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Severed Heads Were Sacrifices in Ancient Mexico
National Geographic ^ | 2-7-2012 | Linda Poon

Posted on 02/08/2013 4:17:19 AM PST by Renfield

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of more than 150 skulls from an ancient shrine in central Mexico—evidence of one of the largest mass sacrifices of humans in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica.

The skulls, many facing east, lay beneath a crude, slightly elevated mound of crushed stone on what was once an artificial island in a vast shallow lake, now completely dry.

"The site is barely a bump on the horizon in the middle of nowhere," said lead archaeologist Christopher Morehart, of Georgia State University. And that was baffling. Previous evidence of such sacrifices came from grand pyramids in large ceremonial centers.

The discovery suggests that the site—near the town of Xaltocan (named after the ancient lake)—played a significant role in the political turmoil during the period between the years 650 and 800. The great city of Teotihuacan, only nine miles (15 kilometers) away, had suddenly begun to collapse, and the power it once exerted over the region was slipping away. Many experts believe this turn of events was triggered by a massive drought....

(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science
KEYWORDS: archaeology; godsgravesglyphs; mexico
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1 posted on 02/08/2013 4:17:34 AM PST by Renfield
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To: SunkenCiv

Ping


2 posted on 02/08/2013 4:19:02 AM PST by Renfield (Turning apples into venison since 1999!)
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To: Renfield

“sacrifices of humans “...that makes it sound civil....hey we are not killing you..you are getting sacrificed....that is all....have fun

I went to the Mayan exhibit in Denver.....I was amazed how much murder the civilization was based on...it was quite gross actually....I did not think they should let kids in when I was done....sacrifice a few thousand ...sounds good to me...but it did not work for some reason..


3 posted on 02/08/2013 4:32:28 AM PST by Youngman542012
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To: Youngman542012

Maybe they’re trying it again now - the narco-corruptocracy and all their decapitated victims - worshipping money and Santa Muerta.


4 posted on 02/08/2013 4:34:41 AM PST by heartwood
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To: Renfield

But - I thought only Cortez was a killer....


5 posted on 02/08/2013 4:40:27 AM PST by Psalm 73 ("Gentlemen, you can't fight in here - this is the War Room".)
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To: Renfield

Sacrificing humans to the rain god to end the drought they were experiencing. At no point did they ever think -this doesn’t work and/or the rain god doesn’t exist!

Jim Jones was a piker compared to these guys.


6 posted on 02/08/2013 4:46:16 AM PST by Brett66 (Where government advances, and it advances relentlessly , freedom is imperiled -Janice Rogers Brown)
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To: Youngman542012

Look at all of the millions of unborn children sacrificed on the altar Hedonism. The Mayans and Aztecs were no worse.


7 posted on 02/08/2013 5:26:08 AM PST by MCF
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To: Renfield
Could have just been a really bad school for barbers. The instructor: “We really need to work on a little off the top...”

I wonder if an executioner is required to replace his divots after a bad slice.

8 posted on 02/08/2013 5:35:29 AM PST by Hillarys Gate Cult (Liberals make unrealistic demands on reality and reality doesn't oblige them.)
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To: Renfield

Well, what else are you going to do with them? Real shame to let a perfectly good severed head go to waste... /s


9 posted on 02/08/2013 6:07:00 AM PST by gov_bean_ counter (Hope and Change has become Attack and Obfuscate.)
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To: Youngman542012

Wiping out the Central and South American native “civilizations” was good deed on the part of the conquistadors. We owe them a debt of gratitude for that...


10 posted on 02/08/2013 6:26:31 AM PST by Little Ray (Waiting for the return of the Gods of the Copybook Headings.)
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To: Renfield

Tlaloc was a nasty. There is a statue of it in the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City that weighs 168 tons, and it is very evil looking.

Start with an Arnold body, with a head split in half and tentacles coming out the sides of the head. A small human skull belt around the midsection with a big human skull belt buckle. A Lovecraftian nightmare. It is one of their premier exhibits, so no photography allowed.

In context, the museum has everything from what you would think of as primitive mud dolls to extraordinarily ornate and complex artwork that does not look primitive at all.


11 posted on 02/08/2013 6:28:53 AM PST by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Best WoT news at rantburg.com)
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To: Little Ray

I like to point out two things about the Conquistadors.

The first is that these were hardened mercenary soldiers who had fought in very brutal wars in Europe, but when they saw what the Indians had done and were doing in the New World, they were convinced to a man that this had to be utterly destroyed as evil beyond evil.

The second was of a Catholic priest, a scholar who went with them, ordered that they not destroy the Aztec library of scrolls. He wanted to review and report on their contents to the Vatican for any historical or cultural value within.

After he reviewed them, he found their contents to be so grotesque, profane and inhuman, that he personally ordered them destroyed and oversaw their destruction. So only a few scrolls kept in other parts of the region still exist.


12 posted on 02/08/2013 6:44:23 AM PST by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Best WoT news at rantburg.com)
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To: heartwood

With apologies to my Mexican-American grandson, the recent reemergence of a practice of cutting off heads does seem to be a practice limited to Mexico.

The narcos—or at least everyone supposes it is the narcos—have a habit of leaving piles of multiple severed heads in Mexico.

And some are buried or hidden so they aren’t necessarily trying to leave a message to the Mexican authorities. It could easily be a return to the old practice of sacrificing your captured enemies as part of a ritual.

Don’t forget the American college kids that were kidnapped in Matamoros on Spring Break and ritually sacrificed by a narco chief some years ago. That was documented as a bizarre religious cult sacrifice.


13 posted on 02/08/2013 7:04:55 AM PST by wildbill (You're just jealous because the Voices talk only to me.)
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To: Renfield

It’s a shame they weren’t more headstrong.


14 posted on 02/08/2013 7:05:57 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

Smart priest. I think the Aztecs were more evil that just about any fictional evil realm of science fiction or fantasy. The fact that they made it work, just made it scarier. Whenever I look for a model of evil, I skip over Nazi Germany to the Aztecs...


15 posted on 02/08/2013 7:11:19 AM PST by Little Ray (Waiting for the return of the Gods of the Copybook Headings.)
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To: Renfield

Yes, the Sinaloa sect of the Mayan culture continues their work in modern Mexico today!


16 posted on 02/08/2013 7:14:07 AM PST by LucianOfSamasota (Tanstaafl - its not just for breakfast anymore...)
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To: wildbill

IIRC, after the sacrifice, the victim’s carcass was cut up and distributed.

The heart was for the gods.

The captor (sacrifices were frequently captives; the captor got a boost in social status for sacrificing his captive) got a “joint” (arm or leg) to cook for his family and guests in celebration. The receipe (stewed with chili peppers and tomatoes) was remarkably similar to chili con carne...

The remaining joints went to the “knights” (Eagle, Jaguar, etc.).

The torso went to feed the emperor’s menagerie.

And the priests got the head for the skull rack.

So have having a bunch of severed heads after a sacrifice is pretty much the norm. This, of course is for Aztecs. Might be different for the Maya and Inca.


17 posted on 02/08/2013 7:21:53 AM PST by Little Ray (Waiting for the return of the Gods of the Copybook Headings.)
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To: Little Ray

I wouldn’t limit it to just the Aztecs.

Early archeologists thought the Mayans were all sweetness and light, but not too many years ago, they discovered a basement mural of theirs that was grotesque beyond belief. It depicted how they conquered another people and spent six months horribly murdering them. All of them.

Their ancient city at Tikal, Guatemala is a four and a half hour walking tour. With very tall pyramids and artificial lakes. Everyone assumed it was their capital, until 20 years ago, when a geologist found a mountain ridge line north of there was instead a buried city maybe four times as large.

They’re not even sure who built the great pyramids at Teotihuacan, north of Mexico City, but before they accidentally removed the top half of the larger one, thinking it was rubble, it was larger than the pyramids at Giza. Estimated population of the city around 500 AD was 125,000 or more, one of the top 10 in the world at that time.

And the Conquistadors didn’t even arrive for a thousand years after that.

And South America had giant empires we had no idea existed until we found traces of them via satellite.

The amount of savagery is beyond estimation.


18 posted on 02/08/2013 10:35:51 AM PST by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Best WoT news at rantburg.com)
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To: Renfield

 GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach
Thanks Renfield. Obviously the Americas were first colonized by the muzzies.

Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.


19 posted on 02/09/2013 8:13:30 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy; Fred Nerks

Thanks y.

http://www.bigtravelweb.com/travel/2012/03/22/remote-maya-ruins-of-central-america/

https://www.google.com/search?q=remote%20sensing%20precolumbian%20sites


20 posted on 02/09/2013 8:39:54 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Romney would have been worse, if you're a dumb ass.)
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