Child sacrifice is the ritualistic killing of children in order to please or appease a deity, supernatural beings, or sacred social order, tribal, group or national loyalties in order to achieve a desired result. As such, it is a form of human sacrifice.
Child sacrifice is thought to be an extreme extension of the idea that the more important the object of sacrifice, the more devout the person rendering it.
1499, the Aztecs performing child sacrifice to appease the angry gods who had flooded Tenochtitlan
The inscription on this Sardinian votive doesn't mention the sacrifice
Child depicted, Tunisian figure
Tláloc is the god of rain in Aztec religion. He was also a deity of earthly fertility and water, worshipped as a giver of life and sustenance. This came to be due to many rituals, and sacrifices that were held in his name. He was feared, but not maliciously, for his power over hail, thunder, lightning, and even rain. He is also associated with caves, springs, and mountains, most specifically the sacred mountain where he was believed to reside. Cerro Tláloc is very important in understanding how rituals surrounding this deity played out. His followers were one of the oldest and most universal in ancient Mexico.
Tláloc in the Codex Borgia
Tláloc in the Codex Laud
A brazier depicting Tláloc from Ozuluama, Classic Veracruz culture.
Depiction of Patterns of War, Tláloc (bottom right)