Archeologists Discover 15th Century Skeletal Remains of 42 Children, Study Reveals They Were Sacrificed to Please Rain God

Recent research has unveiled how 15th-century communities sacrificed children to please a rain god in Mexico. Archeologists discovered evidence of such sacrifices in 1980-1981 at the northwest section of the Templo Mayor, Archaeology Magazine reported. Researchers found skeletal remains of around 42 children, aged two to seven at the site. Later, the finding was labeled 'Offering 48' by experts.

Templo Mayor is a significant temple complex located at Tenochtitlán, now Mexico City, Live Science reported. The remains were found nestled inside ashlar boxes and placed on a layer of sand. On examination, the skeletal remains were found to be from the 15th century.

Some children were covered with fineries like necklaces and had green stone beads in their mouths. The dead bodies were placed in such a way that they were facing upward and had their limbs in a contracted position. All the material unearthed from the site indicated that a sacrificial ritual had taken place.

For a long time, experts have been trying to understand the reason behind the possible mass child sacrifices. New research claims that the sacrifices could have been a way for communities to pacify Tlaloc, an ancient rain god. The study was presented in November 2024 during a convention titled "Water and Life" at Mexico's National College and is yet to be published.

Researchers involved in the study were associated with the National Institute of Anthropology and History's (INAH) Templo Mayor Project. The experts studied the geological data and entries in the Mexican Drought Atlas and realized that a major drought swept central Mexico between 1452 and 1454.

The drought reportedly was so intense that it destroyed harvests and starved families to such an extent that they were forced to sell their children in exchange for food. The team believes the community turned to divine intervention in such tough times.

"At first, the Mexica state tried to mitigate its effects by opening the royal granaries to redistribute food among the neediest classes, while carrying out mass sacrifices of children in the Templo Mayor to calm the fury of the Tlaloque [rain dwarves who were assistants of Tláloc]," Leonardo López Luján, an archaeologist and director of the National Institute of Anthropology and History's (INAH) Templo Mayor Project explained. "For a time, it faced the tragedy this way, but the excessive duration of the crisis made the state vulnerable, forcing it to allow the mass exodus of its people."

The researchers further claimed that the community sprinkled blue pigment, seashells, and small birds over the sacrificed children's bodies. The remains were also surrounded by eleven sculptures made of volcanic rock. These volcanic rocks indicated to experts that the sacrifices were possibly dedicated to Tláloc, the Aztec god of rain as they resembled the face of the deity.  The team has also speculated that the children were placed in a certain manner to make them look like rain dwarves.