dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

Cuauhtemoc was the last emperor Aztec Emperor who ruled from 1520 to 1521. Born to Ahuitzotl and Tlilancapatl, he was the cousin of late Emperor Moctezuma II. Since an early age, Cuauhtemoc’s aggressiveness and determination was famous, his name itself means ‘a person who has descended like an eagle’. Just like a descending eagle that is focussed and sharp, Cuauhtemoc too was strong-minded and unwavering. He succeeded Cuitláhuac in 1520 after the latter died an untimely death due to small pox. At the time when Cuauhtemoc ascended the throne, he was merely 25 years old. There were only a few Aztec captains who were eligible for the post. Cuauhtemoc was voted as the most able candidate by the high noblemen, which eventually led to his appointment. During his tenure as the Emperor, Cuauhtémoc defended the city through a four-month siege. He was later captured by the Spanish, who in turn tortured Cuauhtemoc to reveal the location of Aztec gold. However, Cuauhtemoc’s resoluteness was legendary as despite immense torture, he stuck to his silence and till the end did not reveal the location of traditional Aztec wealth. Fearing an insurrection by Cuauhtemoc in future, the Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, killed him

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Aztec 'Tower Of Skulls' Reveals Women, Children Were Sacrificed

July 5, 201711:45 AM ET

By

Scott Neuman

Archaeologists working at the Templo Mayor site of Aztec ruins in Mexico City, in August 2015. Scientists say the remains of women and children are among those found at a main trophy rack of human skulls, known as "tzompantli."

Hector Montano/AP

For nearly five centuries, Huey Tzompantli, a tower of skulls from the victims of Aztec ritual sacrifice, has remained little more than an intriguing rumor.

But a dig by archeologists in Mexico that began two years ago appears to have unearthed the site of the legendary remains — at least 650 skulls — that was first described in 1521 in an account by Andres de Tapia, a Spanish soldier who accompanied the conquistador Hernan Cortes.

The find itself is significant enough; however, what scientists are learning about the victims of the sacrifice sheds new light on the practices of the Aztec Empire, which ruled a large swath of what is now Mexico in the century leading up to the Spanish conquest.

The ancient human remains were discovered near the Templo Mayor, one of the main temples in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, the site of modern day Mexico City. It was first assumed to contain mostly the remains of captured warriors and to have served as a showpiece for intimidating potential enemies. But archaeologists have also found the skulls of many women and children.

"We were expecting just men, obviously young men, as warriors would be, and the thing about the women and children is that you'd think they wouldn't be going to war," Rodrigo Bolanos, a biological anthropologist investigating the find, told Reuters.

"Something is happening that we have no record of, and this is really new, a first in the Huey Tzompantli," Bolanos told the news agency.

Many of the skulls were "caked in lime" and they were arranged in a large rising amphitheater-like circle of rings, Reuters reports