At Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital, evidence for child sacrifice has been found in ritual caches and in association with the great temple precinct.

The Aztec sources recorded by Spanish colonizers describe ritual practices involving children, particularly associated with rain deity worship and with the first-fruits ceremonies of the agricultural calendar.

The specific details of these practices — the identity of the children, their social origins, the specific ritual forms — are documented in Spanish colonial sources with varying reliability, reflecting the perspectives of the documenters as well as the practices of the documented.

At Tiwanaku, the ancient site in present-day Bolivia, isotope analysis of child burials has provided evidence that some sacrificed children were brought from distant regions for inclusion in specific ritual contexts — the Capacocha practice of the later Inca civilization, which involved child sacrifice at mountain shrines, is well-documented and included the transport of children from great distances to their sacrificial destinations.