‘Why do intangible gods and God have genders?’ (short 300-word response)
‘Why does Islam oppose Christianity?’ (short 300-word response)
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For roughly 2,500 years before the Aztecs, there were several Mesoamerican civilizations that occupied Mexico: the Olmecs (1600–400 BCE), the people of Teotihuacan (height at 1–500 CE), and the Toltecs (height at 950–1150 CE). The Aztecs were the last culture to settle there (1300–1521 CE).

In various domains (religion, language, and art), the Aztecs were heavily influenced by these established cultures, which all had their own religions. The Aztecs incorporated many Teotihuacano gods into their pantheon (family of gods). Some major ones included Tlaloc (the rain god), Chalchiuhtlicue (goddess of lakes and streams), and Quetzalcoatl (the “feathered serpent”).

Major religious practices included human sacrifices (offering the beating heart in a vessel (Cuauhxicalli, the “eagle gourd bowl”) to the gods), various blood sacrifices (burnt into smoke that rose to the gods), and bloodletting (especially central to the Mayans) via the use of obsidian blades ritualistically on pyramid-shaped elevated platforms. Blood was drawn from the shin, knee, elbow, tongue, ear, or foreskin.

The Aztecs inherited various such practices. Blood and human sacrifices (from prisoners) appeased the gods, persuading them not to bring an end to the present age of the fifth sun. The continued existence of the world was tenuous and in need of frequent support through blood sacrifice. As noted, the Aztecs were not unique in this regard (blood sacrifice dates back to 5,000 BCE), but it is their practices that are the most widely and well documented.

We have various descriptions by the Spanish conquistadors who, under the leadership of Hernan Cortez (1485–1547), encountered and invaded the Aztecs. For example, upon arriving in the Aztec capital, the Spanish saw 136,000 heads placed on a skull rack. This is an attestation to the Aztec practice, but it is deliberately exaggerated (to show the superiority of the Christian religion and moral ethic), and the number is unsupported by archaeology.

The Aztecs were a part of this ancient historical Mesoamerican religious traition that was sustained for thousands of years, which is why they imbibed these religious beliefs