Fifty skulls dating back 500 yrs found at Aztec temple in Mexico City

London - Mexican archaeologists have unearthed 50 skulls- dating back more than 500 years - at the most sacred Aztec temple in Mexico City.

This is where the most important Aztec ceremonies took place between 1325 until the Spanish conquest in 1521.

According to experts the findings challenge the belief that people being sacrificed on sacrificial stone were killed by cutting open the chest and pulling out their heart, the Daily Mail reported.

Researchers said this is the largest number of skulls ever found in one offering and it reveals new ways the pre-Colombian civilization used skulls in rituals at Templo Mayor.

The skulls were found at one sacrificial stone. Five were buried under the stone, and each had holes on both sides – suggesting they were hung on a skull rack.

Archaeologist Raul Barrera of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said the other 45 skulls appeared to have just been dumped on top of the stone.

The team of archeologists discovered the skulls and over 200 jaw bones in August when they stumbled on them as they were renovating a section of the Templo Mayor in the heart of Mexico City.

Barrera said they believe the skulls were those of women and men between 20 and 35 years old and could have been dug up from other sites and reburied.

The skulls are in good condition but cracked on each side of the head, possibly because of the wooden stake that ran through them so they could be placed in a skull rack.

Barrera said the key in the discovery was the sacrificial rock, which looks like a gray headstone.