Why were the Ancient Latin Americans Portrayed so violently? Molly N, Nejra C, Chip C, Jason H

Why were the Ancient Latin Americans Portrayed so violently?
Molly N, Nejra C, Chip C, Jason H


Aztecs:

* Every 52 years they would make a human sacrifice at midnight. They feared that the universe would end if they did not keep the gods strong. If the sun rose the next morning, then the sacrifice had been successful. They would then set the body on fire.


* The Aztecs once killed 84,400 people in four days.
* They sacrificed the person on top of a temple. The priests would cut them open with a knife and tear out their hearts. They would then put the heart in a bowl near a statue of a god, and throw the body down the stairs.
* The priests and the people watching the sacrifice would stab themselves.









Incas:

* The Incas were violent because an ordinary villager could be turned into a soldier

* The Incas were also portrayed as violent because of the rituals they did to appease there gods such as the ripping out of hearts of newborns.


* Incas were also portrayed as violent because they fought and captured neighboring tribes, and then sacrificed them as well

* The Incas would fight all other tribes to expand their empire to it's full extent

*


Mayans:

* Newborn to 8 year old children were sacrificed at the beginning of their calender, or when a new king came to the throne. Their hearts were torn out, similar to the Aztecs.
* They would tie a rope around the people being sacrificed, and then throw them into a gulf. They would then pull them up and bury the bodies. and then brought them up and buried them.
* The Mayans have many festivals and in those festivals they usually sacrifice animals.
* The Maya also sacrificed there prisoners.The prisoners were most often from neighboring tribes.







Sources: Wikipedia-"human sacrifice in the Aztec culture" "sacrifice in the Mayan culture"
Wikipedia- Aztecs Wikipedia-sacrifice in Maya culture
Wikipedia- Inca civilization





I think that the ancient Latin Americans are portrayed a little too violently. After all, it was their religion, and it was just the way things were done back then. They probably didn't think that human sacrifice was as horrible as people think it is today. People think very differently today than they did hundreds of years ago, when the ancient Latin Americans were in power. I think that most people today think that they were terrible and violent people, just because of their sacrifices and religious beliefs. People often don't think about all of the good things they have done, things that affect the world today. For example, the ancient Latin Americans invented chocolate and chewing gum. They invented the number 0. The world today would not be the same without these things. So yes, I do think the ancient Latin Americans are portrayed too violently.