Since the days of the conquistadors Europeans have been shocked by the practices of human sacrifice and cannibalism in Aztec culture. However, historians believe that the Aztec's account of their own sacrificial practices are exaggerated.

Some account suggest that it was considered an honor to be sacrificed.

Many people now believe the reports of sacrifice were created (many 100 years after Cortez) to justify the extreme destruction of the Aztec populations through disease and warfare and the cities through deliberate rebuilding.

When misinformation is spread, actions are justified. A conquering group can say, "Look how awful these primitive peoples were, and look how good we were to bring God [or civilization or whatever] to them."

One reality is the Aztec government redistributed food via a very nutritious bread made from amaranth flour. This bread was baked in the shape of human figures, skulls, and animals. The distribution was made at the temples after sacrifices had been made. (The sacrifices weren't killing living human beings, however.)

This bread (using European flour now) persists today in Mexican culture as Pan de Muerto. Interestingly, the whole concept of eating humans as a sacrifice is similar to the Christian belief in eating the body and blood of the savior.

I'd even read where the Aztecs must have been cannibals because they didn't have enough protein in their diets otherwise--this is untrue but lingers in the anthropological writings.

After 3 months of research, I wrote an acticle based on this topic.

Sacrificing Humans to Aztec Gods

The Aztecs claimed that in 1487 during the re-consecration of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan, 80,400 prisoners were sacrificed. If this is an example of one single ceremony, the numbers of human sacrifices performed by the Aztecs must be astounding.

Could this account be true? And if so, who was sacrificed?
complete article is at:
http://www.ancientmeximports.com/newsletters/ami-newsletter1002.htm