The ritual killing of war captives and the large-scale displaying of skulls were visceral reminders of the strength of the empire and the extent of its dominion. The act of offering something to a deity in propitiation or homage, especially the ritual slaughter of an animal or a person. In a society which condemns human sacrifice, the term ritual murder is used. See more. Human sacrifice also served another purpose in the expanding Aztec empire of the 15th and 16th century: intimidation. The occurrence of human sacrifice can usually be related to the recognition of human blood as the sacred life force. Human sacrifice was practiced by many ancient cultures. The keep the sun moving across the sky and preserve their very lives, the Aztecs had to feed Huitzilopochtli with human hearts and blood.An Aztec priest removing a man's heart during a sacrificial ritual, offering it to the god Huitzilopochtli.The nature of warfare during the height of Aztec power was also unique. Define sacrifice. Andrés de Tapia, a conquistador, described two rounded towers flanking the Templo Mayor made entirely of human skulls, and between them, a towering wooden rack displaying thousands more skulls with bored holes on either side to allow the skulls to slide onto the wooden poles.While it was long theorized that Aztecs only engaged in ritual cannibalism during times of famine, another explanation is that consuming the flesh of a person offered to the gods was like communing with the gods, themselves. The victim’s bodies, after being relieved of their heads, were likely gifted to nobleman and other distinguished community members. According to Aztec cosmology, the sun god Huitzilopochtli was waging a constant war against darkness, and if the darkness won, the world would end. Human Sacrifice synonyms. The idea of human sacrifice has its roots in deep prehistory, in the evolution of human behaviour. Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual (ritual killing).Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals (animal sacrifice) and of religious sacrifice in general. Meaning of human sacrifice. People would be ritually killed in a manner that was supposed to please or appease a god or spirit. Thanks for your vote! As off-putting as it sounds, Verano says that ritual cannibalism most likely existed among the Aztecs and would have been considered not only normal, but a great honor. More than 650 skulls and thousands of fragments found near Templo Mayor.The rationale for Aztec human sacrifice was, first and foremost, a matter of survival. By the late 15th century, the Aztecs had won control over large swaths of central and southern Mexico.