Page 63 - A History of the World in 25 Cities

This was the centre of religious life, and where many of the most important religious ceremonies, including human sacrifice, took place.
Many thousands of men, women and children were sacrificed to the Aztec
gods here, which was seen as a great honour.
A gladiator stone, where captured warriors were made to fight.
Built especially for Aztec leader Montezuma II, this enormous palace had 300 rooms, beautiful gardens
and even a zoo!
The skulls of sacrifice victims were displayed here. Some racks were said to hold up to 60,000 skulls.
Tens of thousands of people flocked here every day to buy and sell everything from sweet potatoes to parrots.
The national game was ullamaliztli, a ball game that was extremely important to the ancient Aztecs. Symbolic games were sometimes played here – with a whole team being sacrificed after the match.
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