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Turquoise in Mesoamerica
Turquoise was a highly-prized material in ancient Mesoamerica, perhaps the most valued of all materials for sacred and decorative art objects such as masks, jewellery, and the costumes of rulers and high priests. Turquoise was acquired through...
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Aztec Skulls, Templo Mayor
Stone skulls from the Templo Mayor in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. They represent the tzompantli or skull racks where the heads of sacrificial victims were placed.
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Aztec Spouted Jug
An Aztec spouted jug. Mexico, 1450-1521 CE. (St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri)
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Aztec New Fire Ceremony
The lighting of fires during the Aztec New Fire Ceremony of 1507, a ritual held every 52 years to ensure the continuation of the Sun. The priests carry fire bundles and wear turquoise masks in imitation of the fire god Xiuhtecuhtli, as do...
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Aztec Conch Shell Trumpet (Tecciztli)
This Aztec conch shell trumpet or "Tecciztli" dates from the Post-Classic era in Aztec history (1325-1521 CE). It was used in rituals, festivals, and religious processions. (Musée du Cinquantenaire, Brussels)
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Tlaltecuhtli
Tlaltecuhtli, 'Earth Lord/Lady,' was a Mesoamerican earth goddess associated with fertility. Envisioned as a terrible toad monster, her dismembered body gave rise to the world in the Aztec creation myth of the 5th and final cosmos. As a source...
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Tonatiuh
Tonatiuh, 'Turquoise Lord,' was the 5th and present sun in the Aztec view of the cosmos and the fierce sun god of several other Postclassic Mesoamerican cultures, including the Toltecs. It was thought that only the regular offering of hearts...
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Coyolxauhqui
Coyolxauhqui (pron. Koy-ol-shauw-kee) was the Aztec goddess of the Moon or Milky Way who was famously butchered by her brother Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, in Aztec mythology. This story was commemorated in a celebrated large relief stone...
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Rome, Italy: The Pantheon
The magnificent Pantheon, built by the Romans as a temple to all of their gods is the Eternal City's best-preserved monument. Engineers still admire how such a mathematically precise structure was built without modern technology. Standing...
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Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler, an exhibition at the British Museum
An introduction to the last Aztec ruler, Moctezuma II. Promoting a exhibition at the British Museum, exploring Aztec (Mexica) civilisation through the divine, military and political role of the last elected ruler, Moctezuma II (reigned AD...