{"id":431189,"date":"2021-04-16T17:20:12","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T21:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=431189"},"modified":"2021-04-16T17:20:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-16T21:20:14","slug":"fact-check-did-the-aztecs-sacrifice-their-leaders-in-times-of-famine-or-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-did-the-aztecs-sacrifice-their-leaders-in-times-of-famine-or-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT CHECK: Did The Aztecs Sacrifice Their Leaders In Times Of Famine Or Pandemic?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-check-did-the-aztecs-sacrifice-their-leaders-in-times-of-famine-or-pandemic%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=431189&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>An image <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/patrick.wright.96\/posts\/10223075940301733\">shared on Facebook<\/a> claims the Aztecs \u201csacrificed their leaders to the gods in case of famine or pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Verdict: False<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>While the Aztecs did practice human sacrifice, there is no evidence they sacrificed their leaders in case of famine or pandemic, according to experts.<\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Fact Check:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The image features what appears to be a section of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facsimiles.com\/facsimiles\/tudela-codex\">Codex Tudela<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Codex-Tudela-Facsimile-C%C3%B3dice-quality\/dp\/B08ZBJFT61\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=codex+Tudela&amp;qid=1618523581&amp;sr=8-1\">pictorial manuscript<\/a> crafted in the 16th century about Aztec society, depicting an Aztec human sacrifice. \u201cThe tribes of the ancient Aztecs sacrificed their leaders to the gods in case of famine or pandemic,\u201d reads text included in the image. \u201cI\u2019m not hinting at anything, just a beautiful custom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the Aztecs, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/topics\/ancient-americas\/aztecs\">Mesoamerican people<\/a> who flourished between the 13th and 15th century, are known to have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/news\/aztec-human-sacrifice-religion\">practiced human sacrifice<\/a>, there is no evidence they sacrificed their own leaders \u201cin case of famine or pandemic.\u201d The sacrificial victims were most often selected from captive enemy warriors but could also be from the losing team in ritual ball-games, children or slaves, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldhistory.org\/Aztec_Sacrifice\/\">World History Encyclopedia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Experts on the subject confirmed Aztec Leaders were not sacrificed in times of famine or pandemic. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/checkyourfact.com\/2020\/07\/23\/fact-check-katy-perry-cannibalism-healthy-good\/\">(RELATED: Did Katy Perry Say Cannibalism Is \u2018Super Healthy And Good For You\u2019?)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey most certainly did NOT sacrifice their leaders in times of crisis!\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/history.rutgers.edu\/faculty-directory\/188-townsend-camilla\">Camilla Townsend<\/a>, a history professor at Rutgers University with a specialty in early Native American and Latin American history, told Check Your Fact via email.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/liberalarts.tulane.edu\/departments\/art\/people\/elizabeth-hill-boone\">Elizabeth Boone<\/a>, a professor of art history at Tulane University, specializing in Pre-Columbian and early colonial Latin American art, concurred. \u201cNot true,\u201d said Boone in an email. \u201cThey usually sacrificed war captives, enslaved people, and specially chosen individuals, but not their own rulers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Boone further stated that \u201cThere is no evidence\u201d that sacrifices were used to end famine or pandemics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo the contrary, sacrifices were made regularly in specific ritual contexts: to celebrate the building of a great temple, for example, or more commonly to honor and \u2018feed\u2019 different gods during festivals dedicated to them,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt was all carefully prescribed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheffield.ac.uk\/history\/people\/academic\/caroline-dodds-pennock\">Caroline Dodds Pennock<\/a>, author of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Bonds-Blood-Lifecycle-Sacrifice-Culture\/dp\/0230285643\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=Bonds+of+Blood&amp;qid=1618537874&amp;sr=8-1\">Bonds of Blood: Gender, Lifecycle, and Sacrifice in Aztec Culture<\/a>,\u201d told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/period\/medieval\/human-sacrifice-aztecs-why-how-ritual-common\/\">History Extra<\/a> that human sacrifices were \u201cprominent and regular\u201d and the practice appears to be related to \u201ca reciprocal relationship between the gods and humans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHuman sacrifice was intended to pay back the debt that was formed when the gods let blood from themselves to create the world,\u201d Pennock said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An image shared on Facebook claims the Aztecs \u201csacrificed their leaders to the gods in case of famine or pandemic.\u201dVerdict: False While the Aztecs did practice human sacrifice, there is 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