Mesoamerica Analysis

Throughout Mesoamerica, human sacrifice was a common practice that was executed by the indigenous people that occupied the region. Although people commonly associate human sacrifice with the Aztec civilization, Lopez Austin and Lopez Lujan claim that ritual sacrifices transpired globally. Despite this, people continue to label the Aztecs as cruel sacrificers as they consider their ritual practice to be ruthless and inhumane. However, Dr. Linda Schele argues that Mesoamerican sacrifice is similar to the death penalty authorized by the Texas government. In fact, this argument is why I believe Mesoamericans should not be misconceived as “cruel sacrificers”. In my opinion, Schele’s argument reveals that the role of the death penalty in our society