Some very old human traditions

A discovery at the Pyramid of the Moon...

With the excavation of the pyramid nearly
complete, one important conclusion is emerging:
combined with past burials at the site, the new
find strongly suggests that the Pyramid of the
Moon was significant to the Teotihuacano people
as a site for celebrating state power through
ceremony and sacrifice. Contrary to some past
interpretation, militarism was apparently central
to the city's culture. [My emphasis]

...

Teotihuacan, the 2,000-year-old, master-planned
metropolis that was the first great city of the
Western Hemisphere, has long been perplexing to
Mesoamerican archaeologists. Located 25 miles
north of the current Mexico City, this ancient
civilization left behind the ruins of a city grid
covering eight square miles and signs of a unique
culture. But even the Aztecs, who gave the city
its present name, did not know who built it. They
called the monumental ruins "the City of the
Gods." The Pyramid of the Moon is one of the
site's oldest structures, and has long been
suspected to be its ceremonial center.

...

The filled-in burial vault contains the remains
of twelve people, all apparently sacrificed,
together with a large variety of offerings and
the remains of various animals of clearly
symbolic importance. Ten of the human bodies were
decapitated. Sugiyama, the excavation director,
believes that the signs of violence and
militarism in the burial are especially
significant.

Hmmmm. Do you see a faint light here? What do you
suppose the reasons for the slaughter were?

...

All the human remains had their hands bound
behind their backs, and the ten decapitated
bodies appear to have been tossed, rather than
arranged, on one side of the burial. The other
two bodies Sugiyama describes as "richly
ornamented" with greenstone earspools and beads,
a necklace made of imitation human jaws, and
other items indicating high rank.

"The mosaic figure was found on top of 18 large
obsidian knives, carefully set in a radial
pattern. Nine of these had a curving form, while
the nine others had the form of the feathered
serpent, a symbol of maximum political
authority," noted Sugiyama. "Evidently this
offering in some way formed the central symbolic
meaning of the grave complex." Sugiyama said.

Political assassinations? Who do you suppose the
victims were, terrorists or pols/priests?

...the ultimate result of power, finely honed
and served with lopped heads.

The entire report.