[3], The Temple of the Sun was located west of the Templo Mayor also and its remains lie under the Metropolitan Cathedral. Unarmed and trapped within the walls of the Sacred Precinct, an estimated 8,000–10,000 Aztec nobles were killed. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Huitzilopochtli was the supreme Aztec god and considered the god of the sun, war, gold, rulers, and he was patron of Tenochtitlan. Both were the god of war, … The idol of Huitzilopochtli was modeled from amaranth seeds held together with honey and human blood. A staircase with eight stone standard-bearers is from this stage bearing the glyph with the year Four-Reed (1431) These standard bearers act as "divine warriors" guarding the access to the upper shrines. Adjoining this palace is the temple for these warriors—also known as the Red Temple. Cartwright, Mark. During excavations, more than 7,000 objects were found, mostly offerings including effigies, clay pots in the image of Tlaloc, skeletons of turtles, frogs, crocodiles, and fish; snail shells, coral, some gold, alabaster, Mixtec figurines, ceramic urns from Veracruz, masks from what is now Guerrero state, copper rattles, and decorated skulls and knives of obsidian and flint. of war and a sun god. The Templo Mayor was first constructed in the reign of Itzcoatl (r. 1427-1440 CE), improved upon by his successor Motecuhzoma I (r. 1440-1469 CE), and again enlarged during the reign of Ahuitzotl (r. 1486-1502 CE). Its architectural style belongs to the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 05 Feb 2016. The entire building was originally covered with stucco and polychrome paint. The Templo Mayor or Great Temple (called Hueteocalli by the Aztecs) dominated the central sacred precinct of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. He holds an MA in Political Philosophy and is the Publishing Director at AHE. The Aztec civilization was one of the most spectacular in the world, and at its heart was the masterpiece of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. Tlaloc and, on the equinox, see the sunrise exactly between the two shrines on the upper platform. Cartwright, Mark. It was so named because it was slightly elevated over the rest of the neighborhood and, during flooding, street dogs would congregate there. It was a central gathering place in Aztec life within the city of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the once-thriving and sophisticated empire, and was thus also the center of religious life. The monumental steps leading to Tlaloc’s temple were painted blue and white, the former colour representing water, the element so strongly associated with the god. The circular monolith of Coyolxauhqui also dates from this time. It was excavated in 1981 and 1982 by José Francisco Hinojosa. Sculptures, flint knives, vessels, beads and other sumptuary ornaments—as well as minerals, plants and animals of all types, and the remains of human sacrifice—were among the items deposited in offerings. Objects associated with human sacrifice are the "face blades" or knives decorated with eyes and teeth, as well as skull masks. The Eagle Warriors were a privileged class who were dedicated to the god Huitzilopochtli, and dressed to look like eagles. [2] The Great Temple devoted to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, measuring approximately 100 by 80 m (328 by 262 ft) at its base, dominated the Sacred Precinct. It received 801,942 visitors in 2017. Alfredo López Austin & Leonardo López Lujan, (2009). The temple was destroyed by the Spanish in 1521 to make way for the new cathedral. Room 1 is dedicated to the goddesses Coatlicue and Coyolxauhqui, mother and sister to Huitzlipochtli, respectively. The Tzompantli found during the excavations of Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan Aztec civilisation Mexico City Museo Del Templo Mayor. Archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, in his essay "Symbolism of the Templo Mayor," posits that the orientation of the temple is indicative of the total vision that the Mexica had of the universe (cosmovision). Coyolxauhqui was a powerful magician and led her siblings in an attack on their mother, Coatlicue, because Coatlicue had become pregnant. In excavations at the Templo Mayor, different types of offerings have been found and have been grouped by researchers in terms of Time (the period in which the offering was deposited); Space (the location of the offering within the structure); Container (type and dimensions of the receptacle containing the objects); internal distribution (placement of objects within the offering) and value of the items. Templo Mayor was devoted for two gods in Aztec religions. Ten of these Spanish captives were immediately sacrificed at the Temple and their severed heads were thrown back to the Spaniards. Tlaloc was the deity of water and rain and was associated with agricultural fertility. Said myth is the birth and struggle between Huitzilopochtli and Coyolxauhqui. [3][4], The Calmecac was a residence hall for priests and a school for future priests, administrators and politicians, where they studied theology, literature, history and astronomy. In 1948, Hugo Moedano and Elma Estrada Balmori excavated a platform containing serpent heads and offerings. To enter this main room, one had to pass through an entrance guarded by two large sculpted representations of these warriors. [4], Fray Toribio de Motolinía, a Spanish friar who arrived to Mexico soon after the invasion, writes in his work Memoriales that the Aztec feast of Tlacaxipehualiztli "took place when the sun stood in the middle of [the Temple of] Huitzilopochtli, which was at the equinox". Web. The lower panel shows processions of armed warriors converging on a zacatapayolli, a grass ball into which the Mexica stuck bloody lancets during the ritual of autosacrifice. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Templo Mayor served as a religious, political and cultural center for the Aztec Empire. The precinct may have contained as many as 78 different structures but the Templo Mayor was by far the tallest and must have dominated the city skyline. [5], The sixth temple was built during the reign of Ahuizotl. [8] The Templo Mayor and Sacred Precinct were demolished and a Spanish church, later the main cathedral, was built on the western half of the precinct. In Aztec mythology, Coyolxauhqui (Classical Nahuatl: Coyolxāuhqui IPA:[kojoɬˈʃaːʍki], "Face painted with Bells") was a daughter of Coatlicue and Mixcoatl and is the leader of the Centzon Huitznahuas, the star gods. And the god Tlaloc, who was a rain and agricultural deity. One of the best preserved and most important is the Palace (or House) of the Eagle Warriors. Their temple, dedicated to the god Tezcatlipoca, lies under the current Museo de la Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público to the south of the Templo Mayor. The Aztec ruler, privileged nobles, and those who had captured the victims in war also participated in this symbolic feast. [21][22][23], Another conjoining area was dedicated to the Ocelot Warriors. The Templo Mayor (Great Temple) was one of the main temples of the Aztecs in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. The Sacred Precinct of the Templo Mayor was surrounded by a wall called the "coatepantli" (serpent wall). Cite This Work This relief is one of the best known Aztec monuments and one of the few great Aztec monuments have been found … Sacred Precinct, Tenochtitlanby Steve Cadman (CC BY-SA). Another important festival was held during the month of Toxcatl when an effigy of the god made from dough and dressed in his costume was paraded through the city and then eaten at the Templo Mayor. Between 1325 and 1519, the Templo Mayor was expanded, enlarged, and reconstructed during seven main building phases, which likely corres… It is a large L-shaped room with staircases decorated with sculptures of eagle heads. Furthermore, 25 March, the Feast of the Annunciation, was in the Middle Ages commonly identified with the vernal equinox. The on-site Museo del Templo Mayor (included in the site’s admission price) houses a model of Tenochtitlán and artifacts from the site, and gives a good overview of Aztec, aka Mexica, civilization, though with little signage in English, unlike the ruins. The entirety was probably placed in ceremonial boxes—tepetlacalli—as an offering to the gods. [7] This was based on the archeological work done at the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. Its exact location is on one side of what is now Donceles Street. The Templo Mayor was a 60 metre high architectural mountain dedicated to The Gods TlaloC & Huitzilopochtli. These offerings were placed accompanied by complex rituals following set temporal, spatial and symbolic patterns, depending on the intention of the offering. The Templo Mayor was also a regular focal point during the celebrations of Huitzilopochtli's birthday in the ceremony of Panquetzalitzli in the month of the same name. This page was last edited on 17 November 2020, at 05:15. Her body was then thrown to the bottom of the hill. Further, sacrifices were considered as due payment for the sacrifices the gods had themselves made when they created the world. It's the name given to a vast complex of religious and civic buildings that were once the center of the city of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Azt… Huixachtlan and was used to light the sacred fire atop the Templo Mayor before being transferred to all subsidiary temples in the city. Next to this ball field was the "huey tzompanti" where the skulls of sacrifice victims were kept after being covered in stucco and decorated. [20] The Templo Mayor (Great Temple) was one of the main temples of the Aztecs.It was in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City.Its architectural style belongs to the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica.The temple was called the huei teocalli in the Nahuatl language. At this time, the stairway to the shrine of Tlaloc was defined by a pair of undulating serpents and in the middle of this shrine was a small altar defined by a pair of sculpted frogs. The museum has eight main exhibition halls, each dedicated to a different theme. [7], The Templo Mayor was partially a symbolic representation of the Hill of Coatepec, where according to Mexica myth, Huitzilopochtli was born. These rulers, and others, each employed the resources and labour given in tribute by neighbouring states in order … Essential elements of the old imperial center, including the Templo Mayor, were buried under similarly key features of the new city in what is now the historical downtown of the Mexico City. Very little of this layer remains because of the destruction the Spaniards wrought when they invaded the city. [4], The push to fully excavate the site did not come until late in the 20th century. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Other departments are located in the basement, where there is also an auditorium.[25]. [5] The site is part of the Historic Center of Mexico City, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. Room 5 is dedicated to Tlaloc, the other principal deity of the Aztecs and one of the oldest in Mesoamerica. These benches are composed of two panels. The upper part of this temple has been excavated, exposing two stone shrines covered in stucco on the north side. He finished some of the updates made by Tizoc and made his own; as shown on the carvings of the "commemoration stone of the huei teocalli", showing the two tlatoqueh celebrating the opening of the temple during the last day of the month Panquetzaliztli dedicated to Huitzilopochtli; day 7 acatl of the year 8 acatl (19 Dec 1487). The Templo Mayor (Main Temple) in Tenochtitlan, capital of the mighty Aztec empire, was located in the center of the city, where the most important ritual and ceremonial activities in Aztec life took place.Standing about ninety feet high, the majestic structure consisted of two stepped pyramids rising side by side on a huge … [4], In the first decades of the 20th century, Manuel Gamio found part of the southwest corner of the temple and his finds were put on public display. Tlaloc was responsible for providing a healthy rain season and an … In 1519, this was the last day of Tlacaxipehualiztli, that is, precisely the day of the feast of the month. Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan. Then over the centuries it was gradually built over and disappeared beneath 19th century CE colonial buildings in downtown Mexico City. A typical sacrifice involved the victim being stretched over a stone while a priest, armed with an obsidian knife, ripped out their heart and then decapitated and dismembered them. It had two stairways to access the two shrines on the top platform. Height: 60m/197ft The gods: Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc Distinctives: A double temple Completed: 1497 Materials: Built of stone and covered with stucco and polychrome paint Templo Mayor was a part of the sacred area of the city of Tenochtitlan, now … Room 6 is dedicated to the flora and fauna of Mesoamerica at this time, as most contained divine aspects for the Aztecs. The Templo Mayor Museum was inaugurated in 1987. Nine of these were built in the 1930s, and four dated from the 19th century, and had preserved colonial elements. [10][17], The sacred ballcourt and skull rack were located at the foot of the stairs of the twin temples, to mimic, like the stone disk, where Huitzilopochtli was said to have placed the goddess' severed head. The city of Tenochtitlan was established in 1325 on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco (much of which has since been filled in to accommodate Mexico City which now exists on this site), and with the city’s foundation the original structure of the Templo Mayor was built. These artifacts are now housed in the Templo Mayor Museum. These stairways were used only by the priests and sacrificial people. On the south side, there is a sacrificial stone called a "téchcatl" and a sculpted face. Related Content [4], The Zócalo, or main plaza of Mexico City today, was developed to the southwest of this archeological site, which is located in the block between Seminario and Justo Sierra streets. [10][17] This indicates the place where the plane of the world that humans live in intersects the thirteen levels of the heavens, called Topan and the nine levels of the underworld, called Mictlan.[10]. Following all that the corpse was flung down the steps of the pyramid to land at the base where a massive round stone depicted Coyolxauhqui, the goddess who was similarly treated by Huitzilopochtli in Aztec mythology after she had led a rebellion against the great god. [4], On the sides of the Templo Mayor, archeologists have excavated a number of palatial rooms and conjoining structures. Consequently, Motolinía did not refer to the astronomical equinox (the date of which would have hardly been known to a non-astronomer at that time), but rather only pointed out the correlation between the day of the Mexica festival, which in the last years before the invasion coincided with the solar phenomenon in the Templo Mayor, and the date in the Christian calendar that corresponded to the traditional day of spring equinox. 02 Dec 2020. This building was designed to exhibit the archaeological findings of the zone that used to be the Main Temple of Mexica peoples. [8] Efforts coalesced into the Templo Mayor Project, which was authorized by presidential decree. Each stairway was defined by balustrades flanking the stairs terminating in menacing serpent heads at the base. Huit-zi-lo-pocht-li) or ‘Hummingbird... Tenochtitlan (also spelled Tenochtitlán), located on an... Tláloc (pron. Now imagine a complex even bigger, formed by over 70 structures with taller pyramids - this is Templo Mayor! Although it is right beside the Cathedral, and a stone's throw from the Zocalo and the Palacio Nacional, it is easy to miss if you're not looking for it. The museum exists to make all of the finds available to the public. Books Most offerings from the excavations are from this time. [24], Another theme exhibited in this hall is autosacrifice, a ritual that was conducted in private as a personal act of communication with the gods. Many have seen the pyramids of Teotihuacan. Other ceremonial items include musical instruments, jewelry, and braziers for the burning of copal. One of the sunset dates corresponding to the east–west axis of the late stages, including the last, is 4 April, which in the Julian calendar of the 16th century was equivalent to 25 March. The north (right) side shrine was dedicated to Tlaloc, the god of rain and the other, on the south (left) side, was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, the god of war. The temple on the north side, painted with blue stripes, was dedicated to Tlaloc and marked the summer solstice (symbolic of the wet season) whilst Huitzilopochtli’s south-side shrine, painted red, marked the winter solstice (symbolic of the dry season and a time for warfare). In contrast, the steps leading to Huitzilopochtli’s temple were painted bright red to symbolise blood and war. It was also the scene of state occasions such as coronations and the place of countless human sacrifices where the blood of the victims was thought to feed and appease the two great gods to whom it was dedicated.