Massive
Aztec human skull rack found in Mexico City
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[August 21, 2015]
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -
Archeologists have discovered a massive ceremonial skull rack from the
heyday of the Aztec empire in the heart of Mexico City, a find that
could shed new light on how its rulers projected power by human
sacrifice, the team said on Thursday.
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The skull rack, known as a tzompantli in the Nahuatl language of
the Aztecs, was used to display the bleached white craniums of
sacrificed warriors from rival kingdoms, likely killed by priests
atop towering temples that once stood nearby.
Dug up behind the capital's colonial-era cathedral, the as yet
partially uncovered skull rack was likely built between 1485 and
1502 and may have been about 112 feet (34 meters) long and 12 meters
(40 foot) wide, lead archeologist Raul Barrera said.
Hundreds of skulls would have been arranged neatly on the wooden
poles of the racks, which served to inspire fear and awe.
"The tzompantli had a very specific symbolism," Barrera told
reporters. "With more study, we expect to learn that many of these
skulls belong to (Aztec) enemies, who were captured, sacrificed and
decapitated in order to be displayed there."
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The warlike and deeply religious Aztecs ruled a sprawling empire
that at its height stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific
Ocean before the Spanish conquest of 1519-1521.
(Reporting by Carlos Carrillo; Writing by David Alire Garcia;
Editing by Bernard Orr)
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