Aztec pantheon: Did you mean...?

Search

Search Results

Turquoise in Mesoamerica
Article by Mark Cartwright

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...
Aztec Skulls, Templo Mayor
Image by Travis S.

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.
Aztec Spouted Jug
Image by James Blake Wiener

Aztec Spouted Jug

An Aztec spouted jug. Mexico, 1450-1521 CE. (St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri)
Aztec New Fire Ceremony
Image by Unknown Artist

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...
Aztec Conch Shell Trumpet (Tecciztli)
Image by James Blake Wiener

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)
Tlaltecuhtli
Definition by Mark Cartwright

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...
Tonatiuh
Definition by Mark Cartwright

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...
Coyolxauhqui
Definition by Mark Cartwright

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...
Aztec Warriors
Image by Unknown

Aztec Warriors

Aztec warriors in typical costume of elite ranks with back racks displaying group insignia. They each carry an obsidian-bladed spear. From the Codex Mendoza, folio 67. (Bodleian Library, Oxford)
Aztec victims of smallpox
Image by Unknown author

Aztec victims of smallpox

Sixteenth-century Aztec drawings of victims of smallpox. Scanned from (2009) Viruses, Plagues, and History: Past, Present and Future, Oxford University Press, USA, p. 60.
Support Us Remove Ads