Saturday, October 10, 2015 9:01
was July 1520 when a tribe of Aztecs, eager to spill the blood of the conquerors who ended his people with the sword and musket, captured a caravan that came from Veracruz with over 550 people. A good part of them were Spaniards who came to meet Hernan Cortes in Tenochtitlan, the capital of the American empire. The natives were very cruel because, in the following months, slaughtered men, women and children to their gods unthinkable forms asking them to expel those bearded monsters home. According to chronicles, all died.
While this story seems typical of a science fiction movie, the truth is that corresponds to the narration of events that occurred during the conquest of the future Mexico by Cortés and his men. However, five centuries later becomes fashionable again thanks to Enrique Martinez-from the National Institute of Anthropology and History-who, along with his team, just find the remains of several inmates of these natives near Texcoco (in Mexico DF). The discovery indicates that prisoners were monitored for more than a year Acolhuas (natives who inhabited the region and were allies of the Aztecs) and were subjected to all kinds of torture.
Specifically, the discovery has been conducted within the “Archaeological Project Zultepec-Tecoaque” an investigation that takes more than two active decades and within the framework of which 10,000 related to the village objects which took place this slaughter were found in 2006 (known at the time as Zultepec). At present they have classified more than 15,000, of which remains can only prevent the old Europe are highlighted.
The tragic events
As explained the chronicler Fray Bernardino de Sahagun and Cortes himself in his writings (the latter, in his “Letters of relation” texts that Extremadura Carlos V recounts his adventures in Mexico), these tragic events took place in June 1520 .
As stated expert Eric Taladoire Mayan civilization in his dossier “War of Two Worlds” in those days came from the city of Veracruz (south west of Mexico) made a caravan 550 “Spaniards, Indians, blacks, mulattos and mestizos” toward Tenochtitlan, where he was going Cortés and his men to overthrow the Aztec Moctezuma. In turn, the delegation was completed by some indigenous allies allies of the conquerors (highlighting Totonac and Tlaxcalan).
In the words of the researcher, were under the command of Juan de Alcantara and were members of the contingent of Pánfilo Narvaez. The caravan also -in which women (50 in total) and children (10 to three years) stood out – it was however attacked by the warriors of Texcoco, who also captured the animals that were with them, the first to They had reached until then Europe.
The prisoners were taken to the town of Zultepec, where they were kept prisoners for six months gradually sacrificarles their gods in their various indigenous parties. In the words of Martinez, the chief of these rituals was offered to Huitzilopochtli The god of war; although it was not negligible killing that occurred in the ceremony honoring Izcalli, the deity of fire.
The cruel torture of conquerors
as determined Martínez, the torture he underwent the members of the caravan were brutal. To begin with, and as has just discovered, much of the survivors were separated and confined in various “rooms” of this town. The purpose: that they could not communicate. However, the expert believes that there were used as slaves, just as mere offerings to the gods in order to appease the anger that the conquistadors brought about their region.
On the feast in honor of Huitzilopochtli He lived one of the most tragic moments, as were murdered nine Mesoamerican pregnant women and 9 men (a must). The way has been controversial died in recent years. Most experts argue that in this celebration the Aztecs opened their chests and their hearts eaten, because it was considered the best part of the whole human body. However, this theory is not followed by other researchers such as archaeologist Ximena Chavez, who believed they were beheaded. As set forth, the Aztecs used to not use as often as you want to think to get his belt human flesh
Luis Pancorbo López, in his book “The human feast: a cultural history of cannibalism.”, He is a follower of the first theory. “The Aztecs not only space left in the cannibal theme. In the 18 months of 20 days which had its schedule, apart from five empty days, two months were the most favorable for sacrifice: the thirteenth month [...] devoted to the god Tlaloc abundant human sacrifices; and the tenth month [...] celebrating the fall of the fruit with great human sacrifices “determines the researcher. In turn, this historical popularizer advocates that, based on the findings of Martinez, the meat was cut with obsidian knives, boiled and then food.
And, after investigating for 20 years the area, Martinez believes that the theory of cannibalism is the most credible. “The slaughter was elected as a couple, they extracted the heart and their bodies were thrown down the stairs of the ceremonial temple, once down, dismembered and cooked, and some of his bones, scattered among nobles and warriors their skulls were placed in the ‘tzompantli’ or shrine of skulls. “
The same view is Taladoire:” The findings include items such as Boiled human bones, suggesting that members of the captured caravan were victims of ritual cannibalism. Other remains as the skulls were displayed by the Aztecs and Texcocans by way of warning message to the invaders. “
conquerors Martinez also dares to venture (it has no evidence of time for it) that the heads of those killed (both men and women and children) were stuck on stakes and placed around the village as a warning Spanish people. This practice was called tzompantli and was completed leaving the heads in a wooden palisade. All of this would have happened after the ritual had just definitively in March 1521.
But this sad story did not end at this point, because Cortes sent his most loyal soldier, Gonzalo de Sandoval, destroy the town. This, along with several Spanish soldiers razed the settlement unable to release any prisoners, they had all been killed. Most native (also including women and children) were put to the sword. However, some were preserved as slaves.
The military also had no mercy with statues erected in honor of the gods for the Aztecs, which beheaded. Within a few years, and due to what they saw there the men of Hernán, the place was named Tecoaque (a term which can be translated as “the place where they ate”).
Source: http://www.abc.es/cultura/20151010/abci-hernan-cortes-caravana-canibal-201510092201.html
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