Human sacrifice in Maya culture
During the pre-Columbian era, human sacrifice in Maya culture was the ritual offering of nourishment to the gods and goddesses. Blood was viewed as a potent source of nourishment for the Maya deities, and the sacrifice of a living creature was a powerful blood offering. By extension, the sacrifice of human life was the ultimate offering of blood to the gods, and the most important Maya rituals culminated in human sacrifice. Generally, only high-status prisoners of war were sacrificed, and lower status captives were used for labor.
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
Classic period Maya vessel with a scene of human sacrifice
A section of page 76 of the Madrid Codex, depicting sacrifice by heart extraction
Sacrifice in Maya culture
Sacrifice was a religious activity in Maya culture, involving the killing of humans or animals, or bloodletting by members of the community, in rituals superintended by priests. Sacrifice has been a feature of almost all pre-modern societies at some stage of their development and for broadly the same reason: to propitiate or fulfill a perceived obligation towards the gods.
Lintel 24 at Yaxchilan, depicting Lady Xoc drawing a barbed rope through her tongue.
Sacred Cenote: the site of an unknown number of human sacrifices
Human sacrificial victim on an altar flanked by two dancing grandees, Classic Maya vessel, 600–850 AD (Dallas Museum of Art)