Search Results: Ahuitzotl

The Aztec Sun Stone (also known as the Calendar Stone) is a representation of the five eras of the sun from Aztec mythology. The stone was part of the architectural complex of the Temple Mayor of Tenochtitlán and dates to c. 1427 CE. The...

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.

A colossal basalt statue of Coatlicue ('Serpent Skirt'), the Aztec mother-earth goddess and mother of Huitzilopochtli. The goddess is represented with a severed head replaced by two snake heads, wearing a necklace of severed hands and human...

A map illustrating the origins and territorial expansion of the Aztec Empire in Mesoamerica between the 14th and 16th centuries.

Hernán Cortés (1485-1547) was a Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico from 1519. Taking the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1521, Cortés plundered Mesoamerica as he became the first ruler of the new colony...

The headdress of Motecuhzoma II, Aztec ruler 1502-1520 CE. Although there is no evidence that it was ever worn by Motecuhzoma the headdress may have been amongst the gifts he gave to Cortés, who in turn passed them on to Charles V. This is...

A 15th century CE vase representing the Mesoamerican god of rain, storms and agriculture Tlaloc. From the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan. (National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City).

The Tizoc Stone which depicts on its flat upper surface a sun-disk and around its edge a continuous frieze showing the Aztec king Tizoc and other warriors capturing deities of conquered peoples. 15th century CE. (National Museum of Anthropology...

Tezcatlipoca (pron. Tez-ca-tli-po-ca) or 'Smoking Mirror' in Nahuatl was one of the most important gods in Postclassical Mesoamerican culture and particularly important for the Toltecs and the Aztecs, especially at Texcoco. He was an invisible...

Mictlantecuhtli (pron. Mict-lan-te-cuht-li) or 'Lord of the Land of the Dead' was the Aztec god of death. He ruled the underworld (Mictlán) with his wife Mictecacíhuatl. Mictlantecuhtli was worshipped and feared across Mesoamerica. The god...