In Aztec myths Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca stretched Hungry Woman to make the Earth. In an effort to smooth over her injured feelings because she was treated so roughly, the Gods filled the Earth with forests, flowers, valleys, waterfalls and other nice places over her skin. This did not stop her craving for human blood and hearts. This is why people are returned to the Earth. After this, the Gods made the first Sun.
Tezcatlipoca stole it for himself. He fastened the Sun to his belt and rose into the sky. Quetzacoatl grabbed a big stick and followed Tezcatlipoca. Quetzacoatl smacked the pilfering God back to the Earth where the evil god became the jaguar that ate the first people. In many myths Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca are enemies. Quetzacoatl was the Chief God of the Toltecs until they fell under Aztec dominion. Quetzacoatl then became one of the Chief Aztec deities.
The Aztecs built huge pyramid temples with carved sacrifical stones on top of them. Each day, night, week, month and year had its own deity demanding blood. The Aztecs thought that failure to honour the deities with blood sacrifices would cause the world to end at the end of their 52-year calendar (equal to our century). The sacrifices given to the Greatest God/desses usually required the living heart to be cut from the body of a human. Many times they used humans who were war captives.
The beating heart was then shown to the Sun and then thrown onto the sacrificial fire. After this was finished, the body was then skinned and cut up for cannibalistic ceremonies performed by the priests and warriors. This rite was held every year and the more elaborate forms of the rite were held every 13 years.