Aztec Massacre he rushed back to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City) to put down a native uprising. The findings at Zultepec, plus evidence in ancient documents (Aztec codices depicting ritualistic displays of human sacrifice), show that the abandoned Spanish were captured and offered to the Aztec gods, along with natives from local tribes who were helping the Spanish against their Aztec masters. The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice and the documentary narrates how Cortés wrote about how the victim's chest was opened while they were alive and their still beating heart offered as sacrifices. Cannibalism followed. The film indicates that,
Human sacrifice in Aztec culture table below shows the festivals of the 18-month year of the Aztec calendar and the deities with which the festivals were associated. Visual accounts of Aztec sacrificial practice are principally found in codices and some Aztec statuary. Many visual renderings in the codices were created for Spanish patrons, and thus may reflect European preoccupations and prejudices. Produced during the 16th century, the most prominent codices include the Ríos, Tudela, Telleriano-Remensis, Magliabechiano, and Sahagún’s Florentine. A contrast is offered in the few Aztec statues that depict sacrificial victims, which show an Aztec understanding of sacrifice. Rather than showing a preoccupation with