title: Nicarao people
Women in Aztec civilization
Zapotec peoples
El Palmillo
Quiateot
Religious text
Human sacrifice in Aztec culture
Zapotec civilization
Cocijo
Toci
sentences: The Nicarao people were a Nahuat-speaking Mesoamerican people that migrated from central and southern Mexico over the course of several centuries from approximately 700 AD onwards.
 Around 1200 AD, the Nicarao split from the Pipil people and moved into what is now Nicaragua.
 The migration of the Nicarao has been linked to the collapse of the important central-Mexican cities of Teotihuacan and Tula, as well as the Classic Maya collapse.
 The Nicarao settled in several pockets throughout western Nicaragua, particularly around the western shores of Lake Nicaragua.
 The Nicarao shared many cultural traits with their Aztec cousins, including an identical calendar, the use of screenfold books, the worship of closely-related deities, and the practice of human sacrifice.
Women in Aztec civilization shared some equal opportunities.
 Aztec civilization saw the rise of a military culture that was closed off to women and made their role complementary to men.
 The status of Aztec women lasted until the 15th century, when Spanish conquest forced European norms onto the culture.
 However, many pre-Columbian norms survived and their legacy still remains.
The Zapotecs (Zoogocho Zapotec: "Didxažoŋ)" are an indigenous people of Mexico.
 The population is concentrated in the southern state of Oaxaca, but Zapotec communities also exist in neighboring states.
 The present-day population is estimated at approximately 800,000 to 1,000,000 persons, many of whom are monolingual in one of the native Zapotec languages and dialects.
 In pre-Columbian times, the Zapotec civilization was one of the highly developed cultures of Mesoamerica, which, among other things, included a system of writing.
 Many people of Zapotec ancestry have emigrated to the United States over several decades, and they maintain their own social organizations in the Los Angeles and Central Valley areas of California.
El Palmillo is a Mesoamerican Classic Period archaeological site located in the Valley of Oaxaca, associated with the pre-Columbian Zapotec civilization which was centered in the valley and the surrounding highlands of the present-day state of Oaxaca, Mexico.
 Located on a hilltop in the eastern Tlacolula arm of the valley, El Palmillo is just to the south of the pre-Columbian site of Mitla and to the east of the major Zapotec regional center, Monte Albán.
Quiateot is the name of a rain deity in the mythological traditions of the pre-Columbian and contact-era Nicarao people, an indigenous grouping on the periphery of the Mesoamerican cultural area, located in present-day Nicaragua.
Religious texts (also known as scripture, or scriptures, from the Latin scriptura, meaning "a writing") are texts which religious traditions consider to be central to their religious practice or set of beliefs.
 Religious texts may be used to provide meaning and purpose, evoke a deeper connection with the divine, convey religious truths, promote religious experience, foster communal identity, and guide individual and communal religious practice.
 Religious texts often communicate the practices or values of a religious traditions and can be looked to as a set of guiding principles which dictate physical, mental, spiritual, or historical elements considered important to a specific religion.
 The terms 'sacred' text and 'religious' text are not necessarily interchangeable in that some religious texts are believed to be sacred because of their nature as divinely or supernaturally revealed or inspired, whereas some religious texts are simply narratives pertaining to the general themes, practices, or important figures of the specific religion, and not necessarily considered sacred.
Human sacrifice was a religious practice of the pre-Columbian Aztec civilization, as well as other Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Maya and the Zapotec.
 The extent of such practices is debated by modern scholars, but scholars agree that human sacrifice was a major part of Aztec worship and that some human victims were cannibalized.
The Zapotec civilization was an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca in Mesoamerica.
 Archaeological evidence shows that their culture goes back at least 2,500 years.
 The Zapotec left archaeological evidence at the ancient city of Monte Albán in the form of buildings, ball courts, magnificent tombs and grave goods including finely worked gold jewelry.
 Monte Albán was one of the first major cities in Mesoamerica and the center of a Zapotec state that dominated much of the territory that today belongs to the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Cocijo (occasionally spelt Cociyo) is a lightning deity of the pre-Columbian Zapotec civilization of southern Mexico.
 He has attributes characteristic of similar Mesoamerican deities associated with rain, thunder and lightning, such as Tlaloc of central Mexico, and Chaac (or "Chaak") of the Maya civilization.
 In the Zapotec language, the word "cocijo" means "lightning", as well as referring to the deity.
Toci ( ; Classical Nahuatl: "tocih" , ] , “our grandmother”) is a deity figuring prominently in the religion and mythology of the pre-Columbian Aztec civilization of Mesoamerica.
 In Aztec mythology she is seen as an aspect of the mother goddess Coatlicue, and is thus labeled “mother of the gods” (Classical Nahuatl: "tēteoh īnnān" ).
 She is also called Tlalli Iyollo (Classical Nahuatl: "tlālli īyōlloh" , ] , “heart of the earth”).

Question: Question: Which religious practice of pre-Columbian Aztec civilization was shared with the Maya, Zapotec, and Nicarao people? 

 Your answer will be verified with exact match score. To ensure correct verification, only provide the answer within the <answer> </answer> tags. Do not put any sentences or reasoning process within the <answer> </answer> tags. 

Supporting Information: Paragraph 0 

 The Nicarao people were a Nahuat-speaking Mesoamerican people that migrated from central and southern Mexico over the course of several centuries from approximately 700 AD onwards.
 Around 1200 AD, the Nicarao split from the Pipil people and moved into what is now Nicaragua.
 The migration of the Nicarao has been linked to the collapse of the important central-Mexican cities of Teotihuacan and Tula, as well as the Classic Maya collapse.
 The Nicarao settled in several pockets throughout western Nicaragua, particularly around the western shores of Lake Nicaragua.
 The Nicarao shared many cultural traits with their Aztec cousins, including an identical calendar, the use of screenfold books, the worship of closely-related deities, and the practice of human sacrifice. 

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Paragraph 1 

 Women in Aztec civilization shared some equal opportunities.
 Aztec civilization saw the rise of a military culture that was closed off to women and made their role complementary to men.
 The status of Aztec women lasted until the 15th century, when Spanish conquest forced European norms onto the culture.
 However, many pre-Columbian norms survived and their legacy still remains. 

--------------------------------

Paragraph 2 

 The Zapotecs (Zoogocho Zapotec: "Didxažoŋ)" are an indigenous people of Mexico.
 The population is concentrated in the southern state of Oaxaca, but Zapotec communities also exist in neighboring states.
 The present-day population is estimated at approximately 800,000 to 1,000,000 persons, many of whom are monolingual in one of the native Zapotec languages and dialects.
 In pre-Columbian times, the Zapotec civilization was one of the highly developed cultures of Mesoamerica, which, among other things, included a system of writing.
 Many people of Zapotec ancestry have emigrated to the United States over several decades, and they maintain their own social organizations in the Los Angeles and Central Valley areas of California. 

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Paragraph 3 

 Quiateot is the name of a rain deity in the mythological traditions of the pre-Columbian and contact-era Nicarao people, an indigenous grouping on the periphery of the Mesoamerican cultural area, located in present-day Nicaragua. 

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Paragraph 4 

 Human sacrifice was a religious practice of the pre-Columbian Aztec civilization, as well as other Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Maya and the Zapotec.
 The extent of such practices is debated by modern scholars, but scholars agree that human sacrifice was a major part of Aztec worship and that some human victims were cannibalized. 

--------------------------------

Paragraph 5 

 The Zapotec civilization was an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca in Mesoamerica.
 Archaeological evidence shows that their culture goes back at least 2,500 years.
 The Zapotec left archaeological evidence at the ancient city of Monte Albán in the form of buildings, ball courts, magnificent tombs and grave goods including finely worked gold jewelry.
 Monte Albán was one of the first major cities in Mesoamerica and the center of a Zapotec state that dominated much of the territory that today belongs to the Mexican state of Oaxaca. 

--------------------------------

Paragraph 6 

 Cocijo (occasionally spelt Cociyo) is a lightning deity of the pre-Columbian Zapotec civilization of southern Mexico.
 He has attributes characteristic of similar Mesoamerican deities associated with rain, thunder and lightning, such as Tlaloc of central Mexico, and Chaac (or "Chaak") of the Maya civilization.
 In the Zapotec language, the word "cocijo" means "lightning", as well as referring to the deity. 

--------------------------------

Paragraph 7 

 Toci ( ; Classical Nahuatl: "tocih" , ] , “our grandmother”) is a deity figuring prominently in the religion and mythology of the pre-Columbian Aztec civilization of Mesoamerica.
 In Aztec mythology she is seen as an aspect of the mother goddess Coatlicue, and is thus labeled “mother of the gods” (Classical Nahuatl: "tēteoh īnnān" ).
 She is also called Tlalli Iyollo (Classical Nahuatl: "tlālli īyōlloh" , ] , “heart of the earth”). 

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Answer: human sacrifice