientists analyzed geological and meteorological data that showed that there was a serious drought in central Mexico between 1452 and 1454. It was during the reign of Moctezuma I and the construction of the Temple Mayor. The lack of water destroyed crops, devastated the region’s population, and even forced starving families to sell their children in nearby towns to have money for food.
As reported by prof. Leonardo López Luján, after a period of drought at the beginning of summer, which had a negative impact on the germination, growth and flowering of plants, came autumn frosts that attacked corn, destroyed the harvest and led to a long period of hunger.
Archaeologists indicate that to further alleviate the crisis, the bodies of the sacrificed children were sprinkled with blue pigment, shells and buried with small birds. They were also surrounded by 11 sculptures made of volcanic rock, whose faces resembled the image of Tláloc. According to prof. López Luján, decorating children in a characteristic way was to make them look like the mentioned helpers of the rain god.
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Source: geekweek.interia.pl
