Excavations at Teotihuacan's Temple of the Feathered Serpent (early 3rd century CE) revealed 137 individuals, with around 200 likely sacrificed in total. Many had bound hands, and some wore necklaces with imitation or real human jawbones. The Moon Pyramid's Burial 6 held 12 men, 10 decapitated, all bound. Obsidian knives and serpent effigies were included.
Human sacrifice evidence uncovered at Teotihuacan's pyramids
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Key facts
- Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacan was built in the early 3rd century CE
- 137 individuals recovered at the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, with an estimated original total of around 200
- Many victims had their hands tied behind their backs as though bound
- Some victims wore necklaces decorated with imitation human jaws, and a few wore real human jawbones from other people
- Pyramid of the Moon Burial 6 contained 12 men, 10 of whom had been decapitated; all 12 had their arms tied behind their backs
- The deposit included obsidian knives, feathered serpent-shaped objects, and over 50 sacrificed animals
- Burials were placed at specific levels between successive versions of the monuments, linking the sacrifices to construction phases
- Burial 5 in the Moon pyramid held three men with rich grave goods whose cause of death could not be determined
Sources
cambridge.org
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Lakes of mercury and human sacrificestheguardian.com
In the 1980s, evidence of human sacrifice was found inside the Feathered Serpent pyramid. More than 100 warriors, kneeling with their hands ...
Teotihuacan: Ciudadelametmuseum.org
Others view these sacrifices as dedicated to a deity known as the Feathered Serpent, or to the pyramid itself. Iconography. The façade of the ...
THE TEMPLE OF QUETZALCOATL, TEOTIHUACANcambridge.org
by TD Price · 2021 · Cited by 10 — Continuing isotopic investigation of the sacrificial burials and trophies beneath the Feathered Serpent Pyramid (Temple of Quetzalcoatl) in ...
Temple of the Feathered Serpent, Teotihuacanen.wikipedia.org
The Temple of the Feathered Serpent is notable partly due to the discovery in the 1980s of more than a hundred possibly sacrificial victims buried beneath the ...
Teotihuacansmarthistory.org
Most scholars agree that the temple was associated with warfare and human sacrifice, as confirmed by numerous skeletal remains (presumably of warriors)
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