During the pre-Columbian era, human sacrifice in Maya culture was the ritual offering of nourishment to the gods. Blood was viewed as a potent source of nourishment for the Maya deities, and the sacri
Sculpture in the Great Ballcourt at Chichen Itza depicting sacrifice by decapitation. The figure at left holds the severed head of the figure at right, who spouts blood in the form of serpents from his neck
Lintel 24 from the city of Yaxchilan. The sculpture depicts a sacred blood-letting ritual which took place on October 28, 709. King Itzamnaaj B'alam II is shown holding a torch, while his wife Lady Xoc draws a barbed rope through her pierced tongue, British Museum.
Classic period Maya vessel with a scene of human sacrifice
A section of page 76 of the Madrid Codex, depicting sacrifice by heart extraction
Apocalypto
Videos
Apocalypto is a 2006 epic historical action-adventure film produced and directed by Mel Gibson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Farhad Safinia. The film features a cast of Indigenous and Mexican acto
Human sacrifice in Maya culture
…Madrid, and Paris Codices. These codices all feature depictions of human sacrificial rituals such as heart extractions and decapitations. The 2006 film Apocalypto depicts scenes of human sacrifice in Maya culture. Human trophy taking in Mesoamerica…
Theatrical release poster
Mel Gibson directed Apocalypto after he made The Passion of the Christ.
Pyramids like this at Tikal were reproduced for the film
Critics claim that human sacrifices depicted in the film are more similar to Aztec practices (as seen here) than to Maya.