An Illustrated Dictionary of

The Gods and Symbols of

Ancient Mexico and the Maya
M A R Y M IL L E R A N D KARL T A U B E
 A n illu s tr a te d D ic tio n a r y o f

The Gods and Symbols

of Ancient Mexico
and the Maya
 An Illustrated Dictionary of

The Gods and Symbols

of Ancient Mexico
and the Maya
MARY MILLER AND KARL TAUBE

W ITH 260 ILLUSTRATIONS

T& H THAMES AND HUDSON

For Michael D. Coe

FronfMptecí?.
The Aztec Calendar Stone found beneath the
centra! plaza of Mexico City. The monument is
not a fully functioning calendar, but
commemorates the Rve mythica! world-creations
(the Five Suns).

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a paperback is sold subject to the condition that
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resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without
the publisher's prior consent in any form of
binding or cover other than that in which it is
published and without a similar condition
including these words being imposed on a
subsequent purchaser.

(§) 1993 Thames and Hudson Ltd, London

First paperback edition 1997

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication

may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording or any other
information storage and retrieval system, without
prior permission in writing from the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
ISBN 0-500-27928-4

Printed and bound in Singapore by C.S. Graphics

 Contents

Reader's Guide
6

Acknowledgments
7

Introduction
9

Subject Index
36

THE DICTIONARY
38

Guide to Sources and Bibliography

194

Sources of Illustrations
215
Masonry baHcourts are one of the defining features of Mesoamerican civihzation. (A¿?oye) A baUcourt
at the Cfassic Maya site of Copán in Honduras. (Be/ow) A Ciassic period Zapotee baHcourt at Monte
A lbán ,Oaxaca.
 Introduction

Mesoamerican Culture and Chronology

Archaeologists, anthropologists, and art historians use the term Mesoamerica to
describe the known world of the Aztecs in 1519. It encompasses much of modern
Mexico - as far north as the old Aztec frontier with the Chichimecs or "barbarians,"
where non-agricultural, nomadic peoples lived - and the Maya realm in eastern
Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and the western strip of Honduras and El Salvador, and
on down through Nicaragua, incorporating the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica.
Sharing a constellation of beliefs and practices, highly developed civilizations among
different cultures and ethnic groups first rose in Mesoamerica around 1000 Be and
then thrived off and on for 3000 years. What makes them all part of a Mesoamerican
tradition are such things as use of the unusual 260-day calendar, a rubber ballgame
played in an alley deSned by two parallel structures, and use of cement made by
burning limestone or shells, as well as many more subtle patterns of life and belief.
Mesoamericans never saw themselves as a unity, and indeed, no single dominant
culture ever imposed unity on them, but they were interested in each other, in their
various pasts, and even, in some cases, in leaving a record for the future.

Early Settlement
The early peopling and settlement of the Americas remains obscure. Certainly by
15,000 years ago, waves of people had crossed the Bering Strait during times of low
water, and by 10,000 years ago people were living within the bounds of Mesoamerica.
The Brst widespread reliable evidence for humans in the Western Hemisphere
comes around 12,000 years ago, with the makers of flint and other stone fluted
points called Clovis. For some 3,000 years, nomadic hunters migrated into Mesoamer­
ica, perhaps in search of megafauna, and archaeologists have found human
remains with those of the long-extinct mammoth. Generations later, humans would
domesticate small animals, including the dog and turkey, but no large mammals
would be available for domestication.
Around 7000 BC, the New World began to dry out. At this point, during what is
called the Archaic, people in Mesoamerica $lowly shifted their way of life, as many
animal species vanished from the planet and humans adapted to the warmer, drier
environment. The domestication of major foodstuffs in Mesoamerica accompanied
and fueled the impulse to settled life, eventually supporting the development and
growth of civilization. A primitive but domesticated maize can be documented by
3500 B e . Waves of migration continued after the onset of sedentary life. The Nahuatl-
speaking peoples of Central Mexico may have been among the latest arrivals. When
they migrated south, they left their linguistic cousins among the Uto-Aztecan
language group behind, largely within the borders of the United States and Canada.
The Aztecs spoke Nahuatl, as did their predecessors, the Toltecs, and although
INTRODUCTION 10

CENTRAL OAXACA G ULF COAST WEST MAYA LOWL;^ND MAYA

MEXICO MEXICO HIGHLANDS/
PACIFIC
COAST South North

1519 LATE Mixtee Aztecs Tayasa/ Tb/um

POSTCLASSIC s independent (Itzá) Sfa A ía
<
1200 71u/a ÍXMncA¿, t/íatAin

EARLY tS
POSTCLASSÍC
M tb CA/cAen
900 TERMINAL Pa^gu/ (Toltee Maya)
CLASSIC
Cacajrt/a
P angue, Centra!
LATE Albán IUb Yucatán
CLASSIC
600 >

1 M M 7/ia/,
EA RLY
Cl .ASSIC A! bán 111a
n- LrtMn d e/
300 e
j Ao /r

5
M
PptOTO- A!bán H
Ct^ASSIC
AD CAupIenaro Xam/na^nyd, Cerros
BC 7res Zapotes Aba/ 7aAaMr

Colima

300 R LTE
FORMATIVE
La Fen la
NaÁb^

600
1Í
MIDDLE 77at//co
Albán 1

F()RMATIVE
6
O

900 San

R tRLY
F(3RMATÍVE
Ocos
1500

A!tCHAIC

Chronological chart for Mesoamerica.

linguists disagree about the language of Teotihuacan - the single largest city in
Mesoamerica during the Erst millennium AD - it may well have been the Erst
important Nahuatl civilization.

Timescales
Archaeologists and anthropologists have divided the chronology of Mesoamerica
and assigned terminology to the various periods. During the Archaic (7000-2000 B e )
11 INTRODUCTION

people gradually domesticated plants, especially the important foodstuffs maize,

beans, squash, chili peppers, and avocados, as well as animals, particularly the
turkeys and dogs already mentioned, although others were hunted to extinction as
village life took root. The Formative period - also known as the Preclassic - is
defined as beginning with the introduction of pottery and settled life c. 2000 Be.
(Early pottery manufacture is known in Colombia and Ecuador, and even earlier
reports have now been offered from the Amazon; pottery technology may have
been slowly diffused from South America.) The Formative era ushers in the Brst
high civilizations in Mesoamerica - the Olmec and Zapotee - and ends around
100 BC.
During the Protoclassic, roughly 100 BC-AD 300, the patterns for the great Classic
cultures began to be established. The Classic, AD 300-900, roughly coincides with
the flourishing of Teotihuacan in highland Mexico and the Maya cities in lowland
Yucatan, Guatemala, and Belize, although by AD 300, Teotihuacan was a fully
blossoming culture, while the Maya were still nascent. Scholars introduced the term
Classic to describe the Maya at Tikal, Palenque, Copan and elsewhere, peoples
who were falsely believed to have dwelt in a peaceful realm under an idyllic
theocracy. Investigators also called contemporary states at Monte Alban and
Teotihuacan theocracies; the term "Classic" itself initially carried a value judgment
that equated these civilizations with the achievements of the Classical Greeks. We
use it in this book without prejudice to describe the timd period AD 300-900 and
note that it - and other periodizations - inaccurately suggest a cultural lockstep
throughout Mesoamerica. The term Terminal Classic is used here to refer to the
last century of the Classic era, when Teotihuacan had already fallen into decline
and many Maya cities faltered. New stars rose and fell quickly during the Terminal
Classic, including such significant developments as those at Cacaxtla and Xochicalco.
During the Early Postclassic, AD900-1200, the Toltecs dominated the Mesoamerican
picture. Although the Aztecs are the featured players of Mesoamerica during the
Late Postclassic (1200 to the Spanish Conquest), the Maya, Totonacs, Huastecs,
Mixtees, and Tarascans all remained important.

Topography and Trade

Rugged, high mountain chains run north to south along the eastern and western
sides of Mesoamerica and then cut across its middle, cinching it like a belt studded
with volcanoes, from the Valley of Mexico to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Mesoamerica offers every possible ecological niche of the tropics, from hot, dry or
wet, to cooler, drier highlands, including in between the rare cloud forest, where
tropical vegetation flourishes at 3000-4000 feet (900-1200 meters) of altitude,
offering the ideal environment for the quetzal, a bird known throughout Mesoamerica
and held precious for its brilliant blue-green plumage. Although no quetzal ever
Rew near the cool and high (7500 feet, .2300 meters) capital of the Aztecs at
Tenochtitlan, quetzal feathers formed their most prized headdresses. Some Maya
kings were known as ÁruAr, the Maya word for quetzal, and on the eve of the Spanish
Conquest, Quetzalcoatl, one of the greatest and oldest gods in Mesoamerica, was
known throughout the region. His very name suggests the opposition of air and
earth (giie%za/ = bird, coa%7 = snake), the duality that characterized Mesoamerican
life and religion.
Few Mesoamerican civilizations integrated the sharply varying environments of
the region, and the differing resources offered keen opportunities for trade. The
INTRODUCTION 12

^ C i M ^

'o
o

,
O!MPiCM0r0A
" ArTrEofinM^cjAi ^

. A'üapocwo
M ed co a ty /^ ^ /M *
JVí^//n¿r¿co ^ AÍas'BocíK
(%?&árj/co Chcláízlngío

J ío r ^ M < 7 C í7 ^ JV eyr^ ^ ^

__A^NC/ENTErrES
*^C Km BMODERNTOWNS

Map of Mesoamerica showing the principa! sites mentioned in the text.

Aztecs lived too high for cotton to grow, and so the cotton mantle functioned as a
standard of exchange in their dominion. On his last voyage to the New World,
Christopher Columbus encountered Maya traders plying the waters o? Honduras
in ocean-going canoes piled high with woven cottons, part of the vast web of
Mesoamerican trade and tribute about which relatively little is known. Throughout
Mesoamerica, highland obsidian from volcanic Hows commanded high values, since
all households sought blades from this "steer' of the native New World. And
wherever volcanoes erupted, they renewed and enriched the soil. Today coHee
plantations have generally replaced tracts of cacao trees and vanilla orchids that
once Hourished along the PaciHc Coast of Guatemala and Chiapas and in Veracruz,
 13 INTRODUCTION

/ AjMqyopan TuIum/cozuMZLi
-3 S&

$gnfgRj'fdA^_
%,-^
o%cc

G^ode^*Cz,
íg5^í6¡M$^
ThH2apoiaL3<7Mna
&Í05 Germs s
TtidM^^ro^Yox-, ^ ) !j
Toning A t
A%"1 A/ C ^ O j a c 'R y y ^ ^ L . ;
Onapa&&rzoA^,^^p^g ^ar&&Kn/faoj^ S
Aj^il^g
a Oaxaca
A D g /g z u
GUA*T t M ^
OTfc<;
AjVebg;

M /n ^ Á ^J^ o ^ /^ íy u ___
A(f/Bggf
aSaniaLucia
Cbtzumaihuay pi CALVAD
tL SALVADOR
UK //

but cacao beans once functioned as a near-currency throughout Mesoamerica. How

tempting to imagine such edible money! ^

Technology
By the time of the Spanish Conquest, Mesoamerican technology had progressed to
what archaeologists call '*New Stone Age/' in that some metals were worked but
played little practical role as tools. Copper axes were a relatively recent phenomenon;
^ stone axes and Hint knives, along with diverse obsidian blades, were the main tools
with which generations of people had quarried stone, cut flesh and hide, and brought
down the forest. The gold and silver that so astonished the European invaders
tNTHODUCflON 14

formed religious works or jewelry; the Europeans were equally astonished by the
greater value Mesoamericans attributed to jade. Blue-green, like the most precious
things of the Mesoamerican world (quetzal feathers or maize foliage or water), jade
symbolized preciousness. The hardest stone commonly known in Mesoamerica, jade
also signified permanence, and when Maya nobles died, they carried such a bead
in their mouth to enter the Underworld.
Throughout the world, the wheel often played a role in religious imagery, but in
Mesoamerica (as in the rest of the New World), no wheel was ever developed for
mundane purposes - although graves in Veracruz have yielded wheeled toy-like
objects - perhaps because of the absence of draft animals. Today, as in Prehispanic
times, in many regions men and women are the beasts of burden, and Mesoamerican
people carry heavy loads on their backs with tumplines stretched across their
foreheads.

DeSning Mesoamerican Civilization

What distinguishes civilization from what has gone before it? Is it exploitation of
new resources, or competition to control them? Is civilization initiated by new
ideological concepts or only heightened by them? Are newly expanded populations
a requirement for civilization, or its by-product? In a world so technologically simple
as Mesoamerica, does technology play a role in its "take-off"?
Anthropologists offer no single answer - although they would check yes to a
number of the queries offered above - nor do they agree on its causes. Despite their
differences, they usually agree that complex culture in Mesoamerica began to take
shape during the Formative period, in both the Olmec region and in Oaxaca, with
the development of what are usually called chiefdoms. What marks the rise of
complex culture in Mesoamerica is the emergence of recognizable shared practices
and principles at several locations and the subsequent subscription to them by others
at yet more distant locations. Through long-distance trade, early Mesoamericans
began to recognize the extent of their world. Through surpluses amassed (probably
through trade or warfare), some families began to have what we call wealth, that
is, the wherewithal to devote themselves to activities outside food production, and
the Erst surviving works of art give evidence of that leisure time. Through shared
religious practices, the efEcacy of the gods became manifest. Through both ancestor
worship and a desire to leave a record for posterity, they began to record linear
time. Once they sought permanence in the materials they transformed, they left a
record that modern people can consider evidence of a complex society, or, in ordinary
language, civilization.
At the end of the Formative period, early states developed, with special hierarchies
among administrative centers, towns, and hamlets. States gather a surplus from
tribute or tax, and they use force to back up their sanctions against reluctant
contributors. They also develop systems of notation. A surplus can support full-time
specialists who give up agricultural endeavors and devote themselves to the arts
or religion. Although anthropologists agree that state-level political organization
characterizes civilization, the charismatic complex culture of the Olmecs is more
baiSing, partly because we know so little about their political organization. They
made small cities, but we do not know whether they functioned as city-states, like
those of the later Maya. They traveled long distances, presumably to seek precious
trade goods, but did they use force?
15 INTRODUCTION

The Olmec Enigma

The CHmecs emerged about 1200 Be along the slow-moving rivers of lowland
Veracruz and Tabasco, when people first began to make a permanent record of gods
and rulers, with a standardized means of codification, in the ceremonial precincts
of their settlements. The ethnic identity of these early people now dubbed the
01 mees remains unknown (although some have speculated that they may have
spoken a Mixe-Zoquean or Mayan language), and in the absence of archaeological
data, the size and extent of their cities or sites is also a blank. Earlier Mesoamerican
peoples must surely have worshipped a complex range of gods, but it was not until
the time of the Olmecs that schematic representations came to portray specific gods
and god-complexes. Incised flame eyebrows on a small pot might cue the observer
to a powerful sky-dragon, and the symbol could reach beyond both local time and
geography. What distinguishes the Olmec civilization is its making of a permanent
record of religion and ritual that can be recognized today. The nature of Olmec
civilization remains obscured by time and lack of preservation, but it clearly offered
unifying religious principles and a model for emulation by peoples all across
Mesoamerica.
For a thousand years or so and across a broad and varied geography the Olmecs
communicated using a standard notation for symbols and gods, most of which has
so far proved impenetrable. The complexity itself suggests the rise of priests and
shamans, specialists who manipulated and interpreted the system and who could
make manifest religious experience and share it with a broader populace. One
imagines that the Olmecs had developed a systematic cosmology to explain creation,
the origins of humankind, and the movement of heavenly bodies, and they seem to
have used the human body as a metaphor of the cosmos. Living in the tropical rain
forest, the Olmecs identified with the powerful animals that, like humans, occupied
the top of the food chain - felines, eagles, caimans, and snakes - and recognized
that they shared with them the consumption of flesh. And they first gave permanence
to practices and preoccupations that endured in Mesoamerica - human sacrifice,
bloodletting, pilgrimages, quadripartite division of the world, cave rituals, the
offering of caches, and a fascination with mirrors among them - until the Spanish
Conquest, and in some cases long afterward.
Three major Olmec sites are known for the Gulf Coast lowlands: San Lorenzo,
La Venta, and Laguna de los Cerros. San Lorenzo thrived first, probably by 1200
B e , and suffered what seems to have been brutal destruction c. 900 B e , about the

time La Venta began to flourish. No certain data are available for Laguna de los
Cerros, as yet unexcavated. All three sites share layouts based on bilateral symmetry,
a preoccupation of Olmec art and symbolism as well, in which mirror images fall
along a central axis. La Venta features the Brst pyramidal form of Mesoamerican
architecture, what is perhaps a radial pyramid but which has also been interpreted
as a volcano effigy. At La Venta the Olmecs buried pavements and caches following
a pattern along the central axis; at San Lorenzo, basalt sculptures were interred
along the edges of a vast ceremonial platform. The Olmecs carved huge thrones
(dubbed "altars" by early scholars) from which lords presumably ruled; the Olmecs
commemorated their powerful lords with portraits in colossal heads. Olmec stone
sculpture achieved a high, naturalistic plasticity, yet it has no surviving prototypes,
as if this powerful ability to represent both nature and abstract concepts was a
native invention of this early civilization.
INTRODUCTION 16

Early in the 8rst millennium Be, the Olmecs forged connections across Mesoamer-
ica, from Central America to western Mexico, perhaps in search of scarce highland
resources, particular!y jade, from which they carved precious objects. By 900 Be,
the nascent Maya civilization at Copan made imitations of Olmec ceramics and jade.
In western Mexico, the Olmecs encountered a sophisticated culture at Xochipala,
where naturalistic human Bgures had been made after 1500 Be. Later, coeval with
La Venta, the Olmecs covered the giant rock outcropping at Chalcatzingo, Morelos,
with depictions of their lords and gods. Olmec-style petroglyphs also mark the cliffs
of highland Guatemala and Chiapas, further suggesting Olmec contacts in the Maya
region. They established a highland center at Teopantecuanitlan, Guerrero; Olmec
artists also made paintings celebrating cave rituals at Cacahuazqui, Juxtlahuaca, and
Oxtotitlan. In Central Mexico, the Olmecs encountered communities with well-
developed traditions of Sgurine manufacture at Tlatilco and elsewhere. These places
subsequently adopted Olmec forms and imagery and in modern times have yielded
the Snest Olmec ceramic sculpture, particularly large hollow "babies/'

The Early Zapotees and Their Contemporaries

By 600 Be, if not earlier, civilization also rose in Oaxaca among the Zapotees, who
began to reshape the hillside acropolis of Monte Albán into their capital. The
Zapotees early on dominated the region and commemorated their victories by
recording dates in the 260-day calendar and depicting captives with what are
probably their names and places of origin on buildings such as the so-called Temple
of the Danzantes ("Dancers ') at Monte Albán. The Zapotees probably invented
Mesoamerican writing, and they may also have devised the first systems for recording
time. At the end of the Formative era, the Zapotees constructed Mound J at Monte

Mound j at Monte Albán, Oaxaca. Possibly an observatory, the structure features walls covered with
more than 50 carved slabs describing the conquests of. the early Zapotees.
17 INTRODUCTION

Albán (and at least one other similar building at Caballito Blanco), an unusual
pointer-shaped building, possibly an observatory oriented toward the rise of the star
Capella on the night of the Brst zenith passage. These buildings probably conBrm
knowledge of a large body of star lore.
Toward the end of the Formative era, from 100 Be to AD 300 or what is also
termed the Protoclassic, many of the principles and beliefs common to Classic-
period civilization appear to have come together, particularly along the axis of the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec and ranging from Atlantic to PaciBc Coasts, at places as
far-flung as Monte Albán, Dainzú, Tres Zapotes, La Mojarra, Chiapa de Corzo,
Izapa, and Kaminaljuyú. Across the region, the Principal Bird Deity - probably the
same as Vucub Caquix of the PopcV VuA (the native epic of the Quiche Maya
transcribed into the Roman alphabet at the time of the Conquest) - gained
prominence; the PopoV VuA account of origins, humanity's relationship to chaos, and
the Hero Twins' harrowing of the Underworld, may have been widely subscribed to.
Tres Zapotes in the Olmec Gulf Coast heartland may have flourished about the
time of La Venta, and also exhibits some late Olmec colossal heads, but the site
experienced continued occupation into the Protoclassic, and old Olmec concepts
underlay the foundation of new Mesoamerican ones shared from Oaxaca to
Honduras. Working at Tres Zapotes in the 1930s, Matthew Stirling found part of
what seemed to him to be a date written in the place-notationa! calendar generally
called the Long Count and most prevalent among the later Maya. Although Tres
Zapotes Stela C lacked its Brst number glyph, Stirling correlated the date to 32 B e ,
and subsequent discovery of the upper fragment conBrmed his reading. Other early
Long Count dates occur at Chiapa de Corzo, on the Tuxtla Statuette, and on La
Mojarra Stela 1, which bears two dates in the second century AD and which depicts
a standing lord wearing the Principal Bird Deity headdress and adorned in regalia
like that of later Maya kings. Together, these and other examples give evidence of
the development of a new eastern Mesoamerican tradition that emphasized dynastic
rule and a method of recording time and space permanently using calendrics and
phonetic writing. In this way, linear time as well as cyclical time gained prominence.
Phonetic writing was reBned and elaborated by the Maya, but even in its earliest
appearance, it probably allowed the rough replication of speech.

The Protoclassic Maya

It is the special characteristic of their writing that sets the Maya apart from all
other Mesoamerican peoples. It is probably the technology of writing itself that
enabled them to be what they were. Had the Maya Bourished at a single center,
say, at Tikal - as Teotihuacan civilization had done at Teotihuacan or Zapotee
civilization at Monte Alban - they would not seem so extraordinary to us. But it
was their ability to communicate across distance and through time, to remember a
particular history and to write for posterity, that allowed dozens of cities and towns
to subscribe to a single reigning belief system.
At Protoclassic Izapa, the Maya broadcast their religious ideology on stelae and
on pairs of altars and stelae, presenting the Brst public conBrmation of certain gods -
Chac, for example - and the rich narrative of the PopoV VuA, as well as of certain
concepts, such as the World Tree. At Abaj Takalik, stelae depict single and paired
lords adorned with the regalia of rulership and accompanying texts, of which only
dates can be read. Kaminaljuyú lords commissioned their portraits in the costume
of the Principal Bird Deity and received rich offerings when subsequently interred.
INTRODUCTION 18

A single Kaminaljuyu slab depicts a sequence of enthroned lords and kneeling

captives suggestive of a genealogy. Giant toad sculptures there may indicate the
incorporation of the toad in religious ritual. Perhaps aided by the new technology
of writing, Maya speakers in disparate locations a!! began to recognize shared
religious imagery and the cult of the ruler.
At sites a!! across the Maya lowlands in the Protoclassic, but especially as known
from archaeology at El Mirador, Nakbé, Uaxactún, and Cerros, the Maya began to
build huge pyramidal structures and cover their main facades with stucco ornament
shaped to represent the heads of various deities. These configurations fall into no
uniform cosmogram but vary from place to place. Jaguars, probably representing
the night sun, often occur on the lowest level, with the Principal Bird Deity on top;
at Uaxactún, at least one early pyramid is conBgured as a sacred mountain, or Uitz,
from which maize issues. At the end of the Protoclassic, some Maya sites, inciuding
El Mirador and Cerros, suffered near-abandonment.
Although most known West Mexican art derives from looted tombs in the states
of Jaiisco, Colima, and Nayarit (which have given their names to related but distinct
sty!es of ceramic forms), a few careful excavations place the height of ceremonial
activity and use of the shaft tombs during the Protoclassic. Recent excavation and
survey at Ixtlán del Rio, Nayarit, and highland Jalisco indicate that West Mexico
participated in Mesoamerican ceremonialism during the period, particularly in the
construction of vast platforms and round structures.

The Rise of Teotihuacan

During the Protoclassic, two large centers emerged in Central Mexico, Cuicuilco
and Teotihuacan, but the latter gained prominence after volcanic eruptions buried
Cuicuilco and its massive round platform by A D 100. Teotihuacan thrived, and by
AD 250, many of its most famous buildings, including the Pyramids of the Sun, Moon,
and Quetzalcoatl, rose from the high, arid city, following a rigid grid. Paintings of
supernatural beings and religious practices covered the walls of shrines, temples,
and dwellings. Archaeologists have supposed that Teotihuacan may have held some
200,000 souls at its peak in the Classic era, many of whom lived within the closed
apartment compounds that Blled the interstices of the grid. Although the presence
of "foreigners" - in particular, an enclave of Zapotees - can be discerned in the
archaeological record of Teotihuacan, the ethnic identity of the Teotihuacanos
remains unknown, although various Nahua speakers, Totonacs, and Otomis have all
been named as candidates.
The tradition of Teotihuacan is what we can call western Mesoamerican, and it
emphasizes community over dynastic rule, cyclical time over linear, and offers a
separate religious pantheon from that of the Maya and other peoples in eastern
Mesoamerica. In fact, an explosion of new iconography and beliefs characterizes
early Teotihuacan, developing essentially ex mAr/o. During the Early Classic, the
Maya and Teotihuacanos became keenly aware of one another and their separate
religious practices. The Maya adopted many Teotihuacan practices, particularly the
cult of war, its patrons and regalia, while ignoring others, such as its many female
deities. The Teotihuacanos surely knew of and recognized the flexibility of the Maya
writing system, but they chose not to adapt it to their own needs: in fact, they may
have banished it from their city, and the recently documented paintings from
Techinantitla that feature isolated glyphs, probably names of people and places,
may only prove the point by demonstrating how different Teotihuacan writing is.
19 INTRODUCTION

Aeria! view of the great city of Teotihuacan, with the Pyramid of the Moon in the foreground, and
the Pyramid of the Sun in the center.

Although the ceremonial precinct of Teotihuacan was ravaged by Sres c. AD 725,

the city was still occupied for many generations, and even after its abandonment it
held a place in the religious imagery of all subsequent Central Mexican civilizations.
The Aztecs conceived of it as the setting of cosmogonic events, and Motecuhzoma
II made pilgrimages there.

The Classic Zapotees arid Classic Veracruz

All Mesoamerica flourished during the Classic era. Monte Alban grew in both scale
and population: temples ringed the ceremonial precinct and a powerful nobility
inhabited adjoining palaces. Particularly important persons received interment in
underground tombs that sometimes bore elaborate paintings. Ceramic urns featuring
the Zapotee pantheon accompanied the dead, as did abundant vessels for food and
drink. Stone stelae at Monte Alban show what may be Zapotee rulers and some
examples depict Teotihuacan visitors, characterized by distinct costume. Although
never completely abandoned, Monte Alban fell into disrepair during the Postclassic,
[NTRODUCTÍON 20

and the Mixtees emptied out old Zapotee tombs and reused them for their own
nob!e dead.
No single city dominated the Gulf Coast during the Classic era, nor did competing
centers display a unity of belief and ritual, although modern understanding of the
region has been hampered by rampant looting and insufficient archaeology. In much
of southern Veracruz, at places like Las Remojadas, thousands of "smiling" figurines
have been exhumed; other sites have yielded life-size hollow ceramic tomb
sculptures. Dramatic paintings of bloodletting have been uncovered at Las Higueras.
To the north, El Tajin dominated the region, particularly during the Late Classic,
under the Huastecs, who spoke a Mayan language. Acres of temples and palaces
survive. The Pyramid of the Niches at El Tajin features 365 empty niches, perhaps
a calendrical reference, although other buildings use varied niche configurations.
Ballcourts and ballgame paraphernalia abound, and architectural sculpture illustrates
the playing of the game and human sacrifice.

The Classic Maya

In the 3rd c. AD, the Maya cities in the tropica! lowlands continued to thrive under
dynastic kings. As demonstrated archaeologically at Tikal, the portraits of individual
rulers were carved on stone monuments with accompanying texts that glorified their
reign, and competing Maya dynasties emerged at Uaxactún, Xultún, Río Azul, and
elsewhere in the Petén; by AD 500, Caracol, Copán, Yaxchilán, Piedras Negras,
Bonampak, Calakmul and other cities emerged as the centers of small but ambitious
polities. Tikal may well have been the Erst dynasty to exploit the ideology and
technology of warfare promulgated by Teotihuacan when it took hold of power at
Uaxactún. Maya rulers began to record their victories, parentage, and the passage
of time itself on their monuments. Archaeologists had long used the 6th c. lapse in
hieroglyphic inscriptions at Tikal to divide Early from Late Classic; that lapse has
now been explained by the ignominious defeat of Tikal by Caracol in a six-year war,
an event proudly recorded by Caracol upon its culmination in 562. Although Tikal
recovered its economic well-being by the 8th c., its ruling family was apparently
rent by the defeat, and, after establishing themselves in the Petexbatún, one
competing branch caused Tikal plenty of trouble.
During the 8th c., the Maya nobility experienced both unparalleled wealth and
unprecedented problems. All across the region, polity fought with polity, kings
fell captive and suffered sacrifice. Populations grew rapidly and degraded the
environment in desperate attempts to cultivate sufficient food. At the end of the 8th
c. and over the course of the 9th c., ceremonial precincts fell into disrepair and
abandonment in what has been called the Classic Maya collapse; populations shrank,
although the entire region was still populated at the time of the Conquest. During
the 9th c., Maya kings at Uxmal and elsewhere in the Puuc hills commissioned
elaborate buildings before these, too, suffered abandonment.
To modern viewers, Maya cities often seem a baffling web of rambling structures
punctuated by tall pyramids, all laid out randomly across the tropical landscape.
Maya cities lack streets and later buildings overlie earlier ones, further complicating
the picture. But these buildings bear fundamental meanings and many had specific
uses. Most tall pyramidal buildings house tombs underneath them (the Temple of
Inscriptions at Palenque and Temple I at Tikal are the best-known examples),
enshrining ancestors and revealing the Maya cult of ancestor worship, which in
practice may have been the primary form of religious devotion. And, particularly
21 INTRODUCTION

(Top and above) The Temple of

the Inscriptions at Palenque
contained the tomb of the Late
Classic Maya king, Paca!. The
cutaway view illustrates the
stairway leading down to the
tomb. (Left) Temple I at Tikal in
Guatemala also housed a major
tomb, in this case of the Late
Classic Ruler A. Here, however,
as was the case with most Maya
tombs, the burial chamber lacked
a stairway.
INTRODUCTION 22

Late Classic polychrome mural from Cacaxtla, Tlaxcala. Standing on a Feathered Serpent, the figure is
clad in a bird costume and carries a ceremonial bar.

as revealed by painted ceramics of the Late Classic period and in the Bonampak
muráis, a burgeoning Maya elite lived rich and abundant lives within their palaces
where they engaged in courtly arts, including writing and painting.

The Termina! Classic

The decline of both Teotihuacan and the Maya cities left a power vacuum in
Mesoamerica by the 9th c. Regional cultures flourished at Xochicalco, Cholula, and
Cacaxtla in the Mexican highlands; profoundly affected by foreign influence, the
Maya city of Seibal underwent a renewal; although El Tajin, too, went into decline
along the Gulf Coast, the Huastecs flourished, as did Zapotees south of Monte
Alban, at Mitla and Yagul. The period seems to have been a time of great
interregional interchange, and both Maya iconography and formal concepts became
part of a new Mesoamerican synthesis that may have been possible only with the
demise of Teotihuacan. By 900, however, a new force had appeared on the scene:
the Toltecs.

The Ear!y Postdassic: Tu!a and Chichen Itza

From their high, arid, cool capital of Tula (or Tollan), the Toltecs took on aspects
of the Teotihuacan heritage that served their purposes. They adopted many of their
23 INTRODUCTION

gods, left little evidence of public writing, and tike the Teotihuacanos, tived in patace
compounds. Of at! Mesoamerican traders, the Tottecs are perhaps the most
tegendary: they forayed into the far north, to what is now the American Southwest,
to trade for turquoise, but they estabtished their most profound contacts with the
Maya at Chichen Itzá in northern Yucatan and capitalized on the integration of
Mesoamerica.
Around the year 900, Chichen Itzá rose to new prominence and may wet! have
been the largest city in Mesoamerica. Its Sacred Cenote was one of the most
important pilgrimage destinations of the ancient Mesoamerican world. Whether
through voluntary alliance or through domination by one culture of the other, the
Toltecs and Maya developed new forms of architecture and sculpture - including
cAacmoo/s (stone sculptures of reclining human forms that received human sacrifices)
and serpent columns - that flourished at both cities. Whereas the old Maya order
invested its power in the individual ruler and his or her cult, at Chichen and Tula
it is the position and power of the warrior-king, rather than his lineage and portrait,
that holds sway. As a result, ruler portraits vanished from Chichen, to be replaced
by carved thrones, on which any suitable candidate might sit. Mayan hieroglyphic
texts nevertheless record the names of those who ruled in the period. At Tula,
perhaps initially a major receptor for Maya ideology, ruler portraits on stone slabs
were tried before the practice was abandoned. Although heart sacriSce was known
to the earlier Maya, at Chichen Itzá it took on new ritual force after its introduction
in the Toltec era.
Like all centers of Mesoamerican civilizations, Chichen and Tula eventually both
fell into decline, and by no later than the 12th c., Mesoamerica entered a period
when no major city or culture exerted much influence beyond its local region. At
Mayapan, Maya lords built a walled city and reigned for almost two centuries. In

Reconstruction drawing of the Early Postclassic site of Chichen Itzá, Yucatán. The Sacred Cenote,
from which the site took its name, is depicted in the foreground.
[INTRODUCTION 24

the final centuries before the Spanish Conquest, the Yucatec Maya had organized
themselves into balkanized, quarreling states, using different styles and media to
record their gods and their rituals at Santa Rita, Tulum, and elsewhere, and in the
four surviving Maya codices. In the Guatemalan highlands, Maya lords ruled from
hilltop acropolises. In 1524, the Spanish allied with the Cakchiquel at Iximche to
defeat the Quiche Maya at Utatlan. After the Conquest, a Quiché nobleman used
the European alphabet to transcribe his people's sacred book, the Pqpo/ VuA. Other
important religious texts, including the Books of Chilam Balam, were transcribed
through the late 1700s.

The Postclassic Mixtees and Aztecs

In Oaxaca, the Mixtees rose to power during the Postclassic. They took over some
of the ancient places sacred to the Zapotees, and they began to inter their noble
dead in the old Zapotee tombs at Monte Alban. At the time of the Spanish Conquest,
they kept genealogies documenting both continuity and internecine strife over
generations. The Aztecs referred to great artisans as fo/feca, but the greatest resident
craft specialists in Tenochtitlan at the time of the Conquest were the Mixtees,
known for their skills in metalwork and mosaics. Alfonso Caso s discovery of a royal
Mixtee tomb at Monte Albán in 1932 offered the 20th c. the closest comparisons we
may ever have to what Aztec gold may have looked like, since so little gold from
Tenochtitlan survived the Spanish invasion.
After years of nomadic wandering, a warlike group of Nahuatl speakers founded
their capital on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1345. They called themselves the
Mexica and their city Mexico-Tenochtitlan, or Tenochtitlan. Since the 19th c., the
Mexica have usually been grouped with other Nahuatl-speakers in the Valley of
Mexico under the name Aztecs, the name we also use, but they gave the name of
their city, Mexico-Tenochtitlan, to the 16th c. capital of New Spain that grew up on
top of it and subsequently to the new republic of Mexico in 1810.
Inheritors of the rich and complex Mesoamerican past, the Aztecs shared many
gods with the civilizations that had gone before, but they honored Huitzilopochtli,
their own solar cult god, above all. In their ceremonial precinct, they built a dual
pyramid, the Hueteocalli or Temp/o Mayor, and dedicated its southern shrine to
Huitzilopochtli and the northern one to Tlaloc, a god that had come to symbolize
antiquity and legitimacy as well as rain, earth, and fertility. After they defeated the
neighboring Tepanecs in 1428, the Aztecs embarked on a campaign to exact both
trade and tribute, first, from near neighbors, and later, from places as far Rung as
Guatemala and the Veracruz coast. The pocAteca, or long-distance traders, were
the key to both economic and military success, for their preliminary missions often
led the way to Aztec imperialism. The Aztecs adopted new gods - Xipe Totee, for
example, had nourished along the Gulf and in Oaxaca before gaining a major role
among the Aztecs - and elevated old ones, while some others they humiliated by
placing their idols in a dark temple designed to be their prison. After a brutal
conquest, the Aztecs often insisted that a subject town take on Huitzilopochtli as its
god, but he was usually an unwelcome addition, for his worship required regular
human sacrifice.
The Aztecs turned their swampy island into a city whose beauty and complexity
dazzled the Spanish conquerors, who also marveled at the cuisine, the gardens, the
exotic animals kept in a zoo, and the fastidiousness of the populace. Like Venice,
Tenochtitlan was laid out along canals, and boatmen poled canoes instead of gondolas
25 INTRODUCTION

The ceremonia! precinct of the Aztec capita! city, Tenochtitian, depicted in a reconstruction painting
by Ignacio Marquina. In front of the massive Temp!o Mayor one can discern the circular wind temp!e
of Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl and the platform supporting the fema/acaf/ dish of gladiatorial sacrifice.

along its axes. Aqueducts brought fresh water to the city from Chapultepec, a region
of hiHy springs to the west, and causeways connected the island to the mainland.
At Tlatelolco on the north side of the island, Cortés described a market teeming
with goods and traders, with what he believed to be some 60,000 souls in attendance.
The Aztec ruler Motecuhzoma II and his retinue lived in a grand palace to the west
of the Mayor. Ordinary folk, or maceAna/As, lived in clan groupings called
ca/pu/A, the essential administrative component of the city. Foreigners, including
Mixtee craftsmen, lived in their own barrios.
For years, the Aztecs had engaged in what they called xocAfyaoyot/ or "Bowery
w a r/' In these contests, the Aztecs fought neighboring cities in order to garner
sacriBcial victims but not to win outright victory. Young Aztec soldiers became
seasoned Bghters, and the demanding Huitzilopochtli received his due, but the
Aztecs earned a hatred more relentless from their enemies, particularly in Tlaxcala,
than if they had subjected them to a clear-cut defeat and death on the battleBeld.
When the Spanish invaded Mesoamerica, this sort of warfare baiHed them, for the
Aztecs sought to capture their new Spanish foe?s for subsequent sacrifice. The Spanish
cut a swath of destruction, slaughtering their Aztec enemies. And where the Aztecs
might have anticipated that a negative outcome would lead to an unfavorable tribute
arrangement, they could never have guessed that the Spanish would seek to bring
their world to an absolute end.
In 1519, Cortés received Doña Marina (often known as La Malinche, but Cortés
is also called Malinche in some accounts), a young multilingual noblewoman, as a
gift, after her skills as a translator had been demonstrated to him. She, along with
ÍNTHODUCTION

Jerónimo de Aguilar, a Spanish priest stranded for years among the Maya, could
transíate for Cortés, so that he could begin to understand the world around him.
No such informed interlocutors interpreted the Spanish world-view for the Aztecs,
or for any of the peoples of Mesoamerica, although they quickly found out what
the future had in store for them. Demographers have estimated that some 20 to 25
million people lived within the boundaries of what is now Mexico in 1519. The
Spanish surveyed the population late in the 16th c. and found a scant million souls,
the survivors of an invasion that wreaked death and destruction.
In 1521, once Cortes and his men reigned triumphant in Tenochtitlan, the Spanish
Crown and the Catholic church began to devise plans for both the administrative
control and religious conversion of the vast entity soon known as New Spain.
Disparate native groups found themselves lumped together under a new name,
Indians, an awkward term with which we still labor. Native lords often served the
new masters, keeping much administrative control in native hands in the early
Colonial period.
Artists went to work for the new regime, copying Aztec tribute lists, making maps
of the conquered world, and, from time to time, copying or transcribing a religious
document that managed to escape the torch. Some new hybrid types of books were
devised that used native artists and ideas to warn missionaries of the idolatry
they were fighting, while at the same time, some traditional forms of writing and
record-keeping went on. Mixtee lords, for example, continued to keep detailed
pictorial genealogies, and some of these manuscripts later served as evidence in civil
suits over rights to land.
Independence from Spain removed native peoples from protection that had been
offered by the Spanish Crown and in some cases led to more brutal exploitation. In
recent times, despite both oppression and the lure of urban life, many native peoples
and cultures have survived, and some have thrived.

The Conceptual Framework of Mesoamerican Religion

At the time of 8rst contact in the 16th c., Europeans were both intrigued and
horriSed by Mesoamerican religion. Certain ritual practices, such as human sacrifice
and cannibalism, suggested unholy pacts with the forces of Satan. Other aspects of
native religion, such as baptism, penance, the use of incense, and the concept of a
primordial Rood, were perhaps as disturbing, since they offered resonant parallels
with Christian ritual and belief. The early Spanish chroniclers noted the striking
similarity of the Aztec word for god, feo or feof/, with the Spanish dfos. Nonetheless,
although it is possible to find correspondences between Mesoamerican religion and
those of the Old World, these similarities are the result of independent development
rather than diffusion. Aside from the distant origins of New World peoples from
Asia, there is no evidence of any European, Asian, or African influence upon
Prehispanic peoples of Mesoamerica. The wonderful sophistication and complexity of
Mesoamerican religion derives from millennia of gradual independent development.

Early Beliefs and Rituals

Virtually nothing is known of the religious concepts of the earliest Paleoindian
inhabitants of Mesoamerica. Certain later Mesoamerican beliefs, such as a multi­
layered heaven and earth, shamanic transformation, the moon as a rabbit, and the
27 INTRODUCTION

A possible Archaic period baHcourt at Cheo-Shih in Oaxaca, 5th millennium BC.

importance of world directions and trees, suggest a distant and ancient relation to
Asia. Nonetheless, however profound or early these links may be, they are not
reflected in the scant archaeological remains of the earliest peoples. It is not until
the Archaic period (7000-2000 B e ) , in the arid highlands of southern Mexico, that
concrete evidence of complex religious activity appears. Excavations in the Tehuacan
Valley of Puebla have uncovered two groups of human burials dating to approximately
the 6th millennium B e . Wrapped in blankets and nets, the bodies were also
accompanied by baskets. Some of these individuals were burned and partly
dismembered, perhaps as an early form of ceremonial cannibalism. Although the
actual significance of this ritual mutilation remains to be established, these Tehuacan
burials clearly demonstrate an early concern and belief in the afterlife.
The site of Gheo Shih, situated in the Tlacolula Valley of highland Oaxaca, reveals
other tantalizing evidence of ceremonialism during the Archaic period. Gheo Shih
roughly dates to 5000-4000 B e , and seems to have been a seasonal site where bands
of people would gather together to collect certain wild plant foods. Archaeologists
uncovered an ancient surface Hanked by lines of stones on the two longer sides.
Some 65 feet (20 meters) long and 23 feet (7 meters) wide, the Hoor area seemed
to have been swept and was virtually devoid of debris. Although the lines of stones
may have delineated a dance Hoor, it is also possible that they marked the sides of
an early, simple ballcourt alley. The ancient Oaxacans may have imported rubber
balls for the ballgame, but it is far more likely that they were fashioned of locally
avaHable leather, wood or stone. Ritualized competitive games may have been an
important form of social interaction during seasonal gatherings in the Archaic period.
INTRODUCTION ZB

The Earty Formative period saw major changes that were important for the !ater
development of Mesoamerica: the introduction of farming, the growth of populations
thanks to settled village life, and the production of pottery. With the appearance of
sedentary villages containing relatively large populations, greater evidence of
complex religious activities and beliefs survives. During the mid 2nd millennium B e ,
Formative villages appear widely in the southern coastal region of Chiapas, Mexico.
Known as Ocos, this Early Formative culture already displays a number of important
elements observed in later Mesoamerican religious systems. In certain Ocos burials,
mourners placed mica mirrors with the dead: obsidian;- pyrite, and other stone
mirrors continued to be revered objects of ornament and ritual until the Spanish
Conquest in the 16th c. With the appearance of pottery, ceramic figurines become
common at Ocos and other Formative sites. The function of these Formative figurines
is unknown; many examples portray youthful, full-bodied women, as if they reflect
a concern with human or agricultural fertility. Often beautifully worked, Ocos
figurines frequently represent curious blendings of human and zoomorphic traits
that have no obvious counterparts in the natural world. At times, these strange
figures are seated upon thrones. According to archaeologist John Clark, these throne
figures may portray shamanic chiefs wearing animal masks of their spirit companions.

The Olmecs and the Natural World

In contrast to Ocos, the Olmecs after 1200 BC constructed huge earthworks and
carved magnificent stone sculptures. Massive thrones, stelae, and colossal heads all
testify to both the virtuosity of Olmec artisans and the power of the early rulers
who commissioned such works. Monuments from San Lorenzo, La Venta, and other
Olmec sites frequently portray actual Olmec kings, and thus clearly these sculptures
are at least partly historical in nature. However, the power of these early kings was
by no means simply secular; instead, they carefully portrayed themselves in relation
to gods and other supernatural forces. Moreover, there are strong indications that
the Olmecs had complex concepts regarding shamanic transformation. As among
later Mesoamerican peoples, particularly powerful individuals were believed to be
able to transform themselves into jaguars.
Among the Olmecs and later peoples of Mesoamerica, certain places were
considered especially sacred. Quite often, these locations corresponded to critical
junctions between the planes of sky, earth, and Underworld. The Olmecs regarded
caves, or entrances to the netherworld, as powerful and magical places. Similarly,
at the junction of sky and earth, mountains were also considered to be particularly
sacred places, and it is probable that like later Mesoamerican peoples the Olmecs
considered pyramids to be replications of mountains. Mountains that contained
springs or caves were particularly revered, since they offered simultaneous access
to all three planes: sky, earth, and Underworld. Certain Olmec mountain sites, such
as El Manatí, Chalcatzingo, and Oxtotitlan, may have served as important oracles,
a means of communicating with the powers of the heavens, earth and Underworld.
Like their successors, the Olmecs exhibited a fascination with creatures and forces
of the natural world. In their early art one can discern representations of jaguars,
harpy eagles, sharks, caimans, and other denizens of their lowland environment.
But there are also strange mergings of animal species, as if the Olmecs were
attempting to amalgamate the sky, earth, and sea into a dynamic and coherent
whole. Although little is known of the Olmec pantheon, it appears that like later
peoples they had gods of particular phenomena, such as rain, the earth, and maize.
29 INTRODUCTION

A Middle Formative
Olmec
representation o fa
figure seated inside
acave. From
Chalcatzingo,
Morelos.

In the better known religious systems of Classic and Postclassic Mesoamerica,

allusions to such gods abound. Even to this day in rural Mexico and Guatemala,
rituals are performed to gods of earth, wind, water, lightning and other natural
forces.
From Formative times to the present, agriculture has been a major focus of
Mesoamerican religion. Many of the forces of nature worshipped and evoked in
Mesoamerican mythology and ritual concern farming and maize, the primary
agricultural product. So ingrained is the importance of corn that in a number of
regions maize is explicitly or implicitly said to be the substance of human Hesh.
References to maize are widespread in the iconography of the Formative Olmecs.
Moreover, the importance of forces of water and earth in Olmec and later
Mesoamerican religions is clearly related to agricultural fertility. It is thus not
surprising that some of the oldest continuously worshipped gods, such as Tlaloc,
Cocijo, and Chac, are deities of lightning and rain. Despite centuries of European
domination, many of these rain and fertility gods survive to this day.
Although certain aspects of ancient Mesoamerican religion may appear bizarre
to the modern viewer, a great deal of native ritual and belief is based on preeminently
practical concerns. Much of the ceremonialism is focused not on the afterlife, but
on this world and such matters as health, fertility, prosperity, and the prediction
and averting of natural disasters. A central concern - today as in antiquity - is that
INTRODUCTION 30

of balance and harmony. This may be expressed in terms of the individua!, the
community, or the surrounding wor!d. Imbalance and discord can !ead to sickness,
death, socia! discord, famine, and even world destruction. In ancient Mesoamerica,
there were even gods who personiSed excess. In Postclassic Central Mexico,
the Ahuiateteo simultaneously portrayed particular vices and their consequent
punishment. Through particular forms of religious observance, the peoples of
Mesoamerica have sought to ensure harmony both with themselves and with the
greater cosmos.

Sacrifice and Replication

Among the best-known religious practices of ancient Mesoamerica is human sacrifice.
Lurid images of sacrificed maidens and virile warriors have fascinated European
imaginations since the Spanish Conquest. But for Mesoamericans human sacrifice
was a fundamental means to maintain world harmony and balance. According to
the Quiche Maya Popo/ VuA, the gods fashioned the present human race, the people
of maize, to supply nourishment in the form of prayer and sacrifice. The offering of
nourishing human substance could be in the form of penitential bloodletting, or
more dramaticalty, the sacrifice of individuals. In both cases, the act signified the
offering of the self, either by individual voluntary bloodletting, or collectively with
a human victim. The concept of retribution was closely tied to the act of sacrifice.
In exchange for life, humans needed to acknowledge and even reimburse the forces
that made life possible. The Aztecs viewed human sacrifice partly as retribution for
cosmic theft. According to Aztec belief, Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl stole the bones out of
which people were created from the Underworld death god. Similarly, in the Popo/
VuA, the pregnant Xquic escapes from the Underworld to give birth to the Hero
Twins on the surface of the earth. In ancient Mesoamerican thought, humans survive
on not merely borrowed but stolen time.
One of the underlying organizational principles of Mesoamerican religion is
replication, in which essential patterns of everyday life and the surrounding world
are copied and incorporated as models of religious thought and action. Basic features
of the social world are often repeated on an increasingly larger scale to encompass
the world and the workings of the universe. For example, in the Maya region, the
house with its four walls and corner posts could stand for a maize Beld, the
community, and the structure of the cosmos. Grand and abstract concepts are placed
in human terms, and conversely, the ordered structure of the universe serves to
sanctify and validate human social conventions. Quite frequently, such series of
structural associations are expressed in ritual, with similar rites being performed for
the individual, the community, or the cosmos. Thus personal penitential bloodletting
could be repeated on a larger and more elaborate public scale in the form of human
sacrifice. The Aztec New Fire ceremony provides another example. In Aztec rites
of personal purification, straws or sticks used in bloodletting were bound in bundles
with a paper strip. The large bound stick bundles in the great New Fire ceremony
held once every 52 years were probably but gloriBed versions of the small bundles
used in personal bloodletting. Like the penitential bloodletting event, the rite was
also for purification, but in terms of the world rather than simply the individual.
Just as basic features can be replicated from the small to the large, the reverse
is also true. Objects or concepts of cosmic distance or size are copied into a human
scale. The sacred centers of Mesoamerican sites often copy cosmic geography. The
Aztec 7emp/o Mayor dual pyramid, situated in the center of Tenochtitlan,
31 INTRODUCTION

OMEYOCAN

. . 1 3 HEAVENS in the
CELEST1ALLEVEL

-- 9 STEPS to the
The Aztecs oriented Tenochütlan's Templo Mayor to UNDERWORLD LEVEL
the four quarters, and conceived of it as the central
point between the 13 levels of heaven and the 9 steps
to the Underworld (Mictlan). M IC T L A N

represented two sacred mountains, Coatepec and TonacatepetL Recent epigraphic

research by David Stuart has revealed that the Classic Maya conceived of the
monumental art and architecture of their sites as a living landscape of sacred
mountains and trees.

Religious Metaphors in Art and Writing

In Mesoamerica, metaphor is an essential means of describing abstract religious
concepts. Thus, for example, Mesoamerican peoples often consider humans to be
like maize or Sowers that are planted on the surface of the earth, born to die, but
containing the seed of regeneration. Through metaphor, particular subjects are given
a vivid range of associations and meanings. At times, the similarities shared between
a subject and its metaphoric comparison reflect a real and special bond. Quite
frequently, these relationships are expressed through ritual. The magical efRcacy of
particular agricultural sacriBces, for example, depended on the fact that the victim
not only reflected processes of nature but actually embodied them during the ritual
act. However, the metaphoric substitutions should not be taken too literally or
exclusively. And the metaphors may vary according to what qualities are being
expressed. Thus among the ancient Maya, the earth was thought of in a variety of
ways, as a rectangular house or maize Beld, as a great caiman, or as the rounded
circular back of a great tortoise.
Prehispanic Mesoamerican art richly expresses these ancient metaphors. Few
regions of the ancient world used visual art so intensively to express complex
religious concepts. Fully present by the Early Formative Olmec, complex systems
[MTRODUCTION 32

of Mesoamerican iconography antedate actúa! writing. Moreover, writing never

reptaced iconography. In the Classic Maya area, the complexity of the hierog!yphic
inscriptions is entirety matched by the attendant iconography, the texts and the
pictoria! images conveying different qualities of information. Unlike the specificity
of writing, the power of Mesoamerican iconography lies in its subtle ambiguity and
ability simultaneously to express different levels of meaning. In a single scene, a
richly costumed king can be regarded as a deity impersonator, an actual god, or
both. In terms of metaphoric expression, the iconography comes alive. Lightning
can appear as a burning serpent, blood as writhing snakes or gouts sprouting sweet
dowers, and a mature maize ear as a human head awaiting decapitation from the
stalk.
There is considerable debate concerning the extent of literacy in ancient
Mesoamerica. Although writing may have been widely used to record mundane
daily transactions, it also had a strongly religious component. Priests, commonly
culled from the elite, often performed as scribes in Postclassic Mesoamerica. Certain
gods were divine patrons of writing. Among the Postclassic Maya, writing was
identified with Kinich Ahau Itzamna, an aspect of the aged creator god, and scenes
in Classic Maya art also suggest that Itzamna was a god of writing. When we see
the detailed historical texts on Maya monuments, it should be borne in mind that
we are observing not simply historical but sacred writing. The phrases recorded by
this writing are not everyday talk but ritual speech, much like sacred narratives of
contemporary Mesoamerica.

The Mesoamerican Calendar and Astronomy

Calendrics served as an essential means by which Mesoamericans organized and
conceived of their world. Through wonderfully intricate calendrical cycles, they
sought to foresee particular events that could have major influence upon their lives.
Although these could include such relatively mundane occurrences as business
ventures or curing, they could also concern famine, political instability, or world
annihilation. The 260-day calendar had an especially important role in Mesoamerican
religion. In Postclassic Central Mexico, patron gods reigned over specific day names
and the 20 13-day divisions of the 260-day calendar. From at least Classic times,
each of the 20 day names was associated with a particular direction, passing in a
continual counterclockwise motion from one day to the next. Considering the central
importance of the 260-day calendar, it is entirely fitting that the earliest known
example of writing concerns a calendrical notation, found on a Zapotee monument
dating to approximately 600 B e . By the Protoclassic period (100 B C - A D 300), abundant
evidence of the 260-day calendar survives in many parts of Mesoamerica; together
with the vague solar year of 365 days, the 260-day calendar serves as one of the
essential defining traits of Mesoamerican culture.
In ancient and contemporary Mesoamerica, time is essentially cyclical. Even the
famous Maya Long Count, filled with allusions to historical events and the distant
mythical events of gods, is cyclical in nature. The great Long Count Baktun cycle,
in which the Classic Maya lived and in which we continue to dwell, began in 3114
B C and will soon end on 23 December A D 2012. In ancient Mesoamerica, temporal

cycles ran in increasingly larger units. The Maya Long Count, for example, consists
of units marking days, 20 days, 360 days, 20 x 360 days, and 400 x 360 days, and
still larger units encompassing millions of years. Similarly, in Late Postclassic Central
Mexico, there were the 365-day vague year, the 52-vague-year cycle, and a still
 33 INTRODUCTION

greater cycle of 104 years. Of crucial importance in Mesoamerican ritual and thought
are period endings, during which a unit of time is terminated and another begins.
For the Postclassic Maya of Yucatán, the end of the 365-day year was a major
concern, whereas for the Aztecs, it was the completion of the 52-year cycle. The
completion of major Long Count cycles must have been of momentous significance
to the Classic Maya. There have even been suggestions, albeit unlikely, that the
completion of the tenth Baktun (10.0.0.0.0) of the Maya Long Count in AD 830 was
a major reason for the Classic Maya collapse.
The ending and renewal of calendrical periods were commonly expressed through
concepts of world creation and destruction. In fact, the New Year rites of the Yucatec
and the New Fire ceremony of the Aztecs concerned the reassertion of the ordered
world from the forces of chaos and darkness. In both regions, it was believed that
such period endings could mark the end of the present world. In Mesoamerican
thought, creation, as well as calendrics, is also cyclical. The Maya Pqpo/ Vu/?, Aztec
accounts, and contemporary mythology share common and explicit references to
multiple creations and destructions. Just as the series of previous worlds were
destroyed, it was believed that this world in which we live would also end.
One of the basic concerns of Mesoamerican calendrics was the recording and
prediction of astronomical events. The sun, moon, planets and constellations exerted
powerful influences upon people and the world. Two astronomical events that were
of supreme importance were solar eclipses and the Brst appearance of Venus as
Morning Star. The ancient Maya, with the most developed form of astronomical
notation known for Mesoamerica, had elaborate tables recording and predicting
eclipses and the cycle of Venus. It was widely believed that the world could be
destroyed by demons of darkness during solar eclipses. Moreover, the rays of the
Morning Star at heliacal rising were considered to be particularly dangerous, and
threatened speciBc people and things of the natural world. It is now knowrr that the
Classic Maya frequently scheduled battles to coincide with the movements of Venus,
especially the Brst rising of Venus as evening star.
The apparent movements of the planets and constellations were considered to be
the reenactments of cosmic mythical events. To the Aztecs, the movement of Ursa
Major into the sea may have represented Tezcatlipoca losing his foot during the
cosmic battle with the great earth monster. Recent investigations by Linda Scheie
and David Freidel suggest that the Classic Maya also observed mythological events
in the movement of the stars, probably based on an ancestral form of the PopoV VuA
creation epic.

Religion and Statecraft

The religious worlds of all classes of society were closely integrated in ancient
Mesoamerica. Agricultural fertility was a major concern of all, and through
replication, ritual acts of commoner and elite were linked. Nonetheless, the
sophistication and complexity of Mesoamerican writing, calendrics and astronomy
all point to the existence of full-time specialists, even though the oiBce of priest has
not yet been documented in Classic period writing or art. Priestly offices are well
known for the Postclassic period. Classic-period kings and other individuals of high
* ofBce were also religious experts, and the rituals and beliefs surrounding rulers were
extremely complex. Ancestor worship was a major concern of elite dynasties in
ancient Mesoamerica, and Classic Maya art is Riled with scenes of rulers and their
kin offering blood and other sacrifices to the honored dead.
[IN T R O D U C T IO N 34

Many peoples of ancient Mesoamerica lived in highly stratiBed state-level societies.

In such societies, mythology and ritual frequently served as divine charter for state
poiicies. The use of ideology in statecraft is best documented for the Aztecs. It is
known, for example, that the Aztec emperor Itzcoatl destroyed historical accounts
in order to rewrite the legendary past of his people. A number of Aztec myths
describe the necessity of political expansion and human sacriBce. The myth of the
birth of Huitzilopochtli at Coatepec is also a description of the political ascendancy
of the Aztecs and their defeat of other city states. Both this mythical event and the
creation of the Bfth sun at Teotihuacan stress the importance of human sacriBce for
world balance and survival.
Following the fall of Tenochtitlan to the Spanish in 1521, Mesoamerican religion
was rapidly transformed. Many of the more elaborate manifestations associated
with the elite, such as hieroglyphic writing and iconography, virtually ceased to exist
by the end of the 16th c. Native temples, sculptures, and books were systematically
destroyed. The Spanish conquerors vigorously suppressed native religious ceremon­
ies, particularly those involving human sacriBce. The rituals, mythology, and gods

This scene from the Yanhuitian Codex depicts two

Mixtee noMes standing behind a Dominican priest.
35 INTRODUCTION

pertaining to rulership and other high ofEces were likewise suppressed, not only
because of their chaMenge to Christian doctrine but a!so because of their essentially
political nature, which could serve as catalysts for rebellion. However, the eradication
of native Mesoamerican customs was by no means total. Many of the more profound
and lasting religious beliefs continue to the present day. Rich oral traditions
encompassing ritual speech, songs, and mythology are contained in Nahuatl, Mayan,
Mixtee, and other modern native languages. Forms of the 260-day and vague 365-
day calendar are still used in southeastern Mesoamerica. Ceremonies to ensure
agricultural fertility are widely performed in Mesoamerica, and copa/ incense,
Sowers, and prepared foods are among the offerings still presented to the gods and
ancestors. Although this volume specifically concerns Preconquest Mesoamerican
religion, it should be remembered that we are describing but the ancient origins
and history of a still living and vibrant culture.
 Subject Index

X ip e T o te e T E O T IH U A C A N
1. C ods, goddesses
X iu hco atl F a t C od
and o th er
supernatura! beings X iu h te c u h tli H u e h u e te o tl
ancestral couple X o c h ip illi Jaguar gods
celestial b ird X o ch iq u etzal Jagu ar-ser p e n t-b ird
death gods X o lo tl P u lqu e gods
Q u e tza lc o a tl
MAYA
A x T E C A N D P oS T C L A S S iC
T eo tih u ac an gods
B icephalic M o n s te r
C E N T R A L M E X IC O
T la lo c
C hac
A h uiateteo W a r S erpent
D iv in g God
C h alch iu h tlicu e ZAPOTEC
F a t C od
C hicom ecoatl C ocijo
H u n H u nah p u
C ihuacoatl H u e h u e te o tl
Itza m n a
C ih u ateteo Jaguar gods
P rin cip al B ird D e ity
C in te o tl M a iz e gods
Ixchel
C oatlicue P rin cip a l B ird D e ity
Jaguar gods
Coyolxauhqui X ip e T o tee
Jester C od
E hecatl K in ic h A h a u
H uehuecoyot! 2. F lo ra and fau n a
Long-nosed and
H u eh u ete o tl am aran th
L o n g-lipp ed deities
H u itzilo p o ch tli bats
M a ize gods
H am atecuhtli b u tte r Ay
M a n ik in scepter
Itzp a p a lo tl cacao
P ad d ler Cods
Itztla c o liu h q u i-Ix q u im illi caim an
P alenque T ria d Cods
Jaguar gods ceiba
Pauahtun
M acu ilxoch itl celestial b ird
Q u etzalcoatl
M a ize gods cotton
Schellhas gods
M a y ah u el d eer
Scribal gods
M ic tla n te c u h tli dog
Sky B earers
M ixco atl eagle
T o h il
O m eteo tl Vision Serpent Rowers
Pulque gods hallucinogens
Vucub C aquix
Q u etzalcoatl W a te r L ily S erpent hu m m in g b ird
Scribal gods ja g u ar
M lX T E C
Sky Bearers ja g u a r-s e rp e n t-b ird
Tezcatlipoca M ix te e gods m aguey
T lah u izcalp an tecu h tli X ip e Totee m aize
T lalo c Yahui m onkey
T la lte c u h tli OLM EC m uan ow l
T la zo lte o tl Jaguar gods owls
Toci M a iz e gods parrots and m acaws
Tonacatecuhtli O lm ec gods peccary
T o n atiu h Q u etzalcoatl q uetzal
T zitzim im e W ere-jag u ars ra b b it
 37 SUBJECT INDEJt

serpent m irrors nahual

shark m o rtu ary bundles nam es and titles
spiders obsidian night
toad palm a num bers
tobacco paper omens
tu rtle pulque Popol Vuh
vu ltu re re p tile eye S tirlin g hypothesis
w a te r lily ru b b er tonal
shell trecena
& Sacred places sky bands tw ins
A ztian sm iling Bgures uay
caves sw eatbath U n d erw o rld
cenote tem alacatl vein ten a
Chicom oztoc throne w orld trees
C oatepec tombs w ritin g
pyram id trophy heads year bearers
springs tuerto
Tam oanchan turquoise 7. R itu a lp ra c tic e s
tem ple tzom pantli and th e ir participants
Teotihuacan w eaponry accession
Tlalocan yoke autosacriiice
T o lla n ballgam e
U n d erw o rld 5. N a tu ra l phenom ena baptism
daw n b irth
4. O bjects, symbols, earth bloodletting
and m aterials eclipse cannibalism
a lta r ligh tn in g and thunder captives
a tl-tla c h in o lli M ilk y W ay cargo
blood moon C ihuacoatl
bundle m ountains clowns
canoe night confession
cerem onial bar rain curing
chacmoo! sea dance
cinnabar and h em atite sky death
cloth springs d eity im personation
coatepantli stars and planets d ivin atio n
codex sun dw arves and hunchbacks
colors Venus enemas
colossal heads w a te r execution
costum e w ind hum an sacriHce
crossroads m arriage
cuauhxicalli 6. Concepts and ideas m erchants
d en tistry a fte rlife music
directions calendar p ato lli
excrem ent creation pilgrim age
fan death : priests
Hint d efo rm ity puriH cation
goM deification sacrifice
hacha disease shamans
hearts d u ality term in atio n rituals
incense excrem ent tlato an i
ja d e Hre uay
^ je w e lry F iv e Suns uayeb
litters gods vein ten a
m at hearts w a rrio r orders
M exican year sign m ilp a
ACCESSION
accession Accession is the E nglish w o rd gen­
e ra lly given to the process by w hich a ru le r
was in stalled fo rm ally in ofBce. Accession
ritu als am ong the M ixtees, A ztecs, and M a y a
are know n to have been e lab o ra te events,
fre q u e n tly lasting fo r days. P rob ab ly m ost
M esoam erican cultures engaged in this p ro ­
cedure by w hich a m ere m o rtal becam e a
le ad e r often perceived by the w o rld around
him (and occasionally h e r) to be d iv in e.
Am ong the A ztecs, the ru le r, know n as the
TLATOAN! (lite ra lly "h e w ho speaks") acceded
to p o w er over a series o f days, even w eeks,
beginning w ith his selection a fte r the death
o f the previous ru le r. R anking nobles chose
from a poo! o f candidates, som etim es n u m b er­
ing in the hundreds, o f younger m en, the sons,
nephew s, grandsons and great-grandsons o f
fo rm er rulers. T h e candidate w ould then
prove h im self in b a ttle and proudly lead
CAPWES, livin g trophies o f his prowess, back
to the A ztec cap ital.
O fficial accession celebrations began w ith
the ordering o f new robes fo r a ll nobles to be
in attendance, and invitations w e re sent fa r
and w id e, even including tra d itio n a l enem ies,
w ho w ere to be im pressed (and perhaps
cow ed) by the display o f A ztec pow er. O nce
the cerem onies had begun, fou r or five days
o f feasting and dancing culm inated in a royal
procession to five sites w ith in the sacred
precinct and environs o f T en o ch titlan , a t each
o f w hich the candidate offered IN C E N S E , q u ail,
and his ow n B L O O D . T o the Aztecs, the i/afo am
transcended m ere m o rtality and was recog­
nized as d ivin e. W ith such status, the A ztec
king M otecuhzom a I I , fo r exam ple, was
n e ith e r touched nor gazed upon by his sub­
jects, and according to the accounts w ritte n
by the Spanish a t the tim e o f the C onquest,
the ¿/afean? rep elled efforts by C ortes to
shake his hand or m eet his gaze.
A key fe a tu re o f the M ix te e accession
cerem ony was the ofRcial insertion o f a nose
plug; the M ix te e lord 8 D e e r m ay have
jo u rn eyed to a PILGRIMAGE site to receive the
nose plug from a PRIEST. T h e notion o f trav el
in o rd er to receive sanction fo r accession was
com m on in ancien t M esoam erica. A t the tim e
o f the Spanish Conquest, fo r exam ple, M a y a
kings o f the Q uiché and C akchique! peoples
38
in h ig h lan d G u a te m ala described a tim e deep
in the past w hen th e ir rulers had gone to
TOLLAN w h e re leg itim acy was con ferred upon
them .
C lassic M a y a h iero g lyp h ic texts usually
state sim ply the accession v erb , roughly, "to
be seated as c/?'u/ a h a u ," th a t is, seated as
the sacred lo rd , b u t th e range o f associated
depictions offers clues to the various com ­
ponents o f accession ritu a ls , w h ich , lik e the
A ztec ones, m ay have re q u ired th a t sacrificial
victim s had p revio u sly been tak en , and w hich
p ro b ab ly fo llo w e d a fa m ilia r sequence. M o n u ­
m ents com m em orating accession a t P iedras
N egras, fo r exam ple, fe a tu re n e w ly seated
lords on cushions w ith in niches, high above
sacrificial victim s w ho rest a t th e base o f
c lo th -d rap ed la ttic e d scaffolding, th e ir p ro b ­
able place o f SACRIFICE. B loody foo tp rin ts spot
the clo th , m arkin g the steps o f the n ew ru le r
from th e sacrifice site to the THRONE. Some
m onum ents in clu d e visitors, im p ly in g th a t -
lik e th e ir A ztec cou n terp arts - M a y a acces­
sion ritu als m ay have d ra w n the atten d ance
o f n o b ility throughout the region. A ltho u g h
succession am ong th e M a y a could fo llo w from
one b ro th e r to a n o th er, p rim o g e n itu re was a
g en eral ru le .
In no M eso am erican c iv iliza tio n is th e re
any evidence o f re tire m e n t or abd icatio n fro m
ru lership. O nce a king acceded to ofRce,
he a p p a ren tly served u n til D E A T H , and no
successor acceded u n til p ro p er arrangem ents
could be m ade, a process th a t g en e rally took
an yw h ere from a fe w w eeks to a year. T h e
te n -ye ar in terreg n u m (AD 7 4 2 -5 2 ) b etw e en
the reigns o f M a y a kings Shield Jaguar and
B ird Jaguar th e G re a t a t Y axchilan is anom a­
lous.
acrobats In 16th c. M eso am erica, acrobats
and contortionists form ed an im p o rta n t class
o f ritu a l en te rta in ers. In his triu m p h a l re tu rn
to Spain in 1528, H e rn á n C ortés included
n ative acrobats in his entourage. In th a t
year, C h risto p h er W e id itz illu s tra te d one o f
these acrobats, ju g g lin g a beam o f w ood w ith
his fe e t. S im ilar acrobats are know n fo r both
the L a te Postclassic M ixtees as w e ll as Aztecs.
C o n to rted acrobats also app ear in Classic
M a y a a rt, fre q u e n tly w ith th e ir legs arching
over th e ir heads. A t tim es they are supplied
w ith snake m arkings, as if allu d in g to the
alm ost m iraculous, sinuous contortions o f the
SERPENT. T h is fascination w ith acrobatic con­
tortionists appears as e a rly as th e Olm ecs. A
39 AFTERLIFE

fine representation o f a contortionist grasping

his feet appears on a la te O lm ec re lie f re p o rt­
edly from the south coast o f G u atem ala.

a fte rlife M esoam erican beliefs o f a fte rlife

varied w ith region and tim e , b u t fo r fe w
people was th ere any sense th a t hum an
m o rality affected the a fte rlife . F o r the Aztecs,
the key to one s a fte rlife was the m anner o f
DEATH itself; for the M a y a , one was tested
a fte r death by the gods o f the U N D E R W O R L D .
A lthough no texts survive from the F o rm a ­
tive era, rich offerings placed in TO M B S reveal
b e lie f in an a fte rlife . A t L a V e n ta , JADE
treasures accom panied deceased O lm ec
nobles la id to rest in basalt sarcophagi. In
W est M exico, ancien t residents o f the states
o f Jalisco, N a y a rit, and C o lim a dug shaft
tombs deep into the earth and offered b u rn ­
ished ceram ics. Both real and ceram ic D o c s
fre q u e n tly accom panied the dead, suggesting
A noble figure is surrounded by a contorted
th a t an a nim al com panion m ay have been
acrobat, Shook Panel, Late Formative period,
necessary for a jo u rn e y in the a fte rlife . Guatemala.
T h e M a y a conceived the a fte rlife to be a
jo u rn e y, a harro w in g th a t one m ight success­
fu lly overcom e. B u rial rituals included the
in te rm e n t o f useful goods for the deceased's
jo u rn e y, and noble tombs h eld the richest
offerings: pots o f a chocolate beverage,
hum an attendants, even dogs, and freq u en tly
g reat piles o f ja d e , C L O T H , and rope. B ut even
a com m oner w ould be bu ried w ith a jad e
bead in his m outh, a b it o f currency he m ight
need in the a fte rlife . T h e best record o f the
jo u rn ey its e lf is recorded in the 16th c. Q uiche
epic, the PO PO L v u H , b u t the M a y a had prob­
ably believed in a sim ilar quest a fte r death
for about tw o m illen n ia , if not longer.
T h e e n try in to the M a y a U n derw o rld
began w ith passage through still W A T E R , some­
tim es ren dered in Classic M a y a a rt as a
passage by C A N O E . Subsequently, the a fte rlife
jo u rn e y led through various levels o f the
U n d e rw o rld (know n in Q uiche as X ib alb a , or
place o f frig h t), m any o f w hich w ere hot and This scene describes the afterlife journey of a
steam y sites o f decom position and decay and sacrificial victim. At the upper right, he is first
in h a b ite d by foul-sm elling gods o f d eath. A swallowed by the caiman earth. The center of
the scene depicts the victim being greeted by
M a y a overcam e death by o u tw ittin g these
Mictlantecuhtli in the dark interior of the earth
old gods, as the H e ro T w in s do in the P opo/ Codex Borgia, p. 42, Late Postclassic period.
VuA. O nce the re p e lle n t beings w ere
d efe ated , the victors rose in the night SKY as
heaven ly bodies. T h e M a y a liken ed the cycle
o f death and reg en eratio n to the life cycle o f
M A IZ E .

F o r the Aztecs, the w o rld o f the a fte rlife

was s tra tified , w ith 13 layers o f heavens and
AHUIATETEO
n in e o f the U n d e rw o rld . T h e m eans o f d ea th
d ete rm in ed one s fa te a fte r d ea th , and m ost
o f those w ho w e n t to heaven d ied v io len t
deaths. Suicides, fo r exam ple, d w e lt in a
single stratu m . O n e la y e r o f th e heavens was
reserved fo r sacrificial victim s, those w ho
d ied in com bat, and fo r w om en w ho d ied in
c h ild b irth (w ho w e re recognized as w a rrio rs
who fe ll to the b a ttlin g in fa n t); a n o th er
heavenly la ye r, d ed icated to the RAIN and
EARTH god TLALOC, received those struck by
ucHTNiNC, or w ho d ro w n ed, or w ho fe ll p re y
to the DISEASES dispatched by the ra in gods.
B u t m ost A ztec souls, and a ll those w ho
died o rd in ary deaths, en te red M ic tla n , the
U n d e rw o rld , w h e re they, lik e th e ir M a y a
counterparts, faced a series o f trials d u rin g
th e ir jo u rn e y.
A h u iatcteo Am ong the Postclassic peoples o f
C en tra! M exico , m any form s o f pleasure,
w hen in excess, w ere considered to be causes
o f DISEASE and m isfortune. A series o f five
gods, the A h u iateteo , em bodied the dangers
and punishm ents o f excessive d rin kin g , gam b­
ling , sex, and o th er pleasures. Each o f these
five gods bore a calendrical nam e w ith the
coefficient o f 5, m acui/, a num ber allu d in g to
excess. Thus according to the Aztecs, the fifth
cup o f PULQUE denoted drunkenness and loss
c f control. T h e five gods w e re nam ed M a c u il-
cuetzpalin (5 L iza rd ), M acuilcozcacuauhtli (5
V u ltu re ), M a c u ilto c h tli (5 R a b b it), M A C U IL -
x o c m T L (5 F lo w e r) and M a c u ilm a lin a lli (5
Crass). These gods w ere clea rly associated
w ith the DIRECTION south: th e ir five day nam es
constitute the five days o f the south and
d erive from the five southern TR EC ENA S o f 1
X ó ch itl, 1 M a lin a lli, 1 C u etzp alin , 1 Cozca-
cuau h tli and 1 T o ch tli.
T h e Vaticanus B and Borgia codices contain
passages representing the Eve A h u iateteo and
th e ir accom panying trecena dates. A lthough
the tw o passages d iffe r, in both cases the
figures display characteristics o f T E Z C A T L iP O C A .
M o reo v er, in both codices, the A h u iateteo
can be rendered w ith a hum an hand across
the m outh, clearly a reference to the five
digits, and by extension, the num ber five. In
the Borgia and Vaticanus B passages, the
A h uiateteo p a ir w ith the five fem ale c iH U A T -
ETEO, the dem on goddesses o f the w est. T h e
Prehispanic Fons M exicains 20 contains the
m ost am bitious p airin g o f the C ih u ateteo w ith
the A h u iateteo . In this single scene, the
five A h u iateteo and C ih u ateteo are placed
40
according to specific M ix te e place nam es, ^ee
a /m D E F O R M IT Y .
alcohol see PULQUE
a lta r T y p ic a lly , in M eso am erica an a lta r is a
larg e stone, w ith a fla t surface suitable for
th e m aking, o ffe rin g , or b u rn in g o f SACRIFICES.
M a n y carved an cien t stones o f M exico and
G u a te m a la , h o w ever, w e re in cluded in this
category long b efo re th e ir function had been
d e te rm in e d . Some larg e so-called tab le -to p
alta rs o f th e O lm ecs w e re p ro b ab ly THRONES.
A t m any M a y a cities, com m em orative stelae
p a ir w ith a ltars in w h a t has o ften been term ed
the stelae " c u lt" : in fac t th e p ractice was not
a c u lt b u t ra th e r a p a tte rn o f com m em orating
ru le r p o rtraits on stelae and offerings (som e­
tim es sacrificial victim s) on alta rs . A m ong the
la te r M a y a , Toltecs, and A ztecs, CHACMOOLs
fre q u e n tly fun ctio ned as receptacles fo r sacri­
fices. Some A zte c altars fo r H U M A N S A C R IF IC E
w e re sim ply p la in stones.
am aran th A fa m ily o f plants rich in both
p ro te in and starch, various am aranths (A m a r-
anf/m s spp.) w e re c u ltiv a te d in M eso am erica
befo re the C onquest. T h e Aztecs called this
p la n t fa m ily A u a l/i, and id e n tifie d some I I
specific varie ties . L ik e m any o th e r foodstuffs,
am aran th was tre a te d w ith reveren ce, b u t it
was especially im p o rta n t fo r the seeds w e re
m ixed w ith hum an B L O O D , fo rm in g a dough
called tzoa/A, and then shaped in to figures
and w orshipped. D u rin g th e m onth o f P an-
q u e tza liztli, such dough figures w e re set high
atop the jrccoV//, a ritu a l tre e , and th e n subse­
q u en tly consum ed by p articip an ts in a ritu a l
th a t the Spanish liken ed to C h ris tia n
C om m union.
A t the tim e o f the C onquest, th e A ztecs
collected some 200,000 bushels o f am ara n th
ann u ally in trib u te , only slig h tly less than
th e y took in o f M A IZ E and beans. B u t because
o f its close association w ith ritu a l, a m aran th
consum ption was d riv e n underground by the
Spanish, and the n u tritio u s foodstuff ceased
to be a significant p a rt o f the n a tiv e d ie t.
T o d ay a m ara n th is m ixed w ith a honey paste
and sold as a snack called " a le g ria ," or jo y ,
on the s treet corners o f M exico.
ancestral couple N a tiv e creation accounts
fre q u e n tly re fe r to the m yth ical first hum an
couple, w ho, because o f th e ir o rig in in rem ote
a n tiq u ity , are often p o rtrayed to be o f g reat
 41 ATL-TLACHINOLLI

age. As was the case w ith m any aged people

o f ancient M esoam erica, this p a ir possessed
powers o f D iviN A TiO N and CURING. Because o f
the im portance o f the 260-day CALENDAR in
d ivin atio n , the p rim o rd ial couple can also be
id e n tifie d w ith the origin o f the calendar.
A lthough know n as Oxomoco and C ipactonal
am ong the N ahuatl-spealdng peoples o f C e n ­
tra l M exico , there is no c e rta in ty as to w hich
o f the tw o figures these nam es re fe r to. T h e
term C ipactonal is surely a referen ce to the
day nam e C ip a c tli in the 260-day fona/poAu-
aVA calendar. In C e n tra l M exican thought,
the day nam e C ip a c tli, m eaning " C A IM A N ," is
freq u e n tly associated w ith beginnings and
creation episodes.
In th e ir id en tificatio n w ith the p o w erfu l,
sacred arts o f curing and d iv in atio n , the aged Macuilcuetzpalin, one of the Uve Ahuiateteo
ancestral couple m erges in to the o riginal p air gods, Codex Borgia, p. 47.
o f m ale and fem ale creator gods. T h e Q uiche
M a y a p o p o L v u H m entions a sim ilar p a ir of
aged diviners w ho, although not described as
the first hum ans, are re fe rre d to as grand­
parents. This aged p air, Xpiyacoc and his
consort, X m ucane, play an active role in the
creation o f people. By d ivin in g w ith cast tz/fe
seeds, this couple instruct the creator gods
how to fashion hum ankind. Xm ucane grinds
the corn from w hich the first tru e people are
m ade. 5ee a/so CREATION ACCOUNTS: D iviN A TiO N .

a tl-tla c h in o lli A w idespread characteristic in

ancient A ztec thought is the use o f p aired
term s to re fe r m etap h orically to a single
concept. O ne o f the best know n exam ples o f
this is the N a h u a tl term at/-t%acAúio/A.
Com posed o f the term s fo r WATER (a i/) and
FIRE (t/acAAioAi), this phrase refers to w a r,
and the words fo r fire and w a te r them selves
are a p a ir o f b a ttlin g oppositions. In A ztec
WRITING and a rt, this phrase is usually ren d ­
ered as a p a ir o f in te rtw in e d bands, one
d elin ea tin g fire , the other, w a te r. T h e use o f The aged ancestral couple, Cipactonal and
Ere and w a te r to describe w a r also appears Oxomoco, portrayed as priests letting blood and
in m anuscripts o f non-A ztec origin, such as casting lots, detail of Codex Borbonicus, p. 21,
the Codex B orgia. T h e use o f w a te r and Ere 16th c. Aztec.
to a llu d e to w a r m ay be as old as E a rly Classic
TEOTiHUACAN. In T eo tih u acan a rt, symbols o f
w a te r and Ere o ften app ear together in con­
texts o f w a r. D u rin g the Postclassic p eriod,
the use o f w a te r and Ere to d elin ea te w a r
appears to be especially strong am ong the
^ N ah u atl-speakin g peoples o f C e n tra l M exico .
Fire and water, or atl-
T h e E re -a n d -w a te r m o tif does not appear in tlachinolli, the Aztec sign
the Prehispanic m anuscripts o f the Postclassic for war, detail of wooden
M ixtees or M a y a . drum from Malinalco.
AUTOSACRIFICE
autosacriRce L ite ra lly the sacriBcing o f one-
seif, autosacriRce in the form o f BLOODLETTING
p layed a ro le in an cien t ritu a l fro m a t least
O lm ec tim es u n til the Spanish C onquest. T h e
very act o f such self-sacriRce was recorded
w id e ly in M eso am erican a rt, and q u an tities
o f ritu a l p a ra p h e rn a lia survive th a t w e re
designed specifically fo r sacrifice on the p a rt
o f the n o b ility .
A ccording to A ztec accounts, the gods
g ath ered a t TAMOANCHAN fo llo w in g previous
destructions o f the EARTH. T h e y d re w BLO O D
from th e ir ow n bodies to g en erate a n ew
race o f hum ans; QUETZALCO ATL, in p a rtic u la r,
sprinkled blood from his penis on an cien t
bones he stole from the U NDERW ORLD. Then,
in an act o f autosacriRce a t T E O T iH U A C A N , the
god N an a h u a tzin im m olated h im self on a
bonRre to c reate the SUN, and T ecu ciztecatl
follow ed suit, becom ing the M O O N . T h e story
o f such d iv in e sacriRce survives only from
th e A ztec trad itio n , but probably a ll ancien t
M esoam erican peoples w ere held in the th ra ll
o f this ' blood d e b t/' in w hich hum ans end ­
lessly ow ed gods hum an blood and Resh. In
the M a y a epic, the POPOL vun, the gods
destroy successive generations o f livin g beings
u n til a race o f hum ans learns to praise th e ir
m akers and nourish them through p rayer and
blood S A C R IF IC E .
A ztec lords d re w blood from th e ir ears,
elbow s, and shins w ith sharp M A C U E Y spines
or Rled bones. A tw isted grass b all held the
spines w hen not in use, and the em blem o f
the b all and spines was carved on dozens o f
m ajor A ztec sculptures to signify th e responsi­
b ilities o f A ztec n o b ility.
O f a ll M esoam erican d eities, Q u etzalcoatl
most em bodied the burden o f sacriRce. O n a
H uastec re lie f, Q uetzalcoatl pierces his
tongue w ith a huge p erfo ra to r, and STARS and
other precious elem ents stream from the
w ound, as if given b irth from his offering.
Both M a y a m en and w om en p erfo rm ed
b loodletting as autosacriRce. M e n character­
istically d re w blood from the penis. T h e act
is g raphically recorded on a num ber o f Classic
M a y a pain ted pots, b u t even in the years
a fte r the Spanish Conquest, Bishop D iego de
L an d a saw such autosacriRce p erform ed in
Y ucatan, and a M a d rid Codex illu stratio n
shows several gods linked together by a rope
th a t runs through a ll th e ir penises. W om en
d re w blood fro m the tongue or ear, as m en
also did upon occasion, and both collected
the blood offerings on PAPER, w hich was then
42
burned. In th e sm oke fro m the burned o ffe r­
ings, M a y a n o b ility com m unicated w ith th e ir
ancestors, as w as recorded a t Y axchilán.
A lth o u g h no e x p lic it depictions o f O lm ec
autosacriRce su rvive, sharp JADE perfo rato rs
and stingray spines in d ic ate such a practice
a t an e a rly d a te , as do terraco tta sculptures
fro m W e s t M exico th a t v iv id ly d ep ict cheek
p e rfo ra tio n .
a x is m u n d i s e é . W O R L D TR E E
A ztla n "P la ce o f w h iteness" or "p lac e o f
h eron s," A ztla n w as the m yth ical p o in t o f
d e p a rtu re fo r th e M e x ic a (A ztecs). T h e m y th ­
ical A ztla n w as an island in a lake whose
rep lica th e M e x ic a sought in T e n o c h titla n ,
th e ir Rna! hom e in C e n tra l M ex ico , also an
island in a lake. Scholars have a tte m p te d to
id e n tify A ztla n a n y w h e re from the A m erican
Southw est to points ju s t n o rth o f the V a lle y
o f M ex ico , b u t such efforts have been in vain .
A ltho u g h A ztla n m ay have been a m yth ic
location, fu rth e r in q u iry in to islands in L a k e
Patzcuaro and M excal titá n in a lagoon along
the PaciRc coast o f N a y a rit m ay p ro ve useful.
A ccording to A ztec trad itio n s, th e ir ancestors
d ep a rted A ztla n and w e n t to C H IC O M O Z T O C ,
the "seven caves," a t th e b eg inning o f th e ir
long p ereg rin a tio n .
T h e w ord A ztec m eans "p e o p le o f A z tla n ,"
although they ra re ly c alled them selves by
such a term . T h e y w e re u sually know n am ong
them selves and th e ir neighbors as th e M ex ica ,
or som etim es the C u lh u a -M e x ic a , to em phas­
ize th e ir connection to the old T o lte c lineages
established a t C ulh u acan . H o w e v e r, W illia m
Prescott's C onquest o í M exico , published in
1843, p o p ularized th e te rm A ztec (in tro d u ced
by A lexan d er von H u m b o ld t e a rlie r in th e
19th c.) as a catch -all re feren ce to a ll N a h u a tl-
speakers in C e n tra l M exico a t the tim e o f the
C onquest.
ballgam e A ll over Prehispanic M exico and
C e n tra l A m erica, fo r some th ree m illen n ia ,
gam es w e re played w ith a RUBBER b a ll, and in
parts o f no rth w estern M exico an indigenous
ballgam e is s till p layed . B allgam es m ay have
developed along th e G u lf C oast, w h ere the
re s ilie n t p roperties o f la te x w e re probably
Rrst observed. T y p ic a lly , the best-know n
43 BALLGAME

games w e re played in a "baH co u rt," usually

an alley form ed by tw o p a ra lle l structures,
som etimes w ith c lea rly defined end zones
that gave the e n tire a rea the shape o f a
capital le tte r 1. Points w e re scored by strikin g
a solid ru b b er b all, aim ing it tow ard a ring
or m arkers set along the alle y or in end zones.
T h e rules v aried , b u t the gam e was played
betw een tw o team s composed o f tw o or th ree
team m em bers each, giving a total o f fou r or
six players. In the most w idespread version
of the gam e, the b allp layers controlled the
ball by h ittin g it w ith the upper arm and
thigh; touching it w ith the hands was fo rb id ­
den, except to p u t the b all into play.
A n oth er ballgam e was played w ith in stru ­
m ents resem bling field hockey sticks and a
sm all b a ll. In th a t gam e, found m ainly in
C e n tra l M exico and depicted in paintings at
TBOTtHUACAN, goals and courts w e re defined The departure from Aztlan in the year 1 Flint,
by freestanding m arkers o f round disks atop detail of Codex Boturini, 16th c. Aztec.
posts.
Such sport w as reserved for m en and gods.
O nly at th e M aya site o f Yaxchilán are w om en
d ep icted in association w ith the gam e; there,
they sit b esid e a staircase on w h ich a ball
bou nces. In the C odex Borbonicus, in the
TRECENA 1 E agle, the A ztec godd ess xocHiQUET-
ZAL presides over gam es in general, including
the b allgam e and PATOLLi.
T h e ballgam e had m any levels o f m eaning,
and could be played fo r m any reasons, from
sandlot sport to court ritu a l. A t the tim e of
the Spanish C onquest, am ateurs and pro­
fessionals alike engaged in the gam e, and
heavy gam bling fre q u e n tly accom panied the
com petition. Spectators w agered th e ir finely
w oven m antles, leaving a tra il o f garm ents
behind them w hen they lost. The ballgame: (above) ballplayers, sketch by
M a n y M esoam erican peoples saw in the Karl Weiditz, 1528; (be/ow) Aztec ballcourt,
ballgam e a m etaphor fo r the m ovem ents o f Codex Magliabechiano.
heaven ly bodies, p a rtic u la rly the S U N , M O O N ,
and V E N u s ; the b a ll its e lf m ay have been
understood as the sun jo u rn eyin g in and out
o f the U N D E R W O R L D , seen as the n arro w alley
o f the b allco u rt. Round baHcourt m arkers
in alleys o f M a y a courts fre q u e n tly bear a
q u a tre fo il cartouche, in d icatin g an opening
to the U n d e rw o rld . In the P O P O L V U H , the H ero
T w in s descend to the U n d e rw o rld to p lay b all
against U n d e rw o rld gods; the gam e becomes
the m etaphor o f life , D E A T H , and reg en eratio n ,
and they resurrect th e ir fa th e r, the M A IZ E C O D ,

from the court o f d eath.

T h e ballgam e also served as p u b lic reen act­
m ent o f w a rfa re and in corporated HUMAN
BAPTISM
SACRIFICE. In som e instances, victorious b a ll­
players d ec ap itated th e d e fe a te d ones;
skullracks fo r the trophies o fte n adjo in
ballcourts (see T Z O M P A N T L i). A m ong the
C lassic M a y a , a ritu a l p a ra lle le d th e b allg am e
in w hich d efe ated p layers, usually CAPTIVES o f
w a r, w e re bound and trussed in o rd er to be
used as the b a ll its e lf. In this Bnal act o f the
gam e, the cap tive-as-b al! w as bounced dow n
a Bight o f stairs.
T h e e q u ip m en t fo r the b allg am e v a rie d
through tim e and space, b u t g en e rally con­
sisted o f a ru b b e r b a ll and, fo r the p layers,
heavy padding. Solid ru b b er balls a re heavy
and dense: m o d em -d ay ballgam es in n o rth ­
ern M exico use balls th a t are 10cm or 4
inches in d ia m e te r and w eig h 5 0 0 g o r li b .
Some very larg e balls are d ep icted in M a y a
and W est M exico a rt; a solid b all 3 0c m or
12 inches in d ia m eter w ould w eigh 3 .5 kg or
7.5 lb and could have m aim ed or k ille d an
o lf-b alance p layer. A t C hichen Itz á , carvings
o f the ballgam e show a skull on the surface
o f the large b a ll, and skulls - perhaps o f
previously d efeated ballplayers - m ay have
been im bedded in such balls to create a
ho llo w center.
Vast q u an tities o f ballgam e p arap h ern a lia
survive, m ostly from the C u lf Coast o f M exico
and the PaciBc Coast o f G u atem ala. C arved
from hard stone, the YOKES, handstones,
H A C H A S , and PA LM A S (both o f w hich a re know n
by th e ir m odern Spanish appellations) m ay
have been m ade as com m em orative trophies
for successful players or fo r occasional cere­
m onial w e ar. Stone yokes, for exam ple, can
be w orn snugly across an adu lt's hips, bu t
w eigh about 13.5 kg or 30 lb . F o r actual pro­
tection in the gam e, the equ ipm en t m ay have
been m ade o f w ood, w icker, or cotton b attin g .
N achas and pa/m as Bt into yokes and offer
some protection fo r the chest; handstones
m ay have been used to p u t the b all in to play
or to a llo w for use o f the hands in com petition.
N achas m ay also have adorned the court or
m arked locations fo r scoring. Stone ballgam e
trophies w ere p rized fu n e ra ry offerings and
m ay have been req u ired by the in te rre d in
order to face the U n d erw o rld gods.
baptism W h en the Brst Spanish priests
arriv ed in N e w Spain, they w e re surprised to
Bnd n ative form s o f baptism , in this case the
ritu a l bathing o f infants and child ren . In
Yucatán, according to D iego de L an d a, a
n ative PRIEST sprinkled m ale and fem ale c h il­
44
d ren o f a p p ro x im a te ly th ree years o f age w ith
WATER from a s e rp e n t-ta ile d asp ergillu m . In
a d d itio n , one o f the p rin c ip a l citizens o f the
com m unity a no inted the ch ild ren w ith w a te r
fro m a m oistened bone. L an d a notes th a t this
rite cleansed and puriB ed th e c h ild ren , an
im p o rta n t fu n ctio n o f baptism .
Book 6 o f th e F lo re n tin e C odex provides
d e ta ile d descriptions o f th e ritu a l speech
and rites associated w ith A zte c baptism . In
contrast to th e Y u catec cerem ony, baptism
took place soon a fte r B IR T H . H o w e v e r, the
A zte c rite w as also associated w ith PURiFi
C A T IO N , to rem ove any p o llu tio n acq u ired from
the parents. D u rin g th e ritu a l b ath in g , the
in fa n t w as nam ed and p resented w ith the
tools necessary fo r a d u lt life .
T h is cru cial episode o f A zte c b irth rites is
illu s tra te d in the 16th c. C odex M en d o za,
w h e re th e m id w ife p repares to b ath e the
in fa n t in a vessel o f w a te r placed on a reed
M AT. Im m e d ia te ly above and b elo w th e m at
ap p ear th e articles rep resen tin g the occu­
pations o f m en and w om en. A b ove, one can
discern the m asculine tools o f th e sculptor,
fe a th e rw o rk e r, p a in te r, and goldsm ith, along
w ith the a ll-im p o rta n t fe a th e r and shield o f
the w a rrio r. C le a rly , the lo t o f the fe m a le
child is less e n v ia b le , as she is supplied
only w ith the d re a ry tools fo r sw eeping and
spinning cotton.
bats As a n octurnal c re a tu re , th e b a t is com ­
m only id en tiB ed w ith th e forces o f d ea th
and darkness in M eso am erican thought. T h e
beh avior o f the vam p ire b a t also c o n trib u ted
to the association o f bats w ith D E A T H and
bloody S A C R IF IC E , and th e M a y a m ay w e ll have
been a w are th a t the v a m p ire b a t does not
suck the B L O O D o f its victim s b u t m akes an
incision and then laps the blood. H o w e v e r,
the n a tu ra l tra it o f bats snatching fru it fro m
trees m ay have c o n trib u ted to the w idespread
identiB cation o f bats w ith d ecap itation .
A m ong th e Classic and Postclassic M a y a , bats
w e re id en tiB ed w ith death and sacriBce. In
th e Q uiché P O P O L V U H , the U n d e rw o rld C am a -
zotz, or "d e a th b a t," cuts o ff th e head o f the
H e ro T w in , H u n ah p u . In Classic M a y a vessel
scenes, bats a re com m only re n d e re d w ith
d eath m arkings, such as extruded eyeballs
and crossed bones.
In Postclassic C e n tra l M exico , bats w e re
s im ila rly associated w ith d eath and sacriBce.
In a num ber o f scenes, the b a t carries a
severed hum an head to id e n tify it as a beast
45 BIRTH

of decapitation. In a d d itio n , FLINT blades -

probably denoting sacriAce - can app ear on
the snout or w ings o f the creatu re.
T h e bat plays a p ro m in e n t ro le in the
art o f the Classic Zapotees, and com m only
appears on ceram ic fu n e ra ry urns. L ik e the
la te r exam ples o f Postclassic C e n tra l M exico ,
the Zapotee b at is often dep icted w ith chipped
stone blades, p robably an allusion to sacrifice.
Supplied w ith large claw s, round ears, and a
toothy m uzzle, the Zapotee b at figure
resem bles the JAGUAR save for one curious
convention: a large crest projecting from
the top o f the forehead. A fine JADE mosaic
exam ple o f a b at head was discovered d uring
excavations a t the Zapotee site o f M o n te
A lban. D a tin g to approxim ately the beginning
o f the C h ristian era, this Agure displays the
forehead crest as w e ll as the rounded ears The baptism of Aztec
and fanged snout. T h e three p endant CELT- infants, tools for males
lik e stones id e n tify this rem arkab le mask as above and females below
a pectoral or b e lt piece. In ancient M esoam er- the central bowl of water;
ica, such masks seem to have been m odeled detail from Codex
Mendoza.
on TROPHY HEADS, again suggesting the associ­
atio n w ith d ecapitation. Jade mosaic bat image,
Protoclassic Zapotee,
B icephalic M o n ster L ite ra lly , a tw o-headed Monte Alban. This object
m onster, o f w hich there are a num ber in was probably worn as a
M a y a a rt, and specifically, the tw o-headed pectoral.
m onster also know n as the C eles tia l M on ster
or Cosm ic M on ster.
T h is p a rtic u la r supernatural creatu re usu­
a lly has e ith e r a crocodilian or SKY BAND body,
b u t in a t least one exam ple, cloud scrolls form
the body. T h e fro n t head g en erally bears
e ith e r a VENUS sign o r crossed bands in the
eye, DEER hooves or d eer ears and is fu lly
Aeshed w h ile the re a r head is characterist­
ically skeletal and ren dered upside dow n.
T h e fro n t head also functions as the head
v a ria n t fo r the day sign L a m a t and as the
patro n o f the m onth Yax. T h e re ar head bears
on its forehead a q u a d rip a rtite sign: a stingray Bicephalic Monster, Copán
spine, spondylus shell, and crossed bands Altar 41, Late Classic
inside a cache vessel. B oth heads m ay spew Maya.
BLOOD scrolls. T h e CELESTIAL BIRD m ay be re p ­
resented a t the cen ter o f the m onster's body.
M o st com m only, the B icephalic M on ster
fram es scenes o f ACCESSION or ru lersh ip fo r the
M a y a , b u t its in trin sic m eaning m ay be to
represent the arc o f the heavens, the fro n t
head being identiA ed w ith Venus, p u lling
behind it the Aeshless head o f the SUN in the
Birth of Tezcatlipoca from
UNDERWORLD.
the navel of Tlaltecuhtli,
the earth deity, Aztec,
b irth T h e creation o f life by hum an b irth Late Postclassic period.
B LO O D
was a source o f g re at fascination in an cien t
M eso am erica. N o t only was b irth an
im p o rta n t eve n t o f g re a t concern in e ve ryd ay
life , b u t it also p layed a m a jo r ro le in the
CREATION ACCOUNTS o f th e gods. I t was com m on
fo r an in fa n t a t the tim e o f b irth to be ritu a lly
in tro d uced in to some o f the m ost essential
tru th s o f hum an existence, such as th e origins,
n atu re , and fa te o f m ankind.
T h e m ysteries o f gestation and b irth w e re
the dom ain o f a p a rtic u la r class o f curers, the
m id w ives, w ho tended to be aged, post­
m enopausal w om en w ell-ve rs ed in plants,
D iv iN A T iO N , and o th e r esoteric lo re . T h e m ost
fam ous sup ern atu ral p atro n o f m id w ives, the
Yucatec M a y a ixcHEL, was honored a t a m ajo r
piLCRiMAGE shrine on the island o f C o zum el,
situated o ff the no rth ern coast o f Q u in ta n a
Roo, M exico . A lthough Ixchel is o ften id e n t­
ifie d as the you th fu l Goddess I o f the M a y a
codices, she is alm ost c e rta in ly the aged
Goddess O , w ho is nam ed ep ig rap h ically cAac
c h e /in the ancient M a y a books (seescHELLHAS
coos).
In the a rt o f L a te Postclassic C e n tra l M e x ­
ico, goddesses are freq u e n tly shown in the
posture o f b irth know n as h e e le r, from the
G erm an w ord signifying a squatting position,
hfocher figures typ ically have th e ir arm s
upraised, as if m irro rin g the crouching squat
o f the lo w er lim bs. B ut although these figures
squat in the b irth posture, ra re ly do they give
b irth from the loins. In stead , in a num ber o f
instances, individuals em erge from a JADE
placed on the navel, representing the cen ter
o f conception and gestation.
blood M o st M esoam erican peoples id e n tifie d
blood w ith o th er substances, p a rtic u la rly
M A IZ E , JA D E , FLO W E R S , and the sap o f trees.
A ccording to some M a y a accounts, the gods
offered th e ir ow n blood on ground m aize,
yieldin g a doughy paste fro m w hich hum ans
could be form ed. N a tiv e m aize was red , blue,
and y ello w in color; likew ise hum an blood
appears blue in the veins w hen seen through
the yellow ish tones o f skin, b u t w hen cut is
red (see COLORS).
Blood was understood in M esoam erica to
m ean kinship, or bloodlines, as w e ll as the
actual substance th a t courses through veins
and arteries.
In M ix te e and A ztec m anuscripts, hum an
blood is som etim es ren dered as a jagged red
stream tipped w ith ja d e beads; in the a rt o f
Classic V eracru z and C hichen Itz á , blood­
stream s - p a rtic u la rly w hen spurting from
fresh w ounds - a re o fte n configured as live
SERPENTS. T h e C lassic M a y a fre q u e n tly show
blood as a series o f d ro p lets, p a rtic u la rly in
scenes o f scatterin g or sprin klin g, in w hich
kings hold th e ir hands near the groin and
show er the ground w ith th e ir blood. B lood­
stream s can be re n d e re d as stream s o f Rowing
precious things or th e ir sym bols edged w ith
beads or dots. Blood m ay also ap p ear as a
series o f la zy S-scrolls, although such im ag ery
m ore com m only re fers to clouds.
b lo o d le ttin g T h e act o f d ra w in g BLO O D from
th e hum an body w as p racticed ro u tin e ly
throu g h o u t M eso am erica fo r ritu a l purposes.
Because th e G O DS had shed th e ir ow n blood
to crea te h u m a n ity , hum an blood was the
single m ost im p o rta n t o ffe rin g th a t could be
m ade in re tu rn . In this state o f blood " d e b t,"
CAPTIVES o f b a ttle w e re taken a liv e , th e ir blood
shed la te r in TEM PLES and shrines to honor the
pact w ith th e gods. T h e nobles, and perhaps
a ll people, p erfo rm e d A U T O S A C R IF IC E .
Jade versions o f the sharp spines fro m the
stingray survive fro m O lm ec tim es, in d ic atin g
th a t d u rin g th e firs t m ille n n iu m BC
M eso am erican peoples w e re fa m ilia r w ith
the serrated bony spine th a t arm s th e ta il o f
this SEA crea tu re . Because o f th e acute angle
o f the serrations, once a stin g ray spine has
p ierced the skin it cannot be rem oved w ith o u t
causing p a in fu l dam age: it is easier in fa c t to
p u ll the spine co m p letely through a p e rfo r­
atio n . T h e M a y a b u rie d th e ir noble m ale dead
w ith stingray spines - perhaps in pouches long
decayed - over th e g ro in , and these spines
w e re th e perfo rato rs used to d ra w blood fro m
the penis.
T h e M a y a also p ierced th e ir Resh w ith
O B S ID IA N blo o d letters and carved bones. T h e y
collected th e d rip p in g blood on strips o f
PAPER w hich they then placed in broad, R at-
bottom ed bow ls and set aRre. The
im p lem en ts, as w e ll as the bow ls, w e re fre ­
q u en tly p rize d fu n e ra ry offerings; nobles
w rap p ed b lo o d lettin g eq u ip m en t in th e ir
sacred B U N D L E S . Y axchilan w om en o ften w o re
headdresses lik e those o f w a rrio rs w hen
undergoing autosacriRce and it was not
uncom m on fo r m en to adopt the m u tila te d ,
shredded a ttire o f captives, as i f id e n tify in g
th e ir ow n b lo o d lettin g w ith th a t o f sacriRcial
victim s. C aptives them selves m ay have been
forced to p erfo rm autosacriRce; some bear
the necessary spines and p ap er in ancient
47 BUNDLE

depictions. In o th er cases, victors fo rcib ly Blood serpents

d rew the blood o f captives, as shown in the emanating from the
Bonam pak m urals, w h ere w arrio rs p u ll out neck of a decapitated
ballplayer, El Aparicio,
the Engernails o f th e ir prisoners.
Veracruz, Late Classic
M a y a bloodletters and o th er things associ­ period.
ated w ith blo o d lettin g often bear the trip le
"bow tie ," probably a rep resen tatio n o f kno t­
ted paper. T h e m o tif turns up a t T u la (see
T O L L A N ) and T e n o c h titla n , w h ere it is fea tu re d

on the body o f the x iu H C O A T L , lin kin g it to

blood and sacriEce.
M ost C e n tra l M exican peoples used the
spines o f the MAGUEY p lan t to d ra w blood, and
to keep these spines sharp and a t hand they
stored them in a b a ll o f tw isted grass, much
as a seamstress keeps h er needles and pins
in a cushion. T h e grass b all w ith spines Figure engaged in
becam e an im p o rtan t sym bol o f A ztec n o b il­ bloodletting from his
ity , in d icatin g both th e ir p riv ile g e and th e ir penis, detail of Huastec
responsibility to le t blood. In A ztec represen­ conch shell pendant,
tations of b loodletting, lords and gods d raw
Postclassic period.
blood from the ear, shin, knee, and elbow .
5 e e a / s o HU M A N SACRIFICE.

bundle Sacred bundles w e re an im p o rtan t

p a rt o f M esoam erican history and ritu a l.
In contrast to MERCHANT bundles, w hich are
oblong and w rap p ed w ith rope and m attin g , (Be/ow) Grass ball containing
sacred bundles are usually round w ith prom i­ maguey spine bloodletters, detail
nent, large knots. C le a r exam ples occur in from Codex Borbonicus, p. 18,
the a rt o f the Classic M a y a as w e ll as o f the Late Postclassic Aztec.
Postclassic Aztecs and M ixtees.
Sacred bundles often play an im p o rtan t
role in the jo u rn e y and m igrations o f a people
to th e ir chosen place. In the POPOLVUH account
o f the legendary m igrations o f the Q uiche
M a y a , the Pizom G agal bundle represents
the deceased ancestor B alam Q u itze. In its
account o f the A ztec jo u rn e y from A ztlan ,
the Codex B o tu rin i care fu lly represents four
bundle-bearers. T h e most im p o rtan t o f these
bundles belonged to H U iTziLO P O C H TLi, the
patro n god o f the Aztecs. As la te as 1539, 18
years a fte r the fa ll o f T en o c h titla n , Spanish
oEScials accused an in d iv id u al nam ed D on
(Be/ow) Sacred bundles: (left to right) bundle
M ig u e l o f caring for A ztec god bundles, with icatz glyph, Yaxchilán Lintel 1, Late Classic
including th a t o f H u itzilo p o ch tli. Maya; smoking bundle, Codex Borgia, p. 35, Late
A ccording to one 16th c. account from the Postclassic; bundle with Hint blade of 9 Wind,
V a lle y o f M exico , the Erst god bundles w ere Codex Nuttall, p. 15, Late Postclassic Mixtee.
fashioned from the rem ains o f gods sacriEced
a fte r the creation o f the SUN a t TEOTiHUACAN.
M asked d eity bundles resem bling fu n e ra ry
bundles occur in M a y a iconography as e arly
as the 4th c. AD. O n T ik a l Stela 4, the ru le r
C u r! Snout holds a m asked TLALOC bundle
ren dered in the fashion o f T eo tih u acan . A side
BUTTERFLY
from m asked god bundles, ro u n d , kno tted
bundles com m only a p p e ar in Classic M a y a
scenes. In a n u m b er o f instances, th e y a re
e p ig rap h ically la b ele d ic atz, m ean in g bund­
le " or "b u rd e n " in several h ig h lan d M a y a n
languages. .See a/so MORTUARY BUNDLES.
b u tte rfly A lthough re la tiv e ly ra re in an cien t
M a y a a rt, b u tte rflie s com m only ap p e ar in the
iconography o f h ighland M ex ico , p a rtic u la rly
a t the g re at cen ter o f TEonHUACAN, w h e re
they o ften display w ings, antenn ae, fe a th e re d
proboscises and fe a th e r-rim m e d eyes. In
ad d itio n , they m ay be d epicted w ith the
toothy m aw o f the JAG UA R . T h e b u tte rfly -
ja g u a r also appears am ong the Classic p erio d
Zapotees and M a y a , fre q u e n tly in contexts o f
w a r. In L a te Postclassic C e n tra l M exico ,
b u tterflies sym bolized both FIRE and the souls
o f dead w arrio rs. Seen in the fig h t o f the
m ilita ris tic b u tte rfly -ja g u a r and the w id e ­
spread appearance o f b u tterflies on T e o tih u -
acan INCENSE burners, the Teo tih u acan b u tte r­
fly can also be id e n tifie d w ith FIR E and w ar.
cacao W h e th e r consumed as an esteem ed
d rin k or exchanged as m oney, cacao (71heo-
bronia cacao) was one o f the most im p o rtan t
p lan t products o f ancien t M esoam erica. T h e
seeds d erived from the pod o f the cacao tree
w ere w id e ly used as currency and John Llo yd
Stephens reported the use o f cacao currency
as la te as the m id -19th c. in Yucatan. W h en
ground in to pow der, the seeds w e re m ixed
w ith w a te r and flavoring agents to create a
fro th y beverage g reatly favored by the n ative
e lite . R ecent epigraphic research has estab­
lished th a t the w ord cacao was fu lly present
among the Classic M a y a - in fact, m any o f
the fine Classic M a y a polychrom e vases are
g lyphically lab eled as cacao d rin kin g vessels.
caim an O ne o f the m ost ven erated carnivores
o f M esoam erica was the caim an (C arm an
crocodi/us). Because o f its aquatic h a b ita t,
g reat size, and spiny back, the caim an was a
com m on m etaphor fo r the m ountainous EARTH
Boating upon the SEA. E x p lic it portrayals o f
the caim an appear as e a rly as the F o rm ative
O lm ec, w h ere it is ren dered both in p o rtab le
a rt and m onum ental sculpture. In the a rt o f
L a te Preclassic Iza p a , caim ans are depicted
as th e trunks o f trees, presum ably to re p ­
resent the axis m o o d /, g en e rally considered
as th e CEIBA (C erh a spp ). W ith its thorny,
sw ellin g tru n k , the ceiba does in d eed bear
som e resem blance to th e rough back o f the
caim an. In N a h u a tl, th e term fo r caim an is
cipacfA, m eaning "sp in y o n e."
B oth th e M aya and C e n tra l M exicans
id e n tifie d th e caim an w ith aged c reato r gods.
In C e n tra l M .exico, the aged TONACATECUHTLi,
or L o rd o f O u r Sustenance, presided o ver the
Erst o f th e 20 day nam es, C ip a c tli, or C aim an ,
as w e ll as the 13-day TRECENA o f 1 C ip a c tli
(see CA LEN DA R). A m ong the M a y a , this aged
creato r god w as know n as rrzA M N A, q u ite
possibly th e p aram o u n t god o f the M a y a
p antheon. In a n u m b er o f instances, Itza m n a
is p o rtray ed w ith in the body o f the caim an,
p ro b ab ly Itz a m n a as Itz a m C a b A in , m eaning
Itz a m E a rth C aim an .
calen d ar M eso am erican calendars tracked
the solar y ea r, lu n a r y e a r, Venus cycle, and
o th er p erce iva b le phenom ena as w e ll as
su p ern atu ral and ritu a l cycles w hose fu n d a ­
m en tal bases re m ain unknow n. T h e c alen d ar
was essential to the arts o f p re d ictio n and
D iv iN A T iO N as w e ll as to the c eleb ratio n o f
religious festivals. T h e m ost sophisticated
calen d rical observations in a n c ie n t M exico
and G u a te m ala w e re m ade b y the Classic
M a y a , A D 3 0 0 -9 0 0 , b u t w ritte n evidence fo r
use o f a calen d ar goes back to th e 6 th c. B e .
J2#0-c%ay aAnanac
Com m on to a ll M eso am erica, th e 2 60-d ay
cycle, the oldest and m ost im p o rta n t calen d ar,
rem ains in use am ong a fe w groups o f h ig h ­
lan d M a y a in G u a te m ala and am ong some
O axacan peoples. (Som e h ig h lan d M a y a s till
keep a 365-d ay calendar as w e ll.) In this
calendar, a re p ea tin g cycle o f 20 d ay nam es
pairs w ith 13 day num bers, y ield in g a count
o f 260 days, a n um ber th a t bears no re latio n
e ith e r to astronom ical or to a g ric u ltu ra l phen­
om ena. I t w as p robably devised by m idw ives
to calculate b irth d ates, w o rkin g fro m Erst
m issed m enstrual p erio d to BIRTH, approxim at­
ing the 9-m o n th hum an gestation p eriod. In
m any parts o f M exico , hum ans and gods took
th e ir nam es fro m th e ir d ate o f b irth in this
calen d ar, and w e re reg ard ed as having com­
p le te d one 260-d ay cycle a t b irth .
This calen d ar took a special nam e in every
n ativ e language, although m any o f the nam es
are now lost, and archaeologists have some-
49 CALENDAR

(Le/t) Butterdy warrior

with shield and
spearthrower, Xelha,
Quintana Roo, Early
Classic period. Although
found in the Maya area,
this mural painting is in
typical Teotihuacan style.

tim es in ven ted term s lik e the pseudo-Yuca tec Maya glyph to be read
M a y a tzo/Ain to re fe r to the count o f 260 cacao, from cacao vessel
days. T h e Aztecs called it the fona^poAua///, excavated at Río Azul,
and the book in w hich it was recorded the Guatemala, Early Classic
fonalam af/. N o o th er book in M esoam erica period.
was so im p o rtan t to the d iv in e r, fo r the 260-
Caiman tree, detail of
day alm anac was the fun d am en tal guide to Izapa Stela 25, Protoclassic
the fu tu re , and every day and num ber oRered Maya. This tree probably
clues for in te rp re ta tio n . G ifts and short­ refers to the great ceiba,
comings w e re bestow ed by one's d ate o f which has a green spiny
b irth , and those bom on troublesom e days trunk reminiscent of the
w e re o ften renam ed on m ore auspicious ones.
Each one o f the 20 day nam es had a specidc
association w ith a supernatural patron, and
m any had associations w ith n atu ra l phen­
om ena. T h e M a y a and A ztec associations are
as follow s:

M a y a , Yucatec nam e A ztec nam e m eaning, association

1 Im ix (w a te rlily ) C ip a c tli (caim an) surface o f the earth

2 Ik (w in d ) E hecatl (w in d ) w ind
3 A kb a l (darkness) C a lli (house) night, darkness, ja g u ar
4 K an (m aize) C u etzp allin (liza rd ) m aize, abundance
5 C hicchan (celestial snake) C o atí (snake) snake
6 C im i (d eath ) M iq u iz tli (death ) death
7 M a n ik (d e e r) M a za tl (d eer) deer
8 L a m a t (Venus) T o ch tli (ra b b it) Venus, ra b b it
9 M u lu c (jad e, w a te r) A tl (w a te r) w a te r
10 O c (dog) Itz c u in tli (dog) dog
11 C huen (m onkey) O zo m atli (m onkey) m onkey
12 E b (e v il rain?) M a lin a lli (grass)
13 B en (green m aize) A catl (reed )
14 lx (jag u ar) O celotl (jag u ar) ja g u ar
15 M e n (eag le) C u a u h tli (eagle) eagle
16 C ib (w ax) C ozcacuauhtli
(king v u ltu re )
17 C aban (e a rth ) O llin (m ovem ent) e a rth , earth q uake
18 Edznab (d in t) T e c p a tl (d in t) d in t
19 C auac (storm ) Q u ia h u itl (ra in ) ra in , storm
20 A hau (lo rd ) X ó ch itl (d o w er) sun
CALENDAR
Tibe trecena
In the ton a/am at/, the p erio d o f 260 days was
d ivid ed in to TRECENAS (th e N a b u a t! w ord is no
!onger know n, and M esoam ericanists use th e
Spanish te rm ), or periods o f 13 days, counted
1 -1 3 , w ith each new trecena beginning w ith
the num era! 1. T h e 6rst day o f the trecena
and its auguries reigned over the e n tire 13-
day p erio d , as d id one o r tw o gods. A ccording
to the C odex Borbonicus, fo r exam pie, those
born in the trecena 1 A t! w ou!d be im p o ver­
ished, and the e n tire 13-day perio d begun on
th a t p a rtic u ia r day was in genera! a bad one.
71be so/ar y e a r
In conjunction w ith the 260-d ay alm anac a
365-d ay calen d ar was used. C orresponding
roughly to the solar year b u t lacking the leap
days necessary fo r long-term accuracy o f the
tru e tropica! year, this calen d ar was d ivid ed
into 18 periods o f 20 days each, plus 5
"nam eless" and unlucky days at the end o f
the year. In C en tra! M exico, each 20-d ay
period was called a VEINTENA, lite ra lly a " u n it
o f tw e n ty " in Spanish. Each group o f 20 days
had its own "m o n th " nam e and was linked
w ith a num ber from 1 to 20 or 0 to 19,
depending on the region. Am ong the Classic
M a y a , each o f the m onths had a supernatural
p atron; the W a te r L ily Jaguar, for exam ple,
oversaw the first m onth, Pop.
Each A ztec year bore the nam e o f the 260-
day alm anac th a t occurred on the last day o f
the 18th m onth. This works out to be one o f
fou r possible day nam es (w ith its n um ber).
T h e M a y a and most other peoples nam ed
th e ir years for the first day o f the n ew year
in the 260-day alm anac. These days w ere
called YEARBEAREHS and historical dates from
the A ztec reign are g en erally know n by the
y earb earer nam e. T h e Spanish, fo r exam ple,
began th e ir m arch to the A ztec capita! in the
year 1 A catl (1 R eed). W ith o u t leap days,
the calendar slow ly w an d ered through the
seasons, req u irin g m ovable feasts or periodic
reconfiguration o f agricu ltu ral festivals.
Archaeologists call this year the "V ag u e
Y e a r," and, in the M a y a region, re fe r to it as
the baab.
Tibe veintena
Less im p o rtan t than the trecena to the
Aztecs was the VEINTENA, the 20-day p erio d ,
or "m o n th ." T h e 18 A ztec veintenas w e re
succeeded by the nem ontem i, or nam eless
days, a fte r T ititl, before the beginning o f a
50
n ew 3 65-d ay y ea r. A m ong some groups, the
6ve nam eless days w e re thought to be par
tic u la rly dangerous, and it was considered ill
fo rtu n e fo r a child to be b om at that tim e.
Tibe c ale n d a r ro u n d o r 5 2 -y e a r cyc/e
W hen the 260 -d a y calen d ar and 365-day
calen d ar w e re set in m otion w ith one ano th er,
it took exactly 52 years o f 365 days, a to tal of
18,980 days, fo r a given d ate to re p ea t. T h is
p erio d is called a calen d ar round, and any
hum an com pletin g a cale n d ar round w ould
have been old in d eed . The Aztecs re p ­
resented th e c ale n d ar round as the xiu b m o /-
pj7b, or " y e a r b u n d le ," and carved sculptures
o f 52 sticks bound to g eth er to sym bolize it.
A m ong th e A ztecs, th e com pletion o f 52
years - and the b eg inning o f a n ew calen d ar
round - com m anded w idesp read p re p a ra tio n .
T o in itia te a n ew cale n d ar round, the Aztecs
c eleb rated the ritu a l o f N e w F ire . T h e last
N e w F ire cerem ony w as cele b rated d u rin g
the m onth o f P a n q u e tza liztli, a fe w m onths
a fte r the n ew y ea r o f 2 A ca tl (2 R eed) had
begun in AD 1507. bee a/so EIRE.
T b e Long^ C o u n í an¿/ TnitiaV .Servas
C h a rtin g longer periods o f tim e re q u ired a
d iffe re n t kind o f calen d ar. T o w a rd th e end
o f the L a te Preclassic, in a ll likelih o o d som e­
w h ere along th e Isthm us o f T eh u a n te p ec ,
w h a t is know n as the Long C o u n t was in tro ­
duced, to be p erfe cted by the M a y a in Classic
tim es. Long C o u n t dates record th e to ta l
num ber o f days elapsed since a m ythological
zero d ate th a t can be co rrela ted to 2 A ugust
3114 Be in E uropean n o tatio n. L ik e a ll
M esoam erican counts, the Long C o u n t used
the vigesim al (i.e . based on th e n u m b er
2 0 ), ra th e r than decim al, system . T h e m ost
fu n d am en tal u n it was the day, or Am, to
fo llo w the Yucatec M a y a term in olo gy from
the tim e o f th e C onquest. Periods o f tim e
w e re counted by days, periods o f 20 days (th e
u in a l), years - som etim es called "co m p u tin g
years" by archaeologists - o f 360 days (th e
tun ), 2 0-ye ar periods o f 360 days each (th e
Aa tun ), and 400 -y ea r periods (th e baAtun).
E ven la rg er periods o f tim e w e re c a lib ra te d ,
and a t the tim e o f th e C onquest, w ords w ere
s till know n fo r 8000 tuns (th e p ic tu n ) and
160,000 tuns (th e caTabtun). Long C o u n t dates
w e re inscribed in place n o tatio n, beginning
w ith the largest u n it, usually the baAfun, and
m oving in o rd er to th e sm allest one, the Ain,
in a p a tte rn th a t has also com e to be called
A!1 Mesoamerica observed the ca/endar round or 52-year cyc/e, created by the intermeshing of the
260-day calendar (left) and the 365-day calendar (right). It is drawn here as a system of interlocking
cog wheels and follows standard Maya notation, although the days and months had different names
and symbols in each culture.
The 260-day calendar is composed of 20 day names (outer wheel) and 13 day numbers (inner
wheel), both of which rotate endlessly. It takes 260 days for all the combinations to occur.
The 365-day calendar comprises 18 months, each of which has only 20 days, numbered 0-19 or
1-20 depending on the region, and the 5 unlucky days. In this larger wheel, the end of the month of
Cumku and the 5 unlucky days are shown - other month glyphs are at the right.
Here, 13 Ahau (left) and 18 Cumku interlock. It will take 52 x 365 days (or 52 years) before the
cycles will all reach this point again.
(Below) Calendar wheel representing the 52 years of the yearbearer cycle, Manuscrit Tovar, 16th c.
Central Mexico.
CALENDAR
the In itia l Series. T h is cale n d ar bore no
re la tio n to the solar y e a r and w as usually
used in conjunction w ith dates in both the
3 65-d ay calen d ar and the 260 -d a y alm anac.
Long C o u n t or In itia l Series dates can be
easily recognized: they usually begin M a y a
inscriptions and a re in d icated by la rg e in tro ­
ductory glyphs called " In itia l Series In tro d u c ­
ing G lyp h s." T h e coefficients to th e glyphs
re fe rrin g to the periods o f tim e a re fre q u e n tly
recorded in b a r-a n d -d o t n u m eratio n in w hich
Rve dots equal one bar.
T o hold open Riled places, this calen d ar
requires a n u ll cip h er, a p laceh old er s im ila r
to our zero, although in the M a y a conception
the place is fu ll, or com pleted, ra th e r than
em p ty. T h e in te lle c tu a l develo pm en t o f the
idea o f zero took place only tw ice in h istory -
once in ancien t In d ia , am ong the H in d u s, and
once in M esoam erica. T h e Postclassic M a y a
represented the sym bol for com pletion as a
SHELL, probably because they used such shells
in w orking out th e ir a rith m etic. T h e Classic
M a y a used an abstract cruciform sym bol
som ew hat resem bling the E uropean M a lte s e
cross, possibly a schema d erived from an
outstretched hum an body, the 20 digits o f
Rngers and toes in dicating a fu ll vigesim al
place. T h e head v a ria n t o f the com pletion
sign is the head o f a death god.
T h e M a y a celebrated p eriod-ending dates,
th a t is, dates o f com pletion o f periods o f
tim e, fre q u e n tly Aafuns o r half-A a funs. T h e
com pletion o f 13 Aafuns in the ten th AaAiun
(th a t is, a fte r the com pletion o f the n in th and
w h ile the tenth was ongoing) was m uch
celebrated by the M a y a and w ould be tra n ­
scribed in A rab ic num bers as 9.13 .0 .0.0.
T h e tro p ica / y e a r
D esp ite the fact th a t M esoam erican calendars
included no mechanism s for tracking tru e
tropical years and the leap days they re q u ire ,
the p a tte rn o f anniversaries celeb rated a t
some M a y a cities and recorded in the Long
C ount indicates th a t those w ho counted the
solar years w e re w e ll aw are o f the problem .
A t Piedras N egras, tru e tro pical year a n n ive r­
saries w e re calculated over periods o f a t least
200 years.
The A m ar ca/en d ar a n d Fo/ar ecApses
A lthough lu n a r calendars m ay w e ll have been
kep t across M esoam erica, the only recorded
ones survive in M a y a inscriptions, appended
to the In itia l Series as p a rt o f w h a t has been
52
called th e S u p p lem en tary Series, and in the
series o f lunations counted in the Postclassic
D resd en C odex. In th e S u p p lem en tary Series,
ages o f lu n atio n s on a given d ate a re g en e rally
reckoned from th e Rrst appearance o f the
n ew MOON, counted by th e ir position in the
six-m onth lu n a r h a lf-y e a r, and ta llie d for to ta l
days, e ith e r 2 9 or 30. E v e n tu a lly , the M a y a
cam e to recognize th a t 149 lunations = 4,400
days, or 2 9 .5 30 20 days p e r m onth in decim al
term s, a n u m b er v e ry close to the 29.53059
used by m o d ern astronom ers.
In and o f its e lf, a lu n a r calen d ar m ay have
been o f in trin s ic in te re s t, b u t c a re fu l lu n a r
calculations w e re also necessary in o rd er to
produce E C LIP S E w a rn in g dates. Eclipses w e re
b eliev ed to th re a te n disaster fo r M es o am e ri­
can p eo p le, so th e ir p re d ictio n w o u ld have
been o f g re a t use. Solar eclipses take place
only d u rin g th e d ark o f the m oon, and w ith in
18 days o f w h en the m oon's p ath crosses the
a p p a re n t p ath o f th e s u N . T h e lu n a r tables o f
the D resd en C odex c a lib ra te d such coinci­
dences in o rd er to g en e rate eclipse w a rn in g
dates. L a te in th e 8 th c., a to ta l eclipse d id
occur d u rin g the d ry season in th e M a y a
low lands, and the phenom enon w as recorded
in the S u p p lem en tary Series o f a stela a t
Santa E len a Poco U in ic .
iRipp/emen/ary Series
T h e calen d rical d ata th a t fo llo w the In itia l
Series in M a y a inscriptions a re know n as
the S u p p lem en tary Series, or L u n a r Series,
because m ost o f the in fo rm a tio n c arried th e re
deals w ith the m oon. T h e glyphs have been
given a lp h ab et labels by m odern scholars and
ru n in reverse o rd er, s tartin g w ith th e le tte r
G and continuing on through A . G lyp h C
com prises the n in e various M a y a Lords o f
th e N ig h t (see b elo w ). G lyp h F refers to
G lyp h C and p ro b ab ly signiRes its seating.
G lyphs E and D record the age o f the c u rren t
m oon. G lyp h C records the n u m b er o f moons
com pleted in th e c u rre n t lu n a r h a lf-y e a r, and
so it usually bears a coefRcient. A fte r the
le tte rs had alrea d y been designated, scholars
noticed th a t a glyph fo llo w in g C v arie d
depending on the coefRcient o f G lyp h C , and
it w as lab eled X , w ith varian ts X 1 -X 6 . G lyp h
B features a ro d en t head; it links G lyphs X
and A in d icatin g only th a t X nam es A . G lyp h
A conRrms th a t the c u rre n t lu n a r m onth is o f
29 or 30 days. G lyphs Y and Z occasionally
app ear b etw e en G lyphs F and E ; th e ir m ean­
ing is obscure.
 53 CALENDAR

& /9-d ay count

T h e M a y a h eld the num bers 7, 9, and 13 to
be sacred. M u ltip lie d , they y ield 819, the
num ber o f days counted in a never-en din g
cycle th a t occasionally exists as a separate
clause inserted in the Supplem entary Series
follow ing an In itia l Series. (O n ly 13 exam ples
are know n.) N o beginning d ate is know n
for the cycle, b u t days are alw ays counted
backw ard from the In itia l Series in o rd er to
reach the last date on w hich the cycle was
com pleted. These 819-day references have
four d iffe re n t stations, each associated w ith
one o f the fou r card in al DIRECTIONS and its
associated COLOR.

Lords o f the N ig h t
M o st M esoam erican calendars included a
separate count o f the N in e Lords o f the N ig h t,
w ho ru le d over the n ig h ttim e hours. T h e
M a y a N in e Lords are know n as the " G "
series o f the Supplem entary Series. Some o f
the M a y a N in e Lords have been id e n tifie d
w ith specific gods: G 7, for exam ple, m ay w e ll
be the ja g u ar-p aw e d patron o f the m onth
Pax; G 9 is a PAUAHTUN. T h e M a y a Lords o f
the N ig h t ran continuously through the Long A Long Count date from Burial 48 at the Maya
C ount. Since the 360 days o f the M a y a tun site of Tikal, Guatemala. The date given -
are p erfe ctly d ivisib le by nine, every period reading from top to bottom - is 9.1.1.10.10 4 Oc,
ending d ate o f the Long C o un t o f a tun or or 9 baktuns, 1 katun, 1 tun, 10 uinals and 10
la rg e r included G 9. kins, with the day name 4 Oc at the bottom. In
modern terms this is 19 March AD 457.
T h e A ztec Lords o f the N ig h t w ere
inscribed in the d iv in ato ry ton a/am at/section
o f m any o f the C onquest-era m anuscripts
th a t survive - som etim es w ith notations in
E uropean script, w hich fa c ilita te th e ir id e n ti­
fication. A lthough th e re was some variatio n
depending on tim e and region, m any o f the
N in e Lords w e re standard, and the cycle
g en erally ran: x iu H T E C U H T L i, Itz tli or T ec p atl,
P iltzin te c u h tli, CINTEO TL, M IC TLA N TE C U H TH ,
C H A LC H IU H TLIC U E , TLAZOLTEOTL, T e p e yo llo tl,
and TLALO C. Each one o f these nine gods
p ro b ab ly h eld an association w ith one o f the
nine levels o f the UNDERWORLD. U n lik e the
M a y a series, the A ztec series d id not alw ays
run continuously and som etim es began anew
w ith each trecena.

Ards o/ the Day

Associated w ith the 13 levels o f the heavens,
13 birds served as patrons o f the daytim e
* hours. T h e y re p ea t in o rd er, fo llo w in g the
day num bers o f the trecena, or 13-day "w e e k " Glyph G of the Supplementary Series, referring
o f the Aztecs. Jonathan K en d all has recently to the nine Lords o f the MgAt, Late Classic
revised A lfonso Caso's identifications. Maya.
CAMAXTLI
54

A !though o fte n re fe rre d to as B irds o f the
D a y , these creatures a re m ore a p p ro p ria te ly
called vo latiles, since one is specifically a
BUTTERFLY. M o s t are creatures o f th e d a y tim e ,
b u t a t least tw o OWLS occur in th e series. T h e y
can be id e n tife d as the fo llo w in g , in English
and N a h u a tl, w ith possible zoological id e n ti-
Acations:
1. H u m m in g b ird , p ro b ab ly x iu h u itzilin
2. H u m m in g b ird , p ro b ab ly q u e tza lh u itzilin ,
C a /y p fe costae
3. D o ve, cocotli, 5carc/aie//a inca
4. Q u a il, tecuzolin, C yrto n yx m o n iezu m ae
5. R aven or Black H a w k -e a g le , possibly
itz tlh o tli
6. O w l, ch icu atli, 7 y fo aiba
w h a t the A ztecs considered a "g re a t c ycle,"
the Venus, 260 -d a y, and 3 65-d ay cycles a ll
lin e d up. Such n u m erical coincidences of
in te rlo c k in g cycles app ealed to M eso am eri-
can calen d ar keepers and fa c ilita te d calcu­
lations.
In both M ex ica n and M a y a records, Venus
w as recorded to ap p e ar fo r 236 days as the
m orning star, then to disappear fo r 90 days
d u rin g S uperior C o nju nctio n , re ap p ea r as the
evening star fo r 250 days, then b rie fly vanish
in to In fe rio r C o nju nctio n fo r 8 days befo re
re ap p ea rin g as the m o rn in g star. F o r reasons
im possible to reconstruct, these calculations
ignore the p a tte rn o f Venus th a t can be
observed by the naked eye: roughly equal

7. B u tte rfly , p ap alo tl periods o f 263 days fo r both m orning and

8. E agle, cu au h tli, A q u /ia cArysaetos evening star, d iv id ed by disappearances o f
9. T u rk e y , toto lin , M e/ea^ g risg a//o p avo 50 and 8 days.
10 G re a t H o rn ed O w l, tecolotl, B ubo vngn?- Because o f the extrem e m alevo lence associ­

ianns ated w ith Venus, its d ra m a tic m ovem ents

11. Scarlet M ac aw , chiconcuetzali, A ra o ften assured b a le fu l events, p a rtic u la rly w a r­
macao fare . In the Venus c ale n d ar, special a tte n tio n
12. Q u e tza l, q u etzalto to tl, Pbarom acbrus was given to the risings o f the m orning and
m ocinno evening star im m e d ia te ly fo llo w in g conjunc­
13. P arro t, toznene, A m azona orairúr tion, as w e ll as to points o f m axim um b rig h t­
ness, m axim um elongation, and to station ary
Lords o f tbe D a y points.
T h irte e n Lords o f the D ay accom panied each
day o f the trecena, rep eatin g anew and in C am a xtli s e e M ix c o A T L

o rder for each trecena. A ccording to m ost

A ztec sources, these gods ran as follow s: cannibalism In re ce n t years, the subject o f
1. X iu h te cu h tli M esoam erican cannibalism has been h o tly
2. T la lte c u h tli d ebated. Some scholars have suggested th a t
3. C h alchiuhtlicue cannibalism d id not occur; others have argued
4. T o n atiu h th a t hum an Aesh form ed an essential com pon­
5. T la zo lte o tl e n t o f the A ztec d ie t. I t is u n lik e ly th a t e ith e r
6. M ic tla n te c u h tli assertion is tru e . R eports o f cannibalism a re
7. C in te o tl not sim ply a product o f E u ro p ean bias or
8. T lalo c propaganda fo r th e re is a b u n d an t evidence
9. Q uetzalcoatl o f cannibalism in e arly C o lo n ial n a tiv e docu­
10. Tezcatlipoca m ents. H o w e v e r, the e atin g o f hum an Aesh
11. C halm ecatecuhtli, a god o f sacrifice was n e ith e r com m on n o r casual; it was a
12. T lah u izcalp an tecu h tli religious act im bued w ith sacred signiAcance.
13. C itlalin cu e , goddess o f the heavens P robably o f considerable a n tiq u ity in
M eso am erica, cannibalism is suggested by
Penns cycie fra c tu re d hum an bone in E a rly F o rm a tiv e
Throughout M esoam erica, VENUS was the household refuse deposits a t th e O lm ec site
m ost keenly observed p lan et, and its cycle o f o f San L orenzo. H o w e v e r, the best docum ent­
$84 days was c arefu lly charted and inscribed atio n o f cannibalism p ertain s to the L a te
alongside other calendrical reckonings. Postclassic p erio d . A m ong the Tarascans o f
A lthough the synodic period o f the p la n et M ich o acán , the bodies o f hum an victim s w e re
varies from 580 to 587 days, any Eve cycles d ivid ed am ong the c h ie f PRIESTS, w ho, a fte r
average out to 584 days fo r a to ta l o f 2920 offerin g th e Aesh to the gods, w ould consume
days, also the m u ltip le o f 8 x 365. W h en the rem ains. A ccording to D ie g o de Landa
considered in term s o f tw o 5 2-ye ar cycles, or and o th er C o lo n ial sources, th e Yucatec M a y a
55 CAPTIVES

also considered the Hesh o f HUMAN SACRIFICE

to be sacred food. T h e hoiy q u a lity o f hum an
Hesh is most fu lly docum ented fo r th e Aztecs.
They com m only offered - as food fo r the
gods - hum an HEARTS, Hesh, and BLOOD. Thus,
believing the Spanish to be gods, the Aztecs
in itia lly presented them w ith food soaked in
hum an blood. B u t although hum an Hesh was
used to sustain the gods, it also served as a
vehicle for consum ing d iv in ity , th at is, as a
form o f com m union. Thus DEITY IMPERSONATION
was a freq u e n t com ponent o f A ztec sacriHcia!
rites. W h en the victim em bodied the d eity ,
then one partook o f the d ivin e being through
the consum ption o f hum an Hesh.
Cannibalism: the cooking and consumption of
canoe T h e dugout canoe was the most com ­ human Hesh, Florentine Codex, Book 4, 16th c.
mon form o f boat in ancient M esoam erica Central Mexico.
and was used by long-distance seafarers as
w e ll as by m ore conventional travelers on
lakes and rivers. N e ith e r sails nor oarlocks
w e re know n in the Precolum bian w o rld;
skilled paddlers p ro p elled the c ra ft. C h ris­
topher C olum bus, on his fo u rth and Hnal
voyage in 1502, encountered a huge M a y a
canoe o ff the coast o f H onduras, "as long as
a g alley and eig h t fe e t w id e ," m anned by at
least tw o dozen crew , a cap tain , and assorted
w om en and ch ild ren , and w ith some sort o f
cabin am idships. A trad in g vessel, this canoe
carried cotton m antles, w eapons, m etalw o rk,
p o ttery, and CACAO. M esoam erican canoes are
A rain god (Chac) paddling a canoe
usually show n, h o w ever, as m uch sm aller
containing the headdress and merchant
c ra ft, w ith gunw hales near the w a te r. In a rt bundle of God L, Dresden Codex,
and WRITING, M a y a canoes som etim es bear p. 43, Postclassic Maya.
the glyph for w ood, to indicate w h a t m a te ria l
they w e re m ade of.
In M a y a iconography, canoes carry the
dead through the precarious passage from
the w o rld o f the livin g to the w o rld o f the
dead. L ik e th e ir hum an counterparts, gods
also tra v e l by canoe. T h e CHACS (ra in gods)
Bsh from canoes, and the PADDLER CODS escort
characters in to the UNDERWORLD. In the M ixte e
codices, M ix te e kings fre q u e n tly jo u rn ey
by canoe. G iven the broad, slow -
m oving w aterw ays th a t cut across the O lm ec
region o f the G u lf Coast, canoes w ere prob­
ably o f g re at signiHcance to th a t e a rly c iv iliz­
atio n , and a num ber o f m in iatu re canoes
carved o f translucent b lu e-g reen JADE have Bas-relief of a
been recovered from O lm ec Ends. captive
("Danzante") at
Monte Albán,
captives In M esoam erican com bat, w arrio rs Oaxaca, Middle
sought not to k ill opponents b u t to take Formative
captives a liv e on the Held fo r subsequent period.
CARDINAL POINTS
SACRIFICE or slavery. A ltho u g h m any captives
w e re slain shortly a fte r c ap tu re, others m ay
have been kep t fo r years. A cap tive king - o f
w hich th e re w e re m any am ong the M a y a -
w ould have m ade an id e al hostage and could
have ensured larg e trib u te paym ents. A m ong
the A ztecs, and perhaps am ong th e ir p re d e ­
cessors, captives w e re som etim es engaged to
p!ay g la d ia to ria l gam es, in w hich th e y p layed
w ith handicaps in o rd er to be d efe ated (see
T E M A L A C A T L ).
P rio r to A C C E S S IO N , kings needed to take
captives to dem onstrate th e ir prowess in
b a ttle , and some captives w ould be slain a t
the in au gu ratio n its e lf. A ccording to D u ra n ,
captives w ere offered and slain at e very m ajo r
festival o f the ag ricu ltu ra l cycle.
T h e O lm ecs m ade the e arlies t depictions
o f captives and they a re shown bound by
ropes on the sides o f altars or thrones a t
L a V en ta. A t M o n te A lb án , Zapotee lords
proclaim ed th e ir victories in the first m ille n ­
nium BC w ith a series o f carved slabs w hich
are m isnam ed ' D a n za n te s /* or "dancers'*
(see DANCE), but w hich actu ally d ep ict h u m ili­
ated captives, some w ith th e ir g e n ita lia cut
aw ay.
C aptives appear trodden under the fe e t on
some o f the earliest M a y a m onum ents, a
trad itio n th a t continued d u rin g the L a te
Classic, w hen they a re also freq u e n tly re p ­
resented on both treads and risers o f stairs,
w h ere th e ir depictions w ould be rep eated ly
stepped on. M a y a captives usually display
signs o f h u m iliatio n ; they are often naked,
som etim es w ith exposed and exaggerated
g en ita lia , and they b ear nam e glyphs on th e ir
bodies. C aptives, as w e ll as lords p erfo rm ing
A U T O S A C R IF IC E , donned strips o f PAPER or shred­
ded and punched cloth. As recorded in a rt,
they m ake gestures o f abject obeisance,
touching broken parasols to the earth , placing
hands on the forehead or in the m outh, or
crossing one arm across th e body to the
opposite shoulder.
A m ong the Aztecs and M ixtees, captives in
p rep aratio n for sacrifice b ear paper banners;
others w e ar tufts o f dow n on th e ir heads.
T h e Aztecs p ainted other captives in the red
candy-cane striping o f the god M ix c o A T L .
card in al points F e e D IR E C T IO N S
cargo In m any regions o f contem porary
M esoam erica, a ritu a l system know n as the
cargo defines the m eans o f p artic ip a tin g in
56
the c iv il and religious responsibilities o f the
com m unity. Q u ite o fte n , the in d iv id u a l pro*
vides both econom ic support and com m unity
service in th e form o f w o rk tasks and ritu a l
observances, in positions o f ro tatin g a u th o rity
fre q u e n tly h eld one y e a r at a tim e.
A ltho u g h th e n a tiv e and Spanish origins of
m odern M eso am erican cargo systems a re still
a source o f som e d e b a te , th e concept o f pu b lic
ofhee as a b u rd en or "ca rg o " is o f g re at
a n tiq u ity in M eso am erica. A m ong the T aras -
cans o f M ich o a cá n , one typ e o f n a tiv e p riest,
the C u ritie c h a , w as said to c a rry the burden
o f the p eo p le upon his back. In the ritu a l
address a t the A CC ESSIO N o f the A ztec king, or
A uey T L A T O A N i, th e office o f ru lersh ip was
described as a b u rd en to be passed from one
king to ano th er. T h is id ea o f ru le rsh ip as a
b u rd en m ay be also seen in both O lm ec and
M a y a representations o f a tla n te a n figures
supporting thrones. A m ong the L a te Post­
classic Yucatec M a y a the concept o f p u b lic
office as a b u rd en w as d e fin ite ly present.
H e re it was know n as cucA, th e Yucatec
M a y a n w ord fo r b u rd en . In L a te Postclassic
Y ucatán, w e a lth y com m oners, ra th e r than
nobles, served in the office o f aA cucA caA, o r
" b e a re r o f the c o m m u n ity ." A ccording to one
16th c. Spanish source, the aA cucA caA
oversaw the p aym en t o f trib u te and organized
his tow n w a rd fo r w a r and p u b lic cerem onies.
C auac M o n s te r F e e M O U N T A IN S
caves In tra d itio n a l M eso am erica, caves a re
g en e rally regarded w ith a c e rtain degree o f
am bivalence. Sources o f fe rtility and riches,
they also open in to th e U N D E R W O R L D and the
d ark, unw holesom e w o rld o f the dead. In
L a te Postclassic C e n tra l M e x ic a n a rt, open-
m outhed SERPENTS rep resen ted caves, as if
the convoluted passageways constituted the
entrails o f the snake.
C ave w orship extends back to a t least
O lm ec tim es. O lm ec thrones com m only d ep ict
in d ivid u als em erging out o f c ircu lar niches
th a t p ro b ab ly rep resen t caves. A t O x to titla n ,
Juxtlahuaca, and o th e r caves o f h ighland
G u e rrero , paintings in p u re O lm ec style adorn
entrances and w alls deep w ith in , strongly
suggesting th a t these isolated caves w ere
im p o rta n t PILGRIMAGE sites. T h e q u a tre fo il
fre q u e n tly sym bolized the cave in O lm ec a rt.
Rock carvings a t C halcatzingo d ep ict the
q u a tre fo il in p ro file and ezi face as a m onstrous
face sprouting M A IZ E foliage.
57 CELESTIAL BIRD

T h e ritu a l use o f caves was com m on d u rin g

the Classic p eriod. Excavations in 1971
revealed th a t a q u a tre fo il cave lies d ire ctly
underneath the massive P yram id o f the Sun
at TEOTiHUACAN. M u c h lik e the la te r C H i c o M O Z -
Toc o f L a te Postclassic C e n tra l M exico , this
cave m ay have represented a place o f em erg­
ence. C ave sites are w idespread in the karstic
terra in o f the M a y a low lands. T h e cave o f
N a j T u n ich , G u atem ala, contains L a te Classic
paintings and h ieroglyphic texts o f excep­
tio n al reB nem ent and beauty.

ceiba Sacred to the M a y a , the ceiba tree was

freq u e n tly recognized as a liv in g axis m undi
th a t p en e trated the navel o f the EARTH, reach­
ing from the UNDERWORLD to the heavens. T h e
M a y a called th e ceiba yaxcAé, m eaning Erst
or green tree . I t is lik e ly th a t one w ould
have been found a t the cen ter o f m ost p re -
C onquest cities or villages, b u t ceibas m ay
also have been found a t the outskirts, one to
m ark each o f the fou r card in al DIRECTIONS.
Young ceiba trees are spiny, and some
spiked M a y a braziers m ay have been form ed
in th e ir im age. T h e fu lly grow n ceiba shoots
up ta ll and straig h t, w ith fe w or no branches
u n til the le v e l o f ra in forest canopy. T h e re ,
the m ajor branches m ay be lim ite d to four, A captive incised on bone from Burial 116,
Temple 1, Tikal, Late Classic Maya. According
and thus the ceiba m ay also have served as
to the text, this individual was a captive from the
the m odel fo r the cross m o tif in Classic M a y a site of Calakmul.
a rt. T h e fo u r-p eta led Row er o f the ceiba m ay
play a role in M a y a iconography.
A t the tim e o f the Conquest, the Yucatec
M a y a believed th a t the ceiba tree shaded
the d iv in e paradise, offering refuge to those
fo rtu n ate enough to ascend th ere. A ccording
to some accounts, the ceiba was also the Rrst
tree o f the w o rld. A t Iza p a , in a depiction o f
w h a t is p ro b ab ly a creation story, the ceiba
arises fro m a CA IM A N .
As a m em ber o f the bom bax (Bom bacacae)
fa m ily , ceiba tre e pods hold kapok, or silk-
cotton, a Rber w ith lo w specific g ra vity and
com plete w a te r resistance th a t is now com ­
m only used to 611 life jackets.

celestial b ird C elestial birds are associated

w ith the card in al points in M esoam erican
re lig io n . O n the 6rst page o f the Codex
F é je rv á ry -M a y e r, celestial birds perch atop
each o f the fo u r trees associated w ith the
An Olmec representation of a cave, Middle
tfo u r DIRECTIONS. T h e Aztecs also assigned 13
Formative period. Probably from Chalcatzingo,
"v o la tile s ," o f w hich 12 a re birds and 1 is a Morelos, this relief possesses a quatrefoil mouth
BUTTERFLY, to the 13 num bers o f th e calen d rical that may have served as an entrance to an actual
TRECENA; because th e re a re 13, they m ay bear cave in its original context.
association w ith th e 13 levels o f the heavens,
giving them some celestial significance.
A m ong the M a y a , v u c u B C A Q u i x o f th e P O P O L
vuH is a celestial b ird , fo r he rose as a false
sun p rio r to the d aw n in g o f the e ra in w h ich
hum ans po p ulated the e a rth . T h e H e ro T w in s
shoot o u t his ja w w ith th e ir blow guns, causing
his dem ise. T h is Vucub C aq u ix o f the Q uiche
M a y a is the sam e celestial b ird id e n tifie d as
the PRINCIPAL BIRD DEITY in Classic and L a te
Preclassic a rt. A t P iedras N egras, the P rin c i­
p al B ird D e ity presides over the niche scenes
o f royal inaugurations; a t P alen qu e, it sits
atop cruciform im ages. T h e P rin cip a l B ird
D e ity som etim es w ears costum e elem ents o f
rrz A M N A , and m ay the re fo re be an aspect o f
th a t god.
celt A celt is a ground stone axe head. D u rin g
the E a rly and M id d le F o rm a tiv e eras, w hen
stone celts played an im p o rtan t role in O lm ec
ritu a l and b e lie f, ground and polished celts
o f fine ja d e ite w ere freq u e n tly placed in
caches. In m any instances, these ja d e ite celts
are incised w ith fine designs, and associated
iconography suggests th a t they m ay have
sym bolized ears o f M AIZE. A lthough this m ay
be p a rtly due to th e ir form and verd a n t color,
the association o f celts w ith a g ricu ltu re and
m aize m ay also d erive from th e ir use as axe
blades. D u rin g the F o rm ative p eriod, the
im portance o f m aize and farm in g g rew
explosively, and farm ers depended upon
ground stone axes for clearing forests for
plan tin g . A sim ilar situation p revailed in
N eo lith ic Europe, w h ere - du rin g the in itia l
period o f farm in g and forest clearing - ground
stone celts took on a significance fa r beyond
th a t o f sim ple tools. T h e m any celt represen­
tations in N eo lith ic a rt together w ith actual
exam ples in precious stone reveal th a t they
also w e re h eld in g reat reverence.
T h e Olm ecs deposited and b u ried vast
pavem ents o f celts a t L a V e n ta , p a rt o f a ritu a l
whose m eaning has never been d eterm in ed .
Im ages o f O lm ec deities, such as the WERE
JAGUAR o f the K unz A xe, w e re som etim es
form ed as celts them selves, and th e K unz
Axe d e ity clasps a celt in his hands.
T h e L a te Preclassic and Classic Zapotees
and M a y a also m ade and used celts. B oth
M a y a and Zapotee nobles w ore h ead-and-
c elt assemblages, typ ically w ith th ree thin
celts dangling from a large head ornam ent,
and exam ples have been found in M a y a and
Zapotee tombs.
C o n te m p o rary M esoam erican peoples
reg ard P rehispanic celts discovered in fields
as spent L i C H T N iN C . I t is unknow n w h e th e r
such a b e lie f was also p resent am ong the
an c ie n t O lm ecs.
cenote K n ow n by a w o rd corru pted fro m the
Y ucatec M a y a n c&onof, cenotes, or n atu ra l
sinkholes, a re th e p rin c ip a l sources o f w a te r
in the n o rth e rn low lands o f Y ucatán, w h ere
th e re a re n e ith e r rivers nor lakes. M a n y
cenotes served p rim a rily as sources o f fresh
w a te r, b u t others, m ost n o ta b ly the Sacred
C en o te a t C h ich en Itz á , w e re PILGRIMAGE
destinations and places fo r offerings. Some
cenotes occur d eep w ith in CAVES, such as
B alankanche, w h e re John L lo y d Stephens
and F re d e ric k C ath erw o o d v is ite d and docu­
m ented an a ctive p ra ctice o f w orship in the
1840s. M a n y cenotes th a t served as foci o f
w orship w e re d ed icated to th e CHACS, the
M a y a R A IN gods.
T h e Sacred C en o te a t C h ich en Itz á m ay
have been th e single m ost im p o rta n t d esti­
nation fo r p ilg rim s in p re -C o n q u e st Y ucatán.
As C lem en cy Coggins has suggested, the
g re at round surface o f W A T E R m ay have been
p erceived as a g ia n t M IR R O R fo r D iv iN A T iO N and
auguring. F o r generations, offerings w e re
h u rled in to the w a te r, in clu d in g JADES, gold
disks and hum ans. T h e re is no evidence th a t
virgins in p a rtic u la r w e re selected as cenote
offerings, b u t m uch o f the ske letal m a te ria l
recovered a t the C h ich en cenote was o f
p re-pubescent boys and girls. A ccording to
ethnohistorical accounts, some cenote victim s
a p p a re n tly flo ated up fro m the w e ll a liv e ,
w ith auguries g arnered u n d er w a te r.
In 1536, d u rin g a p erio d in w h ich the
Spanish w ith d re w from Y u catán , th e ru le r o f
the X iu fa m ily , A h D zu n X iu , sought to
appease th e M a y a gods by m aking a p ilg rim ­
age to th e Sacred C en o te a t C hichen Itz á .
H e and his entourage w e re g u aran teed safe
passage through Cocom te rrito ry , w h e re they
w o u ld need to pass en ro u te to C hichen.
R em em bering old grievances, h o w ever, the
Cocoms set upon th e ir visitors a t a celeb rato ry
ban q u et, slaughtering them a ll. N o offerings
w e re m ade to the cenote, c iv il w a r ensued,
and the Spanish re tu rn e d in 1540 to com plete
th e ir conquest o f Y ucatán.
cerem onial b a r C erem o n ial bars a re staffs
h eld by M a y a ru lers, g en erally across the
body in both arm s. T h e y w e re fre q u e n tly
59 CHAC

used on the occasions o f period en d in gs (s e e

CALENDAR). In its m ost con ven tion al form , a
cerem onial bar en d s in tw o op en SERPENT
m ouths, from w h ich e m erg e d eities, including
God K (se e scHELLHAS coDs), CHAC, th e Jaguar
God o f the U nderw orld (seejACUARCODs), and
God N, am ong others. T h e body o f th e bar
may b e com posed o f crossed ban ds, the M A T
m otif, a SKY BAND, BLOODLETTING knots, or other
motifs. T h e bar m ay w ell sym b olize th e SKY
itself, as if to sh ow that the ruler holds
the sky in his arms. T h e cerem on ial bar
sym bolizes the role th e M aya ruler plays in
supporting th e cosm os and nurturing the gods. The Kunz Axe, a
Found on the earliest d ated M a y a stela personified jadeite
celt, Middle
w ith archaeological context - T ik a l Stela 29
Formative Olmec,
w ith a date o f AD 292 - the cerem onial b ar originally owned by
persists as an em blem o f ru lersh ip and d ivin e the famed
sanction u n til the end o f Classic tim es. A gemologist Frederick
b lack-p ain ted M a y a lord in a b ird costum e Kunz. Weighing
bears one in the T e rm in a l Classic paintings over 15 lb (7 kg), it
is among the largest
a t C acaxtla, T laxcala. T h e cerem onial bar
carved jades known
m ay have evolved from O lm ec prototypes. for Mesoamerica.
E a rly M a y a depictions o f the cerem onial bar
are sinew y and snake-like, perhaps because
o f the hom ophony b etw een sky and snake in
M a y a n languages, w h ile la te r cerem onial
bars are depicted as rig id objects.

C hac T h e M a y a god o f RAIN and LIG H TN IN G ,

C hac is one o f the longest continuously w o r­
shipped gods o f ancient M esoam erica. F irs t
know n from the Protoclassic M a y a sites,
C hac continues to be w orshipped among
M a y a peoples to this day. Iza p a Stela 1
depicts C hac fishing w ith a n et and carrying
a creel upon his back; sim ilar scenes o f him
fishing are know n from the la te r Classic
period. D u rin g the Classic period, he m ay be
recognized by his catñsh-like w hiskers, b lu n t
re p tilia n snout, and body scales. In a dd itio n ,
he fre q u e n tly has a p ro m in en t bound shank
o f h a ir and a spondylus shell earpiece. T h e
Postclassic form o f C hac in M a y a codices
g en erally appears m ore hum an than his
Classic antecedent. W h ile this la te r Chac,
designated God B by Paul Schellhas, lacks
the serpentine body scales, his most striking
tra it is a long, pendulous nose w hich, although
grotesque, appears m ore hum an than rep ­
tilia n .
In Classic and Postclassic M a y a scenes,
*C h a c often w ields his lig h tn in g w eapons,
Protoclassic representations of Chac: a, Izapa
som etim es a h afted stone axe or a SERPENT, a Stela 1; b, Kaminaljuyú Stela 4; c, El Baúl Stela
w idespread m etaphor fo r lig h tn in g in 1; cf, carved stone vase; e, incised limestone
M esoam erica and the A m erican Southw est. disk; stucco sculpture, Uaxactún.
CHACMOOL
Flam es o r torches o fte n a llu d e to th e Sery
n atu re o f C h ac s lig h tn in g .
Because C hac presides o ver WATER and ra in
as w e ll as lig h tn in g , h e com m only appears
in stream s o f fa llin g w a te r o r w a te r-H lle d
CENOTES, and serves as a p atro n o f a g ric u ltu re .
C o lo n ial and contem porary M a y a m ythology
credits C hac w ith b reakin g open a g re a t
rock containing th e o rig in a l life -g iv in g M A IZ E .
Scenes in m onum ental a rt and p o tte ry re ve al
th a t this m yth w as present am ong th e Classic
M a y a over 1000 years ago. 5 ee a/so cocijo;
S C H E L LH A S C O D S ; TLAJLOC.
chacm ool A term coined by th e 19th c.
explorer Augustus L e Plongeon, cAacmooV
lite ra lly m eans red or g re at ja g u a r p a w in
Yucatec M a y a n , b u t L e Plongeon used the
w ord to describe the th ree-d im en sio nal,
reclining figures found atop the T E M P L E S a t
C hichen Itz á . C h ara cteristic ally, the head o f
a cAacm oo/ is turned 90 degrees fro m the
fro n t o f the body, and the figure supports
h im self on his elbow s. T h e bowls or disks
held on the chests o f cAacmoo/s w e re recep­
tacles fo r offerings; in one A ztec exam ple,
the vessel held by the reclin in g figure is
specifically a C U A U H X IC A L U , or receptacle fo r
the HEARTS o f sacrificial victim s. CAacmoo/s
m ay sym bolize fa lle n w arriors w ho d e liv e r
offerings to the gods.
K now n from T e rm in a l Classic tim es on
through the Spanish Conquest, cAaemooTs
have been found across M esoam erica, fro m
E l Salvador to M ichoacán, although m ost o f
the know n exam ples come from C hichen Itz á
or T u la . M a n y w e re set in association w ith
TH R O N E S or sacrificial stones.
C halchiuhtlicue or She o f the Jade S kirt is
the C e n tra l M exican goddess o f lakes and
stream s. Patron o f the day Serpent, she also
presides over the TRECENA o f 1 Reed. In the
N a h u a tl m yth o f the F IV E SUNS, she is the
reg en t o f N ah u i A tl, or 4 W a te r, the previous
w o rld destroyed by Hooding. T h e w a te ry
n atu re o f the hum an w om b thus ensures th a t
C h alchiuhtlicue plays an im p o rtan t p a rt in
C e n tra l M exican b irth cerem onies, p artic u ­
la rly B A P T IS M . In codical representations o f
C h alch iu h tlicu e, a p a ir o f m ale and fem ale
infants m ay be seen in a stream issuing
from the goddess. Q u ite clearly, these scenes
illu s tra te C h alch iu h tlicu e as a goddess o f
B IR T H . In the codices, C h alch iu h tlicu e usually
w ears a JADE ornam ented skirt. A n especially
im p o rta n t a ttrib u te is th e p a ir o f one o r tw o
short H a c k lines ru n n in g v e rtic a lly dow n h er
lo w e r cheeks. ábe aVso W A TER.
C hicom ecoatl In h ig h lan d M e x ic o , both gods
and hum ans com m only took nam es d erived
fro m the 2 60 -d a y CALENDAR. T h e nam e C h ic­
o m ecoatl, or 7 S erp en t, is an exam ple o f such
a c ale n d rica l nam e. C hicom ecoatl is an A ztec
goddess o f food and produce, especially M A IZ E .
In A zte c a rt, she appears w ith a ttrib u te s o f
C H A L C H IU H T L IC U E , in c lu d in g th e short, v e rtic a l
fa c ia l lines and headdress. H o w e v e r, she can
u su ally be distinguished b y ears o f m aize
c arried e ith e r in h e r hands or on h e r back.
C hicom oztoc L ite ra lly " th e seven caves,"
this w as a legendary m ountain p erfo rated by
a single cave or by seven caves, and was
considered a sacred p lace by the A ztecs
and m ost o th e r N ah u a tl-s p e ak in g people o f
C e n tra ! M ex ico a t th e tim e o f th e C onquest.
F o r m any groups, C hicom oztoc w as th e place
o f o rig in fro m w h ich m an kin d em erg ed ; the
Aztecs b eliev ed th a t th e y had sojourned th e re
some tim e a fte r th e ir in itia l d e p a rtu re fro m
the leg en d ary A2TLA N. In th e m id -1 5 th c.,
M otecu h zo m a I sent 60 w ise m en to seek out
C hicom oztoc, to le a rn m ore a bo u t M o te -
cuhzom a's ancestors, and to Hnd o u t if the
m o ther o f H u iT z iL O P O C H T L i w as s till a liv e .
A t the tim e o f th e C onquest, m ost M a y a
peoples o f h ig h lan d G u a te m a la also recog­
nized a u th o rity issued by a p lace th a t the
Q uiché called T u la n Z u yu a , or "seven caves."
In the P O P O L v u H the trib a l lineag e heads
jo u rn e y to T u la n Z u yu a to receive th e ir gods;
T O H i L , fo r exam ple, w as loaded in to the pack
o f B alam Q u itze to be carried back hom e.
In 1971, d u rin g excavations to in s ta ll sound
and lig h tin g eq u ip m en t a t T E O T iH U A C A N , a C A V E
was found u n d er th e P y ra m id o f the Sun.
T h e cave featu res several sm all cham bers,
alm ost in a c lo v e r-le a f a rran g em en t, sim ilar
to the ra d ia tin g caves d ep icted in the p ictu re
o f Chicom oztoc in th e H is to ria To/feca-C A icA -
im eca, and w as used as a re tre a t fo r ritu a l.
Caves have been found a t o th e r an cien t sites,
and a num ber m ay have been reg ard ed a t
one tim e as a Chicom oztoc.
chocolate s e e CACAO
C ihuacoat! L ite ra lly "w om an-snake," C ih u a-
coatl is one o f a num ber o f re la te d m other and
E A R T H goddesses w orshipped in Postclassic
 61 CIHUATETEO
C entra! M exico. C ih u aco ati overlaps w ith Chacmool, Tula,
Teteoinnan, T o c i, TLAZOLTEOTL, and perhaps Early Postclassic period.
most closely, iL A M A T E c u H T L i. She is one o f the
goddesses o f m id w ife ry , and through th a t
association, o f the swEATBATH as weH. She
freq u ently has a w a rlik e aspect and m ay
bear spears and a shield. M id w iv e s exhorted
wom en to call out to h e r in c h ild b irth and to
be as w arriors in the v io le n t expelling o f the
child from the w om b. A lthough fre q u e n tly
depicted as a skeletal hag, she can also
overlap w ith x o c H iQ U E T Z A L , a young and
b ea u tifu l goddess.
In the addresses o f m id w ives, C ihuacoati
is alw ays paired w ith Q u ila z tli. According to
the song o f C ih u aco ati in Sahagun, she was
the p ro tecto r o f the C halm eca and the patron
o f C ulhuacan.
CTbuacoat/ w as also the title borne by
a secondary ru le r in the A ztec c ap ital o f
T en o c h titla n . U n lik e the g re at TLA TO ANi, or
speaker, the cihuacoaf/ handled in te rn a l
affairs in the city. In the 15th c., T la ca ele l
served as cfhuacoaf/ u nder fou r sequential
foams: M otecuhzom a the E ld e r, A xa-
yacatl, T izo c, and A h u itzo tl; he com m anded
the arm y, d irected SACRIFICES, and served as
senior counselor to the suprem e ru le r. In the
title crhuacoaf/ w e Rnd em bodied the very Chicomoztoc, the seven caves of emergence,
n atu re o f d u a lity th a t pervades the A ztec Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca, 16th c. Centra!
Mexico.
w o rld -v ie w : m ale versus fem ale and in tern a l
versus external.

C ih u atete o T h e Aztecs b elieved th a t tw o

groups o f supernaturals accom panied the SUN
on its passage from east to w est. In the east,
souls o f w arrio rs w ho died in com bat exhorted
and accom panied the sun as it rose to m idday
ze n ith . In the corresponding w estern sky (th e
place o f solar descent) w ere the C ih u ateteo,
or W om en Gods. T h e C ih u ateteo w e re fem ale
w arrio rs, the m ocm agueízgue, w om en w ho
died in c h ild b irth . T h e Aztecs likened the act
o f BIRTH to th a t o f obtaining a CAPTIVE in w a r,
w om en w ho d ied in the a tte m p t w e re v a lia n t
w arrio rs slain in b a ttle . A ztec w arrio rs fought
vigorously over the bodily rem ains o f m ocjua-
quefzgue, w hich w e re kep t as talism ans to
ensure b ra ve ry and success in b a ttle . N o
b enevolent m others, the C ih u ateteo w reaked
havoc, and it was b elieved th a t they haunted
^ CROSSROADS a t NiCHT to steal child ren and to
cause seizures and insanity. In ad d itio n , these
nig h t dem ons could seduce m en and cause
them to com m it a d u lte ry and other sexual
transgressions.
CINNABAR AND HEMATITE
P rob ab le form s o f the C ih u a te te o ap p e ar
in the B orgia and V aticanus B codices, corres­
ponding to the days 1 M a z a tl, 1 Q u ia h u itl, 1
O zo m a tli, 1 C a lli, and I C u a u h tli. As w e ll as
being the days on w hich th e five w estern
TRECENAS begin, these om inous days m arked
the descent o f the C ih u a te te o dem ons to the
e a rth . A group o f A ztec stone sculptures o f
kneeling w om en w ith s keletalized faces and
talo n ed hands have also been id e n tifie d as
C ih u atete o . L ik e the w om en illu s tra te d in
the B orgia and Vaticanus B passages, these
figures are also la b ele d w ith the days nam ing
the five w estern irecenas.
cinnabar and h em atite C in n ab ar and hem a­
tite are n atu rally occurring m in eral ores. T h e y
are both a b rillia n t, lasting red color and w e re
app lied to ritu a l objects throughout ancien t
M esoam erica.
H e m a tite , or iron ore, occurs in diverse
geological configurations of sedim entary
rocks; its most desirable form was "sp ec u la r,"
a sparkling, crystalline h em atite form ed by
masses o f com pact p latelets. I t was often
m ixed w ith w h ite stucco to m ake red stucco
p ain t, w ith w hich, for exam ple, the tem ples
and palaces o f P alenque w ere p ain ted . T h in
plates o f crystalline h em atite could also be
assem bled to form MIRRORS and mosaics.
C in n ab a r, a red m ercuric su!6de and the
ore from w hich m ercury (H g ) is extracted, is
m ined today in northern M exico. In geological
term s, how ever, it occurs in any volcanic
environm ent, and so m ay have been ava ila b le
a t a num ber o f sites in M exico and G u a te ­
m ala. I t is a soft red ore also know n as "n a tive
v e rm ilio n ," and som etim es yields m ercury
n atu ra lly . G e n era lly , though, in ord er to pro­
duce m ercury, the ore m ust be h eated and
the fum es then condensed. A t C opan, K am i-
n alju yu , and sites in B elize, liq u id m ercury
has been recovered archaeologically. M o re
typ ically, h ow ever, the ore its e lf was used.
F ro m O lm ec tim es onw ard, cinnabar was
rubbed in to ritu a l objects. T h e skeletal
rem ains o f m any M a y a royal burials reveal
th a t the bodies w e re lib e ra lly coated w ith
cinnabar a fte r D E A T H .
C in te o tl Also know n as C enteotl, this d eity is
the m asculine C e n tra l M exican god o f M A IZ E ,
em f/i (Z e a m ays). According to the F lo re n tin e
Codex, C in te o tl is the son o f the aged earth
goddess Toci, O u r G ran d m o th er. In the codi­
ces, he is p o rtrayed as a young m an w ith
eg
y e llo w body colo ratio n . A long w ith the fre ­
q u e n t presence o f m aize in his headdress,
one o f his m ost characteristic traits is the
jogged b lack lin e passing dow n the brow ,
across th e cheek, and then dow n again to the
base o f the ja w . P recisely the sam e fac ial
m arkin g com m only appears w ith the L a te
Postclassic M a y a M A IZ E C O D .
cloth C lo th had in trin s ic valu e in ancient
M eso am erica, and m any aspects o f its m an ­
u fa c tu re and use had p a rtic u la r religious
associations. A m ong the N ah u a tl-s p e ak in g
peoples o f C e n tra l M e x ic o , TLAZO LTEO TL and
x o c H iQ U E T Z A L w e re patrons o f w eavers, and
in survivin g depictions, T la zo lte o tl fre q u e n tly
w ears spools o f spun cotton in h e r h a ir. In
the VEMTENA o f O c h p a n iztli, the im personator
of TO C! w as forced to w e av e as p a rt o f the
ritu a l sacrifice.
In one A zte c h ym n, X o c h iq u etzal is said to
com e fro m TAM O A N CH AN , a leg en d ary place
th a t m ay lie in the rich tro p ical G u lf C oast
or M a y a region. O n e o f T la zo lte o tl's nam es
is Ix cu in a , a H u astec nam e fro m the G u lf
C oast. Since m uch P reh isp an ic C O T T O N w as
c u ltiv a te d along th e G u lf C oast, these patrons
o f w eavin g m ay have been coastal goddesses
b efo re they w e re in co rp o rated in to th e A ztec
pantheon. A m ong the M a y a , the old goddess
nam ed as C hac C h e l in th e D resd en C odex
is also a p atro n o f w eavers.
U nspun cotton was m ade in to th rea d by
seated w om en w ho p u lle d dow n th e fibers
resting on th e ir heads or h eld loose on th e ir
shoulders, g ivin g them a tw is t w ith one hand
and then p u llin g o u t th e th re a d w ith the
other. O nce spun, cotton th rea d - o r occasion­
a lly MACUEY fib e r - was w oven on backstrap
looms in to long strips o f cloth, fre q u e n tly w ith
elab o rate designs, some o f w h ich can be
seen in the B onam pak m urals o r the Codex
M ag liab ech ian o . H an d -lo o m ed cloth was
alm ost never cut, b u t in scenes o f M a y a
SACRIFICE and in depictions o f CAPTIVES, rip p ed ,
shredded, or punched-out clo th is som etim es
depicted as a visual m etap h or o f the c uttin g
and b leed in g d u rin g sacrifice.
Because the n ativ e cotton p la n t (Co&sy-
p iu m h irsu ftn n ) o f M eso am erica w ill not grow
a t the high a ltitu d e o f th e V a lle y o f M exico,
the Aztecs dem anded cotton clo th fro m m ost
o f the 371 tow ns th a t p aid them trib u te ;
according to the Codex M e n d o za , it was the
single m ost im p o rta n t ite m o f trib u te . C otton
m antles functioned as a m eans o f com mon
63 COATEPANTLI

exchange in a society w ith o u t coinage.

Sahagun said th a t one large m an tle equaled
the value o f one canoe; 30 larg e cotton
m antles equaled a slave, and 40 w e re w o rth
a slave who could sing and dance! .See a/so
COSTUME.

Cloud Serpent see MexcoATL

clowns R itu a l clowns are w id e ly know n in

both C o lo n ial and contem porary M eso am er-
ica. L ik e the m odern Pueblo clowns o f the
A m erican Southw est, these perform ers pro­
vide both e n te rta in m e n t and b itin g social
com m entary. T h e fo llo w in g is a Spanish
description o f the e a rly C olonial Yucatec
clowns know n as ba/dzam : ' T h e y are clever
in th e ir m ottoes and jokes, th a t they say to
th e ir m ayor and judges: if they are too rigor­
Cinteotl, the Central Mexican god of maize,
ous, am bitious, or greedy, they po rtray the
Codex Borgia, p. 14, Late Postclassic period.
events th a t occurred and even w h a t concerns
the ofhcial's ow n duties, these are said in
fro n t o f h im , and at tim es w ith a single w o rd /*
B ut along w ith being am using social com­
m entators, the n ative ritu a l clowns tend to
be endow ed w ith considerable supernatural
pow er. D u rin g th e ir perform ances, the
clowns a re freq u e n tly b elieved to become
p a rtic u la r gods, dem ons, and other super­
n atu ra l e ntities. In a dd itio n , through role
reversal and inversion, they often seem to
em body the chaotic tim eless powers from
before creation. In M esoam erica, sacred
clowns com m only appear a t critica l junctures
du rin g rites o f passage, such as ACCESSION to
ofhce, or new year celebrations and other
calendrical events.
R itu a l clowns a re com m only depicted in
Classic M a y a a rt. R ath er than appearing
in m onum ental sculpture, they are usually
ren dered on sm all p o rtab le objects, such as
Hgurines or vases. T h e y tend to be aged
and grotesquely ugly characters, often w ith
a nim al attrib u te s . In a dd itio n , they often
app ear dancing w ith FANS and rattles - signs
A Late Classic Maya clown with dancing fan and
o f perform ers. S till e a rlie r ritu a l clowns
rattlh, detail from a Maya vase.
app ear in the ceram ic a rt o f C olim a. D a tin g
to the Protoclassic period (100 B C -A D 300),
these W est M exican sculptures p o rtray
rotund ith y p h a llic characters, anim al-m asked
dancers, and o th er probable clowns. .See a/so
FAT GOD.

co atep an tli T h e coafepanfA was a com m on

a rch itectu ral fe a tu re o f L a te Postclassic C en ­
tra! M exico. A w a ll o f SERPENTS, the coafepanfb
COATEPEC
was used to dem arcate sacred enc!osures
w ith in a cerem onia! precinct. A t T e n o c h tit-
!an, such a serpent w a ll fram e d p a rt o f the
T em p !o M a y o r, and some o f th e m onum enta!
xiUHCOATL serpent heads discovered th e re
w e re probab!y parts o f coafepaniZ/ w alls. A n
in tac t coatepantZi o f X iu h co atl serpents can
be seen surrounding a tw in p yram id a t the
site o f T en ayu ca.
T h e c o a fe p a n fi/is not know n a t the Classic
site o f TEOTiHUACAN, and m ay have been first
devised a t the E a r!y Postclassic site o f T u la ,
H id alg o (see T O L L A N ), w h ere a c o a fe p a n t//
Hanks P yram id B , one o f the m ajor structures.
T h e w a ll o f this c o afep an t/i displays p a rtly
skeletalized hum an Hgures being devoured
by rattlesnakes. T h e serpents have Barnes
em anating from th e ir bodies and it is p ro b ab le
th a t they are fire serpents, th a t is, form s o f
the X iuhcoatl.
C oatcpec or Serpent M o u n tain was one o f
the m ore im p o rtan t places o f A ztec m yth o l­
ogy. This sacred MOUNTAIN constituted the
b irth p lace o f n u rrziL O P O C H T L i, and it was th ere
that the n ew ly born god defeated
coYOLXAUHQm and h er 400 brothers, the
C entzon H u itzn a h u a. A lthough the actual
Coa tepee m ountain is located close to the
T o ltec site o f T u la , H id alg o (see T O LLA N ), this
sacred place was rep licated in the h e a rt o f
the A ztec cap ital o f T en o c h titla n , w h ere it
was long thought by archaeologists th a t the
H u itzilo p o ch tli side o f the g reat dual T em p lo
M a y o r represented M o u n t Coatepec. S triking
physical corroboration o f this b e lie f occurred
in 1978 w ith the discovery o f the dism em b­
ered Coyolxauhqui sculpture a t the base
o f the H u itzilo p o ch tli tem ple stairw ay. This
sculpture corresponds p erfe ctly to the A ztec
m yth w hich describes the severed rem ains o f
Coyolxauhqui tum bling to the base o f M o u n t
C oatepec.
C oatlicue According to A ztec b e lie f, the
m o ther o f H u rrziL O P O C H T L i was C oatlicue, She
o f the Serpent S kirt. In A ztec accounts, C o at­
licue was m iraculously im pregnated w ith a
b a ll o f dow n w h ile sw eeping a t COATEPEC.
H e r child ren , COYOLXAUHQUI and the C entzon
H u itzn a h u a, w e re furious a t h er condition
and decided to k ill h er. A t the m om ent o f h er
DEATH, C oatlicue gave BIRTH to the fu lly arm ed
H u itzilo p o c h tli, w ho then d efeated and slew
C oyolxauhqui and the C entzon H u itzn a h u a.
According to a 16th c. account by D iego
(W
D u rá n , the Aztecs p erfo rm ed a festival in
honor o f C o atlic u e a t C oatepec.
D ep ictio n s o f C o atlic u e a re fa irly ra re in
A ztec a rt. T h e m ost fam ous rep resen tatio n ,
and one o f th e m ost p o w e rfu l A ztec sculp­
tures, is the colossal figure discovered in 1790
alongside th e cath ed ra! o f M exico . Standing
on huge taloned fe e t, C o atlic u e w ears a dress
o f w oven rattlesnakes. H e r pendulous breasts
a re p a rtia lly obscured b eh ind a grisly neck­
lace o f severed HEARTS and hands. W rith in g
coral snakes ap p e ar in place o f h e r head and
hands, d en o tin g gouts o f BLOOD gushing from
h er severed th ro a t and w rists. T h e tw o g re at
snakes em erg in g fro m h e r neck face one
a n o th er, c rea tin g a face o f liv in g blood. A
m onum ent o f cosmic te rro r, C o atlic u e stands
vio late d and m u tila te d , h e r w ounds m u tely
dem an d in g revenge against h er enem ies.
A ltho u g h a stupendous m o num ent, this
C o atlicu e scu lp tu re is n o t u n iq u e; tw o very
s im ila r b u t p o o rly p reserved exam ples have
also been discovered in M exico C ity .
C ocijo In Z ap o tee, th e term cocyo signifies
both L iC H T N iN C and the god o f lig h tn in g and
RAIN. T h e god C ocijo is com m only found
on Zapotee ceram ic urns fro m the M id d le
F o rm a tiv e p erio d o f M o n te A lb á n i to the
end o f the L a te C lassic p erio d . L ik e the
Classic M a y a C H AC , C ocijo usually has a
zoom orphic face w ith a th ick , b lu n t snout.
O n e o f his oldest and m ost consistent charac­
teristics is his long b ifu rc a te d serp entin e
tongue. A lth o u g h not occurring w ith the
M a y a ra in god C hac, s im ila r tongues are
found w ith ja g u a r form s o f the ra in god TLALOC
a t Classic perio d TEOTiH U A C A N .
Q u ite fre q u e n tly , C ocijo appears w ith a
p a rtic u la r sign - Zap o tee G ly p h C - in his
headdress. In the Postclassic M ix te e codices,
a s im ila r g lyph serves as a sign fo r th e day
nam e W a te r. I t is p ro b ab le, th e re fo re , th a t
Z apotee G lyp h C represents th e day nam e
W a te r, an a p p ro p riate em b lem fo r the god
o f ra in and lig h tn in g .
T h e Postclassic Zapotees term e d the fo u r
65-day divisions o f the 260-d ay calen d ar
"C o cijo s," suggesting th a t th e re w e re fou r
Cocijos o rie n te d to th e w o rld DIRECTIONS.
BLOODLETTING and o th er religious observations
w e re p erfo rm ed to the Cocijos o f the fou r
calen d rical periods. Passages in the C e n tra l
M e x ica n Vaticanus B and B orgia codices also
illu s tra te this fo u r fo ld division o f th e 260-
day calendar. T h e re , h o w ever, T la lo c - ra th e r
65 COLORS

than Cocijo - is p o rtrayed in each o f the fo u r The serpent

divisions. wall, or
coatepantli,
surrounding the
codex T h e term codex g en e rally refers to a
Aztec Templo
rare m anuscript. In M esoam erican research, Mayor, Codex
it is freq u e n tly used to denote n ativ e screen- Durán, 16th c.
fold books form ed o f strips o f pounded b ark Central Mexico.
PAPER or DEER h id e p ain ted on both sides w ith
a fine coating o f w h ite lim e gesso. These
strips w e re c are fu lly folded in to equal w idths,
w ith each fold creating tw o pages on opposite
sides o f the m anuscript. O nce fold ed , in tric a te
scenes w e re first c a re fu lly o u tlin ed and then
freq u e n tly fille d in w ith b rillia n t colors. Both
sides o f the m anuscript w e re usually p ain ted ,
w ith the pages tending to run le ft to rig h t
across one side, and then retu rn in g le ft to
rig h t across the other.
Scenes on Classic M a y a vases and the
archaeological discovery o f stucco rem ains o f Giant statue of
actual books reveal th at screenfold codices Coatlicue, She of
w e re fu lly present am ong the Classic M a y a . the Serpent Skirt,
mother of
H o w e v e r, a ll the in tac t screenfolds th a t have
Huitzilopochtli, Late
survived d ate to the Postclassic and early Postclassic Aztec.
C o lo n ial periods. These contain a w e alth of Her head is
in fo rm atio n about gods and ritu als, m ythol­ composed of blood
ogy, history, flo ra, fauna, and even trad e and serpents pouring
from her severed
trib u te . U n fo rtu n a te ly , due to centuries o f
throat.
intolerance and neglect, only a sm all portion
o f these books survive to this day. Some
25 Postclassic and e a rly C olonial screenfold
codices a re know n, w ith 18 o f these being in
pure p re-C onquest style.

colors In M esoam erican cosmology, colors

a re fre q u e n tly associated w ith p artic u la r
DIRECTIONS. T h e id e n tific atio n o f colors w ith
directions is m ost fu lly docum ented among
the an cien t M a y a , w ho had specific glyphs
fo r the colors red , w h ite , black, yellow , and
green. In the Yucatec M a y a codices, these
colors are associated w ith east, north, w est,
south and c en ter, respectively. M on u m en tal
texts describing the 819-day cycle (see CALEN­
DAR) re ve al th a t the Classic M a y a also id e n t­
ifie d red , w h ite , black, and y ello w w ith the
sam e directions.
In C o lo n ial accounts from C e n tra l M exico,
th e re is fre q u e n t m ention o f fo u r basic colors.
H o w e v e r, not only are the colors ra re ly o ri­
ented w ith regard to specific directions, bu t
th e re is also considerable varia tio n as to
w hich are the fo u r p rim a ry colors. According
Cocijo, the Zapotee
*to one source, the d ire ctio n al colors w ere god of rain and
g reen, b lu e, red and y ello w . H o w e v e r, o th e r lightning, ceramic
accounts suggest th a t the fou r card in al colors urn, Classic period.
COLOSSAL HEADS
w e re the same as those o f th e M a y a . M o re ­
over, lik e th e M a y a , C e n tra ! M exicans ap p e ar
to have id e n tih e d w h ite w ith the north and
y ello w w ith th e south.
colossal heads A fte r 1200 B e, the Ohnecs
w rought colossal heads from huge boulders
o f basait from the T u x tla M o u n tain s th a t they
m ust have Boated on baisa rafts along th e
slow -m oving rivers o f the G u lf C oast. W ith
n e ith e r contem porary texts nor re le v a n t
ethnohistory, the heads have been the subject
o f specu!ation, and they have been id e n tifie d
a t one tim e or ano th er as b allp la ye rs, gods,
or hum ans. M ost scholars now b eliev e th a t
the heads com m em orate actual rulers. T h e
m a jo rity o f them suffered some ritu a l d eface­
m ent; a t the very ¡east d im p led depressions
w e re ground into them . R ecent d etective
w ork has proposed th a t some THHONES w e re
recarved into co!ossa! heads. A ccording to
such a theory, the place o f seated p o w er
w ould be extinguished and converted to a
m ore n eu tral hum an m em orial.
A t L a V en ta, four colossal heads w e re set
as if to guard the cerem onial core o f the site,
three to the south and one to the north, a ll
w ith th e ir backs to the arch itectu re. W ith
th e ir stern, solemn expressions, such heads
m ay have em bodied livin g rulers, and they
w ould have been seen from a distance. A fte r
the death o f a ru le r, the colossal heads m ay
have been the focus o f ancestor w orship.
c o m p l e t i o n s ig n s e e CALENDAR
confession Confession constituted an im ­
p o rtan t form o f ritu a l PURIFICATION. F o r the
Yucatec M a y a , confession was p erform ed
during the B APTISM o f children. Am ong the
M a y a o f Yucatan and A lta V erapaz, con­
fession was com m on a t tim es o f grave illness
or approaching D E A T H . According to Tom ás
López M e d e l, M a y a com m unities in G u a te ­
m ala perform ed confession by selecting an
old w om an as a scapegoat. Forced to h ea r
the confessions o f a ll o f the com m unity, this
w om an was then stoned. I t was b elieved th a t
by h e r death, the w hole tow n was p u rifie d .
F o r the Aztecs, T L A Z O L T E O T L was the god­
dess o f confessions. In the com pany o f a
calendar p riest, the in d ivid u al w ould confess
in fro n t o f an im age o f T la zo lteo tl. A long w ith
the confession, the p e n ite n t in d iv id u al passed
pieces o f grass through the tongue or phallus,
each piece corresponding to a p a rtic u la r
(M
transgression. F ra y Burgoa recorded th a t d u r­
in g the m id -1 7 th c. the Zapotees o f Oaxaca
also p erfo rm e d BLOODLETTING in conjunction
w ith a confession to a n a tiv e p riest. T h e blood
was d rip p e d upon strips o f MAize husk w hich
w e re taken and presented by the priest to a
stone id o l.
c o r o n a tio n w e A CC ESSIO N
c o s tu m e M eso am erican costum e g en e rally
encodes a w id e v a rie ty o f in fo rm atio n in the
case o f bo th hum an and d iv in e protagonists.
A m ong the A ztecs, fo r exam p le, costum e and
facia! rep resen tatio n s d iffe re n tia te closely
re la te d d eities fro m one a n o th er m ore effec­
tiv e ly than o th e r physical characteristics.
C ostum e in dicates th e status and ro le o f a
given in d iv id u a l; even today in M exico and
G u a te m ala, costum e is the key to e th n ic ity ,
and v illa g e id e n tity is re in fo rc ed through
com m on te x tile designs, styles o f dress, and
headgear. A t M itla , the facades o f T e rm in a l
Classic palaces b ea r various g eom etric p a t­
terns and designs, perhaps references to u n i­
fication o f reg io n al id e n tity , both Zap o tee and
M ix te e , through p u b lic display o f costum e
and cloth.
M e n and w om en, both hum an and d iv in e ,
w o re d istin ct garm ents. Some A ztec sculp­
tures w e re m ean t to be dressed; n ow , w ith o u t
th e ir costum es, th e ir id e n tity as specific
d eities is lost. M eso am erican garm ents w e re
g en e rally fashioned by d rap in g C L O T H around
the body or sew ing strips o f fa b ric tog eth er
b u t ra re ly c u ttin g and ta ilo rin g cloth. Basic
a ttire fo r m en was the lo in clo th (th e N a h u a tl
m axt/afV); w om en w o re skirts w ith draped
blouses (th e N a h u a tl g u ec A g u e m it/a n d M a y a
A uipj'/). W a rrio rs and priests donned sleeve­
less jackets (N a h u a tl xico/A). C e n tra l M ex ica n
lords a t th e tim e o f th e C onquest w o re the
&7znafA, a to g a-like g arm en t the w e arin g o f
w hich was governed by s trict sum ptuary
law s. T h e m ost prestigious #AnatAs w e re the
longest ones w ith the m ost e lab o rate w oven
designs; th e ir w e a r was lim ite d to th e u pper
classes and to m en w ho had scarred th e ir
bodies in b a ttle . T h e im p o rtan ce o f these
cloaks is em phasized by th e pages devoted to
th e ir m otifs in the C odex M ag liab ech ian o .
Com m oners w e re g en e rally restricted to
coarse #AnatAs w oven o f MAGUEY fib er. F in e
ra im e n t re w ard e d victorious w arrio rs, and
the m ore CAPTIVES they took, th e fan c ier the
a ttire they w ore.
 67 COTTON

T h e headdress is the m ost significant p a rt M a y a directional color glyphs

of any costum e. In depictions in the codices, derived from the Dresden Codex.
M ixte e nobles and d eities o ften w e a r th e ir
names in th e ir headdresses, as do occasionally
M ay a n o b ility. I t was not only hum ans and Red (chac), east
deities w ho bore insignia on th e ir heads: the
affiliations o f TE M P L E S w e re o ften presented
by a b illb o a rd -lik e display on th e roofeom b,
or even by the shape o f th e roofeom b, resem ­
bling headgear. T h e tem p le to Q U E T Z A L C O A T L White (zac), north
in the sacred precinct o f T e n o c h titla n had a
conical roof, akin to Q u etzalcoatl's conical
headdress. A n um ber o f A ztec goddesses
w e ar a headdress th a t looks lik e a tem ple
doorw ay, conflating the analogy betw een
headdress, d eity , and insignia. B)ack (ek), west
A m ong the n o b ility , specific costumes w e re
w orn for p a rtic u la r ritu als. D u ra n describes
elab o rate costumes d istrib u ted to a ll p a rtic ­
ipants and observers o f A ztec sacrificial rites,
including crowns o f feathers, gold arm sheath-
ing, ja g u ar p e lt sandals, fancy m antles and Yeüow (kan), south
loincloths, and JADE nose plugs. In b a ttle ,
A ztec w arrio rs dressed as p redatory anim als:
EA G LES, JAGUARS, pum as, and coyotes. T h e

m antles o f a b rid e and groom w e re tied

together to sym bolize th e ir M A R R IA G E . In a ll
Green (yax), center
cultures, b allp layers donned thick padding at
the w aist, knee, and elbow . O nce Cortés
began his m arch to T en o c h titla n , M o te -
cuhzom a I I , according to some sources, sent
fou r d e ity costumes to him to see if he w ould
don one and reveal h im self to be a god.
Am ong the M a y a , a num ber o f specific ritu al
costumes have been recognized. A
beaded cape and skirt, w o rn w ith an open
spondylus shell w aist ornam ent th a t m ay
sym bolize the fem ale w om b, is a costume w orn
by noble w om en, b u t it also id entifies the
M A IZ E G O D ; m en don the costum e to em body

the god and his fe rtility . In the depictions o f

ACCESSIO N to ofRce a t Piedras N egras, kings

w e ar sim ple a ttire , w ith a headdress that

sprouts MAIZE and m aize foliage, as if to
rein fo rce connections to com m unity and
a g ricu ltu re ; w h en those sam e kings conduct
b attles outside the im m ed iate com m unity,
b u t against o th e r M a y a , they w e ar a costum e
based on foreig n m otifs from T E O T IH U A C A N . Colossal head from L a Venta, Tabasco,
M id d le Form ative Olmec. These colossal
cotton A lthough the cotton used in ancient heads constitute some of the earliest
M esoam erica was g en e rally o f a single species portraiture known for the N ew W orld.
(C<Ms%vu/n A /rsufum ), th e re w e re m any v a r­
ie t ie s distinguished by grow ing cycles and
Trib ute sign referring to 400 bales of
fib er color. W oven cotton CLOTH not only cotton, M atrícula de Tributos, 16th c.
functioned as clothing, b u t was also an Aztec.
COYOLXAUHQUI
im p o rta n t a rtic!e o f trib u te . I t served too as
religious offerings, as TEMPLE hangings or
aw nings, as vestm ents fo r god im ages, and as
w rappings fo r sacred BUNDLES and MORTUARY
B U N D LE S .
Since the p re p a ra tio n and w eavin g of
cotton was p rim a rily a fe m a le task, goddesses
a re fre q u e n tly p o rtrayed as spinners and
w eavers. In the Yucatec M a y a codices, both
the you th fu l Goddess I and the aged Goddess
0 (see scHELLHAs coDs) a re p o rtray ed as w e a ­
vers. In C e n tra l M exico , TLAZO LTEO TL is closely
id e n tih e d w ith w eaving, and w ears a h ead -
band o f unspun cotton w ith a p a ir o f cotton
spindles as h er headdress. O n e o f h e r com ­
mon epithets was Ixcu in a, a H uastec term
signifying C otton W om an.
C oyolxauhqui T h e evil o ld er sister o f H u rrz i-
LOPOCHTLJ and the C entzon H u itzn a h u a ,
C oyolxauhqui was one o f the m ajor goddesses
o f A ztec m ythology. Furious over the p reg­
nancy o f C0 ATL!CUE, C oyolxauhqui slew her
m other w ith the aid o f h er 400 brothers, the
C entzon H u itzn a h u a. T h e dying C oatlicue
gave b irth to H u itzilo p o c h tli, w ho, arm ed
w ith his xiuHcoATL w eapon, dism em bered
Coyolxauhqui and routed the C entzon H u itz ­
nahua a t the h ill o f C O A TE P E C . According to
the F lo re n tin e Codex account o f this b a ttle ,
the severed rem ains o f Coyolxauhqui
tum bled to the base o f Coatepec.
In 1978, a massive representation o f
Coyolxauhqui was discovered a t the base o f
the H u itzilo p o ch tli side o f the T em plo M a y o r
in Ten o ch ütlan . As in the cited A ztec text,
she is depicted w ith h er head and lim bs
severed from h er torso, as if tum bling dow n
the h ill o f C oatepec. A t least tw o o th er
Coyolxauhqui m onum ents w ere found a t the
T em plo M a y o r. T h e stucco rem ains o f an
e a rlie r nude and dism em bered Coyolxauhqui
lay d ire ctly under the stone sculpture. In
addition to this stucco sculpture, fragm ents
o f another stone C oyolxauhqui disk w ere also
discovered. A lthough sim ilar in scale, style,
and com position, this frag m en tary sculpture
does not appear to represent C oyolxauhqui
w ith severed lim bs. N onetheless, it contains
an especially im p o rtan t d e ta il, fo r the ta il and
segm ented body o f the X iu hco atl can a ctu ally
be seen p en etratin g the chest o f C oyol­
xauhqui. This re lie f portrays the m ythic
ch a rter fo r the ritu a l o f h e a rt sacrifice th a t
was p racticed on a massive scale a t the
T em plo M a y o r (see H E A R T S ). Each v ictim
88
th ro w n dow n th e steps o f the H u itxilop o ch th
tem p le re p lic a te d th e b a ttle a t C oatepec.
A side fro m the n ew ly discovered reliefs
fro m the T e m p lo M a y o r, a n o th er m onum en­
ta l C o yolxauhqui sculpture survives. In this
case, she is rep resen ted as a lifeless severed
head. As in th e case o f the in ta c t disk from
th e T e m p lo M a y o r, she displays on h er cheeks
th e m e ta l cqyo/Ii bells fo r w h ich she is nam ed.
In a d d itio n , she also w ears the sam e m e ta l
y e a r sign e ar ornam ents and c irc u la r elem ents
o f eagle dow n in h e r h a ir. M u c h o f the
costum e and iconography o f C oyolxauhqui
seems to d e riv e fro m C h an tico , goddess o f the
h ea rth and p atro n o f X ochim ilco. A ltho u g h it
has been o ften stated th a t C oyolxauhqui
represents the M O O N , th e re is no exp lic it
evidence fo r this id e n tific a tio n . A ccording to
one recen t study, C oyo lxau h q u i m ay a ctu ally
be a goddess o f the M IL K Y W A Y .
creatio n accounts T h e origins o f the gods,
the w o rld , and its in h a b ita n ts fo rm the basis
o f M eso am erican m ythology. U n fo rtu n a te ly ,
our u n derstanding o f n a tiv e crea tio n m yth o ­
logy is only p a rtia l, and is best docum ented
fo r C e n tra l M exico and the M a y a region.
N onetheless, com m on p attern s can be dis­
cerned. Q u ite fre q u e n tly , the act o f c reatio n
begins in darkness w ith th e p rim o rd ia l SEA.
T h e Q uiche M a y a P O P O L v u H contains a m ov­
ing description o f this o rig in a l c re a tiv e event.
Surrounded by th e s till w aters o f th e sea, the
gods T ep e u and G ucum atz engage in dialogue
and thus begin th e act o f creatio n . T h ro u gh
th e ir speech, the E A R T H and M O U N T A IN S a re
raised ou t o f th e W A T E R .
A ltho u g h th e PopoV Muh creators place
anim als upon the e a rth , these creatures lack
the voices and understan d in g to w orship and
nourish th e gods. T h e C O D S thus decide to
create people. In th e ir Erst a tte m p t, th e y
fashion people fro m m ud; b eing soft and
w eak, h o w ever, th e p eo p le a re soon des­
troyed. In th e ir second a tte m p t, the gods
consult th e d ivin ers X piyacoc and X m ucane,
w ho suggest th a t m en be fashioned fro m
w ood and w om en fro m rushes. A lthough this
n ew race o f people can speak and m u ltip ly ,
they s till lack u n derstanding o f th e ir w o rld
and th e ir m akers, so the gods send dow n a
g re at Rood and a ra in o f p itch to destroy
them . F ie rc e dem ons, anim als, and th e ir ow n
household utensils jo in in the attack. Those
people th a t escape becam e the MONKEYS seen
today.
69 CREATION ACCOUNTS

F o llow ing the destruction o f the w ood and

rush people, T ep eu and G ucum atz decide to
fashion hum ans from M A tZ E . B rought by fo u r
anim als from the m ountain o f P axil, this
m aize is ground in to nine drinks from w hich
the first fo u r m en are m ade. B u t although
these people o f m aize w orship and nourish
the gods, they are too know ledgeable and
w ise, too lik e the gods w ho m ade them . F o r
this reason, the gods cloud th e ir eyes, lim itin g
the vision o f the present hum an race, the
people o f corn, to w h a t is im m ed iate and
close. F o llo w in g the creation o f the first fou r
m en and th e ir w ives, the first d aw ning takes
place and some anim als and gods tu rn to
stone.
In the Popo/ VuA, the destruction o f the
w ooden m en and the creation o f the people
o f corn is separated by a long and extrem ely
im p o rtan t account describing the doings o f
tw o sets o f tw ins. T h e older p a ir, H U N H U N A H P U Giant Coyolxauhqui stone, Aztec Tempio Mayor,
and Vucub H u nah p u , are sum m oned to play Tenochtitlan.
b a ll w ith the lords o f the UNDERWORLD, X ib alb a ,
w ho then d e fe a t and sacrifice the tw ins,
placing the head o f H u n H u nah p u in a gourd
tree . T his m iraculous head im pregnates an
u n d erw o rld m aiden, X quic, w ho escapes to
the surface o f the earth . H e re she gives b irth
to the second p a ir o f tw ins, the sons of
H u n H u n ah p u . K now n as the H e ro T w in s,
H u nah p u and X b alanq u e a re g reat m onster-
slayers and b allp layers. W h en they in turn
a re sum m oned to p lay b all in the U n d erw o rld ,
they eve n tu ally d efe at the lords o f X ib alb a
and re trie v e the rem ains o f th e ir fa th e r and
uncle.
T h e p lacem ent o f the H e ro Tw ins episode
befo re the creation o f the m aize people is not
fortuitous. T h e abundant Classic M a y a scenes
illu s tra tin g H u n H u nah p u and his sons
H u nah p u and X b alanq u e reveal th a t H u n
H u nah p u is a ctu ally the god o f corn. Thus
the descent o f H u nah p u and X balanque to
rescue th e ir fa th e r also signifies the search for
corn, th e m a te ria l from w hich m ankind is
m ade. In a num ber o f L a te Classic M a y a
vessel scenes, H u n H u n ah p u is flanked by
his sons as he rises out o f the earth as grow ing
m aize. This Classic episode o f H u n H u nah p u ,
the ancestor o f people, rising out o f the earth
constitutes a form o f the em ergence m yth
found w id e ly over M esoam erica and the
Maya creation accounts: Hun Hunahpu, the
A m erican Southw est.
Tonsured Maize God, rising out of the tortoise
T h e concept o f m u ltip le creations is found earth; spotted Hunahpu at left, and Xbalanque
am ong o th er contact period and contem por­ with jaguar skin markings to the right. Scene
a ry M a y a peoples. A ccording to a 16th c. from the interior of a Late Classic Maya bowl.
CREATION ACCOUNTS
account from th e C ak ch iq u e l, neighbors o f
the Q u ich e, p eo p le w e re Erst fashioned o f
m ud. F o llo w in g th e ir d estru ctio n , th e p resent
race o f m ankind was created fro m ground
m aize m ixed w ith th e blood o f ta p ir and
SERPENT. T h e Rood m yth is know n fo r the
C olonia! Yuca tec M a y a , fo r in c e rta in o f the
Books o f C h ila m B alam th e re is m en tio n o f
a race o f in d ivid u als destroyed in th e Rood.
These accounts also describe the erectio n o f
WORLD TREES fo llo w in g the Rood. A ltho u g h
the C o lo n ial Yucatec sources p ro vid e only
tan g en tial references to previous creations,
these a re e xp lic itly recorded in m odern Yuca­
tec texts, w hich describe th re e d istinct w orlds
and races o f people b efo re the present
creation .
H ig h ly developed in C e n tra l M exico , this
notion o f m u ltip le creation reaches its highest
com plexity in the g reat cosmogonic m yth o f
the nvKSUNs. A lthough there is some v ariatio n
in the know n accounts, the basic p attern is
q u ite sim ilar to the Q uiché P opo/ Fuh. W ith
the Erst acts o f creation, the creato r couple
prepared the w ay for the Erst o f the fou r suns,
or w orlds, previous to the present creation.
N am ed a fte r the days on w hich they end, the
fou r suns usually occur in the follo w in g o rd er,
N ah u i O celot! (4 Jaguar), N ah u i E h ecatl (4
W in d ), N ah u i Q u ia h u itl (4 R ain ), and N ah u i
A tl (4 W a te r). Each sun is presided over by
a d eity and race o f people w ho are e ith e r
destroyed o r transform ed into a p a rtic u la r
creatu re. TEZCATHPOCA is the god o f the Erst
sun, N ah u i O celotl. T h e people o f this w o rld
are giants, and a re devoured by JAGUARS.
Presided over by the w ind god E H E C A T L , the
second sun o f N ah u i E hecatl is destroyed by
w in d and its people becom e M O N K E Y S . T h e
R A IN and L IG H T N IN G d e ity T L A L O c is th e god o f
N ah u i Q u ia h u itl, w hich is consumed by Eery
ra in - possibly an allusion to volcanic eru p ­
tion - w h ile its people turn in to B U T T E R F L IE S ,
Docs, and turkeys. T h e w a te r goddess C H A L C H i
uHTLicuE presides over the fo u rth sun, N a h u i
A tl; the Rood ending this sun transform s the
hum an inhabitants in to Rsh.
F o llo w in g the Rood ending the fo u rth sun,
Tezcatlipoca and Q U E T Z A L C O A T L raise the hea­
vens by transform ing them selves in to tw o
g reat trees. In several accounts, these tw o
gods create the earth by slaying a huge earth
m onster described e ith e r as a C A IM A N or as
the earth d e ity T L A L T E C U H T L i.
A lthough the earth is created a t this p o in t,
no people in h a b it its surface. In a jo u rn e y
70
strongly resem bling the Popo/ Fu/? and
Classic M a y a m ythology, Q u etzalco atl and
XOLOTL descend to the UNDER W O R LD to re trie v e
the rem ains o f th e people destroyed in the
Hood. In o rd e r to o b ta in the precious bones,
th e y tric k th e w ily god o f d ea th , MicTLANTB
c u H T L i. T h e bones a re then taken to TAM OAN
CHAN, w h e re th e gods g rin d them lik e com
in to a Rne m e al. U pon this ground m eal, the
gods le t th e ir BLOO D, thus crea tin g th e Resh
o f th e p resent race o f people.
A fte r the creation o f people, the gods
convene in darkness a t T E O T n ru A C A N . I t is
decided th a t in o rd er to crea te th e Hfth sun,
N a h u i O llin , one o f th e gods m ust th ro w
h im s e lf in to a g re a t p yre. T w o v o lu n te e r, the
hau g h ty T e c u cizte ca tl and th e diseased and
lo w ly N a n a h u a tzin . T ec u cizte ca tl is frig h t­
ened by the Rames, b u t N a n a h u a tzin b ravely
hurls h im s e lf in to th e p yre and is transform ed
in to th e suN. T e c u cizte ca tl follow s to becom e
the M O O N . T h e gods then sacriEce them selves
a t T eo tih u ac an and fro m th e ir rem ains,
sacred B U N D LE S o r f/a g u ú n j/o //i a re fashioned.
A n o the r com m on C e n tra l M e x ic a n creation
m o tif is the em ergence o f people from the
earth. In essence, this differs little fro m the
taking o f the bones out o f th e U n d e rw o rld ,
although in this instance, actual living hum ans
em erge out o f the earth . O n e o f the most
famous versions o f the em ergence m yth con­
cerns cmcoMOZTOc, the seven CAVES o f em erg­
ence. In the P&sfor/a 7b/feca-C/uc/un?eca
account o f this episode, the MOUNTAIN contain­
ing the seven caves was struck open w ith a
lightning staff. In an o th e r version o f the
em ergence, the Erst people cam e out a fte r
the sun shot an a rro w into the House o f
M irro rs .
O f M ix te e c rea tio n m ythology little is
know n in com parison w ith th a t o f the M a y a
and peoples o f C e n tra l M exico . O n e b rie f b u t
im p o rta n t account derives fro m an e a rly 18th
c. w o rk o f F ra y G reg o rio G a rcía. D u rin g the
tim e o f darkness, in th e p rim o rd ia l SEA, a
creato r couple sharing th e sam e calen d rical
ñam e o f 1 D e e r c rea te a m assive stony
m o untain upon w h ich they fashion th e ir
sum ptuous palace. A t th e peak o f the m oun­
ta in , a g re at copper axe b lad e supports the
heavens. T h is creato r couple has tw o m ale
ch ild ren , one nam ed W in d o f N in e Snakes,
the o th er, W in d o f N in e Caves. T h e e ld er o f
th e sons has the p o w er to transform h im s elf
in to an E A G L E , w hereas th e younger son can
becom e a w inged SER PENT th a t can Ry through
 71 CUAUHXICALLI
stone as w e ll as a ir. These tw o sons create a
garden Blled w ith fru it trees, FLOWERS, and
herbs. F o llo w in g the creation o f the stony
m ountain and the brothers and th e ir garden,
heaven and earth are fashioned and hum ans
are restored to life . A lthough only a tan g en tial
reference, the m ention o f hum ans being
restored to life strongly suggests the m u ltip le
creations and destructions m entioned in
M aya and C e n tra l M exican creation
accounts. T h e M ix te e creato r couple are re p ­
resented in tw o o f the ancien t M ix te e screen-
folds, the Codex Vindobonensis and the
Selden R oll, com plete w ith the calendrical
nam e o f 1 D e e r.
According to a la te 16th c. w o rk o f F ray
A ntonio de los Reyes, the first M ixtees
em erged from the cen ter o f the e arth , w h ile
la te r gods and rulers w e re born from trees
near the sacred tow n o f A poala. In the ancient
M ixte e codices, the people em erging from
the earth are freq u e n tly depicted as stone
m en. This probably refers to an ancient p re ­
daw n era as, am ong the M ixtees and other
M esoam erican peoples, gods and legendary
figures w ere turned to stone a t the first
daw ning. T h e m o tif o f tree b irth , still present
in contem porary M ix te e m ythology, is also
illu strate d in both the Vindobonensis and
Selden codices. .See a/so ANCESTRAL COUPLE.

crossroads In n ative M esoam erica, cross­

roads w e re w id e ly regarded as dangerous
places in h a b ite d by dem ons and illness. T h e
Aztecs b elieved th a t they w ere the favored
place o f the fearsom e cmuATETEO, and shrines
to these dem onic w om en w ere freq u e n tly
placed on m ajor crossroads. I t was w id ely
believed th a t crossroads w ere an im p o rtan t
place to leave dangerous contam inants such
as item s associated w ith social m isdeeds or
DISEASE. Crass broom s, a sign o f PURIFICATION,
are com m only seen w ith C e n tra l M exican
A cave sign, a bowl with brooms and copa/, and
representations o f crossroads.
the body of a probable executed criminal placed
with crossroads, Codex Laud, Late Postclassic
cuauhxicaHi L ite ra lly ' eagle g o u rd ," the period. In Mesoamerican thought, crossroads
cuauAxTca/A was the vessel in w hich the wete widely considered to be dangerous places
Aztecs m ade th e ir most sacred offerings, that provided access to the Underworld.
hum an HEARTS. R eal gourds, as w e ll as fin ely
carved stone objects, m ay have been used fo r
cMauAx/ca/&y a t the tim e o f the Conquest.
T h e very oldest representations have been
^ found a t C hichen Itz á , so th e tra d itio n m ay
Eagle-plumed cuauhxicaHi
d ate to the T o ltec era or e a rlie r. In the POPOL bowl containing hearts and
vuH , th e m essenger owls a re told to sacrifice blood, Codex Borbonicus,
Blood W om an, p reg n an t w ith the H e ro p. 14, 16th c. Aztec.
CURING
T w in s , and to b rin g back h e r h e a rt in a gourd
bow !, perhaps a cuauAx/caZÍL
T h e largest know n cuauhxicaRf is th e h ea v ­
ily m aned Jaguar C u au h xicalli o f T e n o c h titla n
in whose back is carved a deep basin o rn a ­
m ented w ith the m otifs o f JADE, fea th e rs, and
hearts typ ical o f h e a rt vessels. A t th e base o f
the vessel are the depictions o f HurrziLO-
pocHTLi and TEZCATUPOCA, both o f w hom d ra w
BLOOD from th e ir ears. A d id actic message is
rein fo rced : as the gods have o ffered th e ir
ow n blood, so hum ans m ust m ake offerings
in the cuauAx/caA/.
curing Illness was b elieved to have a nu m b er
o f causes, including the hostile actions o f
s u p e rn a tu ra l or sorcerers, accidents,
deficiencies, and excesses such as d ru n ken ­
ness or w anton sexuality. A m ajo r cause
o f sickness was im balance and disharm ony,
e ith e r w ith society, the gods and ancestors,
or the surrounding w o rld . In o rd er to cure
the p a tie n t, it was necessary fo r the curer to
d ivin e the p a rtic u la r source o f an illness.
H an d casting w ith the 260-day CALENDAR was
often used for this purpose, as it s till is today
in highland G u atem ala. Am ong the com mon
cures was PURIFICATION, such as by CONFESSION
or bathing in stream s or swEATBATHS. Along
w ith diviners, im p o rtan t m edical specialists
included m idw ives, surgeons and herbalists.
Some o f the m ore com mon form s o f surgery
included DENTISTRY, the rem oval o f foreign
bodies, closing wounds, setting fractures,
am putation, and bleeding w ith obsidian la n ­
cets. H o w ev er, surgery was fa r less developed
than the n ative know ledge o f plants, w hich
appear in an astonishing a rray o f d iffe re n t
m edical uses.
In the Q uiche POPOL vuH, an aged couple
pose as curers o f broken bones, eyes and teeth
in order to tric k and destroy the w ounded
m onster b ird , vucuB CAQuix. In Postclassic
Yucatan tw o aged deities w e re especially
id e n tifie d w ith curing. O ne o f these was the
old goddess ixcHEL, know n as Goddess O
or cAac cAe/ in the codices. Yucatec curers
perform ed a festival in h er honor during the
20-d ay m onth o f Z ip . T h e other aged d eity
was the creator god, iTZAMNA, w ho was also
invoked du rin g the Z ip rites. In L a te Post­
classic C e n tra l M exico, TLAZOLTEOTL seems to
have been an especially im p o rtan t goddess
o f curing, being closely id en tified w ith both
confession and the sw eatbath.
72
§D8
dance D an c e p la ye d an im p o rta n t ro le in
an c ie n t M eso am erican religious ritu a l.
Sahagún, fo r e xam p le, describes some sort of
dance - som etim es o f m en, som etim es of
w om en, and som etim es o f m en and w om en
to g e th e r - fo r alm ost eve ry VEINTENA cel­
e b ra tio n o f th e A ztecs, w ith dancing fre ­
q u e n tly c a rrie d on a t the base o f the PYRAMID
o f th e god honored on th a t occasion. T h e
M ixte es , too, danced to c ele b rate e very m ajo r
fe s tiv a l, as w e ll as a t rite s o f passage. A n
e lab o ra te M ARRIAGE dance, fo r exam ple, is
d ep icted in the C odex Selden.
D an cin g fre q u e n tly preceded H U M A N SACRi-
FICE. D u rin g d ie v ein ten a celebrations o f
T itid , a slave w om an was fu lly a rra y e d as
iL A M A T E C U H T L i. "A n d b efo re she d ie d , she
danced. T h e old m en b ea t th e drum s fo r h er;
the singers sang fo r h e r - th e y in to ned h er
song. A nd w h en she danced, she w e p t m uch,
and she sighed; she fe lt anguish. F o r tim e
was b u t short; the span w as b u t b rie f b efo re
she w ould suffer, w h en she w o u ld reach h er
end on e a rth ." (F C : 11)
A ccording to the A zte c 2 60 -d a y auguries,
those born in the trecena o f 1 M o n k e y w ould
be dancers, singers, or scribes. Those born
on 1 W in d w o u ld be necrom ancers w ho
danced w ith the fo re a rm o f a w om an w ho
had d ied in c h ild b irth ; th e y w o u ld be e v il
people, perhaps even thieves. In g en eral the
dancer was a skilled p e rfo rm e r, and dance
alm ost alw ays occurred w ith singing and
Music. HUEHUECOYOTL and MACuiLxocHiTL w e re
the patrons o f m usic and dance. A ccording
to surviving depictions, m ost L a te Postclassic
C e n tra l M e x ica n dance follow s a cou n ter­
clockw ise m ovem ent.
T h e re ad in g o f a lo n g -u n d ecip h ered v erb
in M a y a h iero g lyp h ic w ritin g reveals th a t the
M a y a n o b ility p erfo rm e d a w id e range o f
dances: a snake dance p erfo rm e d w ith liv e
boa constrictors, dances w ith b ird staffs, God
K staffs, basket staffs, and a fe a th e r dance
p erfo rm ed by rulers and th e ir attendants in
g re at fe a th e r backracks. As p a rt o f a p ublic
perform ance o f ritu a l BLOO DLETTING , M a y a
lords p e rfo ra te d th e ir p h a lli w ith long, color­
fu l pairs o f "dan cer's w ings" - or w h a t m ay
be p ain te d PAPER o r cloth strips stretched over
w ooden supports - and then danced, blood
stream ing across the "w in g s ."
73

O th er M a y a lords donned the costum e o f

the M A IZ E C O D , or w h a t has also been called
the H o lm u l D an cer costum e, and danced
w ith DWARVES or hunchbacks, fre q u e n tly w ith
arms and hands w aving a t m id-body, as if in
im itatio n o f w aving MAIZE foliage. UNDERWORLD
deities fre q u e n tly dance in procession, usu­
a lly in a clockwise m otion. D ancers m ay
accom pany m usicians, and som etim es they
bear rattles and FANS. Some M a y a dance
scenes are hum orous spoofs. In the P O P O L V U H ,
w hen com m anded to p erfo rm in the court o f
the lords o f d eath, the H e ro T w in s dance the
W easel, the P o o rw ill, and the A rm a d illo .
Curing: person with fever, Fiorentine Codex,
M a n y "sMiLiNC FicuREs" o f Classic V eracru z Book 10, 16th e. Aztec.
m ay be dancers, w ith th e ir hands raised in a
praying position. M usicians and dancers
occur in the a rt o f W est M exico, and the
anecdotal groupings include scenes o f a cheek
p erfo ratio n dance, in w hich a stick m ay pierce
tw o d iffe re n t p erfo rm ers' cheeks, binding
dancers tog eth er in pain and bloodletting.
T h e so-called T em p le o f D anzantes, or
dancers, a t M o n te A lb an probably depicts
sacrificial victim s and not dancers at a ll.

d aw n T o the n ative peoples o f M esoam erica

the appearance o f the daw n m arked m ore
than sim ply the beginning o f day: it consti­
tuted the re b irth o f the SUN out o f the h arro w ­
ing depths o f the d eathly U N D E R W O R L D . It was
b elieved th a t a fte r the sun set in the w est, it
trav eled a t m id n ig h t to the n ad ir o f the
U n d e rw o rld and then gradu ally m ade its re ­
ascent to a rriv e a t the east. T h e Aztecs
b elieved th a t w hereas the fem ale c iH U A T E T E O
p u lled the noonday sun from ze n ith in to the
U n d e rw o rld , the you th fu l souls o f w arriors
slain in b a ttle accom panied the sun in its
eastern ascent. T h e Aztecs also b elieved th a t
fo llo w in g its passage through the U n d erw o rld
the sun re q u ired sustenance in the form o f A scene of Aztec dance, Manuscrit Tovar, 16th c.
hum an B LO O D and H EARTS to begin its arduous
ascent in to the SKY.
C R E A T IO N A C C O U N TS o f the first daw ning con­

tain profound insights in to M esoam erican

conceptions o f th e sun and the day. A t the first
d aw ning a t T E O T iH U A C A N , the gods sacrificed
them selves fo r the n ew ly created sun.
A lthough this clea rly constitutes a C e n tra l A probable Maya
M exican ch a rter fo r H U M A N S A C R IF IC E in o rd er sign of dawn: the
to nourish the sun, it also describes the end head of the sun god
between signs for
o f m ythic tim e. N o longer m oving, livin g
earth and sky, detail
*beings upon the e a rth , the gods are now of a hieroglyphic
represented by th e ir m um m y-like f/a g m n ii- bench, Copán, Late
V0 //7 B U N D LE S . The now passive and in e rt Classic period.
DEATH
n atu re o f the gods is re ite ra te d in a curious
episode m en tio n ed in th e L ey en d a d e so/es.
TLAHLBCALPAKTECUHTLJ, th e god o f d aw n and
the m orning star, attacked the sun as it
hovered over T eo tih u ac an . T h e sun, in tu rn ,
shot an a rro w in to the fo reh ead o f th e m o rn ­
ing star, w ho becam e the god o f co!d. K n ow n
as iTZTLACouuHQLí-MQUíMíLU, he is a!so the
god o f stone. H e com m only displays the
d a rt o f the sun transExed through his stony
headdress. T h e tran sfo rm atio n o f gods in to
in e rt stone is g rap h ically described in the
POPOL vuH account o f the Erst d aw n . C o n tem ­
p orary m yths o f the Zapotees and M ixtees o f
O axaca also m ention an e arly race o f people
turned to stone a t the Erst appearance o f the
sun. T h e Erst daw n in g m arks the beginning
o f everyday re a lity , in w hich the gods are
represented by re la tiv e ly passive bundles or
stone sculptures. B ut if the daw n and day
constitute present ordered re a lity , the NIGHT
by contrast represents the supernatural tim e
o f DREAMS and livin g gods re-enacted in the
a pp aren t m ovem ents o f the starry sky. 5ee
a / s o C R E A T IO N A C C O U N TS .
death In M esoam erican thought death was
closely in teg rated in to the w o rld o f the livin g .
L ife and death w ere b elieved to exist in
dynam ic and com plem entary opposition. It
was w id e ly recognized th a t because o f the
basic need for nourishm ent, k illin g and SACRi
FICE was a necessary aspect o f life . M o reo v er,
deceased ancestors exerted p o w erfu l inR u-
ences upon the livin g . N o t only could they
send punishing DISEASES, b u t they could serve
as in term ed iaries b etw een the livin g and the
gods. D u rin g certain o f the 20-day V E IN T E N A S ,
m ajor festivals honored the dead; the livin g
com m unicated w ith th e ir ancestors by means
o f food, Rowers, and o th er offerings. A ccord­
ing to the 16th c. D om inican, F ra y D iego
D u ra n , the Aztecs perfo rm ed festivals fo r
dead children du rin g the 20-day m onth o f
Tlaxochim aco, and fo r adults in the fo llo w in g
m onth o f X ocotlhuetzi. W ith considerable
concern, D u ra n noted th a t although o rig in a lly
perform ed in August, m any aspects o f these
n ativ e rites w e re being perform ed during th e
C ath o lic celebrations o f A ll Saints' D a y and
A ll Souls' D a y . This festival event, now w id e ly
re fe rre d to as the D a y o f the D ea d , is usually
observed during the several days m arking
the end o f O ctober and the beginning o f
N ovem ber. M arigolds and other offerings
s till used today in the D a y o f the D ea d
74
celeb ratio n s a re c le a rly o f P rehispanic o rigin.
In ancien t M ex ico , the ArrERLifK destination
o f an in d iv id u a l v a rie d according to his or h e r
status and th e m ode o f d eath . M o st souls,
h o w e ve r, had to p erfo rm an arduous jo u rn e y
to th e UNDERWORLD, fo r w hich th e y w ere
fre q u e n tly supplied w ith food and clothing.
I t w as also b eliev ed th a t Docs knew the w ay
through the U n d e rw o rld , and thus they too
fre q u e n tly accom panied th e dead. F o r the
A ztecs, th e re , a re d e ta ile d descriptions o f
the U n d e rw o rld hazards faced by the soul.
A m ong these dangers a re clashing h ills and
obsidian-edged w inds. T h e Q u ich e M aya
POPOL v u H describes s im ila r hazards faced by
the H e ro T w in s in th e ir jo u rn e y through
the U n d e rw o rld , in c lu d in g k ille r BATS, Eerce
JAGUARS, and num b in g cold. The A ztecs
b eliev ed th a t th e soul w as a t last extinguished
fou r years a fte r d ea th .
d eath gods In a n c ie n t M eso am erica, th e re is
com m only a m ix tu re o f fe a r and derision
tow ard th e gods o f d ea th . A ltho u g h w id e ly
thought to be ruthless and cunning, they
are fre q u e n tly o u tw itte d and d efe ated in
m ythological accounts. Th u s Q U E T Z A L C O A T L
successfully steals the m akings o f people fro m
the c ra fty M iC T L A N T E C U H T L i. In th e P O P O L v u H ,
the H e ro T w in s X b a la n q u e and H u n ah p u
tric k the gods o f d eath in to vo lu n te erin g
them selves to be sacriRced. Thus the lords o f
X ib a lb a a re d efe ated and th e tw in s re trie v e
the rem ains o f th e ir fa th e r and uncle. O u r
very presence is lite ra lly a liv in g testim ony
to (he u ltim a te d e fe a t o f th e d ea th gods.
In C e n tra l M exico , the p re e m in e n t god o f
d eath was M ic tla n te c u h tli, o r lo rd o f M ic tla n ,
the U N D E R W O R L D . H e is u sually dep icted as a
skeleton w e arin g vestm ents o f PAPER, a com ­
mon o fferin g to the dead. S keletal d eath gods
are also know n fo r Protoclassic and Classic
V eracru z. A t tim es, th e ir a n im ated p o rtray al
suggests a fa m ilia rity b o rd erin g on affection.
T h e skeletal M a y a e q u iv a le n t o f M ic tla n te ­
c u h tli is today know n as G od A (see scHELLHAS
G O D s ), and com m only appears in Classic M a y a
a rt as w e ll as in the Postclassic codices. In one
text fro m th e M a d rid C odex, he is re fe rre d to
as cizm , or "R a tu le n t one. " CYzm is s till the
nam e fo r the d eath god am ong both the
Yucatec and Lacandon M a y a .
d eer T w o types o f d ee r a re n ativ e to
M eso am erica, the w h ite -ta ile d d eer (Ocfocc-
f/ens am ericana), and the sm aller brocket
 75 DEFORMITY

d e e r (A fa z a m a a m e ric a n a ). O f these, th e
w h ite -ta ile d d e e r seem s to h a v e h a d a fa r
m o re im p o rta n t ro le in n a tiv e ec o n o m y an d
re lig io n . D e e r m e a t w a s a n e s te e m e d food
o fferin g , a n d th e skins c o u ld b e used as th e
w ra p p in g s o f sacred B U N D LE S , a n d as th e lea ves
o f screenfo ld codices (s ee coDEx). A s o n e o f
th e larg e st g a m e a n im a ls , th e w h ite -ta ile d
d e e r plays a fa irly passive ro le in M e s o a m e r ­ Death: a mortuary bundle
ican m y th o lo g y a n d is clo sely id e n tifie d w it h placed in the mouth
gods o f th e h u n t. H o w e v e r , in C lassic M a y a of a cave. Codex Laud,
scenes, th e d e e r a p p ea rs in a n im p o rta n t Late Postclassic period.
m y th ic a l ep iso de in w h ic h th e yo u n g M o o n
G oddess Rees h e r a tta c k e rs on th e b a c k o f a
d e e r. In c e rta in scenes, this ep iso de seems to
h a v e e ro tic overto n es a n d it is lik e ly th a t
a m o n g th e M a y a , th e stag w as id e n tiR e d w ith
se xu a lity.
I n m a n y M e s o a m e ric a n fo rm s o f th e 2 0 d a y
n am es, in c lu d in g C e n tr a l M e x ic a n , Z a p o te e ,
M ix te e a n d M a y a versions, th e te rm or g ly p h
fo r d e e r serves as th e s e ven th d a y n a m e .
In Postclassic C e n tra l M e x ic o , this d a y w as
M a z a tl, w ith TLALoc as its p re s id in g god. In
C e n tr a l M e x ic a n sources, a tw o -h e a d e d d e e r
is shot b y M D (C 0 A T L , god o f th e M IL K Y W A Y and
th e h u n t. T ra n s fo rm e d in to a w o m a n , th e
d e e r w as im p re g n a te d b y M ix c o a tl, a n d gave
Mictlantecuhtli, the
b irth to th e c u ltu re h e ro QUETZALCO ATL.
Central Mexican
death god. A stone
d e fo r m ity Since a t le a s t th e E a r ly F o rm a tiv e vessel excavated at
p e rio d th e re w as a fa scin atio n w ith physical the Templo Mayor,
a b n o rm a litie s . I n O lm e c a r t, rep re s e n ta tio n s Tenochtitlan, Late
o f DWARVES a n d hunchbacks ab o u n d . R a th e r Postclassic Aztec.
th a n b e in g o bjects o f d e ris io n , these in d iv id u ­
als a re o fte n p o rtra y e d w it h g re a t s u p e rn a tu ­
r a l p o w e rs . I n on e in stan ce, d w a rv e s a re
re p re s e n te d s u p p o rtin g th e SKY, w h ile in
a n o th e r, a chinless d w a r f displays heads o f
th e g r e a t h a rp y E A G LE u p o n his b ro w . R e p ­
res e n ta tio n s o f d e fo rm itie s a b o u n d in th e
P rotoclassic c e ra m ic to m b a r t o f W e s t M e x ic o .
A lo n g w it h d w a rv e s a n d hunchbacks, d o u b le ­
headed DOGS a re a m o n g th e m o re co m m o n
m o tifs. D u r in g th e Protoclassic p e rio d ,
a n o th e r ty p e o f d e fo r m ity a p p ea rs w id e ly in
M e s o a m e ric a n a rt. C o m m o n ly r e fe r r e d to b y
th e S pan ish te rm o f TUERTO , this fo rm a p p ea rs
as a g ro te s q u e ly tw is te d fa ce, w it h o n e ey e
shut, a b e n t nose, a n d a fr e q u e n tly e x te n d e d ,
s id e w a y s -c u rv in g to ng ue.
I n L a te Postclassic C e n tr a l M e x ic o , ph ys-
^ ic a l d e fo rm itie s w e r e id e n tiR e d w it h th e Anui-
A TETEO , gods o f p le a s u re a n d ph ysical excess. Xochipilli wearing a deer skin marked with the
C e r ta in ph ysical d e fo rm itie s and illnesses 20 day names, Codex Borgia, p. 53, Late
w e r e p r o b a b ly c o n sid ered to b e p u n is h m e n ts Postclassic period.
DEiF!CATfON
sent by the A h u ia te te o fo r im m o d e rate
b eh avior. H o w e v e r, the id e n tific a tio n o f the
A h u ia te te o w ith d efo rm itie s p ro b ab ly goes
fu rth e r, as it is lik e ly th a t jesters, m usicians
and o th e r e n te rta in ers w e re fre q u e n tly
defo rm ed or handicapped. T h e p rin cip a!
A h u ia te te o was MACUimocHiTL, o r 5 F lo w e r.
In the F lo re n tin e C odex he is described as a
god o f the palace fo lk , w hich w o u ld have
included m usicians, dw arves, jesters, and
o th er en te rta in ers.
ded icatio n M o s t ancien t kings o f M ex ico and
the M a y a region w e re recognized as d iv in e ,
if not in th e ir life tim es , then upon th e ir
deaths. According to A ztec accounts, M o te -
cuhzom a 11 surely live d as d iv in e , his fe e t
never touching the e a rth , avoiding eye con­
tact, and never eatin g in fro n t o f any o th er
person. W hen M otecuhzom a and C ortes m et
on the road from C holula to T e n o c h titla n ,
C ortés sought to g reet him as if he w e re a
European m ortal and to touch h im , an act
rep ellen t to the A ztec king. T izo c, one
o f M otecuhzom a's predecessors (A ztec ru le r
1481-6), com m em orated his victories in b a ttle
w ith a m onum ent th a t depicts him as a
conflation o f tw o m ain d eities, the A ztec
god o f w a r, HurrziLOPOCHTU, and TEZCATLIPOCA,
w ith whose serpent foot Tizoc appears.
M a y a rulers held d ivin e status a fte r d eath,
and in a ll likelih o o d , in life too. D eiH ed
ancestors freq u e n tly occupy the upper m argin
o f carved stone m onum ents. A t T ik a l, Storm y
Sky's fa th e r and predecessor as king, C u rl
Snout, looks dow n on him from above as the
sun god. B ird Jaguar o f Yaxchilán had his
m other and fa th e r rendered in the heavens
on his m onum ents, w ith in cartouches o f the
sun and the moon. K ing Pacal o f P alenque,
fo r exam ple, is rendered in the conflated
a ttire o f tw o gods upon his death: C od K and
the Tonsured M a ize G od, w ith w hom he is
app aren tly conjoined. A 7th c. Bonam pak
king, C han-m uan i, is depicted posthum ­
ously as G od L ; K an X u l o f P alenque appears
as C H A C , again posthum ously, on the D u m b a r­
ton Oaks panel. E ven the erection o f m onu­
m en tal PYRAMIDS over the tombs o f dead kings
suggests th e ir apotheosis and a practice o f
ancestor w orship am ong the ancien t M a y a .
D u rin g th e ir ow n lifetim es, M a y a kings o ften
appear in the guise o f the MAIZE GOD, w ith
w hom they w ere identiH ed.
d eity im personation Through d e ity im p e r­
76
sonation, a hum an could becom e one w ith
the gods. B y h avin g a liv in g b ein g p erform
as th e god, in d iv id u als p layed out a collective
h istory and a shared m ythic past. T hrough
tran ce and tran s fo rm a tio n , the perform ance
o f hum ans as d eities d is trib u te d m agical
p o w e r and ensured the re p eated efficacy o f
th e gods.
A m ong th e A ztecs, the d eities celeb rated in
e ve ry VEINTENA o f the y e a r w e re im personated,
som etim es only fo r the ritu a l its e lf, som etim es
fo r days b efo re th e c u lm in atin g fes tiva l. In
th e m ost e lab o ra te case, fo r th e feast o f
T o xcatl, a young m an liv e d as TEZCATLIPOCA
fo r a yea r. In this ro le , he w as m uch honored,
and M otecu h zo m a h im s e lf adorned h im . H e
was accom panied by e ig h t young m en and
then , 20 days b efo re his sacrifice, he was
m a rrie d to fo u r w om en, w h o them selves
personified x o c H i Q U E T Z A L , X ilo n e n , A tla to n a n ,
and U ix to c ih u atl.
A ccording to Sahagun, the im personator o f
T ezcatlip o ca had to have a specific physical
appearance: " H e w ho w as chosen w as o f
fa ir countenance, o f good und erstan d in g and
quick, o f clean body - slender lik e a reed ;
long and th in lik e a stout cane; w e ll-b u ilt;
not o f o verfed body, not corp u len t, and
n e ith e r v ery sm all nor exceedingly ta ll . . .
[H e w as] lik e som ething sm oothed, lik e a
tom ato, o r lik e a p eb b le , as i f h ew n o f w ood
. . . no scabs, pustules, o r boils on th e foreh ead
. . . not p ro tru d in g or long ears, nor w ith
torpid neck, nor hunch backed, n o r s tiff­
necked, nor w ith neck elongated . . . not
em aciated, nor fa t . . . H e w ho w as thus,
w ith o u t Haws, w ho had no d efects" w o u ld
liv e as T ezcatlip o ca fo r a y e a r (F C : u).
In the m onth o f T la c a x ip e h u a liztli, the
im personator o f xiPE T O T E C , O u r L o rd the
F la ye d O n e , took on th e specific c h aracter­
istics o f th a t god. F o r the fe s tiv a l, a X ip e
im personator took on th e ro le 40 days b efo re ­
hand, and he was gloriH ed and re ve red as if
he w e re the god him self. O n th e d aw n o f the
day o f c eleb ratio n h e, along w ith im person­
ators o f e ig h t o th e r gods, am ong them Hurrzi
L O P O C H T L I, Q U E T Z A L C O A T L , M A C U IL X O C H IT L , and
M A Y A H U E L , had th e ir hearts sacriHced and
then , im m e d ia te ly , th e ir skins Hayed. O th e r
m en then donned these Hayed skins and the
re g alia o f the various d eities in a cerem ony
D u rá n calls N e te o to q u iliztli, w h ich he trans­
lates as "Im p ers o n atio n o f a C o d ." A fte r a
ritu a l com bat and m ore sacriHces, fu rth e r
m en b o rrow ed th e Hayed skins and, adorned
77 DIRECTIONS

as X ip e, begged fo r 20 days in the streets o f

Ten o ch titlan . A t the end o f the 20 days,
the foul-sm elling, p u tre fied X ip e skins w e re
buried w ith in the X ip e tem p le. These im p e r­
sonations and sacrifices o f A ztec deities
served constantly to re n ew the v ita lity o f the
god him self.
In m any cases in ancien t M esoam erica,
d eity im personation m ay have been a sha-
m anic transform ation, in w h ich individuals
had a "com panion self" or TONAL in to w hich Deliberate mutilation of teeth: examples of
they changed un d er c ertain conditions. T h e dentistry from Uaxactun, Late Classic Maya.
M a y a hieroglyph read UAY links the nam es o f
hum ans w ith th e ir com panion selves, usually
anim als, and most fre q u e n tly the JAG UAR. A
num ber o f O lm ec sculptures show stages o f
the transform ation from hum an to ja g u ar
form and are in a ll likelih o o d sham anic trans­
form ations.
In th e ir royal costumes, M a y a kings fre ­
q u en tly im personated th e ir gods, most often
the M A K E C O D , b u t also the JAG UAR G O D o f the
U n d e rw o rld , C H A C , and G i o f the P A LE N Q U E
Fee a/so S H A M A N IS M .
T R IA D . east (/a/Mn)

d en tistry A lthough little is know n o f the

practice or m ethod o f M esoam erican dentis­
try , surviving noble skulls fre q u e n tly reveal
Rled or in la id teeth , from 1000 Be on u n til
the Spanish Conquest. Both filin g and d rillin g
often le ft exposed nerves in the teeth and
m ust freq u e n tly have resulted in excruciating
p ain, in fectio n , and even d eath. Using la p i­
dary skills and techniques, ancien t M eso- north (xaman)
am ericans d rille d and inserted into teeth ja d e
beads, bits o f turquoise and iron pyrites -
am ong o th er m aterials. D e n ta l in lay app ar­
e n tly alw ays functioned cosm etically and not
to re p a ir cavities.
Am ong the M a y a , upper incisors w ere
som etim es filed to the T-shape o f the sun
god, and in this w ay, a hum an s visage could
west (c/rMn)
be p erm an e n tly transform ed in to th a t o f a
m ajor d eity . T h e ja d e mosaic mask con­
structed d ire c tly on K in g Pacal o f Palenque s
face a fte r d eath also fe a tu re d tesserae that
form ed a T o f u pper incisors.

directions T h e fo u r card in al directions con­

s titu te one o f the u n d erlyin g fram ew orks o f
M esoam erican relig io n and cosmology. T h e
south (no/io/)
O lm ecs w ere c lea rly fascinated b y them , and
a t th e M id d le F o rm a tiv e O lm ec site o f L a
Comparison of Early Classic and Postclassic
*V en ta, Tabasco, caches o f JADE and serpentine Maya direction glyphs: left column, Río Azul,
CELTS form crosses o rien ted to the fo u r d irec­ Early Classic; right column, Dresden Codex,
tions. T h e placem ent o f fou r c le ft celts across Postclassic.
DISEASE
the headband or b ro w o f O lm ec heads m ay
also be an allusion to the fo u r d irectio n s. O n e
la te O lm ec carvin g , the H u m b o ld t C e lt, m ay
possibly rep resen t p a rtic u la r signs o f th e fo u r
d irections, o rie n te d around a c e n tra l disk
containing a cross.
By the E a rly Classic p erio d am ong the
M a y a , th ere is clea r epig rap h ic evidence o f
d ire ctio n al glyphs. E a rly Classic form s o f the
fou r d ire ctio n al glyphs a re d isplayed upon
the w alls o f To m b 12 a t R io A zu l, G u a te m a la ,
w h e re they correspond to the correct c ard in a l
directions, confirm ing the w e ll-k n o w n d ire c ­
tio n al glyphs app earin g in the Postclassic
M a y a codices. A side from the still undeciph­
ered glyph fo r south, the Classic and Post­
classic d irectio n al glyphs p rovide p honetic
values corresponding to Yucatec M a y a n d irec­
tional term s o f /a M m (east), tram an (n o rth ),
and c M rin (w est).
By the L a te Classic period, there is re lia b le
epigraphic evidence for day nam es and coLons
o rien ted tow ard the four directions. Thus in
the Classic M a y a 819-day cycle, the 20 day
nam es are consistently associated w ith p a r­
ticu lar colors and directions. B eginning w ith
the first day nam e o f Im ix, the directions and
colors shift through the 20 day nam es in a
counter-clockw ise m otion from east and red
to north and w h ite , w est and black, south
and yellow . T h e same o rien tatio n o f day
names to colors and directions is w e ll docu­
m ented for the Postclassic Yucatec M a y a .
A lthough there are no know n signs for
directions or colors in the w ritin g systems o f
C e n tra l M exico, directions are freq u e n tly
indicated by the use o f the 20 day nam es. As
in the case o f the Classic and Postclassic
M a y a , the day nam es pass in counter-clock­
wise succession, w ith the first day, C ip a c tli -
corresponding to the M a y a Im ix - beginning
in the east. In o th er w ords, both the M a y a
and C e n tra l M exican versions o f the 20 day
nam es are o rien ted to precisely the same
directions. Since the fou r directions pass Uve
tim es evenly through the 20 days, each d irec­
tion has five p a rtic u la r days. F o r exam ple, the
first, fifth , n in th , th irte e n th , and seventeenth
day names o f C ip a c tli, C o atí, A tl, A catl, and
O llin a ll correspond to the east.
In the C e n tra l M exican codices, these fou r
five-day groups are often used to designate
the cardinal directions. Thus pages 49 to 52
o f the Codex Borgia contain elab o rate scenes
corresponding to the fo u r d irectio n al grou­
pings o f day nam es. Each o f the fou r pages
7$
depicts a d iffe re n t d ire c tio n a l god, tem pfe,
and tre e . S im ila r d ire ctio n al passages app ear
in th e F e jé rv á ry -M a y e r, V atican us B, and
Cospi codices. C o n ta in in g references to d ire c ­
tio n al gods, tem p les, and trees, a very s im ila r
sequence appears in the n ew y ea r pages o f
the M a y a D resd en C odex.
disease In an cien t and contem porary
M eso am erica, th e re is an am bivalence
reg ard in g illness. W h ereas disease m arks an
im b alanced and dangerous state, it can also
den o te a special relatio n s h ip to sup ern atu ral
pow ers. F re q u e n tly a person e xh ib itin g a
p a rtic u la r illness is b e liev ed to have received
a s u p ern atu ral sum m ons. Q u ite o fte n , people
cured o f a disease becom e p o w e rfu l curers
and SHAMANS. Som e o f the e a rlie s t as w e ll as
m ost g raphic p o rtrayals o f disease app ear
in the Protoclassic tom b sculpture o f W est
M exico , especially th a t o f th e Ix tla n d el R io
style o f N a y a rit.
Diseases a re com m only b eliev ed to d e riv e
from CAVES and th e UNDERWORLD. T h e Q uiché
M a y a P O P O L v u H describes p a rtic u la r diseases
caused by the U n d e rw o rld lords o f X ib a lb a .
A m ong these d eath gods a re A h alp u h and
A h alg an , w ho cause sw ellin g , pus, and ja u n ­
dice, C h am iab ac and C h am iah o lo m , m akers
o f extrem e w asting and em aciatio n , and X ic
and P a tan , bringers o f blood vo m it. I t is
p robable th a t m any o f the U n d e rw o rld gods
and dem ons in Classic M a y a vessel scenes a re
also personifications o f p a rtic u la r diseases. In
the Yucatec M a y a o f the
the lo rd o f the U n d e rw o rld , H u n A h au ,
is fre q u e n tly evoked. In this C o lo n ial tex t,
diseases are tre a te d as p ersonified sen tien t
beings th a t can be addressed by the curer.
A m ong th e m aladies m en tio n ed a re p a rtic u la r
seizures, asthm a, and skin eruptions. A m ong
contem porary Yucatec M a y a , c e rta in diseases
a re b eliev ed to be caused by insects sent from
the U n d e rw o rld by e v il sorcerers.
In m any parts o f M eso am erica, diseases
a re thought to be caused b y sorcery. In the
e a rly C o lo n ial Yucatec d ictio n aries, th e re are
term s describing sorcerers w ho can cause
blood or pus in u rin e , in te s tin a l w orm s,
d ia rrh e a , and o th e r u n pleasant com plaints.
Sorcerers are w id e ly b eliev ed to attack the
souls or sup ern atu ral a lte r egos o f in d ivid u als,
th e re b y causing illness and d eath . A p a rtic u ­
la rly fea red form o f sorcerer is the in d iv id u al
w ho can transform in to an an im al. T o the
Aztecs, this in d iv id u a l was know n as f/ac afe -
79 DIVINATION

co/od, o r " o w l person. " T h e A z te c F lo r e n tin e

C od ex describes th e d e eds p e rfo r m e d b y this
in d iv id u a l: "H e is a h a te r , a d e s tro y e r o f
p eop le; an im p la n te r o f sickness, w h o bleed s
h im s e lf over oth ers, who kills th e m by
potions - w h o m akes th e m d r in k po tio ns;
w h o bu rn s w o o d e n figures o f o th e rs ."
Im p u ritie s caused b y excessive se x u a lity
an d drun ken n e ss a re a n o th e r cause o f d is­
ease. P ro stitu te s, a d u lte re rs a n d d ru n k a rd s
th e re fo re a c te d as vectors o f disease. In
C e n tra l M e x ic o , th e A H U iA T E T E O w e r e s im u l­
tan eo u sly th e gods o f excess a n d p u n is h m e n t,
fr e q u e n tly in th e fo rm o f sickness. Thus
M A C U iL X O C H iT L , th e p rin c ip a l A h u ia te te o ,
b ro u g h t diseases o f th e g e n itals to those w h o
c o p u la te d w h ile u n d e r fast. Im m o d e r a tio n
re p re s e n te d a dang ero us im b a la n c e b e tw e e n
th e p e o p le a n d th e s u rro u n d in g n a tu ra l an d
s u p e rn a tu ra l w o rld s a n d , fo r this reaso n, th e
te rr ib le ep id e m ic s o f th e 16 th c. w e r e w id e ly
Part of a passage describing temples, gods, and
co n sid ered to b e signs o f d iv in e p u n is h m e n t
day names of the four directions, Codex
a n d re tr ib u tio n . T o th e n a tiv e su fferers, these Fejérváry-Mayer, p. 33, Late Postclassic period.
plagu es w e re o fte n re g a rd e d as signs o f In the lower portion of the scene, the five
p ro fo u n d s p iritu a l as w e ll as ph ysical illness. eastern day names are placed below the sun god,
S e e a i s o C U R IN G ; D E F O R M IT Y . Tonatiuh, who stands before his temple.

d iv in a tio n D iv in a tio n is a n essen tial e le m e n t

o f M e s o a m e ric a n relig iou s life . As a sign
o f its im p o rta n c e , th e p rim o rd ia l A NC ESTR A L

COUPLE a n d e v e n th e creato rs th em selves are

o fte n d e scrib e d as d iv in e rs . T h u s th e A z te c
g e n e trix Toci w as re g a rd e d as th e goddess o f
d iv in e rs as w e ll as th e m o th e r o f th e gods. I t
is q u ite lik e ly th a t th e ag ed Goddess O o f
th e M a y a (s ee S C H E L LH A S c o o s ) w as s im ila rly
re g a rd e d as a d iv in e r as w e ll as an ag ed
c re a to r goddess. I n C e n tra l M e x ic o , th e p r i­
m o rd ia l co u p le k n o w n as O xo m o co a n d C ip a c -
to n a l a r e d e scrib e d as d iv in e rs . A cco rd in g to
th e Q u ic h e M a y a POPO L v u n , th e ag ed co u p le
X p iy a c o c a n d X m u c a n e p e rfo rm e d d iv in a to ry
h a n d casting d u rin g th e c re a tio n o f p e o p le.
N o t o n ly do d iv in e rs p la y a ro le in C R E A T IO N

ACCOUNTS, b u t th e a c tu a l p ra c titio n e rs fr e ­
q u e n tly c o m p a re th e ir r itu a l acts to th a t o f
c re a tio n . Thus th e d iv in e r co m m o n ly
describes a n d in vokes th e im ages a n d forces
p re s e n t a t th e tim e o f c re a tio n . T h is m a y
b e seen in a p o rtio n o f a re c e n t M a z a te c
d iv in a to ry p r a y e r b y M a r ia S abina:

From out o í the mghf and darkness, says

Woman performing divination by handcasting to
71ben the trees grew, the mountains and determine the outcome of a disease, Codex
^rtc^es were /brmed, says, Magliabechiano, 16th c. Aztec. The starry night
H e on/y thought about it and iooied into it symbol behind the diviner indicates that this was
to the bottom, says, a nocturnal rite.
DfVINC GOD
TAen fAe p/a/ns anc/ Ao//owy AarJenet/, ^ayy
7Aat Is wAat we are gom^ fo do, too, says.
fEy^rada and Mum? 19^2. 742^
T h e M esoam ehcan id e n tiEca tion o f d iv in ­
ation w ith creatio n is p ro b ab ly because it is,
by its n a tu re , a m iraculous act. T h ro u g h ritu a l
and p ra y e r, the d iv in e r sum mons the godly
pow ers o f creation to m an ifest them selves
again in a physical and tan g ib le m ed iu m . In
contrast to the casting o f lots d u rin g gam bling
gam es, d iv in a tio n was not recreatio n but
re -creat/o n .
In an cien t M eso am erica, d iv in atio n took
m any form s. T h e 260-d ay CALENDAR, so c en tral
to M esoam erican life , served p rim a rily as a
d iv in ato ry alm anac, and p ro b ab ly had its
origins in d iv in ato ry rites p e rta in in g to m id ­
w ives and the hum an gestation p erio d . I t was
often used in conjunction w ith sortilage, or
the d iv in ato ry casting o f !ots, w hich was often
p erform ed w ith seeds th a t w e re random ly
cast and then counted for the augury. I t is
probable th a t the vast num ber o f d iv in ato ry
alm anacs in the ancient screenfold books
w ere used w ith hand casting. Scrying w ith
MIRRORS or pools o f w a te r was another form
o f M esoam erican d ivin atio n . Am ong the
Tarascans o f M ichoacán, the SHAMANS o f the
king could see a ll past and fu tu re events
through bowls o f w a te r or m irrors. T h e events
w itnessed by these seers could be used as
evidence in court cases.
Aside from sortilage and scrying,
M esoam erican diviners com m only used th e ir
ow n bodies fo r prognostications. Thus d iv ­
iners could receive messages through muscle
tw itchings or the pulsing o f blood. In C e n tra l
M exico, d ivin atio n was also p erfo rm ed by
hand spans. H e re the d iv in er m easured the
le ft arm o f the p a tie n t w ith the outstretched
span o f the rig h t hand. Visions d erived from
H A L L U C IN O G E N S are another im p o rtan t form o f
d ivin atio n , and are still w id e ly used am ong
contem porary diviners o f M exico. Am ong the
m ore common hallucinogenic plants used in
d ivin atio n are m orning glory, jinsom w eed,
and peyote.
D iv in g C od O ne o f the m ore com m on sculp­
tu ra l m otifs o f L a te Postclassic Yucatán is a
you th fu l figure th a t appears to be diving
headfirst from the sky. A lthough the most
elab o rate and best-know n exam ples occur in
the arch itecture o f T u lu m , Q u in tan a Roo, the
d ivin g god also appears in the sculpture o f
M a y a p a n and o th e r la te site* o f the n o rthern
M a y a low lands. In scholarly lite ra tu re , this
b ein g is o fte n re fe rre d to as a bee god hut
th e re is little iconographic support for this
id e n tific a tio n . T h e vast m a jo rity o f d iv in g god
figures ap p e ar to rep resen t th e M a y a MAizH
coD , com m only re fe rre d to as God E (see
SCHELLHAS CODS).
dog T h e te n th d ay sign in the C e n tra l M e x i­
can c ale n d ar rep resen ted th e dog, know n as
Itz c u in tli in N a h u a tl; in the Yucatec M a y a
c ale n d ar, the ten th d ay sign, O c, p ro b ab ly
also re fers to the dog, although no such
re ad in g is know n fo r the w o rd its e lf. xiPE
TOTEC and QUETZALCOATL presided o ver the
trecena 1 Itz c u in tli.
T h e n a tiv e M eso am erican dog w as a h a ir­
less c re a tu re , p rin c ip a lly raised as a foodstuff.
M a le s w e re o ften castrated and fo rce -fed . In
C e n tra l M ex ico , a person born on the d ay 4
D og in the trecena I D e e r w o u ld be a g ifte d
b re ed er o f dogs and w o u ld n ev er lack fo r
food.
XOLOTL, a C e n tra l M e x ic a n god w ith in ti­
m ate ties to the UNDERWORLD, som etim es has
the head o f a dog. In both A ztec and M a y a
b e lie f dogs, perhaps em bodying the ro le o f
X o lo tl, guided th e ir m asters in to the U n d e r­
w o rld a fte r DEATH and w e re o f p a rtic u la r use
in crossing bodies o f WATER. T h a t this b e lie f
is o f some a n tiq u ity is borne o u t by c a re fu lly
b u ried skeletons o f dogs in te rre d w ith
hum ans a t L a te F o rm a tiv e C h up icu aro . Dogs
also accom panied th e ir m asters in E a rly
Classic M a y a TOMBS, and fre q u e n tly ap p ear
in U n d e rw o rld scenes on p ain te d Classic
M a y a pots. In the POPOL vuH, w h en they
p erfo rm ed in th e court o f th e lords o f d eath ,
the H e ro T w in s sacriSced a dog and then
brought it back to life ; th e g ra te fu l dog
w agged his ta il.
Dogs a re a fre q u e n t subject o f W est M e x ­
ican, p a rtic u la rly C o lim a , a rt. W h ile m any
app ear sim ply to be n atu ra lis tic represen­
tations o f the fa t, hairless dog, others w e a r
masks and belong to a su p ern atu ral realm .
dream s M eso am erican peoples recognized
dream s as special tim es o f com m unication
b etw een hum ans and the su p ern atu ral w o rld.
In dream s, hum ans can contact com panion
spirits, or w h a t a re called UAYS or T O N A L S , and
e n te r dialogues w ith ancestors and gods.
A ccording to D u rá n , a t the tim e o f the
lan d in g o f the Spanish invaders in V eracru z,
81 DUALITY

M otecuhzom a n grew preoccupied w ith

omens and dream s; he com m anded his peo­
ple to come fo rw ard and re la te th e ir dream s,
even if they w e re u n favo rab le. A n old m an
reported th a t he had seen the tem p le o f
Hum ziLO PO C H TLi on fire and fa lle n ; an old
wom an told o f a dream in w hich a riv e r
ripped through the royal palace, destroying
it. M otecuhzom a cast the dream ers in to ja il
and le ft them to die.
A m o n g th e m o d e rn h ig h la n d M a y a , a d o le ­
scents - o r pre-ad o lesc en ts - m a y b e c a lle d
as SHAMANS o r c a le n d a r k e ep e rs th ro u g h illness
an d d rea m s. In Z in a c a n ta n , a 10- o r 1 2 -y e a r-
old b o y o r g irl receives th re e d re a m s w h e n
ca lle d as a sh am an. Effigy vessel in the form of a dog wearing a
human mask, Colima, Protoclassic period.
d u a lity O n e o f th e basic s tru c tu ra l p rin c ip le s
o f M e s o a m e ric a n relig iou s th o u g h t is th e use
o f p a ire d oppositions. In th ese p a irin g s , th e re
is a re c o g n itio n o f th e es sen tial in te r d e p e n ­
d e n ce of opposites. T h is c o m p le m e n ta ry
op p o sitio n is m ost c le a rly re p re s e n te d in th e
sexual p a irin g o f m a le a n d fe m a le . T o th e Two examples of duality.
A ztec s, th e s u p re m e c re a tiv e p rin c ip le w as (AgAf) Split mask
representing living and
OM ETEO TL, th e god o f d u a lity . I n this single
ñeshless face, Tlatilco,
s e lf-g e n e ra tin g b e in g , th e m a le a n d fe m a le Early Formative period.
p rin c ip le s w e r e jo in e d . T h e o m n ip o te n t god (Be/ow) The death god,
co uld also b e r e fe r r e d to b y its m a le an d Mictlantecuhtli (left), with
fe m a le aspects, O m e te c u h tli a n d O m e c ih u a tl. the life-giving god of wind,
S im ila rly , th e M ix te e s an d o th e r M e s o a m e r ­ Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl; Codex
Borgia, p. 56, Late
ica n c u ltu re s co n sid ered c re a tio n to b e th e
Postclassic period.
w o rk o f a s e xu a lly p a ire d coup le.
A s id e fro m th e m a le an d fe m a le p rin cip les,
co m m o n o p p o sitio n a l p a irin g s in c lu d e life an d
d e a th , sky a n d e a rth , z e n ith a n d n a d ir, d a y
a n d n ig h t, sun a n d m oon , fire a n d w a te r . I t
can re a d ily b e seen th a t such series o f p a irin g s
c o u ld b e ea sily lin k e d in to a la rg e r g ro u p o f
oppositions. T h u s , fo r e x a m p le , on e side could
e n ta il m a le , life , sky, z e n ith , d a y , sun, a n d
fire , w h e re a s th e o th e r w o u ld b e fe m a le ,
d e a th , e a rth , n a d ir, n ig h t, m oon , a n d w a te r .
Such la rg e r s tru c tu ra l oppositions a re e v id e n t
in b o th c o n ta c t p e rio d a n d c o n te m p o ra ry
M e s o a m e ric a n relig io u s system s.
T h e co n ce p t o f d u a lity can b e tra c e d as fa r
b a ck as th e E a r ly F o rm a tiv e a r t o f h ig h la n d
M e x ic o , w h e r e som e c e ra m ic m asks fro m th e
site o f T la tilc o a r e c le ft d o w n th e m id d le fro m
b r o w to ch in , a liv in g fa c e on o n e sid e a n d a
Aeshless skull on th e o th e r. In C lassic M a y a
^ w ritin g , d is ta n c e n u m b e rs used in c a le n d ric a l
re fe re n c e s a re occasion ally in tro d u c e d w it h
p a ire d couplets. O n th e L a te C lassic T a b le t
o f th e 9 6 G ly p h s fro m P a le n q u e , th e p a ire d
DWARVES AND HUNCHBACKS
glyphs fo r sun and darkness, Venus and
m oon, and w in d and w a te r precede distance
num bers. T h e significance o f such coup!ets in
M a y a c ale n d rica l expressions rem ains to be
exp iain ed . Perhaps the m ost advanced lite r ­
a ry use o f p a ire d expressions appears in
N a h u a tl ritu a l speech, w h e re a p a ir o f w ords
is used to re fe r to a th ird concept. K n ow n by
its Spanish nam e, d t/ras/sino, this lite ra ry
device is re la tiv e ly com m on in N a h u a tl.
A m ong the b e tte r know n exam ples a re Rre
and w a te r to a llu d e to w a r (see A T L T L A C H iN
O L L i) , red and black fo r w ritin g , and stone
and w ood fo r punishm ent.
dw arves and hunchbacks A t the tim e o f the
Spanish C onquest, M otecuhzom a I I , lord o f
the Aztecs, kept a troop o f dw arves to e n te r­
tain him and som etim es to advise h im on
m atters o f state and relig io n . B u t the im p o rt­
ance o f dw arves - and hunchbacks, w ith
w hom they are often paired - in M eso am er-
ican religion goes back to the e arlies t tim es,
w hen the O lm ecs paid special atten tio n to
dw arves. O n P otrero N uevo A lta r I , dw arves
support the sym bol for sky, and so m ay
w e ll have been understood to be SKYBEAHERS,
perhaps akin to the M a y a bacabs. M a n y
sm all, p o rtab le O lm ec objects fe a tu re
dw arves and hunchbacks, some occasionally
w ith wings. These im ages m ay w e ll be linked
to concepts in the G u lf Coast a rea th a t have
survived in to m odern tim es o f the cAaneAey,
m ischievous dw arves and spirits w ho p lay
unpleasant tricks on hum ankind.
T h e M a y a believed th a t dw arves w e re
child ren o f the Chacs (rain gods), and that
they could bring rain . Some contem porary
highland M exico M a y a peoples b elieve th a t
dw arves d w e ll under the surface o f the earth .
In Yucatec, dw arves are also know n as ciz
Amm, or "e a rth f a r te r /' presum ably because
o f th e ir proxim ity to the ground. O n some
Classic M a y a pots and m onum ents, dw arves
are nam ed as such, and the w ord fo r d w a rf,
cA a f is w ritte n phonetically. T h e Zapotees
believed th a t m ountain gods w e re dw arves.
From abundant Classic M a y a depictions o f
dw arves, it is clear th a t most suffered short-
lim b dw arfism , or w h a t is som etim es know n
as acAondrop/asia. T h e MAIZE GOD is o ften
shown dancing w ith a d w a rf or a hunchback
on pain ted vases from the N a ra n jo -H o lm u l
region; perhaps the d w a rf is an allusion to
the sm aller second ear o f m aize freq u e n tly
issued by the m aize p lan t, or perhaps to the
nz
e d ib le fungus know n today in C e n tra ! M exico
as Au/dbcocAe, w hich invades and distorts an
e a r o f m aize. A t Y axchilán, tw o d w arves w ith
star m arkings on th e ir backs atten d K ing B ird
Jaguar in a BALLCAME scene and m ay re fe r to
the con stellatio n C e m in i, know n as the TURTLE
or d w a rf star am ong th e M a y a .
A m ong the A ztecs, TLALO c, lik e the M a y a
ra in god CHAC, w as associated w ith dw arves,
hunchbacks, and d efo rm itie s. T h e king o f
C haleo o ffe red a hunchback to the T la lo q u e
(gods o f ra in and lig h tn in g ); he had him
c arried to a cave in a d o rm a n t volcano, w h e re
th e T la lo q u e w elcom ed him to th e ir palace.
W h e n the king la te r found h im a liv e , he took
it as an om en th a t C haleo w o u ld fa ll, as
it d id th a t y e a r, to the M e x ica . See a/yo
A H U IA T E T E O ; D E F O R M IT Y ; T U E R T O S .
eagle T h e re a re tw o im p o rta n t species o f
eagle n a tiv e to M eso am erica, th e h arp y eagle
(.Ha^p/a A arp y/a) and the golden eagle
(A g tn /a cA/y-saefay). N a tiv e to the hum id
low lands, the h arp y eagle is the g reatest
avian p re d a to r o f M eso am erica. W ith its
m assive, razo r-sh arp talons, it is capable o f
k illin g a d u lt m onkeys. Thus it is n o t surprising
th a t th e h arp y eagle plays a m ajo r ro le in
F o rm a tiv e O lm ec iconography. In O lm ec a rt,
the h arp y can be re a d ily id e n tifie d by its
sharply d o w n tu rn ed ra p to ria l b eak and its
p ro m in en t, fo rw ard -s w ee p in g fe a th e r crest.
T h e "ñ am e eyebrow s ' ap p earin g in O lm ec
iconography a re a form o f th e h arp y eagle
crest. T h e O lm ec sym bolism o f the h arp y was
und ou b ted ly com plex. I t o ften appears on
O lm ec ja d e ite "spoons," w h ich w e re q u ite
possibly receptacles fo r blood d u rin g penis
p erfo ra tio n .
A m ong the Classic M a y a , a b ird , q u ite
p ro b ab ly th e h arp y eagle, serves as the p e r­
sonified fo rm o f the roughly 2 0 -y e a r Aatun.
T h e same b ird also serves fo r the AaAfun
tim e p erio d , although h ere it is distinguished
by having a hum an hand serving as th e lo w e r
ja w . A long w ith a th ick ra p to ria l beak, the
b ird displays a p ro m in e n t fe a th e r crest upon
the b ro w . T h e Aafun b ird also serves as a
sym bol fo r the sky, and in M a y a w ritin g can
provide th e phonetic v alu e o f can or cAan,
the M a y a n term fo r "sky. " T h e b ird head
appearing as the Classic form o f the day M e n
83 EARTH
is p ro b a b ly also a n e a g le , as th e Postclassic (Le/t) Enthroned hunchback, detail
C e n tra l M e x ic a n fo rm o f this d a y n a m e is of Chenes capstone, Late Classic
C u a u h tli, m e a n in g " e a g le ." In th e " h in t Maya.
s h ield " w a r expression o f C lassic M a y a ico n ­
og raph y, a n e a g le h e a d c a n b e s u b s titu te d (Center) Aztec eagle warrior
sculpture, Templo
fo r th e sign fo r F L IN T . In L a te Postclassic
Mayor,Tenochtitlan, Late
C e n tra l M e x ic o th e e a g le w as s im ila rly id e n t i­
Postclassic period.
fied w ith h in t.
T h e e a g le plays a n e s p e c ia lly p r o m in e n t (Be/ow) Ancestor rising out of the
role in th e re lig io n o f Postclassic C e n tr a l earth as a fruit-bearing tree,
M e x ic o . In b o th C e n tr a l M e x ic a n a n d M ix te e sarcophagus of Pacal, Temple of
w ritin g , it ap p e a rs as th e 1 5 th d a y n a m e , the Inscriptions, Paienque, Late
co rresp on din g to th e M a y a d a y M e n . R e n d ­
Classic Maya.
e re d w it h a la rg e fe a th e r crest, it is p ro b a b ly
th e h a rp y r a th e r th a n th e g o ld e n ea g le. In
b o th w r itin g a n d a rt, it is fr e q u e n tly frin g e d
w ith A in t b lades. I n L a te Postclassic C e n tra l
M e x ic o , th e ea g le w as a sym b ol o f th e sun.
T h u s in N a h u a tl, th e te rm s fo r ascen din g
ea g le (c u a u h f7 e h u a n if/) a n d d e s ce n d in g ea g le
( c u a u h fe m o c ) w e r e used to r e fe r to th e risin g
a n d s e ttin g o f th e S U N. F o r th e A ztec s, th e
e a g le s y m b o liz e d o n e o f th e tw o m ilita ry
ord e rs d e d ic a te d to th e sun, th e o th e r b e in g
th e JAG UAR (s ee W A R R IO R O R D E R S ). E agles w e r e
also id e n tiA e d w it h H U M A N S A C R IF IC E , one o f
th e p r im a r y m ean s o f n o u ris h in g th e sun.
Thus e a g le fe a th e r d o w n w as a co m m o n
sym b ol o f sacriAce in C e n tr a l M e x ic o . H u m a n
HEARTS o ffe re d to th e sun w e r e k n o w n as
cu au h n o ch fh , o r " e a g le cactus f r u it ." T h e s e
h e a rts w e r e fre q u e n tly p la c e d in a stone
vessel k n o w n as th e c u A U H X iC A L L i, th e " e a g le
g o u rd ve ssel."
T h e g o ld e n ea g le h a d a sp ecial ro le in th e
le g e n d a ry fo u n d in g o f th e A z te c c a p ita l o f
T e n o c h titla n . A c c o rd in g to m y th , th e A ztecs
fo u n d e d th e ir c a p ita l w h e re a n ea g le fe d
up o n a n o p a l cactus. T h is p la c e corresponds
to T e n o c h titla n , o r " p la c e o f th e n o p a l cactus
ro c k ."

e a rth T h e su rface o f th e e a rth w as consid­

e re d in a v a rie ty of w ays in a n c ie n t
M e s o a m e ric a . Q u ite fr e q u e n tly , th e e a rth
w as re g a rd e d as a liv in g e n tity . T h u s in b o th
C e n tr a l M e x ic a n a n d Y u c a te c M a y a th o u g h t,
th e e a rth c o u ld b e v ie w e d as a g r e a t CAIMAN
B o a tin g u p o n th e SEA. T h e A ztec s co n sid ered
it too as a m onstrous d e v o u rin g b e in g , w it h
a h u g e g a p in g m a w , talons, a n d gn ash ing
m o u th s p la c e d on jo in ts o f th e lim b s . K n o w n
as T L A L T E C U H T L i, or " e a r th lo r d ," this b e in g is
a c tu a lly d u a lly sexed, a n d possesses a stro ngly
fe m in in e c o m p o n e n t. The e a rth w as also
re g a rd e d as a A at fo u r-s id e d Aeld, w it h th e
ECLÍPSE
fo u r omEcnoMS corresponding to each o f th e
sides. F o r the M a y a , this m ode! is m e ta p h o r-
icaHy com pared to the q u ad ra n g u lar m aize
Held. in both Y ucatec and Q u ich e M aya
b e lie f, the c reatio n o f the w o rld is com pared
to the m aking o f the m aize h eld . F o r the
Q uiche POPOL vuH, this cou!d be v ie w e d as a
p re p a ra tio n fo r the c reatio n o f the p resent
hum an race, th e p eople o f corn. A m ong the
m odern S ierra N a h u a t o f P u e b la, the e a rth
is seen as a m aize Held, w ith people being
born or 'p la n te d " upon its surface.
A long w ith the q u ad ran g u lar m odel, the
e a rth was considered to be a round disk. Thus
the Aztecs re fe rre d to it as A n a h u a tl, a disk
surrounded by a rin g o f w a te r. In C o lo n ial
Yucatec M a y a w ritin g and m aps, a s im ila r
conception o f the e arth as a round disk
appears. H o w ev er, the an cien t M aya
regarded the c ircu lar earth not only as a Hat
disk, bu t also as a m ore rounded b a ll-lik e
form . T h e re is re lia b le evidence th a t the
Classic and Postclassic M a y a saw the e arth
as a g re at tortoise, m uch lik e peoples o f
eastern N o rth A m erica and Asia, a/so
C R E A T IO N A C C O U N TS .
eclipse Eclipses w ere dreaded throughout
ancient M exico and G u atem ala. A n eclipse
occurs w hen th ree celestial bodies a re aligned
in such a w ay th a t one body passes b etw een
the o th er tw o. As fa r as is know n, eclipses in
M esoam erica w e re universally seen as the
b itin g o f the SUN or the b itin g o f the M O O N . In
Yucatec M a y a n , eclipses w e re called c A tM
Ain, or the "b itin g o f the sun." Solar eclipses
w ere thought to be fa r m ore dangerous than
lu n a r ones.
T h e developm ent o f an accurate lu n a r
C A L E N D A R am ong the M a y a guided calculations
fo r solar and lu n a r eclipses, allo w in g them to
develop eclipse w arn in g dates, although they
could not p re d ict w h e th e r or not it w ould be
visible. T h e D resden Codex eclipse w arn in g
tables could have been used to a le rt PRIESTS
and rulers to eclipse possibilities. In this
codex, an eclipse o f the sun was often pictured
as the eating o f the Ain glyph by a sky serpent.
T h e m odern M a y a - specifically the
M o p a n , T zo tzil, Yucatec, and C hoi - believe
th a t eclipses occur w hen the sun and moon
fight. In o th er M a y a accounts, the sun is
attacked by ants during a solar eclipse. T h e
M a y a and o th er contem porary n ative peoples
b elieve th a t pregnant w om en should not
w itness an eclipse, lest the fetus be deform ed.
M
The A ztecs h eld strong b eliefs about
eclipses. T h e d read ed TzrrziMiMK star dem ons
becam e v isib le d u rin g an eclipse, descended
to EARTH, and consum ed h u m an ity . A ccording
to Sahagún, the people sought ou t those o f
fa ir face and h a ir fo r sacrifice to the sun and
d re w blood fro m th e ir ow n ears, in fe a r
th a t th e sun w o u ld n o t re tu rn and th a t the
tzitziyn im e w o u ld be unleashed on the e arth .
T o fo re s ta ll the e v il p o w e r o f an eclipse they
raised a g re a t d in , shouting and p layin g
m usical in stru m en ts. Since the tim e o f the
C onquest it has been know n th a t th e M a y a
also m ake g re a t am ounts o f noise to try to
stop an eclipse. In 1991, w h e n a to ta l eclipse
was v isib le in m uch o f C e n tra l and N o rth e rn
M ex ico , n a tiv e peoples in m any parts o f the
country m ad e a com m otion to stave o ff any
b a le fu l effects.
E h e ca tl A lso re fe rre d to as E h e c a tl-Q u e tza l-
coatl, this god represents Q UETZALCO ATL in his
aspect as god o f W IN D . In the iconography o f
L a te Postclassic h ig h lan d M ex ico , he is usu­
a lly black, w ith a strikin g red m ask resem bling
a beak. A lth o u g h this m ask p ro b ab ly derives
from a duck b ill, th e corners o f th e m outh
a re usually p ro vid ed w ith a long p a ir o f
curving canines. In a d d itio n , E h ecatl w ears a
g re a t d eal o f shell J E W E LR Y , th e m ost im p o rta n t
piece being his cut conch p ec to ral o r ehecaf/a-
cacozcatA T h e shell je w e lry and o th e r e le ­
m ents o f his costum e suggest th a t E h e ca tl
o rg in a lly d erive d fro m the H u astec a re a o f
n o rth ern V eracru z. H o w e v e r, tw o la te 9 th c.
m onum ents fro m th e M a y a site o f S eibal
p o rtray possible e a rly form s o f th e beaked
E h ecatl. A ltho u g h both o f these stelae e xh ib it
strong C e n tra l M e x ica n influences, th e re are
no know n exam ples o f E h ecatl in h ighland
M exico p rio r to th e L a te Postclassic.
In N a h u a tl, eA ecat/ signifies " w in d ," and
this d e ity was c red ited w ith "sw eep ing the
w a y " fo r th e T la lo q u e , the gods o f RAIN and
L iC H T N iN C . H e appears as th e p atro n o f W in d ,
the second o f th e 20 day nam es, and o f the
second T R E C E N A o f 1 Jaguar. H o w e v e r, E h ecatl
is best know n fo r his m ajo r ro le in C en tra!
M ex ica n C R E A T IO N A C C O U N T S w h e re he figures
as a m ajor creator god and cu ltu re hero. A long
w ith creating the e arth and heavens w ith T E Z -
C A T L iP O C A , E hecatl also rescued the bones o f
people from the U N D E R W O R L D , thereb y creating
the present race o f hum ankind. According to
various accounts he also obtained M A iz E , P U L Q U E ,
and M u s ic w ith w hich to w orship the gods.
85 ENEMAS
T h e specific te m p le o f E h e c a tl w as a c irc u ­
lar b u ild in g w ith a co nical ro o f; q u ite fr e ­
q u e n tly a g re a t s e rp e n t m a w serves as th e
d o o rw ay , as i f th e te m p le w as a sy m b o lic
CAVE p ro v id in g e n tra n c e to th e w in d in g d e p th s
o f th e U n d e r w o r ld . D u e to th e c o m m o n b u t
strik in g co n d itio n o f " b r e a th in g c a v e s ," w in d
is co m m o n ly b e lie v e d in M e s o a m e r ic a to
Maya representation of a solar
d e riv e fro m th e U n d e r w o r ld .
eclipse, Dresden Codex, p. 57,
Am ong th e L a te Postclassic M ix te e , Postclassic period.
E h e c a tl w as k n o w n as 9 W in d . I n th e P re -
hispanic C o d e x V in d o b o n e n s is , this M ix te e
god w as b o rn fro m a H in t on th e d a y 9 W in d (Be/ow) Aztec sculpture of
in th e y e a r o f 10 H o u s e . A c c o rd in g to th e
Ehecatl with his characteristic
beak-like mask, Late Postclassic
C o lo n ia l Te/Z e rja n o -R em e n sis, 9 W in d w as
period.
also a n A z te c b irth d a te o f E h e c a tl. T h e d e ity
9 W in d plays a n im p o rta n t ro le in th e M ix te e
codices fo r, lik e his A z te c c o u n te rp a rt, h e
a p p ea rs as a m a jo r c u ltu re h e ro . I n se veral
scenes, h e is re p re s e n te d re c e iv in g his a t t r i­
b u tes fro m a n ag ed p a ir o f c re a to r gods. T h e
C o d e x V in d o b o n e n sis also d e p ic ts 9 W in d
raisin g th e SKY, an ep iso de c re d ite d to E h e c a tl
in C e n tr a l M e x ic a n c re a tio n accounts. In
a n o th e r scene, 9 W in d o b tain s h a llu c in o g e n ic
m ush ro om s fo r th e gods. I t ap p e a rs th a t,
m u ch lik e Q u e tz a lc o a tl o f le g e n d a ry TOLLAN,
9 W in d w as co n sid ered as a n ancestor o f
im p o rta n t M ix te e ru lin g fa m ilie s .

e n em as O n e o f th e m o re cu rio us th em es in
C lassic M a y a a r t is th e use o f g o u rd en em as
d u rin g r itu a l d rin k in g bouts. A lth o u g h it has
o fte n b e e n suggested th a t th ese en em as w e r e
used fo r co nsu m ing HALLUCINOGENS, it is fa r
m o re lik e ly th a t th e y co n ta in e d a n alcoh olic
b e v e ra g e , such as b a lc h é o r PULQUE. A t tim es,
th e en em as a re d e p ic te d in association w it h
a vessel g ly p h ic a lly la b e le d c /o r cAi, a M a y a n
te rm s ig n ify in g p u lq u e or o th e r alcoh olic
drin ks. A c c o rd in g to on e 16 th c. accou nt, th e
H u a s te c M a y a o f n o rth e rn V e ra c ru z used
en em as d u rin g tim es o f e x tre m e in to x icatio n .
In fa ct, m a n y o f th e C lassic M a y a scenes
re p re s e n t in d iv id u a ls c a v o rtin g , fa llin g , an d
e v e n v o m itin g . G iv e n th e su b je ct m a tte r, it
is n o t s u rp ris in g th a t m ost o f th e e n e m a
scenes a re n o t on p u b lic m o n u m e n ts b u t
r a th e r on c e ra m ic vessels fo r p e rs o n a l use.
O n e n o te w o rth y ex cep tio n occurs a t th e P u u c Male self-
ruin s o f R an cho San D ie g o , close to th e administering an
site o f U x m a l. H e r e o n e s tru c tu re o rig in a lly enema, stone
panel from
d is p la y e d a t le a s t 14 b a s -r e lie f ca rvings p e r ­
Rancho San
ta in in g to en em as a n d r itu a l in to x icatio n . Diego, Yucatán,
F o r h ig h la n d M e x ic o , th e r e is no c o n crete Terminal Classic
e v id e n c e fo r th e use o f a lc o h o lic en em as. Maya.
EXCREMENT
H o w e v e r, enem as do a p p e a r to h ave been
used fo r cmuNC and ritu a l PURIFICATION. R u iz
de A larco n records th e fo llo w in g cure fro m
th e 17th c. N a h u a tl in h a b ita n ts o f G u e rre ro :
if a d iR icu lt c h ild b irth w as b eliev ed to be due
to a d u lte ry , th e w om an w o u ld b e ad m in is­
te re d an enem a con tain in g h e r ow n saliva.
excrem ent In C e n tra ! M ex ico , hu m an excre­
m en t sym bolized the p o llu tio n and Rlth th a t
occurred from sexual transgressions and o th e r
m isdeeds. Cm t/afV, the N a h u a tl te rm fo r excre­
m en t, also bore connotations o f im m o ral
and disgusting b eh avior. Thus the te rm c u ii/a -
coya signiRed to be covered w ith excrem ent
or to have one's re p u ta tio n stained. In the
C e n tra l M exican codices, th e re are scenes o f
d efecatin g m en eatin g th e ir ow n excrem ent
w hich sim ultaneously represent both th e p o l­
lu tin g in d iv id u al and his self-PumFiCATiON. T h e
p rim a ry C e n tra l M exican goddess o f ritu a l
p u rificatio n was TLAZOLTEOTL, whose nam e
can be glossed as "e a te r o f R lth ."
Fecal m a tte r w as not only identiR ed w ith
pollution and Rlth. I t is iro n ic th a t c o m , so
com m only considered as in co rru p tib le and
pure in W estern thought, was described as
excrem ent. Thus the N a h u a tl term fo r gold
was feo c u ii/a f/, or "godly excrem en t." T h e
Yucatec M a y a n term fo r gold was q u ite
sim ilar: la M in , or "excrem en t o f the sun."
This term has continued today as the com m on
Yucatec w ord fo r m oney.
execution Execution constituted a public
ritu a l even t distinct from H U M A N S A C R IF IC E .
In stead o f serving as an o ffering, it was a
means o f punishm ent and P U R IF IC A T IO N . Thus
there was little interest in extracting B LO O D or
H EARTS as offerings and the popular form s
o f execution w e re clubbing, stoning, and
strangulation. Am ong the m ore common
causes o f execution w ere a d u ltery, d runken­
ness, th iev ery , and treason. Am ong the T aras-
cans o f M ichoacán, the conventional m eans
o f execution was by b rain in g w ith a large
w ooden club; the parents and relatives o f the
g u ilty p arty w e re fre q u e n tly also k ille d . In
N a h u a tl, the phrase fo r punishm ent was fe t/-
or "w ood and stone." In fac t, stoning
was an especially com m on form o f execution
in M esoam erica, and was fre q u e n tly used
in cases o f a d u ltery. A t tim es, the C e n tra l
M exican god o f stone and castigation, r r z T L A -
C O L IU H Q U I-IX Q U IM IL L I, is shown w ith a p a ir o f
adu lterers k ille d by stoning.
8F8
fa n M a d e o f fea th e rs or cloth stretched over
a bram e, o r o f w o ven re e d , p alm , o r fold ed
p a p e r, fans w e re long th o u g h t to be speciRc
id e n tify in g m arkers o f MERCHANTS, b u t it is
n o w recognized th a t tra v e le rs , dancers, and
occasionally others also b e a r them . B oth
M a y a and A zte c dancers hold fans, and on
C lassic M a y a p o tte ry , G od N som etim es
dances w ith a fa n . In th e B onam pak m urals,
a M a y a no b lew o m an holds a fan o f e ith e r
fea th e rs o r fo ld ed p a p e r w h ile she w atches a
scene o f b lo o d le ttin g ; dancers w ith blood
stream in g fro m th e ir groins in Room 3 o f the
m urals c a rry fans w ith bloody h an d p rin ts.
F a t C o d T h e Rgure know n as th e F a t G od is
am ong th e m o re curious and least understood
d eities o f a n c ie n t M eso am erica. T h is strange
b eing is fou n d in th e Classic p erio d a rt o f
T eo tih u ac an , V e ra c ru z, and th e M a y a region.
H e is Rrst know n in L a te F o rm a tiv e m on­
u m en tal stone sculpture fro m th e p ied m o n t
o f G u a te m ala. A p p e a rin g a t such e a rly sites
as M o n te A lto and Santa L e tic ia , th e F a t C o d
is rep resen ted as e ith e r a huge p o tb e llie d
Rgure o r sim ply a m assive head. In both
cases, he appears m uch lik e a b lo ated corpse
w ith heavy, sw ollen lids covering his eyes. In
th e case o f p o tb e lly sculptures, th e n avel too
is o ften la rg e and sw ollen. T h e F a t G od is
a com m on c h a ra cter am ong L a te Classic
M a y a Rgurines, occasionally occurring also
on ceram ic vessels w h e re , lik e the e a rly
p ied m o nt sculptures, he is show n w ith shut
eyes and a sw ollen b e lly a n d n avel. In tw o
cases, he is accom panied b y a h iero g lyp h ic
com pound re a d s id a T h e te rm signiRes
g lu tto n y in C h oi and excessive desire o r
g lu tto n y in Yucatec. T h is possible m eaning o f
the F a t G od as an in te m p e ra te g lu tto n m ay
explain his fre q u e n t ro le as a dancer or
e n te rta in e r in L a te Classic M a y a a rt. H e
m ay have been lam pooned as a ritu a l clow n
character personifying g lu tto n y and greed,
m ajo r subjects o f derision and social condem ­
nation in M esoam erica. See a/so C L O W N S .
Rre A ccording to C e n tra l M e x ica n sources,
QUETZALCOATL, the g re a t c reato r god, and Hurr-
ziLOPOCHTLi, th e A ztec c u lt god, m ade Rre
along w ith a fe e b le "h a lf-s u n " th a t shone
87 FIRE
be fo re th e DAW N o f th e e r a in w h ic h h u m a n s
live. A cco rd in g to o th e r sources it w a s TEZCAT-

UPOCA w h o , h a v in g c h a n g e d his nam e to

MMCOATL, w as th e Erst to m a k e E re w ith
FLLNTs, o r w ith a E re d riH , y ie ld in g a ñ a m e
w h ich th en w as c a rrie d to m a k e g r e a t Eres.
To in itia te a new CALENDAR ro u n d , th e
Aztecs c e le b ra te d th e r itu a l o f N e w F ir e ,
perhaps in e m u la tio n o f th ese Erst d rillin g s
o f Ere by th e gods. The las t N ew F ir e Penitent devouring his own excrement: note the
ce rem o n y w as c e le b ra te d d u rin g th e m o n th excrementa! stream pouring towards the moon
o f P a n q u e tz a liz tli, a fe w m o n th s a f te r th e sign; Codex Borgia, p. 10, Late Postclassic period.
n e w y e a r o f 2 A c a tl h a d b e g u n in AD 1507. As
p a rt o f w h a t an th ro p o lo g is ts c a ll a TERMINATION
RITUAL, a ll pots w e r e sm ash ed a n d n e w ones
w e re p re p a re d fo r th e n e w e ra . A ll Eres w e r e
ex tin g u is h ed a n d th e la n d la y in darkness,
a w a itin g th e N e w F ir e c e re m o n y th a t con-
E rm ed an d r e n e w e d th e n e w y e a r. I f E re
co uid not be d raw n , th e n th e TZiTziMiME
w o u ld descend fro m th e h e ave n s to consum e
h u m a n k in d . P re g n a n t w o m e n , th o u g h t to b e
c o n ta m in a te d , w e r e h id d e n fro m v ie w b e h in d
stu ffed sacks o r in sid e g ra n a rie s , a c co rd in g to
th e C o d e x B o rbo nicus; a n y c h ild b o rn in
this p e rio d w o u ld b e s tig m a tiz e d , a n d a ll
co m m o n ers s h ie ld e d th e ir faces w it h b lu e Aduiterers suffering execution, one strangled, one
m asks. A t m id n ig h t b e fo re th e Erst d a y o f stoned; Codex Telleriano-Remensis, 16th c. Aztec.
th e n e w y e a r, on a n e a rb y m o u n ta in c a lle d
C itla lte p e c (" H ill of th e S ta r " ), PRIESTS
w a tc h e d th e m o v e m e n t o f th e STARS w e cal!
th e P le ia d e s a n d w h ic h th e A ztec s k n e w as
th e T ia n q u iz tli, or M a r k e t. I f th e y passed
o v e rh e a d a t m id n ig h t, th e n th e E re priests
p ro c e e d e d : th e y rip p e d o u t th e HEART o f a
sacriEcia! v ic tim , u s u ally a c a p tiv e w a r r io r ,
a n d s ta rte d a E am e w it h a E re d r ill in his Late Classic version of the Fat Cod, termed s/dz
Mime, or "glutton" in accompanying text; detail
o p en ch est ca v ity . Y ear BUNDLES o f sticks
of polychrome vase.
s y m b o liz in g th e old 5 2 years w e r e th e n set
a E re. T h e n e w E re g u a ra n te e d th e a r riv a l o f
th e m o rn in g suN a n d th e in itia tio n o f a n e w
y e a r.
x iU H T E C U H T L i w as th e god o f te rre s tria l Ere.
H is ro le in th e A z te c p a n th e o n m a y h a v e
b e e n d im in is h e d b y th e in tro d u c tio n o f H u it -
zilo p o c h tli, w h ose c u lt en com passed sun an d
E re. HUEHUETEO TL w as th e o ld god o f E re,
u s u ally o f th e h e a rth . B asic a lly a dom estic
god a n d k e p t in ho u s eh o ld sh rin es, h e - a lo n g
w ith TLALOC - is a god o f g re a t a n tiq u ity , an d
his im a g e w as m a d e w it h lit tle ch an g e fro m
E a r ly C lassic to L a te Postclassic tim es in
The drilling of new Ere upon the navel of
C e n tra ! M e x ic o . H e w e a rs a E re b ra z ie r on
Xiuhtecuhtli, Codex Borgia, p. 46, Late Postclassic
his h e a d , w h ose rim is m a rk e d w it h th e period. During the Aztec New Fire ceremonies,
rh o m b o id sym bol fo r E re used a t T E O T iH U A C A N . Ere was drilled on the chest of a sacriEced
The x iU H C O A T L , o r E re s e rp e n t, be ars th e sun captive who had the word jaTund in his actual name.
FIVE SUNS
through th e SKY; it is also the w eapon c a rrie d
by H u itziio p o c h th . A m ong th e M a y a , TOHiL
is the god o f Bre in the POPOL vuH. G od K
(P alen q u e T ria d C II; see PALENQUE TRIAD coos)
m ay have been a Classic god o f Ere.
M eso am erican peoples recognized Bre as
the fu n d am en tal catalyst o f change. T h e
Aztecs b eliev ed th a t th e c u rre n t sun and
MOON cam e in to existence w h en tw o gods,
T ecu ciztecat! and N a n a h u a tzin , im m o lated
them selves in a g re at Bre a t T eo tih u ac an .
F o r the M a y a , as fo r o th e r M eso am erican
peoples, Bre was a w ay to com m unicate
w ith gods and ancestors. O fferin g s, fre q u e n tly
b lo od-spattered PAPER, w e re set on Bre in
b raziers, and in the b illo w in g sm oke, the
M a y a conjured up th e ir gods and ancestors.
T h e Aztecs also used the m etap h or w a te r-
Bre, ATL-TLACHfNOLLi, to m ean w a rfa re .
F iv e Suns T h e F iv e Suns constitute the Bve
eras or w orlds o f A ztec m ythology, including
the present sun o f N ah u i O llin , or 4 M o tio n .
Each o f the four previous suns is identiB ed
w ith a p a rtic u la r god and race o f people, the
gen erally accepted ord er o f the fou r e a rlie r
suns running as follow s: N ah u i O celo tl (4
Jaguar), N ah u i E hecatl (4 W in d ), N ah u i Q u i-
a h u itl (4 R ain) and N ah u i A tl (4 W a te r).
F o llo w in g the m aking o f the present people
and th e ir corn, the Bfth sun was created a t
T E O T IH U A C A N . ^ e e a / s o C R E A T IO N A C C O U N TS .
Bint Tougher and m ore du rab le than O B SiD -
IA N , Bint was universally used to strike F IR E in
the N e w W o rld . I t easily yields sparks, and
the rock its e lf sm ells o f smoke a fte r use. I t is
a B ne-granular q u artz w hich abounds in the
M a y a low lands.
As the p rim a ry means o f striking Bre, B int
was o f in estim able use to hum ankind and
was thus personiBed and deiEed; it was also
a sym bol o f H U M A N S A C R IF IC E and the d eb t
ow ed by hu m an ity to the C O D S. SacriBcial
blades everyw h ere w e re m ade o f B int and
obsidian, and are often depicted a t the joints o f
A ztec deities. Gods and PRIESTS bear Bint knives
in hand, freq u e n tly p ain ted w h ite and red.
In M esoam erican thought, B int and obsid­
ian w e re both created w h ere ligh tn in g strikes.
C H A C and T L A L O C , respectively the M a y a and
C e n tra l M exican hurlers o f thunderbolts,
w e re thus the creators o f these valued
m aterials. According to one A ztec version,
C itla lic u e (She o f the Star S kirt) gave b irth
to B int, and then h u rled it to e arth , w h ere it
on
lan d ed in cmcoMozToc, yield in g 1600 terres­
tria l gods. C h ac usually carries a personiBed
B in t in his h an d , b u t som etim es he is h im self
a personiB ed B int. A m ong the A ztecs, Bint
blades a re also personiB ed, fre q u e n tly w ith
an open, g n aw in g m o u th , in d ic atin g th e ir
a b ility to te a r Besh. rrzTLACOLiUHQUi-ixQUiMiLLi,
god o f castig atio n, m ay be a personiBed B int.
F lin t w as w id e ly recognized as a day sign:
as T e c p a tl am ong the A ztecs and E d zn ab
am ong th e M a y a , fo r exam ple. T e c p a tl was
one o f th e fo u r A zte c Y EAHBEARER day signs,
corresponding to the n o rth , and th e TRECENA 1
T e c p a tl w as p resided o ver by C h a lc h iu to to lin ,
T E Z C A T L iP O C A in th e fo rm o f a b lu e -g re en
tu rk e y . T h e usual, iconic fo rm o f th e M a y a
day sign bears the sam e B int m arkings
d ep icted on M a y a w eap o n ry.
Bowers F lo w e rs h eld ric h m etap h orical
m eaning in an c ie n t M eso am erica. T h re e
A ztec deities h ave p a rtic u la r connections
w ith them : xocHiPiLH, MACuiLXOCHiTL, and
xocHiQUETZAL, a ll o f w hom serve as patrons o f
b eau ty, p leasu re, and th e arts. F lo w e rs w e re
v iew ed as sacriB cial o fferings, and according
to some stories, QUETZALCOATL le d his people
to oBer Bowers and BUTTERFLIES in lie u o f
hum an Besh. F lo w ers w e re o ffe red on m any
occasions: a t th e b eg inning o f the cele b ratio n
o f th e VEINTENA T la c a x ip e h u a liztli, fo r exam ­
p le , a fe s tiv a l o f Brst Bowers w as h eld in
honor o f xiPE TOTEC.
in jro c /u i/ n i cuica w as a N a h u a tl c%&a-
sfsmo, or m etap h orical lin k in g o f tw o p h en ­
om ena in C e n tra l M e x ic a n h ie rarc h ic and
p rie stly address, lite ra lly m eaning Bowers
and song b u t re fe rrin g to a ll a rtis tic endeavors
and p a rtic u la rly p o etry. A n o th e r A zte c term
in co rp oratin g Bowers was xociuyacyof/, lite r­
a lly " w a r o f B o w e rs /* it refers to th e p ractice
o f a p a rtic u la r typ e o f w a r in C e n tra l M exico
carried out by th e A ztecs fro m m id -1 5 th c. on,
in w h ich b a ttle w as c arried o u t speciBcally
to cap ture sacriBcial victim s fro m nearby,
in d ep en d en t p o lities.
Cem poahroc/Mt/, or m arigolds, w e re ancien t
offerings to the dead and a re s till a p rim a ry
o fferin g on the D a y o f the D e a d , 1 N ovem ber,
A ll Souls* D a y . Some b eliev e th a t the C en tra!
M exican goddess C O Y O L X A U H Q U I w ears a large
m arigold on h e r head, and d u rin g the vein­
tena celebrations o f T e c u ilh u ito n tli, w om en
danced tog eth er, hold in g m arigolds. In the
PO PO L v u H , m arigolds and y a rro w a re burned
together, as a sim ple o ffering. OVo/mhgui,
 89 CODS
m orning glories, w e re valu ed fo r the h a llu c i­
nogenic properties o f th e ir seeds, and D u ra n
describes th e ir consum ption d u rin g feasts to
TEZCATLIPOCA (see HALLU CINO GENS). In th e a rt o f
Classic TEOTiHUACAN m any v arie ties o f Rowers
are depicted.
Dancers in celeb ratio n o f vein ten a festivals
freq u ently c arried or w o re Rowers and som e­
times d istrib uted them to o th e r p articip ants
or observers. In th e celeb ratio n o f T o xcatl,
the Tezcatlipoca im personator c a rrie d Rowers
in his hand. In palace scenes w ith o u t obvious
sacriRcial overtones, M a y a kings and nobles
also carry sm all bouquets o f Rowers for
sniRing. M a y a JADES, p a rtic u la rly those w orn
as h a ir ornam ents, w e re o fte n m ade in the
fo u r-p etal shape ch aracteristic o f Rowers.

The Aztec Calendar Stone with the Bve suns of

creation, Late Postclassic period.

gods T h e re has been considerable debate

concerning th e concept o f gods and d iv in ity
in ancien t M esoam erica. T h e 16th c. Spanish
chronicles m ake fre q u e n t and d ire c t re fe r­
ences to dioses, or "gods." H o w ev er, it has
been ju s tly noted th a t E uropean term inology
m ay have grossly sim pliRed com plex concepts
o f sacredness and d iv in ity . Am ong the 16th
c. Zapotees, the term p ee, signifying "b re a th ,
s p irit, or w iN D , " expressed the concept o f
d iv in ity . T h is anim istic force caused m ove­
m en t - a ll phenom ena or m a te rn al things th a t
expresed m otion w e re a ttrib u te d a certain
degree o f sacredness. Am ong the A ztecs, the
term fo r sacredness was feo d w hich, lik e the
Zapotee p ee, re fe rre d to an im m a te ria l energy
or force sim ilar to the Polynesian concept o f
m ana. In M a y a n languages, An or cA'u m eans
sacredness.
A ltho u g h M esoam erican peoples d id pos­
sess concepts o f anim istic forces, they also
b elieved in speciRc gods, th a t is, an im ate,
personiRed beings w ith th e ir ow n d istinct
m yth ical cycles. Thus in M a y a n languages
and the N a h u a tl tongue o f the Aztecs the
term s fo r sacredness could also re fe r to spec­
iRc gods. In the case o f th e Classic period
Zapotees, anthropom orphic gods a re com ­
m only ren dered on ceram ic urns. A lthough it
^ has been recen tly argued th a t these im ages
rep resen t ancestors ra th e r than gods, this is
u n lik ely. T h e w idespread n atu re and continu­
ity o f certain o f the characters, some lasting Eccentric Rint from Quiriguá, Guatem ala, Late
over a 1000 years, m ake it u n lik e ly th a t these Classic M aya.
COLD
a re o n ly h isto rical Bgures. N onetheless, it
does a p p ear th a t, lik e th e M ix te e gods, Z ap o ­
tee gods a re o fte n id e n tiS ed as th e id e a lize d
ancestors o f p a rtic u la rly im p o rta n t lineages,
gold C o ld , o r feo e m t/a i/, lite ra lly EXCREMENT
o f th e gods, was a precious m a te ria l to the
A ztecs, although not so im p o rta n t as JADE
o r tro p ica l b ird feath ers. M o tecu h zo m a n
collected ab o u t tw o tons o f gold a y e a r in
trib u te . So little w o rked gold survived th e
C onquest th a t it is now d iiB cu lt to reconstruct
exactly fo r w hich ritu a l objects it w as m ost
used, b u t w hen A lb re c h t D ü re r v ie w e d in
Brussels the objects th a t C ortés had shipped
back to K in g C harles V in 1520, he described
a SUN m ade e n tire ly o f gold, a fath o m w id e ,
and a MOON o f silver, o f the sam e size. Because
gold was recognized to be a product o f the
sun, solar gods w ere associated w ith
m a te ria !, p articu !ar!y H u r r z iL O P O C H T L i,
A ztec sun god, w ho w ore a gold headband.
C o ld was also fashioned in to JEWELRY fo r the
n o b ility , p a rtic u la rly for nose ornam ents and
lip labrets.
G oldw orkers, or feocm f/aA uague, honored
X !P E T O T E C as th e ir patron and m ade offerings
a t his tem p le, Yopico. G oldsm iths held high
status and w e re recognized as craftspeople,
or fo/feca, a term th a t had lost its ethnic
associations w ith T u la , H id alg o , by the tim e
o f the Conquest.
G o ldw orking arriv ed la te in M exico and
C e n tra l A m erica. In v e n te d m illen n ia before
in South A m erica, w orked objects o f gold turn
up in the M a y a region no e a rlie r than the
8th c. A D . M e ta llu rg y took hold du rin g the
T o ltec e ra in M esoam erica, and dozens o f
gold objects w e re th row n in to the Sacred
C E N O T E a t C hichen Itz á . D u rin g the L a te
Postclassic, the M ixtees c arried out th e m ost
sophisticated m etallu rg y in M esoam erica,
p erfectin g the techniques o f lost-w ax casting
and filig re e, w h ile continuing also to use the
sim pler ham m ering and repoussé.
In 1932, M exican archaeologist Alfonso
Caso excavated T om b 7 a t M o n te A lb án
and found th a t the M ixtees had reused old
Zapotee TO M B S to b ury th e ir kings in the
centuries before the Spanish Conquest. T om b
7 contained the largest surviving single depo­
sit o f P recolum bian gold, along w ith rock
crystal, cave onyx, TU R Q U O IS E , and bone. In
1975, a m ajor cache was discovered by a
fisherm an n ear the m odern c ity o f V eracru z.
K now n as the T reasure o f the F isherm an,
90
this E a rly C o lo n ial cache contained roughly
6 kilos o f gold, m uch o f it in the form o f
P reh isp an ic A zte c je w e lry .
hacha AfacAa, th e Spanish w ord fo r axe,
g e n e ra lly re fers in M eso am erican ritu a l to a
piece o f BALLCAME e q u ip m en t, ra th e r th an an
axe. D a tin g fro m th e C lassic p erio d , m ost
com e fro m V e ra c ru z and the P acific slopes
o f G u a te m a la . E a rly AacAas a re fre q u e n tly
heads, perhaps TROPHY HEADS; la te r ones are
n a rro w e r and o ften in c o rp o rate b ird feath ers.
M o s t AacAa.shave a ten o n ; although g e n e ra lly
thought o f as e q u ip m en t fo r p la y, som e m ay
the have been designed fo r a rc h ite c tu ra l p lace­
the m en t.
hallucinogens H allu cin o g ens p layed and con­
tin u e to p lay an im p o rta n t ro le in M es o am e r­
ican religious life . T h e y have been used fo r
com m union w ith th e C O D S and ancestors,
D iv iN A T iO N , personal visions and self-kn o w ­
ledge, and as a source o f p leasure and e n te r­
tain m e n t. Some scholars have suggested th a t
the F o rm a tiv e O lm ec used b u fo ten in e , a
hallucinogen d e riv e d fro m m a r in e , a
large lo w lan d T O A D . A lth o u g h this is s till
u n certain , representations o f toads a re w id e ­
spread in the F o rm a tiv e and L a te Preclassic
a rt o f southern M eso am erica, and th e p aro -
toid glands fro m w h ich b u fo ten in e is excreted
a re p ro m in e n tly fe a tu re d on them .
Psilocybin m ushroom s (A^f/ocyAe m exi­
cana) m ay also have been used d u rin g the
L a te Preclassic p erio d . Sm all stone sculptures
in the fo rm o f m ushroom s have been found
a t K am in alju y ú and o th e r L a te Preclassic sites
o f th e M a y a highlands and Pacific p iedm ont.
A ltho u g h the resem blance o f these carvings
to mushroom s m ay be fo rtu ito u s, th ey are
fre q u e n tly found in association w ith sm all
g rin d in g stones - am ong contem porary M ix ­
tees o f O axaca, the hallucinogenic mushroom s
a re firs t p u lv erize d on g rin d in g stones before
being ingested.
T h e use o f psilocybin m ushroom s is w e ll
docum ented fo r L a te Postclassic highland
M exico . Page 24 o f th e Prehispanic M ix te e
Codex Vindobonensis contains a scene illu s­
tra tin g the o rig in and use o f th e sacred
m ushroom : 9 W in d , th e M ix te e form o f
91 HEARTS
EHECATL, is shown brin g in g th e mushroom s to
the gods, and 7 F lo w e r, the m ost p ro m in en t o f
them , weeps. T h e mushroom s are personified
b y two supernatural w om en, 4 L iza rd and 11

L izard . D u rin g the night banquets sponsored

b y successful A ztec M E R C H A N T S , p articip ants

ate psilocybin w ith honey. T h e m erchants

w ould freq u e n tly cry from the h allucinations,
which w ere regarded as portents o f fu tu re
events.
A nother im p o rtan t hallucinogen was m orn­
ing glory seed (T u rb in a corym bosa), know n
as o/obubqruj in N a h u a tl. D e ta ile d accounts
of o/obubqtn and its use in d iv in atio n appear
in the C o lo n ial treatise o f R uiz de A larcon.
T aken a t n ight by special p ractitio n ers, the
seeds w e re used to d ete rm in e sources o f
sickness, find thieves, and discover lost objects
or people. T h e o/obubgui was considered to
be an actual god th a t could com m unicate
w ith the p ractitio n er through visions. As a The preparation of gold, Florentine Codex, Book
9, 16th c. Aztec.
god, the o/obuhgtn was trea te d w ith trem en d ­
ous ven eratio n and respect, and was cared
for in sm all baskets passed dow n through
generations o f diviners.
A sm all, spineless cactus, peyote (Lo p b o -
pbora wiVbamsn) is n ative to the deserts o f
n o rthern M exico, b u t was w id e ly trad ed in
ancient tim es. R uiz de A larcon notes its use Stone hachas commonly appear in the form of heads,
in 17th c. G u e rrero , a region fa r rem oved suggesting a possible symbolic origin as trophy heads
from its n atu ra l environm ent. A N ah u a tl associated with the ballgame, Classic Veracruz.
term , peyote is w e ll docum ented fo r the 16th
c. Aztecs. A long w ith psilocybin and the
p o ten t jim son w eed (D a fu ra spp.), it is
described as a fev er m edicine in the A ztec
F lo re n tin e Codex. E a rly representations m ay
appear in the Protoclassic ceram ic a rt o f W est
M exico. I t is still used am ong the H u ich o l,
C o ra, T arah u m ara, and other peoples o f
n o rthw est M exico.

hearts M esoam erican peoples valued hearts God 7 Flower eating hallucinogenic mushrooms
as sacrificial offerings. T h e y recognized the while listening to music played by 9 Wind;
Codex Vindobonensis, p. 24, Late Postclassic Mixtee.
h e a rt as the v ita l organ o f the body and as
such, it was food fo r the C O D S. A t the tim e o f
the Conquest, the s till-b e a tin g hum an h eart
was the suprem e o ffering, p a rtic u la rly to the
SUN and to solar deities. A lthough long thought
to have been a p u rely Postclassic C en tra!
M exican phenom enon, h e a rt sacrifice can
now be id e n tifie d to have taken place w id e ly
in M esoam erica from Classic tim es onw ard
#and perhaps even e a rlie r, although there is
Pumas tearing the heart out of a deer, mural
no clear O lm ec evidence. from Techinantitla, Teotihuacan, Late Classic
T h e hum an h e a rt is o fte n depicted in period. Sacrificial hearts are commonly depicted
M esoam erican a rt as a trilo b e d organ, fre - in the art of Teotihuacan.
HERO TWINS
q u e n tly w ith d ro p lets fa llin g fro m it. T h e
m ost e x p lic it evid en ce th a t th e trilo b e /s the
hum an h e a rt comes fro m th e b a ttle p a in tin g
a t C acaxtla, w h e re the trilo b e d sym bol its e lf
oozes fro m the chest cavity o f a fa lle n w a rrio r.
A t TEoriHUACAN, w h e re th e sym bol appears
fro m E a rly C lassic tim es o n w a rd , p a in te d
friezes o f a lte rn a tin g JAGUARS and coyotes
d ep ict hearts in fro n t o f th e ir open m ouths.
In the T e c h in a n titla paintings a t T eo tih u ac an ,
felin es te a r out th e h e a rt o f a DEER. W a rrio rs
w ith goggle masks b ear trilo b e d hearts on the
ends o f staffs and w e a r them , usually in row s
o f th ree , above the b rim o f th e ir headdresses.
A ltho u g h most representations o f Classic
M a y a HUMAN SACRIFICE fe a tu re d ec ap ita tio n ,
h e a rt extrusion is fe a tu re d from tim e to tim e ,
as in the B onam pak m urals. In V eracru z,
h e a rt sacrifice follow s p lay o f the BALLCAME,
am ong o th e r occasions. L a te r, a t C hichen
ltz á , hearts w ere the fea tu re d offerings, and
it m ay have been in T o ltec tim es th a t hearts
becam e the single most im p o rtan t hum an
sacrifice. As depicted on a ham m ered COLD
disk from the Sacred CENOTE a t C hichen, fo u r
assistants hold dow n the extrem ities o f a
victim w h ile a PRIEST or w a rrio r rem oves the
h e a rt w ith a hafted H int blade under the
w a tc h fu l eye o f a cloud serpent, to w hom
the offering m ay be m ade. T h e WARRIOR ORDERS
o f the T o ltec era, id e n tifie d w ith EACLEs,
jaguars, and coyotes, a ll took on associations
w ith h e a rt sacrifice.
In no ancient c iviliza tio n o f the N e w W o rld
w e re hearts so im p o rtan t as am ong the
Aztecs. Special receptacles fo r hum an hearts,
know n as c u A U H x i C A L L i s , w e re m ade on a large
and som etim es colossal scale, and incorpor­
ated in to o th er sacrificial sculptures, such as
C H A C M O O L S . H earts w e re w o rn as necklaces
or skirts by earth goddesses, p a rtic u la rly
c o A T L ic u E and T L A L T E C U H T L i , w ho in some
representations w ore necklaces o f a lte rn atin g
hum an hands and hearts. M o st A ztec agricu l­
tu ra l festivals fea tu re d hum an sacrifice by
h e a rt extrusion including, fo r exam ple, rituals
in honor o f x i P E T O T E C , the Rayed god, w h ere
h e a rt sacriRce preceded th e actual Raying.
T h e Aztecs re fe rre d to sacriRced hearts
m etaphorically as "precious eagle-cactus
fru it," and cactus fru its m ay som etim es be
d epicted as a visual m etaphor w hen hum an
hearts are the reference.
H e ro T w in s see CREATION ACCOUNTS; POPOL vuH ;
TWINS
wz
H u eh u ec o yo tl T h e A zte c god o f DAMcn, M in e ,
and c a rn a lity , H u eh u eco yo tl ("o ld coyo te")
w as a p atro n d e ity o f fe a th e rw o rk ers and
p resided o ver th e TRECENA 1 F lo w e r, a 13-day
p erio d d ed icated to th e a rtis t and artisan.
M e n born in this p erio d w ould be singers,
s to ry te lle rs, and craftsm en, b u t they w ould
also be p ro n e to overin d u lg ence - and thus
to a decayin g o f the genitals and a w asting
o f th e Resh. W o m en b o m in the trecena
w o u ld m ake- Rne e m b ro id ery , b u t if they
fa ile d to b e p e n ite n t, th e y w o u ld easily fa ll
p re y to th e ir ow n sexual a llu re and becom e
h arlots o r courtesans. A lth o u g h in fre q u e n tly
d ep icted , w h en H u eh u eco yo tl is rep resen ted ,
he u su ally appears w ith th e body o f a hum an
and th e head o f a coyote.
H u e h u e te o tl w as the O ld G od o f the Aztecs,
and in d eed he w as o f g re a t a n tiq u ity , w ith a
stan dard ized re p res en tatio n con tin u in g w ith
little change fro m M id d le F o rm a tiv e tim es
on. A sim ple version o f a H u e h u e te o tl INCENSE
b u rn e r has re c e n tly been found in a M id d le
F o rm a tiv e context in T la xc ala .
A ltho u g h m ost re v e re d and honored in
C e n tra l M ex ico , H u e h u e te o tl im ages have
been recovered fro m W e s t M ex ico , V e ra cru z,
Protoclassic K am in a lju y u and L a te Post­
classic Y ucatán; no rep res en tatio n o f h im has
been found a t a C lassic M a y a site. A t M o n te
A lb án , a re la te d old god bore the Z apotee
calen d rical nam e 2 T ig e r, b u t no clea r id e n ti-
Rcation can be m ade w ith any aged M a y a
gods. U n lik e m ost o th e r gods o f M eso am erica,
H u e h u e te o tl seems to h ave been p rim a rily a
household d e ity , and as th e fu n d a m en tal god
o f the h e a rth , his im ages usually tu rn up in
re sid e n tial q u arters ra th e r than in TEMPLE
precincts.
In his standard re p res en tatio n as a stone
sculpture, H u e h u e te o tl is a seated Rgure, legs
crossed in fro n t o f h im , w ith both hands
resting on his knees. H is rig h t hand is palm
up and his le ft is clenched as if it once h eld
a ban n er. H e hunches o ver, w ith the curved
spine o f age, and his face is usually h eavily
w rin k le d . H um ans a re not com m only shown
to age in M eso am erican a rt and v ery fe w
gods a re d epicted as aged e ith e r. A lthough
ra re ly toothless, H u e h u e te o tl is o fte n reduced
to only tw o lo w e r tee th . O n his head he
usually w ears a huge b ra zie r, its rim m arked
w ith rhom boid lozenges, sym bolic o f FIRE at
TEOTIHUACAN. T h e b ra zie r its e lf m ay have held
sm oldering coals or incense. A fe w ceram ic
93 HU1TZILOPOCHTLP
exam pies a re k n o w n , m o st n o ta b ly th e E a r ly
Classic H u e h u e te o tl fro m C e r ro d e las M e s a s .
A n A z te c e x a m p le co n flates TLALOC, th e ra in
god, w ith H u e h u e te o tl, p e rh a p s in re p re s e n ­
tation o f th e A z te c m e ta p h o r fo r w a r a n d
co nflagration, ATL-TLACHINOLLI.

H u itz ilo p o c h tli w as th e s u p re m e d e ity o f th e

A ztecs, th e ir c h ie f c u lt god. A sso cia ted w ith
suN an d FIRE a n d th e ru lin g lin e a g e , his
in tro d u c tio n to C e n tra l M e x ic o d is ru p te d
o th e r es tab lish ed solar gods a n d p a tro n s o f
lo n g -sta n d in g lin eag es, p a rtic u la rly xiUHTE-
cuH Tu a n d TONATiuH. I n som e sources h e
is also id e n tifie d as th e B lu e TEZCATLiPOCA.
L ite r a lly , H u itz ilo p o c h tli m e a n s "HUMMING­
BIRD on th e le ft* ' o r " h u m m in g b ir d o f th e
s o u th ." T h e S p an iard s c a lle d h im H u ic h ilo b o s
an d s a w h im as th e d e v il in c a rn a te , th e cause
o f h e a r t sacrifice (s ee HEARTS), th e source o f
p e rv e rs io n in th e N e w W o r ld . U n lik e m ost
A z te c gods, H u itz ilo p o c h tli's im a g e w as g e n ­
e ra lly re n d e re d o f w o o d , r a th e r th a n stone,
an d no m o n u m e n ta l ex am p les of h im
s u rv iv e - in d e e d , fe w exam p les s u rv ive in
a n y m e d iu m . T h e m a in s c u lp tu re o f H u it z ilo ­
p o c h tli w as p ro b a b ly re m o v e d fro m his TEMPLE
in 1520 a n d sm ug gled o u t o f T e n o c h titla n . Huehuecoyotl dancing, Codex Borbonicus, p. 4,
16th c. Aztec.
A d o c u m e n t o f 15 39 depicts th e b u n d le d
H u itz ilo p o c h tli s c u lp tu re a fte r it w a s r e p u t­ Huehueteot!, the Aztec Old God, stone sculpture
e d ly re m o v e d . from the Templo Mayor, Tenochtitlan.
W h a t d id H u itz ilo p o c h tli lo ok like? A c c o rd ­
in g to m ost accounts a n d to a n e a rly post-
C o n q u e s t illu s tra tio n , h e w o re on his h e a d a
b lu e -g re e n h u m m in g b ird h e add ress, a go ld e n
tia ra , w h ite h e ro n fe a th e rs , a n d th e sm oking
m irr o r m o re c o m m o n ly associated w it h T e z -
c a tlip o c a a n d p ro b a b ly a d o p te d fro m h im -
as is th e s e rp e n t fo o t th a t th e A z te c TLATOANi
in co rp o ra tes in to his H u itz ilo p o c h tli costum e
on th e S ton e o f T iz o c . H is fa c e o fte n bears
y e llo w a n d b lu e s trip e d p a in t, a n d a black
m ask d o tte d w it h STARS surrounds his eyes.
F r e q u e n tly a d o rn e d w it h PAPER b a n n ers an d
so m e tim es w it h sh ield a n d d a rts in h a n d , h e
u s u a lly ca rries th e xiUHCOATL, o r fire se rp en t.
As th e c h ie f A z te c god, H u itz ilo p o c h tli
o ccup ied th e m ost p r o m in e n t site w ith in th e
te m p le p re c in c t o f T e n o c h titla n . H is te m p le ,
to g e th e r w it h th a t o f TLALOC, fo rm e d w h a t
th e A ztec s c a lle d th e H u e te o c a lli, th e G r e a t
T e m p le , a d o u b le p y ra m id . A c c o rd in g to one
^account, T la lo c h a d risen fro m a s p rin g to
w e lc o m e H u itz ilo p o c h tli w h e n th e A ztecs Red
th e m a in la n d a n d a r riv e d o n th e islan d in th e
m id d le o f L a k e T e xco co in 1345. P e rh a p s
HUITZÍLOPOCHTL!
the very oldest god in the C e n tra l M e x ic a n
p an th eo n , T la lo c o ffe red le g itim ac y and his­
tory to H u itzilo p o c h tli. T o g e th e r, th e y also
suggested ATL TLACHrsoLU, o r E re -a n d -w a te r,
the A ztec m etap h or fo r w a r. H u itzilo p o c h tli
led the A ztecs in w a r and in H U M A N S A C R IF IC E .
H u itzilo p o c h tli's geographical origins
rem ain obscure, b u t according to A zte c m ig ra ­
tion legends, he led his p eople on a jo u rn e y
for generations, com m anding them Erst to
leave th e ir island hom e, AZTLAN, in th e e a rly
12th c. and to seek out a n ew island in a lake.
D iv id e d in to seven trib es, the Aztecs soon
g ath ered at C H icoM O Zioc, the legendary
source o f o rigin fo r a ll C e n tra ! M ex ica n
peoples, and w h e re th ey, too, sojourned a
w h ile , b efo re beginning th e ir w anderings
again. H e re a t C hicom oztoc, H u itzilo p o c h tli's
sister, M a iin a lx o c h itl (w hose pow ers over
SPIDERS, scorpions, and snakes recall the
pow ers held by the p rin cip al fem ale goddess
o f TEOTinuACAN) had gained follow ers, and
m any Aztecs had grow n accustom ed to c iv i­
lized life . W hen a tree sp lit in tw o H u itz ilo ­
pochtli in te rp re te d it as a sign to lead the
virtuous aw ay, leaving the rest behind. A t
this p oint, religion and history in te rtw in e ,
and the story o f a schism am ong the tribes
probably reflects a historical re a lity in w hich
the group did d ivid e. Those le ft w ith M a li-
nalxochitl eventu ally cam e to settle a t M a li-
nalco, to the w est o f T en o c h titla n , and M a li-
nalxochitl's son, C o pil, w ould la te r a tte m p t
to avenge his m other's abandonm ent.
H u itzilo p o c h tli m ean w h ile led his people
on to C O A TE P E C , H ill o f the Serpent, w h ere his
m iraculous b irth - or w h a t w e should call a
re b irth - then took place. I t m ay also have
been a t this ju n c tu re th a t a livin g ru le r,
H u itzilo p o c h tli, was transform ed into the new
cult d eity. O ne o f the g re at m ountains o f
A ztec legend, C oatepec was near T u la (see
TOLLAN); the Aztecs celeb rated a N e w F ire
C erem ony there in 1163, ju s t about the tim e
o f the dem ise and abandonm ent o f T u la - a
coincidence suggesting th a t the nom adic and
aggressive Aztecs m ay have played a role in
its d o w n fall.
A t C oatepec, the goddess coATucuE kep t
and sw ept the tem ple. O ne day, as she sw ept,
she tucked a tu ft o f feathers in h er breast,
b u t w hen she had com pleted h er task, the
feathers w ere gone and she knew she had
becom e pregnant. A lre ad y the m other o f 400
sons (know n as the C entzon H u itzn a h u a) and
a d aughter, c o Y O L X A U H Q U i, C oatlicue and h er
pregnancy becam e a source o f h u m iliatio n tr
h e r c h ild re n , and th e y p lo tte d to kit! her.
B u t fro m w ith in th e w om b, H u itzilo p o c h tli
com fo rted h er. T h e C en tzo n H u itzn a h u a and
C o yolxauhqui charged C oatepec, slicing o fl
C o atlic u e's h ead . O u t o f h e r tru n cated body
le a p t H u itzilo p o c h tli, fu lly form ed and
dressed, b rand ish in g his X iu h c o atl, w ith
w h ich h e in tu rn dism em bered his sister
C o yo lxau h q u i, w hose body parts tum bled to
th e foo t o f C oatepec. H u itzilo p o c h tli then
a ttacked his h a lf-b ro th e rs , only a fe w of
w hom m anaged to Eee.
G en eratio n s la te r, the A ztecs w ould re p ro ­
duce C o atep ec in the T e m p le o f H u itz ilo ­
p o ch tli a t T e n o c h titla n . G re a t serpents Bowed
dow n th e balustrades w h ile th e w ooden
sculpture o f H u itzilo p o c h tli reig n ed from the
shrine a t the top - p ro b ab ly in the com pany
o f th e im age o f his d ec ap ita te d m o th e r - and
the d ism em b ered C o yolxauhqui la y a t the
base o f the p y ra m id , h er im ag e carved on the
surface o f a round stone. W h e n bodies w ere
tum bled dow n the steps, e ve ry hum an sacri­
fice recre ated C o yolxauhqui s fa ll and p ublic
h u m ilia tio n .
C oyolxauhqui m ay w e ll h ave belonged to
a group o f o ld e r fe rtility goddesses in C e n tra l
M ex ico , and h er destru ctio n reveals th e rise
o f H u itzilo p o c h tli's c u lt. O fte n id e n tifie d w ith
the M O O N , C oyolxauhqui is in this aspect also
destroyed b y the solar H u itzilo p o c h tli; in fac t,
the round C o yolxauhqui stone a t the T e m p le
o f H u itzilo p o c h tli is p e rio d ic a lly sliced by
the sun, as if to re p lic a te ongoing solar
dom inance. T h e C en tzo n H u itzn a h u a can be
id e n tifie d w ith in n u m e rab le stars, also chased
to the south b y th e solar H u itzilo p o c h tli.
A lthough o fte n considered to be one o f the
y o u th fu l goddesses, a t th e T e m p le o f H u itz ilo ­
p ochtli, C oyolxauhqui is ren d e re d as an o ld er
w om an, w ith sagging breasts and stretched
stom ach; th e g re a t C o atlicu e sculpture
(w h ich m ay o r m ay n o t have been in the
shrine o f H u itzilo p o c h tli above), has also lost
a ll trace o f fe m in in e b eau ty. In H u itzilo p o ch ­
tli's com pany, fem a le goddesses becom e h id ­
eous, subjects fo r d ism em berm ent.
In th e story o f A ztec p e reg rin a tio n , H u itz i­
lopochtli led his people on fro m C oatepec
in to the V a lle y o f M exico , w h e re they w ere
settled a t C h ap u ltep ec by the end o f the
13th c. G e n e ra lly unw elcom ed in th e V a lle y ,
H u itzilo p o c h tli's p eople soon found them ­
selves a t w a r w ith th e ir neighbors, led by
C o p il, th e son o f M a iin a lx o c h itl, the b etrayed
95 HUITZILOPOCHTH
sister o f H u itzilo p o ch tli ie ft b eh ind a t C h ic-
omoztoc. C opil's troops w on the b a ttle , b u t
Copil him self fe ll and w as sacrificed by H u it-
zilopochtli, w ho then took C o p il's h e a rt and
hurled it onto a rock in L a k e Texcoco, giving
rise to the very island on w hich the Aztecs
would la te r found th e ir city.
W ith in a fe w years, the Aztecs w e re forced
to leave C hapultepec, and H u itzilo p o c h tli led
them on to C ulhuacan, on the o th er side o f
the lake, w h ere they w e re little m ore than
slaves to the old T o ltec n o b ility th a t ru led
there. C om pelled to liv e on th e desolate
lava beds a t T iza p a n , the Aztecs w orked as
m ercenaries fo r the lords o f C ulhuacan and,
against the odds, th rive d . H u itzilo p o c h tli saw
that his people had not y e t a rriv e d a t the
prom ised destination, and th a t th e ir success
in T iza p an offered them too m uch com fort.
H e told the trib a l leaders th e re fo re to ask the
lords o f C ulhuacan fo r a noble b rid e ; fearin g
the Aztecs, the lords com plied. W h e n the
princess was d elive re d , the Aztecs im m ed i­
ate ly Hayed h er, and a p riest p u t on h e r skin.
Huitzilopochtli wielding the Xiuhcoatl Hre
serpent, Codex Borbonicus, p. 34, 16th c. Aztec
W h en the C u lh u a cam e to celeb rate the
a rriv a l o f a new goddess am ong the Aztecs,
they found instead the p riest w earin g the
princess's skin. W ild ly incensed by this
barbarism , the C u lh u a set upon the Aztecs,
k illin g some and d rivin g others in to the lake.
T h e survivors took refuge on the island th e re ,
w h e re they found an eagle sitting on a cactus
grow ing from a rock, the very im age H u itz ilo ­
pochtli had told them to seek generations
before. T h e w anderings o f H u itzilo p o ch tli
and his people cam e to an end, according to
m ost sources, in 1345 w ith the founding o f
T en o c h titla n .
C elebrations in honor o f H u itzilo p o ch tli
dom inated the religious cerem onies o f T e ­
n o ch titlan , and he fre q u e n tly took a role in
festivities dedicated to o th er gods. O utside
T e n o c h titla n , T ezcatlipoca m ay have been
the most im p o rtan t god, and the tw o w ere
often honored together in T en o c h titla n . Thus,
d u ring To xcatl, the VEINTENA d edicated to
T ezcatlipo ca, H u itzilo p o c h tli played a p ro m i­
nen t ro le, and during P a n q u e tza liztli, the
veinfena dedicated to H u itzilo p o c h tli, T e zc a t­
lipoca was also p ro p itiate d . U n lik e most A ztec
gods, H u itzilo p o c h tli had a stan d-in , not ju s t
an im personator, du rin g m any actual fe s tivi­
ties. K now n as P ain al, the substitute w ore
H u itzilo p o ch tli's attrib u te s and m ay be seen
as ano th er aspect o f his ow n num en. Huitzilopochtli in his temple, Codex Azcatitlan,
D u rin g T o xcatl, a g re at AMARANTH dough 16th c. Aztec.
HUMAN SACRIFICE
Bgure, or was o u tB tted w ith H u itz ilo -
p o ch tli's a ttire , c a rrie d to his te m p le , and
e v e n tu a lly eaten . Supplicants o ffe red him
q u a il, in p a rtic u la r, and w om en g arlan d ed
w ith Rowers danced the serp ent dance fo r
h im . S everal veintenas o f p re p a ra tio n le d up
to P a n q u e tza liztli, w h en th e an n iversary o f
H u itzilo p o c h tli's m iraculous b irth a t C o a te -
pec on the day 1 F lin t in the y e a r 2 A c a tl
was c ele b rated , again w ith a dough Bgure o f
H u itzilo p o c h tli. A PMEST b earin g a Bgure
o f P a in a l led a g re a t procession through
T e n o c h titla n and neighboring tow ns b efo re
re tu rn in g to the cerem o n ial p recin ct in T e n ­
o ch titla n . F o u r victim s w e re sacriRced in the
b allco u rt, then m any m ore on the T e m p le
o f H u itzilo p o c h tli. (H u itzilo p o c h tli w as also
celeb rated d u rin g P ach to n tli and T laxo ch i-
m aco.)
hum an sacriBce H u m an sacriBce p layed a
vita! role in M eso am erica, p robably from
e arly tim es onw ard, although it is d iffic u lt to
docum ent before the L a te Preclassic period.
According to most n ative w o rldview s, the
coos had o ffered th e ir ow n B LO O D in o rd er to
g enerate hum ankind, and the sacriBce most
sought by the gods in re tu rn was hum an Besh
and blood. A fte r Cortés's a rriv a l in the N e w
W o rld , the Aztecs sent him tam ales (ground
m aize cakes) soaked in blood, a foodstuff
a pp ro p riate for a god. H u m a n ity live d in the
th ra ll o f this blood deb t, and hum an sacriBcial
victim s w e re offered rep eated ly to forestall
the dem ise o f the w o rld and to seal the
com pact m ade w ith the gods. T h e Aztecs, fo r
exam ple, b elieved th a t they w e re livin g in
the Bfth sun, the gods having created and
destroyed fou r previous eras, and th a t hum an
sacriBce h elped to keep the gods a t bay.
M o s t M esoam erican peoples probably also
recognized th a t hum an sacriBce was a w ay
to extinguish enem ies, dim inish the num ber
o f young m en in an enem y's arm y, and
to h u m iliate p ublicly one's opposition (see
C A P T IV E S ). Slaves w e re purchased fo r sacriBce,
and parents did ap p aren tly sell th e ir c hild ren
fo r the purpose, b u t there w ere p ro b ab ly fe w
w illin g volunteers, despite the b e lie f th a t
sacriBcial victim s ascended d ire c tly to
heaven. H u m an sacriBce was not used as a
punishm ent w ith in society fo r crim es; and
E X E C U T IO N and hum an sacriBce w e re not con­
fused.
T ru ly horriB ed by the hum an sacriBce
they saw, the Spanish conquerors m ay have
exaggerated its p re va len c e in o rd er to Justify
th e ir ow n violence in the N e w W o rld . Some
students o f an c ie n t M ex ico , th e re fo re , have
w o n d ered w h e th e r hum an sacriBce re a lly d id
take p lace a t a ll, and , if so, on w h a t sort o f
scale. D u ra n expressed his ow n in c re d u lity at
the 8 0,4 00 victim s supposedly sacriBced for
th e re d ed ic atio n o f the T e m p le o f nuiiziLO
pocHTLi in 1487 - b u t he also rep o rted th a t
c lo tted hum an blood fo rm ed g re at pools
w ith in th e te m p le p re cin c t, and th a t a n ew
skullrack (see TZOMPANTu) had to be b u ilt to
accom m odate th e thousands o f n ew offerings.
T h e T ellerian o -R e m e n s is , a n a tiv e post-C on-
quest account, speciBes th e slau g h ter o f
20,0 00 fo r th a t sam e eve n t.
A rch aeo lo g ically, a fe w la rg e deposits o f
hum an skeletons h ave been recovered: 42
ch ild ren w e re sim ultaneously sacriBced to
TLALOC and in te rre d on th e T la lo c side o f the
C re a t T e m p le in T e n o c h titla n ; m ore re ce n tly ,
a larg e n u m b er o f w a rrio rs w e re recovered
from the T e m p le o f Q u e tza lc o a tl a t TEOTiHU-
ACAN, p ro b ab ly a single sacriB cial o ffe rin g fo r
a tem p le d ed icatio n e ven t. A m p le evidence
o f hum an sacriBce survives fro m Prehispanic
a rt. T h a t th e p ractice existed is irre fu ta b le .
W h a t w ill p ro b ab ly alw ays re m ain a m ystery
is its scale, p a rtic u la rly am ong th e A ztecs.
A t M o n te A lb án , the T e m p le o f the D a n z­
antes m ay be a clue to F o rm a tiv e perio d
p u b lic hum an sacriBce am ong th e Zapotees.
M a n y panels th e re p o rtra y w h a t seem to
be sacriBced victim s, lim p and m u tila te d ,
pro b ab ly displayed as a p u b lic m em o rial o f
victory.
As d ep icted in L a te C lassic a rt, the M a y a
g en e rally d ec ap ita te d th e ir victim s, som e­
tim es o nly a fte r agonizing to rtu re . Some w e re
scalped, others b u rn t o r disem bow eled and
some b eaten . Some captives w e re dressed
and th en bound as DEER, perhaps as p a rt o f a
scapedeer ritu a l; others w e re trussed up and
bounced as if balls in the ritu a l BALLCAME.
SacriBcial victim s m ay have been p arad ed in
litte rs b efo re sacriBce on scaffolding. M a n y
depictions o f hum an sacriBcial victim s w e re
carved on the treads or risers o f steps, and
such a rc h ite c tu ra l featu res p ro b ab ly served
as th e sites o f rep eated sacriBces. M a y a lords
sought to cap ture o th e r h ig h -ran kin g lords in
b a ttle , and th e ir subsequent sacriBce offered
prestige - and possibly trib u te and pow er -
to the victor. N o mass in term en ts o f M a y a
sacriBcial victim s have been recovered
archaeologically. O n e M a y a king, B ird Jaguar
 97 HUMAN SACRIFICE
of Yaxchilan, claim ed 21 captives over the
course o f his life tim e, and i f he sacrificed
that m any over the course o f his career,
archaeological evidence w ould be elusive.
The M a y a often carved hum an bones, possi­
bly those o f sacrificed captives.
D is a rtic u la te d skeletons a c c o m p a n y in g p r i­
m a ry in te rm e n ts m a y re p re s e n t sla u g h te re d
captives. A fe w b u ria l co nH gu ratio ns h a v e
suggested th a t liv in g offerin g s a c c o m p a n ie d
th e n o b le d e a d : a t P a le n q u e , th e d o o r to th e
to m b o f T e m p le 18a w as se a le d fro m th e
inside. A 2 5 -y e a r-o ld w o m a n le f t h e r h a n d ­
prin ts in th e c o n ta in e r o f p la s te r th a t she h a d
used; th e n , ta k in g a tib ia fro m th e Heshless
sk eleton h o n o re d b y th e TO M B , she sat d o w n
in a co rn e r to a w a it h e r DEATH.
A lth o u g h de p ic tio n s o f h u m a n sacrifices do
no t s u rv ive a t T e o tih u a c a n , th e p resence o f
hum an HEARTS on staffs a n d on costum es Human sacriHce, Codex Laud, Late Postclassic
argu es fo r th e p ra c tic e th e re . In V e ra c ru z , period.
sacrifice b y H aying took p lace fro m L a te
F o rm a tiv e tim es o n w a rd . A t C lassic E l T a jin ,
h u m a n sacrifice b y h e a r t ex tru sio n is d e p ic te d
as ta k in g p lace in th e b a llc o u rt, b u t m a y no t
h a v e b e e n lim ite d to th e b a llg a m e . In th e
T o lte c e ra , h e a r t sacrifice p re v a ile d a t b o th
T u la an d C h ic h e n Itz a , a n d th e C h ic h e n
exam p les a re th e m ost e x p lic it p re -C o n q u e s t
de p ic tio n s o f th e sacrifice. G iv e n th e p ro m i­
n e n t s k u llrack (iz o m p a n f/t) a t C h ic h e n Itz a ,
d e c a p ita tio n p ro b a b ly fo llo w e d , o r m a y h a v e
b e e n an in d e p e n d e n t m ean s o f sacrifice.
H um an sacrifice o c cu rred w ith th e ce l­
e b ra tio n o f m ost A z te c VEINTENA festivals. T h e
la rg e s t n u m b e r of hum an sacrifices w e r e
m a d e in h o n o r o f H u itz ilo p o c h tli a n d TEZCATLi
POCA, as w e ll as a t tim es o f d e d ic a tio n . H e a r t
sacrifice d o m in a te d th e p ra c tic e , a n d m ost
Hayings took place a fte r th e h e a r t h a d a lre a d y
b e e n e x tru d e d . M o d ern students o f h e a rt
sacriHce b e lie v e it to h a v e b e e n a q u ic k m eans
o f d e a th , p a rtic u la rly w h e n c a rrie d o u t by
sk illed p ra c titio n e rs w ith FLINT blades. H e a d s
w e r e o fte n se vered a fte r d e a th a n d d isp la yed
on th e skullrack.
H u m a n im itation o f natural events pro­ Aztec human sacriHce, Florentine Codex, Book 2.
p itiated nature and this mimesis o f agricul­
tural phenom ena was m ade sacred through
hum an sacriHce. D u rin g O chpaniztli, in cel­
ebration o f harvest and cmcoMECOATL (the
Aztec MAIZE goddess), a w om an was Hayed,
^ in this case the Hayed hum an skin represent­
ing the ripening husk o f corn. F o r Tlacaxipe-
h ualiztli, the x iP E TOTEC im personator w ore
the Hayed Hesh o f another hum an: as the old
H U M M IN G B IR D
Resh ro tte d a w a y , th e im p erso n ato r w as lik e
a fresh sprout g ro w in g from th e ro tte n h u ll
o f a seed. ,See aiso AUTOSACRiFiCE, CREATION
A C C O U N T S ; D E A T H ; S A C R IF IC E .
h u m m in g b ird W ith its d im in u tiv e size, b rilli­
a n t plum age and ra p id and e rra tic R ight, th e
hu m m in g b ird is one o f the m ore strikin g birds
o f M eso am erica. B u t alth o u g h to the W e s te rn
m ind the h u m m in g b ird m ay be seen p rim a rily
as a p re tty and d im in u tiv e c re a tu re , in a n cien t
M ex ico it was o ften id e n tifie d w ith BLOOD and
w a r. T h e peoples o f an cien t M eso am erica
took special note o f its p ro c liv ity to suck
FLOWERS w ith its long n e e d le -lik e b eak. Thus
both the Classic and Postclassic M a y a com ­
m only d ep ict the h u m m in g b ird w ith a p e rfo r­
ated Row er m id w ay dow n the beak.
In ancient M eso am erica, the act o f sacriR-
cia! BLOODLETTiNC was com m only com pared
to the hum m ingbird sucking n ectar from a
Row er. Am ong the M id d !e F o rm a tiv e
O lm ecs, Rne ja d e ite p erforators w e re fre ­
q u en cy carved in the form o f a hu m m in g b ird ,
w ith the !ong beak serving as the p erfo ra to r
blade. A t E a rly Postclassic C hichen Itz á , the
hum m ingbird is represented in the context o f
HUM A N SACRIFICE; in the L o w e r T e m p le o f the
Jaguars, a hum m ingbird pierces the HEART o f
a m an em erging from a Rower. In L a te
Postclassic C e n tra l M exico , both hum m ing­
birds and Rowers are w id e ly id e n tifie d w ith
blood and bloodletting. O n page 44 o f the
Codex B orgia, QUETZALCOATL in the guise o f a
hum m ingbird stands in a cascade o f blood
m arked by JADE and Rowers. A ztec represen­
tations o f bone bloodletters com m only p o r­
tra y a Row er a t the b lu n t condyle end o f the
instrum ent. In m any instances, hum m ing­
birds are ren dered sucking the nectar o f these
b lo o d letter Rowers.
T h e hum m ingbird is also q u ite an aggress­
ive and fearless b ird th a t has been know n to
attack creatures m any tim es its size. Possibly
fo r this reason, it was identiR ed w ith one o f
the fiercest and most bellicose gods o f L a te
Postclassic C e n tra l M exico, H u rrz iL O P O C H T L i,
the p atron god o f the Aztecs. In N a h u a tl,
H u itzilo p o c h tli signifies "hu m m in g bird on the
le f t /' or "hu m m in g bird o f the south." In the
fe w know n A ztec portrayals o f H u itz ilo ­
p ochtli, he is usually shown w earin g a long-
beaked hum m ingbird headdress.
H u n H u n ah p u O ne o f the m ost im p o rtan t
characters in the POPOL v u H creation account
W!
o f the Q u ic h e M a y a is H u n H u n a h p u , fa th e r
o f th e H e ro T w in s X b a la n q u e and H u nah p u
as w e ll as th e MONKEY artisans H u n B atz and
H u n C h u en . In the F o p o / VuA, H u n H u nah p u
and his b ro th e r, V ucub H unahpu, are
d e fe a te d and sacriRced in the U n d e rw o rld .
T h e severed head o f H u n H u n a h p u is placed
in a tre e w h ic h then m ag ically becom es a
gourd. Im p re g n a te d b y the s p ittle fro m this
m iraculous gourd, th e m aid en X q u ic gives
b irth to X b a la n q u e and H u n a h p u . A fte r a
series o f tria ls , the H e ro T w in s d e fe a t the
gods o f d ea th and re trie v e th e rem ains o f
H u n H u n a h p u and V u cu b H u n a h p u .
R epresentations of Hun H unahpu a re
w idesp read in L a te C lassic M aya vessel
scenes. Q u ite com m only he is fou n d w ith the
m onkey artisans o r th e C lassic versions o f
H u n a h p u and X b a la n q u e . O n one vessel, his
head appears on th e tru n k o f a CACAO tree .
In th e u p p er branches o f the sam e tre e , his
head m ay be seen tu rn in g in to a cacao pod.
Q u ite c le a rly this is a C lassic fo rm o f the
episode in w h ich the h ead o f H u n H u n ah p u
is placed in th e gourd tree . I t is also now
e v id e n t th a t the C lassic H u n H u n a h p u is a
form o f the M A IZ E C O D . In m any vessel scenes
he em erges fro m th e e a rth , m uch lik e p la n te d
com sprouting o u t o f the soil.
H unahpu see C R E A T IO N A C C O U N T S ; POPOL v u H ;
T W IN S
Ila m a te c u h tli Also re fe rre d to as c iH U A C O A T L
and Q u ila z tli, Ila m a te c u h tli was an A ztec
goddess o f th e E A R T H , D E A T H , and th e M IL K Y
WAY. P o rtra ye d as an aged w om an w ith a
Reshless m outh containing larg e b ared te e th ,
she dressed e n tire ly in w h ite and w o re a skirt
edged w ith shells term e d th e c /i/a M /cue, or
star skirt, a referen ce to the M ilk y W a y .
H e r tem p le w as know n as T lilla n , m eaning
"darkness" and h e r co n tin u ally d arkened
cham ber h eld cap tive im ages o f C O D S fro m a ll
regions o f the A ztec e m p ire. O n e o f h er
m ore im p o rta n t festivals occurred d u rin g the
VEINTENA m onth o f T ititl; d u rin g the N e w F ire
cerem onies p erfo rm ed in th e y e a r o f 2 Reed,
Ila m a te c u h tli appears to have p layed a m ajor
ro le in th e T ititl b u ria l o f th e jauAmoAp/Mi
B U N D LE S m arking the com pletion o f a
52-ye ar cycle, áee a/so C A L E N D A R ; F IR E .
99 ITZAMNA
incense T h e o fferin g o f incense was consid­ The head of Hun
ered an act o f p u rific atio n th a t lin k e d a Hunahpu as an ear of
sacrificial object or person to th e C O D S , thus mature maize, detail of
allow ing its acceptance by them . T h e most a mural from Cacaxtla,
Tlaxcala, Late Classic
common native incense, w id e ly called copaV -
period. Although
from the N ah u a tl copa/A - and also know n appearing in a Central
as pom am ong the M a y a , is the resin from Mexican mural, this is
trees o f the /2ursera genus, though gums and a clear representation
resins o f o th er trees a re also used as incense. of a Classic Maya god.
W hen b u rn t, copa/ yields abu n d ant sm oke,
and in this smoke could be seen ancestors as
w e ll as the gods to w hom an offering was
being m ade. R UBBER, as w e ll as some other
saps - regarded as the B LO O D and life forces
of trees - m ade clouds o f smoke in w hich
deities m ight be conjured. M o d e rn Z in acan-
Ilamatecuhtli with
teco M a y a collect tw o kinds o f pom , one
shield and baton,
nodules o f resin and the o th er chips o f w ood, Codex Borbonicus,
from tw o trees o f the B ursera genus; the p. 36, 16th c. Aztec.
nodules are considered the b e tte r incense.
In the PO PO L v u H , the Q uiche M a y a lineages
offer specialized blends o f copa/ to the four
D IR E C T IO N S . In the story o f the H e ro T w in s in

the Popo/ V u/i, the U N D E R W O R L D lords w ho

dem and the h e a rt o f X quic are tricked into
accepting red nodules o f tree sap instead. In
the D resden Codex, gods o ffer and receive
pom . In this century, the Lacandon M a y a have
collected gums and saps for incense and
form ed it into w hat they consider m ale and
fem ale nodules on a board fo r offering to
the gods.
T h e Aztecs freq u e n tly censed w ith a lad le Copa/ incense placed upon a board, Lacandon
w ith rattles and p ro ffered the smoke to the Maya, early 20th c.
fou r directions. In the VEINTENA A te m o ztli,
A ztec priests m ade a special offering o f abun­
d an t incense to T L A L O C , possibly in mimesis
o f the clouds associated w ith T laloc's R A IN .
A rchaeologically, incense has been recovered
from the C hichen Itz á C E N O T E and the N evado
de Toluca.

Itza m n a According to C olonial Yucatec

accounts, Itza m n a was the high god o f the
M a y a . F ittin g his role as param ount king, he
o ften bears the title o f aA au///, or " lo rd ," in
the Postclassic Yucatec codices. S im ilarly,
Classic M a y a vessel scenes fre q u e n tly depict
Itza m n a as an enthroned king presiding over
lesser coos. H o w ev er, in Postclassic C O D IC E S
he fre q u e n tly appears w earin g p riestly accou­
trem ents. In Postclassic Yucatan he was con­
sidered as the Rrst PRIEST and the in ven to r o f
D u rin g the m onth o f U o, priests
W R IT IN G .

presented th e ir screenfold books in fro n t o f

an im age o f the god. H is identiB cation w ith
rrZPAPALOTL
the scribal arts was also p resent d u rin g the
Ctassic p erio d . In L a te C lassic vessel scenes,
he is o fte n p o rtrayed as a scribe (see S C R IB A L
c o o s ). M o re o v e r, a t the T e rm in a l C lassic site
o f X c a lu m k in , he bears the scribal title o f ah
d z/b , or H e o f th e W ritin g . As w ith his
probab!e consort o tc H E L , Itza m n a w as id e n t­
ifie d w ith the pow ers o f C U R IN G . Thus d u rin g
the Yucatec m onth o f Z ip , he was invoked as
a god o f m edicine.
In the Postclassic Yucatec codices, Itza m n a
appears as the aged d e ity know n as G od D
(see scHELLHAS coos). D u rin g both the Classic
and Postc!assic periods, he w ears a p ro m in e n t
beaded disk upon his b ro w . A diagnostic
e lem e n t o f Itza m n a , the sam e disk also
appears in his nam e glyph. Q u ite fre q u e n tly ,
this disk contains the A kbal sign denoting
darkness or blackness, and it is p robable th a t
the device represents an O B S ID IA N M IR R O R , such
as was used in d iv in ato ry scrying (see D iv iN
ATtoN). D u rin g the Postclassic p erio d , C od D
can appear in CAIMAN guise and in fact,
signifies CA!MAN, lizard or large Ash in M a y a n
languages. It is probable th a t this caim an
aspect o f Itzam n a is id en tical to the C o lo n ial
Yucatec being know n as Itza m C ab A in , the
great earth caim an associated w ith the flood.
Itza m n a is also closely id e n tifie d w ith the
PRINCIPAL BIRD DEITY, the Classic M a y a form o f
v u c u B C A Q U ix , the m onster b ird o f PO PO L v u n
fam e. T h e P rincipal B ird D e ity appears to
be none other than the celestial aspect o f
Itzam n a .
Itzp a p a lo tl O ne o f the m ore fearsom e god­
desses o f the C e n tra l M exican pantheon,
Itzp a p a lo tl is com m only rendered as a skeletal
being w ith )A C U A R talons and kn ife -tip p e d
w ings. T h e term iizp a p a /o d c a n signify e ith e r
O B S ID IA N b u tte rfly or claw ed B U T T E R F L Y , b u t it
is lik e ly th a t the second m eaning is in ten d ed.
R ath er than obsidian, the w ing blades are
c learly ren dered as F L IN T , or feepad. I t is
q u ite possible th a t the concept o f a claw ed
butterA y refers to the B A T , and in fac t, in a
num ber o f instances Itzp a p a lo tl appears w ith
b at wings. H o w ever, she can also appear w ith
clear b utterA y and E A G LE attrib u tes.
Itzp a p a lo tl is patron o f the day Cozca-
cuau h tli and the TRECENA 1 House; the day 1
House is also one o f the Ave w estern trecena
dates dedicated to the ciHUATETEO, the
dem onic w om en w ho died in c h ild b irth .
Itzp a p a lo tl was not only a c/A uafeot/, b u t
also one o f the tzitz/fn im e, star dem ons th a t
¡00
th rea te n ed to d evo u r people d u rin g solar
ECLIPSES. She w as a goddess o f the paradise
re a lm o f TAMOANCHAN, a place identiA ed w ith
the b ird o f th e gods and hu m an kin d .
T h e e a rlie s t know n rep resen tatio n o f Itz p a ­
p a lo tl appears on a fra g m e n ta ry re lie f from
E a rly Postclassic T u la , w h e re she appears
w ith a ske letalize d head and b u tterA y w ings
supplied w ith stone blades. A ltho u g h the
id e n tity rem ains to be p ro ven , the Z apotee
d e ity called Goddess 2 ) by A lfonso Caso and
Ig n a cio B ern a l found on ceram ic urns m ay
w e ll tu rn out to be a C lassic Z ap o tee form o f
Itz p a p a lo tl. In a n u m b er o f instances, this
Z ap o tee goddess is c le a rly identiA ed w ith the
bat.
Itz tla c o liu h q u i-Ix q u im illi To th e ancien t
M exican s, stone and castigation w e re closely
re la te d concepts, since m iscreants w e re fre ­
q u en tly punished by stoning. Thus the N á h u ­
a tl expression fo r p u nishm ent w as fef/-cua/?u-
m eaning "w o o d and stone. T h e C e n tra l
M exican d e ity o f castigation, Itz tla c o liu h q u i-
Ix q u im illi is also th e god o f stone and coldness.
H e fre q u e n tly appears w ith a face and curv­
ing foreh ead o f banded stone, m uch lik e
varieties o f FLINT or agate. In som ething lik e
the W estern concept o f "ju stic e is b lin d ," he
is usually b lin d fo ld ed o r sightless. In m any
cases, he blends w ith the b lack T E Z C A T H P O C A
and in this form appears as a god o f the n orth
and p atro n o f the day A c a tl. In a d d itio n , he
serves as the god o f th e T R E C E N A 1 C u e tzp a lin .
In m any instances, Itz tla c o liu h q u i-Ix q u i-
m illi is ren dered w ith a sto n e-tip p ed d a rt in
his b ro w . T h is p ro b ab ly concerns an episode
fro m the L ey en d a d e Aw so/es account o f the
creation o f th e A fth sun a t T E O T iH U A C A N . As
the god o f the DAWN and the m orning star,
TLAHUIZCALPANTECUHTLI shot a d a rt a t th e SUN
w ho, in tu rn , transAxed T la h u izc a lp a n te c u h tli
w ith a d a rt through the foreh ead . T h e account
states th a t once p ierced by this d a rt, T la h u iz­
calp an tecu h tli becam e th e god o f cold, th a t
is, Itz tla c o liu h q u i-Ix q u im illi. T h e C e n tra l
M exican god o f stone, cold, and castigation
also appears in the Venus pages o f the M a y a
D resden Codex. O n D resden page 50, he is
ren dered not only w ith th e b lin d fo ld b u t also
w ith a A int p o in t p rojecting fro m the top o f
his headdress. I t is possible th a t th e codical
C o d Q (see scHELLHAS G O D s ) is a Postclassic
M a y a version o f Itztla c o liu h q u i-Ix q u im illi.
Ixch el A t the tim e o f the Spanish Conquest,
101

Ixchel was a p ro m in e n t M a y a goddess,

patroness o f c h ild b irth , pregnancy, and fe r til­
ity. W om en from a ll over Y ucatan m ade long
pilgrim ages to seek h e r a tte n tio n a t shrines
on C ozum el and Is la M u je re s , and the shrines
w ere rep utedly Blled w ith sculptures o f h er
im age, although none survive. T h e nam e
Ixchel can be tran slated as "L a d y R ain b o w ."
In the D resden C odex, she bears the nam e
Chac C h el, and is depicted as an old lad y
w ith snakes in h er h a ir, som etim es w ith
¡AGUAR claws and eyes, and occasionally
dressed in a skirt p attern e d w ith a skull-
and-bones m o tif. She also appears to be a
patroness o f w eaving, D iv iN A T iO N , and m id w if­
ery, although she is probably not the b e a u tifu l
young w eaving w om an given form in a num ­ The aged god Itzamna with a bow! of maize
ber o f Jaina figurines. N o r is th e re reason to tamales, detail from a Late Classic Maya vase.
think th a t she is the b e a u tifu l young MOON
goddess o f Classic M a y a a rt w ith w hom h er
nam e has been w id e ly id e n tifie d : th a t young
w om an, som etim es depicted w ith in the cres­
cent o f the m oon, does not b ear the nam e
Ixchel or C hac C h el. Ixchel's closest associ­
ations are w ith certain C e n tra l M exican god­
desses, p a rtic u la rly those re la te d to Toci and
TLAMATECUHTLl. S e e á / s o BIRTH; SCHELLHASCODS.

ja d e T h e general term ja d e refers to both

ja d e ite and n ep h rite. Both are rocks, or m in ­
e ral aggregates, and both are found in the
O ld and N e w W orlds. In M esoam erica, only
ja d e ite is found, som etim es occurring in lodes
o f serpentine, a lesser greenstone, and its
m olecules are ra re ly pure. A lb ite and diop-
side, also greenstones, occur w ith ja d e ite and Itztlacoliuhqui-Ixquimilli, the god of stone, cold,
and castigation, Codex Borbonicus, p. 12, 16th c.
w e re used fo r the same precious objects
Aztec.
in the ancien t N e w W o rld . M esoam erican
ja d e ite is a sodium and alum inum silicate,
and it is h ard, b etw een 6.0 and 7.0 on the
M ohs* scale, and so u n yield in g th a t tools to
w o rk ja d e w ere o ften them selves m ade o f
ja d e . In the M esoam erican w o rld w ith o u t
m etal tools, ja d e was w orked w ith string
saws, tu b u lar d rills, and ja d e tools, b u t w ith
ja d e pow der or q u artz sand as the abrasive.
Jade occurs as rocks and boulders, usually
along rivers. A field o f ja d e boulders w ith in
30 m iles o f the M o tag u a R iv er in G u atem ala
now supplies a m odern ja d e industry.
K now n gen erically as ch a /c h /h u ff/ in C en ­
tra l M exico , ja d e was the most precious rock
JAG UAR
or m in e ra! in M eso am erica. Perhaps because
o f its d o m in an t green and b !u e-g reen colors,
it w as id e n tifie d w ith M A IZ E , W A T E R ,
ta tio n , even life its e lf. As such, it w as som e­
tim es in la id as th e HEART in sculptures and in
the m ouths o f the dead as m oney - and as a
sign o f the re n e w a l o f life .
T h e O lm ecs w e re the Erst M eso am erican
people to locate and carve ja d e . T h e y p re ­
fe rre d the b lu e-g reen v a rie ty now g en e rally
thought to have com e fro m C osta R ica and
used the m a te ria l fo r th e ir m ost precious
objects: p o rtra it masks, incised depictions o f
gods, and utensils used in religious ritu als.
From O lm ec tim es o n w ard , ja d e had g re at
value as an h eirlo o m , and ju d g in g
m aterials dredged from the Sacred CENOTE a t
C hichen Itzd , ja d e was the m ost im p o rtan t
o ffering. It held g re at in trin sic valu e in every
M esoam erican c u ltu re , and the Aztecs m ay
have sacked ancien t buildings ju s t to re trie v e
old ja d e .
T h e Spanish w ere interested in cAa/cAiAu/f/
only insofar as they w ere able to prom ote
green and blue glass beads in th e ir trad in g
arrangem ents. W hen the Aztecs told them
th a t the stones cured in te rn a l ailm ents, p a r­
ticu larly o f the spleen, liv e r and kidney, they
called it loin-stone, or p /e d ra de ¿/ada in
Spanish. Sir W a lte r R aleigh com m ented on
these m iraculous CURINC stones o f the loins in
the 1580s, b u t the w ord ja d e , a corruption o f
jf/ada, only cam e into the English language
la te r. W hen it was catalogued and given a
L a tin nam e by Europeans, they called it /apis
nepAr/t/cus, from the L a tin w ord fo r kidney,
nepArus, yieldin g the w ord n ep h rite, w hich
they then a pp lied to A sian ja d e. T h e con­
fusion was com pounded in m odern tim es,
w hen tw o distinct compounds w e re id e n t-
iE ed, n ep h rite and ja d e ite .
ja g u a r Probably the most feared and revered
beast in M esoam erica, the ja g u ar (.PaatAera
onca) played a pro m in en t religious role. L ik e
hum ankind, the ja g u ar occupies the top level
o f the food chain, and people sought to
id e n tify them selves w ith the big cat. G e n er­
a lly nocturnal, the jag u ar's eyes are lum inous
gold disks a t night, and a ja g u ar skull exca­
vated a t K am in aljuyu bears gold p y rite eyes.
D is tin c tive black rosettes characterize ja g u ar
pelage, and they are present even on the
ra re r a ll-b lac k ja g u ar although they can be
seen only in raking ligh t. Fishers as w e ll as
hunters, jaguars liv e exclusively in the tropical
102
ra in forest bu t w e re sought In trib u te and
tra d e by a ll h ig h lan d civiliza tio n s in M exico.
s rr, vege­ C a lle d o ce/o d in N a h u a tl, the ja g u a r is not (o
be confused in English w ith ocelot (P a n fAera
pardaA s), th e sm aller cat o f s im ila r pelage.
U n lik e its m ore a d a p ta b le and silent cousin
th e p u m a (PantAena conco/or), jaguars w ill
ro a r or g ru n t. A ja g u a r's d ie t includes OEEH,
agoutis, MONKEYS, w a te rb ird s , Esh, TURTLES,
and even CAIMANS, and the cat is p a rtic u la rly
fond o f restin g on branches th a t extend out
over w a te r.
JAG UA R C O D S w e re p resent in e very m ajor
M eso am erican c iv iliza tio n , b u t jag u ars w e re
also im p o rta n t sham anic creatures (see
from SHAMAN), and in states o f ritu a l tran sfo rm atio n ,
hum ans changed them selves in to jaguars
from a t least O lm ec tim es o n w a rd . T h e M a y a
h iero g lyp h th a t is read U A Y , m ean in g a nim al
com panion o r T O N A L , is its e lf an aAau glyph
h alf-co vered w ith ja g u a r p e lt. A ccording to
Sahagun, A zte c 'c o n ju re rs w e n t abo u t c a rry ­
ing its h id e - the h id e o f its foreh ead and o f
its chest, and its ta il, its nose, and its claw s,
and its h e a rt, and its fangs, and its snout. I t
is said th a t they w e n t ab o u t th e ir tasks w ith
them - th a t w ith them th e y d id d arin g deeds,
th a t because o f them they w e re fe a re d "
(F C :x i).
T o assert lo rd ly p o w e r, chiefs and kings
w ore ja g u a r p elts, ja g u a r sandals, h ead ­
dresses fashioned o f ja g u a r heads, and neck­
laces m ade o f ja g u a r te e th - and even neck­
laces o f JADE beads carved as ja g u a r teeth .
A long w ith the M A T , ja g u a r pelts and cushions
w e re the sym bol o f th e enth ro n ed lo rd , and
m any stone thrones, p a rtic u la rly am ong the
M a y a , took the shape o f jag u ars, som etim es
double-headed.
Jaguar offerings w e re m ade on im p o rta n t
ritu a l occasions. A t C opan, 16 jaguars w e re
sacriEced in conjunction w ith th e in s ta lla tio n
o f th e 16th ru le r o f the dynasty. T o be
sacriEced, a ja g u a r m ig h t w e ll have had to
be drugged! A t least th re e ja g u a r p elts, along
w ith pelts o f th ree sm aller cats, w e re draped
w ith in the so-called Sun G od's T o m b a t A ltu n
H a . In the G re a t T e m p le o f T e n o c h titla n ,
m any jaguars w e re in te rre d , perhaps to sym ­
b olize the P Y R A M ID as a m o u n tain w ith CAVES,
the p re fe rre d d w e llin g o f the ja g u a r.
SacriEced jaguars w e re o ften beheaded,
and a headless ja g u a r glyph in M a y a WRrrtNG
rem ains undeciphered. O n a series o f w e ll-
know n b u t poorly understood codex-style
M a y a pots, C H A C sacriEces a baby ja g u ar,
103 JAGUAR GODS
sometimes pictured n a tu ra lis tic a lly and o th er
times given hum an characteristics, in the
presence o f G od A (see scHELLHAS coos). Such
a repeated religious im age m ig h t re fe r to a
calendrica! or astral m yth.

jaguar gods Jaguar gods played a p ro m in en t

roie in M esoam erican relig io n . L ik e JAGUARS
them selves, these gods w e re associated w ith
N IG HT, CAVES, the UNDERWORLD, h u n tin g , and
stealth. T h ey are also related to transform ­
ation Bgures, and some are know n as aspects
of other deities. Jaguar with a jade ball in its mouth, found as an
T h e Olm ecs w e re long thought to have only offering in the Templo. Mayor, Tenochtitlan, Late
one m ajor d eity , the W ERE-jACUAR, supposedly
derived from the m ating o f a hum an and a
jag u ar. R ecent studies have dem onstrated
that m any o th er anim als, including birds and
SERPENTS, lie a t the root o f O LM EC CODS, but
O lm ec sham anic transform ation Bgures p ri­
m a rily fe a tu re the ja g u ar. Am ong O lm ec
d eities, the crouching RAIN god fre q u e n tly has
the body o f a ja g u a r, and he m ay be the m ost
characteristic w ere-jag u ar.
A t TEO TIHU AC AN, there are num erous ja g u a r
sculptures - some functioning as ritu a l recep­
tacles - b u t am ong the supernatural ones, the
N e tte d Jaguar is probably the most prom i­
nent. C h aracterized by a ja g u ar body covered
in a re ticu la te d in terlac e, the N e tte d Jaguar
usually features a great panache o f trim m ed
feathers a t the back o f the head and m ay
have a fe a th e r trim along the back, ta il, and
legs. In depictions o f processions w h ere he
altern ates w ith coyotes, a hum an HEART hangs
in fro n t o f his lo llin g tongue, suggesting a
sacriBcia! ro le, and presaging the WARRIOR
ORDERS dedicated to totem ic anim als in A ztec
tim es. T h e N e tte d Jaguar often bears MIRRORS
In a state of shamanic transformation, a Maya
and rattles, perhaps because o f a relatio n he lord would take on an animal self or uay, most
m ay b ear to D iviN A TiO N , and he m ay travel commonly the jaguar; from a Late Classic Maya
along a path m arked by hum an footprints. vase, Altar de Sacrificios.
A three-dim ensional fea th e red ja g u a r w ith
its back carved as a receptacle m ay have once
received hum an hearts, lik e the la te r A ztec
cuAUHXicALLis. T h e Teo tih u acan TLALOC fre ­
q u en tly has a ja g u a r association, p a rtic u la rly
in the form atio n o f the T la lo c A m outh.
A t M o n te A lb an , ja g u a r urns are featu red
from an early d ate. As am ong the M a y a ,
n atu ralistic jaguars som etim es b ear hum an
scarves, as if to in d icate a supernatural associ­
ation. T h e ja g u ar god lab eled 1 T ig e r by
Alfonso Caso and Ignacio B ern al freq u e n tly Hill of the Jaguar, Codex
w ears a hum an h e a rt as a pectoral. T h e ir god Vindobonensis, p. 9, Late
lab eled O ld God 5 F bears the same tw isted Postclassic Mixtee.
J A G U A R -S E R P E N T B IR D
" c ru lle r" (so nam ed because it resem bles th e
tw isted p as try) b etw e en th e nose and u n d er
th e eyes th a t characterizes the M a y a Jaguar
G od o f th e U n d e rw o rld and is c le a rly re la te d
to th a t d e ity .
Perhaps because the M a y a and th e ja g u a r
shared dom inion o ver the tro p ica l ra in fo rest,
the M a y a had m ore ja g u a r d eities and d eities
w ith ja g u a r associations than any o th e r
M eso am erican peoples. T h e M a y a p a rtic u ­
la rly id e n tifie d the suN w ith the ja g u a r. T h e
d ay tim e sun, o ften rep resen ted as p atro n o f
the n u m b er 4, can be rep resen ted w ith ja g u a r
featu res, b u t the n ig h ttim e sun, the Jaguar
C od o f the U n d e rw o rld , p atro n o f the nu m b er
7 , is c le a rly a ja g u a r in his fu ll-b o d y depictions
and g en e rally has ja g u a r ears in a ll rep resen ­
tations. H e m ay also app ear as an anth ro p o ­
m orphic form , w ith ja g u a r characteristics
lim ite d to the face. T h e Jaguar G od o f the
U n d e rw o rld usually has a hank o f tw isted h a ir
over his forehead, and a " c ru lle r" b etw een his
nose th a t m ay continue un d er the eyes. In
this form , the Jaguar God o f the U n d e rw o rld
is the sun in the U n d e rw o rld , trav elin g from
w est to east, som etim es atop a g re at C A IM A N .
T h e Jaguar God o f the U n d erw o rld is p a rtic u ­
la rly associated w ith T ik a l, o f w hich he m ay
be the patro n , p a rtic u la rly in the E a rly
Classic; the toponym for T ik a l is incorporated
into his headdress in some depictions a t T ik a l
and most form a! p o rtra itu re o f T ik a l kings
incorporates the head o f the Jaguar C od o f
the U n d erw o rld .
O th e r M a y a ja g u a r gods include the W a te r
L ily Jaguar, the Jaguar B aby, and the Jaguar
P ad d ler (see P A D D LE R coos). A lw ays a zoo-
m orphic form , the W a te r L ily Jaguar w ears
a w a te r lily on his head and usually a collar
o f extruded eyeballs around the neck or a
scarf. T h e W a te r L ily Jaguar serves as a
throne, m arches in U n d erw o rld processions,
appears occasionally w ith a STAR sign on his
back (perhaps to te ll us th a t he is also a
constellation), serves as the patron o f the
m onth Pop, and functions as an overarching
brame fo r one o f the g ian t T ik a l litte rs . T h e
Jaguar B aby is usually shown as a chubby
zoom orphic or anthropom orphic ja g u ar,
alm ost alw ays set in opposition to C H A C in
scenes o f S A C R IF IC E . C hac w ields an axe, and
the Jaguar Baby usually reclines on a stone
A L T A R . O ne o f the p a ir o f P A D D LE R CODS th a t
guide the M A IZ E G O D and others through the
w aters o f the U n d e rw o rld , the Jaguar P addler
usually handles the fore o f the craft. L ik e his
104
p a rtn e r, th e Stingray P a d d ler, the Jaguar
P a d d le r is an old god, w ith sunken cheeks.
O th e r M a y a sup ern atu rals w e a r ja g u a r
p elag e or a re jag u ars. T h e patro n o f the
m onth Pax is a ja g u a r god w ho lacks a lo w e r
ja w and w ho occurs in th e com pany o f the
Jaguar C o d o f th e U n d e rw o rld on p ain te d
ceram ics, fre q u e n tly in the context o f HUMAN
S A C R IF IC E . X b a la n q u e , one o f the H e ro T w in s ,
o ften has ja g u a r p e lt on his face, arm s, and
legs, and is th e p atro n o f th e n u m b er 9.
In C e n tra ! M exico , T e p e y o llo tl was the
m ost im p o rta n t ja g u a r god, and as a d e ity
re la te d to TEZCA TH PO C A , h eld a significant
p lace in th e A zte c p an th eo n . T e p e y o llo tl,
" h e a rt o f th e m o u n ta in ," d w e lt in m ountain
CAVES, and the v ery o ffe rin g o f so m any jaguars
in the G re a t T e m p le o f th e ir cerem onial
p recin ct suggests th a t the A ztecs p erceived
this tem p le com pound, d ed ica te d to TLALOC
and ii u iT Z iL O P O C H T L i , to be the h e a rt o f the
m o untain w h e re T e p e y o llo tl d w e lt. T e p e -
yollot! p resided over the T R E C E N A 1 M a za t!
and was the eig h th L o rd o f the N ig h t (see
C A L E N D A R ). á * e e a / s O K IN IC H A H A U ; T E O T IH U A C A N
CODS.
ja g u a r-s e rp e n t-b ird T erm in o lo g y th a t has
been used to describe a fro n ta l m onster from
w hich a hum an head p ro trud es, th e "ja g u a r-
s e rp e n t-b ird " is a fro n ta l version o f the WAR
SERPENT. S eler lin k ed th e im ag ery to V E N US
and the m orning star and suggested a
relatio n sh ip to Q U E T Z A L C O A T L and T L A L H U IZ C A L -
P A N T E C U H T L i th a t can no longer be supported.
R are a t T E O T IH U A C A N its e lf, th e fro n ta l w a r
serpent is m ost com m on am ong th e M a y a , a t
Piedras N egras and C h ich en Itz á , and a t
T u la . T h e p rim a ry association o f this com ­
posite im age is w a rfa re .
Jester C o d T h e Jester G od takes his nam e
from the head o rn am en t th a t dangles over
his foreh ead lik e th a t o f a court je s te r. U sually
trilo b e d and d epicted o n ly as a head (except
a t P alenque, w h e re a body is in clu d ed ), the
d istinctive Jester G od head o rn am en t makes
its Erst appearance d u rin g O lm ec tim es - as
a head o rn am en t a t L a V e n ta and on braziers
from M o n te A lb an - although th e Jester God
occurs m a in ly am ong the Classic M a y a , and
m akes no Postclassic appearances. D u rin g the
E a rly Classic p erio d , some M a y a Jester Gods
have the characteristics o f a S H AR K . G e n era lly ,
the Jester G od functions as a head ornam ent
o f kings and was m ade o f JA D E , b u t lesser
105 JEWELRY
nobles w ear Jester Gods o f various colors in
Crouching Jaguar-
the Bonam pak m urals, so it was not the Serpent-Bird, a
exclusive p u rview o f kingship. T h e ja d e Jester version of the War
God depicted on Pacal's headband on the Serpent; Chichen
Palenque O val Palace T a b le t is p ro b ab ly the Itzá, Yucatán,
Early Postclassic
very one recovered from Pacal's tom b.
period.

je w e lry M e n and w om en, CODS and hum ans

all w ore je w e lry in ancien t M esoam erica.
In general, je w e lry was m ade o f the most
precious m aterials: JADE, serp entin e, and
other greenstones, along w ith am ber, pearls,
SHELL, q u artz, and OBSIDIAN in the F o rm a tiv e
and Classic eras, and COLD, silver, TURQUOISE,
obsidian, shell, q u artz and greenstones in
Postclassic tim es. A lthough some mosaic w ork
is know n am ong Classic je w e lry , it becam e
m ore com mon in the Postclassic era.
In the h a ir, diadem s, tiaras, and headbands
o f in d ivid u al carved beads som etim es
accom pany or supplant headdresses; h ead ­
dresses them selves, if they include fu ll heads,
m ig h t b ear ear hares and o th er ornam ents.
H a ir was also pulled through fancy beads,
p a rtic u la rly a t the fro n t o f the head, and tiny
beads w ere w orked into long strands o f h air
am ong some 8th c. M a y a . E a r hares g en erally
w ere assemblages in w hich the larg e hange
a t fro n t was anchored to a counterw eight
behind by a cord th a t pierced the ear. Nose c
ornam ents, p a rtic u la rly b u tterh y ornam ents, Protoclassic and Classic forms of the shark Jester
w e re know n at TEonmjACAN, T u la , Chichen Cod. a, As worn by Protoclassic ruler, Loltun
Itz á , and T en o ch titlan . Noses w ere pierced Cave, Yucatán. 6, Shark Jester God of ruler
Stormy Sky, Stela 31, Tikal, Early Classic period,
to receive nose beads: lords jo u rn eyed to
c, Shark Jester God of ruler Pacal, Oval Palace
C h olu la to have th e ir noses pierced and to Tablet, Palenque, Late Classic period.
receive the adornm ent h ttin g a king. C e n tra l
M exican nobles pierced the lo w e r lip in order
to insert a la b re t, m any o f w hich took the
form o f snakes or birds.
Necklaces w e re som etim es suspended in
m u ltip le strands, form ing beaded collars.
B eaded w ristlets and anklets w e re additional
adornm ents. A lthough ra rely depicted in a rt,
rings have been found archaeologically, p ar­
tic u la rly am ong the M a y a . D u rin g the P roto­
classic and Classic, b e lt assemblages, com ­
posed o f a head w ith th ree thin dangling
plaques, w e re w orn by kings at e ith e r the
fro n t or back o f the w aist.
Perhaps because o f the green foliage o f
MAIZE, the M a y a m aize god HUN HUNAHPU
w ears abundant je w e lry , probably o f ja d e . In
p reparatio n fo r SACRIFICE, M a y a captives w ere
often bedecked w ith je w e ls and fin ery. T h e ir
sacrifice m ay have been liken ed to the harvest
o f the M a iz e C od.
K !N !C H A H A U
K in ic h A h au D u rin g both the C lassic and
Postclassic periods the M a y a suN god was
term ed K in ich A h au , m ean in g sun-faced or
sun-eyed lo rd . In proE le, the sun god appears
m uch lik e a younger version o f ITZAMNA. T h e
s im ila ritie s a re not co in cid e n ta l; am ong the
contact period Y ucatec, one aspect o f the
aged c rea to r god was K in ich A h au Itza m n a .
F o r the Postclassic codices, the sun god is
com m only re fe rre d to as C od G (s e e s c H E L L H A S
coos). In contrast to Itza m n a , the codical sun
god is usually bearded and has sn ake-like
elem ents curving out from the corners o f the
m outh. H o w e v e r, one o f the most d istin ctive
traits o f K inich A hau, is the fo u r-p e ta le d Am
often placed upon his brow o r body. W h en
view ed face on, it m ay be seen th a t the M a y a
sun god is cross-eyed and has his u p p er
incisors hied into the form o f a " T ." D u rin g
both the Classic and Postclassic periods, the
sun god is closely id e n tifie d w ith JAGUARS, and
a t tim es appears w ith a ja g u a r ear. In Classic
period inscriptions, he serves as the head
v a ria n t o f the num ber 4, and patron o f the
m onth Yaxkin. It is clear th a t the patron o f
the m onth Pax is again the sun god, although
w ith o u t his lo w er ja w . A long w ith the M o n ­
key Scribe, the head o f the sun god can also
denote the Long C ount position o f K in , or
day (see CALENDAR).
T h e sun god appears in s till ano th er e p i-
graphic context, C I I I o f the P A L E N Q U E T R IA D ,
w h ere he bears an im p o rtan t title shared
w ith M a y a kings. A lthough this title has
been com m only read as maA AmaA, recent
epigraphic research indicates th a t it is pro­
bably to be read AimcA, a title recorded
for the 16th c. highland M a y a . T h e M a y a
id en tificatio n o f kings w ith the sun god can
be traced to a t least as early as the m id -5th
c. A D . In the upper portion o f T ik a l Stela
31, the deceased ru le r C u rl Snout appears
apotheosized as K inich A hau. M o reo v er, a t
both L a te Classic P alenque and Yaxchilán,
ancesters are depicted w ith in solar car-
touches. ^eea/so D E IF IC A T IO N ; JAGUAR CO D S ; S UN.
K ukulcan .see QUETZALCOATL
toa
lig h tn in g and th u n d e r A m ong the most
p o te n t and d ra m a tic n a tu ra l phenom ena o f
M ex ico a re lig h tn in g storm s w h ich lig h t up
th e SKY and shake th e EARTH w ith th u n d er. In
p a rtic u la r, lig h tn in g is reg ard ed w ith special
in te re s t. R a th e r than b ein g o n ly a dangerous
p o w e r, lig h tn in g is considered to be life
g ivin g and eng en d erin g . Because o f the basic
association o f lig h tn in g w ith ra in , the gods o f
lig h tn in g a re u su ally also the gods o f R A IN .
H o w e v e r, lig h tn in g its e lf was c le a rly consid­
ered as a m a n ifestatio n o f p o w e rfu l fe rtiliz in g
energ y, as, fo r exam p le, in the w idespread
m yth o f the o rig in o f M A IZ E , w h e re lig h tn in g
splits open th e rock co n tain in g the hidden
seed.
In M eso am erica, the alm ost instantaneous
Hash o f lig h tn in g is rep resen ted in a n u m b er
o f w ays. Q u ite com m only, th e sinuous aspect
o f lig h tn in g bolts takes the form o f u n d u latin g
SERPENTS.G ive n the igneous n atu re o f lig h t­
ning, these lig h tn in g snakes a re o fte n re p ­
resented as b u rn in g F iH E serpents. T h e stone
axe, usually o f F L IN T , is a n o th er w idespread
sym bol o f lig h tn in g . E v en today, stone axes
found in the Helds a re com m only reg ard ed as
spent lig h tn in g .
A m ong th e Classic M a y a , th e so-called
M A N IK IN SCEPTER refers to lig h tn in g sim u l­
taneously as a serp ent, Hre, and axe. T h e
M a n ik in Scepter takes the fo rm o f a deiHed
axe, w ith one o f the legs te rm in a tin g in a
bu rn in g serpent foot, and is sim ply an aspect
o f the d e ity com m only know n as C o d K (see
S C H E L LH A S coDs), or Aau/Z in the Classic M a y a
script. C H A C , the M a y a god o f ra in and lig h t­
ning usually w ield s th e C o d K serp ent axe.
I n C e n tr a l M e x ic o , th e lig h tn in g g o d o f th e
A ztec s a n d o th e r p e o p le s is th e jAGUAR-fanged
TLALO C . The e a rlie s t k n o w n d e p ic tio n s of
T la lo c fr o m P rotoclassic T la p a c o y a p o rtra y
th e d e ity H anked by s e rp e n tin e lig h tn in g
bolts. A m o n g th e Z a p o te e s o f O a x a c a , th e
god o f lig h tn in g is c o cijo , a w o rd w h ic h m ean s
lig h tn in g . T h e T o to n a c go d o f lig h tn in g , T a jin ,
is also n a m e d b y th e n a tiv e w o rd fo r lig h tn in g .
T h e sym bolism o f th u n d er is less evid en t
and developed than th a t fo r ligh tn in g .
A ccording to one A zte c account, thu n d er is
caused by the b reakin g o f g re at w a te r jars
containing ra in . A m ong the contem porary
 107 LONG NOSED AND LONG-LIPPED DEITIES
highland M a y a , there is a contrast b etw e en
vigorous and you th fu l lig h tn in g gods and gods
of thunder, w ho tend to be aged gods o f the
earth and m ountains. T h e aged th u n d e r god
is freq u ently re fe rre d to as M a m , and it is
probable th a t the ancien t M a y a god know n
as PAUAHTUN or C od N is the P rehispanic form
of this being. T h e m odern H uastec M a y a o f
northern V eracruz and n eighboring San Luis
Potosí also possess an aged th u n d er god
known as M a m . H e is said to app ear b en t over
his w alking stick, and num erous Prehispanic
Huastec sculptures s im ila rly p o rtray the old
M am stooped over his staff. Early Classic (left) and Late Classic
representations of Kinich Ahau, the Maya sun
litters N obles, d e ity im personators, sacrificial god.
victim s, and im ages o f GODS w e re o ften carried
in litte rs , as w e re w e alth y persons w ho could
afford to h ire bearers to keep th e ir fe e t
from touching the ground. P resum ably it was
ennobling to be borne alo ft. O n long journeys,
both A ztec MERCHANTS and ranking A ztec
w arriors m ight be carried in litte rs . T h e
earliest depiction o f a litte r occurs a t Iza p a,
w h ere a d eity w atches from a litte r w h ile a
d ecapitation takes place. M a y a kings w ere
borne in litte rs , o ften m ade o f sim ple rushes
and carried by ju s t tw o bearers. A t T ik a l,
g raiE ti scratched on palace and tem ple w alls
record extrem ely elaborate litte rs in the form
o f g ian t W a te r L ily Jaguars and W A R SERPENTS.
T h e Aztecs fre q u e n tly carried th e ir sacri­
ficial victim s about in litte rs p rio r to S A C R IF IC E .
Some A ztec child sacrifices to T L A L O C w ere
thus paraded, as w ere the d eity im person­
(Left) Late Classic form of Chac, the Maya god
ators dressed as MOUNTAINS during the VEINTENA of rain and lightning, wielding a serpent-footed
o f T e p e ilh u itl. D u rin g th a t festival, fou r o f the lightning axe; detail from a Maya vase. (jRigAf)
five m ountain im personators w ere w om en, The aged Mam, the Huastec god of thunder,
including one dedicated to M A Y A H U E L , and a ll Veracruz, Postclassic period. The staff is in the
form of a serpent, probably an allusion to
the bearers w ere w om en. 5ee a/so D E IT Y
lightning.
IM P E R S O N A T IO N ; J A C U A R C O D S .

long-nosed and lo ng-lipped deities A lthough

these term s have long been in use fo r Classic
M a y a and e a rlie r d eities, they are confusing
and do not allo w fo r discrim ination am ong
M a y a C O D S. s c H E L L H A S first used the term "god
w ith long nose" to describe C H A C , but since
his day, g re at num bers o f gods have been
called long nosed. T h e m ore recent term ,
"lo n g -lip p ed d e ity ," has been used to
describe m ore accurately the extended upper
t lip o f m any M a y a and Iza p a gods, b u t this
term also tends to group a ll such deities
together w ith o u t distinction. W h a t can be
said about the shape o f the lo w e r face - or Litter topped by a smoking jaguar, Izapa Stela
w h a t can m ore g en erally be called the snout - 21, Protoclassic period.
MACUILXOCHiTL
is th a t it m ay revea! a zoom orphic o rig in .
U p w a rd -tu rn in g snouts, lik e th a t o f the JESTER
coo, in d ic ate a SERPENT o rig in . D o w n w a rd -
curvin g snouts, lik e th a t o f the P R IN C IP A L B tR D
DEITY, suggest the beaks o f birds. B !u n t or
square snouts g e n e ra lly re v e a l a jACL AR o rig in .
M ac u ilx o c h itl is nam ed fo r a specihc d ate in
the 260-d ay CALENDAR, 5 F !o w e r. H e is the
p rin c ip a l god o f the A H U iA T E T E O , w ho a re
nam ed a fte r the five southern day nam es
app earin g w ith the coefficient o f 5 and w ho
are gods sim ultaneously o f excess pleasure
and o f consequent punishm ent. O n pages 47
and 48 o f the Codex B orgia, they ap p ear w ith
a hum an hand across the m outh, an im p o rtan t
tra it o f M ac u ilx o c h itl. T h e patron god o f
palace folk as w e ll as o f gam es and gam bling -
in p a rtic u la r, the gam e o f PATOLLi - M a c u il-
xochit! is closely related to and freq u e n tly
overlaps w ith ano th er you th fu l god, xocm-
P!LL!, the 'flo w e r p rin c e."
m aguey N a tiv e to highland M exico, m aguey
(A g ave spp.) is a p la n t o f m any diverse uses.
In ancient M exico, the thorns tip p in g the
leaves w e re w id e ly used as BLOODLETTING
instrum ents. T h e thick fleshy leaves yield
tough fib er for rope or coarse C L O T H . H o w ev er,
the m ost renow ned product o f m aguey is
PULQUE, know n as o cf/i in N a h u a tl. T h e fe r­
m ented sw eet sap, or aguam ie/, o f the m aguey
p la n t, pulque is the most im p o rtan t alcoholic
d rin k o f n ative M exico.
M ag u ey was freq u e n tly personified as a
you th fu l goddess. F o r the ancient M ixtees,
the m aguey goddess is re fe rre d to as 11
Serpent, and appears w ith h er severed head
fa llin g fro m her bleeding throat. This m ay
re fe r to the severing o f the cen tral stalk o f
the m aguey p la n t, a basic process in the
production o f pulque. T o the inhabitants o f
C e n tra l M exico, MAYAHUEL was the young
goddess o f m aguey. In a 17th c. N a h u a tl
chant recorded by R uiz de A larcon, m aguey
is re fe rre d to by the calendrical nam e o f 8
F lin t. T h e same d ate o f 8 F lin t appears on
the rim o f the A ztec B ilim ek Vessel, a P re-
hispanic stone vase covered w ith allusions to
m aguey and pulque.
m aize Since the beginning o f the F o rm ative
IMP
p erio d , m a ize (Z e a m ays) has been the most
im p o rta n t food crop o f M exico . T h e first
know n dom estic m aize appears d u rin g the
A rch a ic p erio d o f th e Teh u acan V a lle y in
P u eb la a t around 3500 Be. H o w e v e r, fa r
la rg e r and m ore p ro d u ctiv e form s o f m aize
developed d u rin g the F o rm a tiv e period.
M any researchers c u rre n tly b eliev e th a t
a n cien t p eople dom esticated m aize from a
closely re la te d grass know n as íeosm fe (Z e a
m exicana). T h e etym ology o f feaw n fe reveals
th a t th e n a tiv e peoples o f h ig h lan d M exico
also recognized th e im p o rtan ce and relevance
o f this p la n t to m aize. T h e term derives from
th e N a h u a tl w ords tee, sig n ifyin g "g o d " or
"s a c re d ," and c m f/i, m eaning " m a iz e ." Thus
a s u itab le gloss fo r feosm fe is "g o d ly c o rn ."
R epresentations o f m aize d ate fro m as e a rly
as the F o rm a tiv e O lm ec and abound in the
la te r iconography o f Classic and Postclassic
M exico . T h e C lassic M a y a seem to have had
an especially close re latio n s h ip w ith m aize,
and cran ia! d efo rm a tio n m ay have been p e r­
form ed to m im ic th e elongated form o f the
m aize e ar. T h e C lassic and Postclassic M a y a
also fre q u e n tly d e p ict m aize ears as hum an
heads, as if corn was a s en tien t being. In the
M ix te c a -P u e b la style o f Postclassic highland
M exico , m aize ears a re also d ep icted w ith
teeth and open eyes. E n tire ly d ep en d en t
upon hum ans fo r pro p ag ation , m aize was
considered as a frie n d and a lly o f people. In
fac t, in M a y a m ythology o f hig h lan d G u a te ­
m ala, th e p resent race o f hum ans are the
people o f m aize, and w e re firs t fashioned
from ground corn and p e n ite n tia l BLOOD.
A m ong C o lo n ial and contem porary h ig h lan d
M aya o f G u a te m ala and neighboring
C hiapas, th e u m b ilica l cord o f the new born
child is cut over a m a tu re m aize ear. T h e
bloodied seed is saved and becom es the
special crop o f th e child . E ven a t the m om ent
o f BIRTH, the in d iv id u a l becom es a v irtu a l
blood a lly o f m aize. <See aVso ciNTEOL; CREATION
ACCOUNTS; HUN HUNAHPU; MAIZE GODS.
m aize gods A lthough representations o f
MAIZE a re know n fro m th e F o rm a tiv e p erio d ,
the id e n tific atio n o f O lm ec m aize gods is fa r
from clear. G od I I o f the Joralem on O lm ec
god classification (see O L M E C G O D s ) displays
m aize sprouting fro m his or h e r c le ft head.
H o w e v e r, it is not certain w h e th e r this d eity
is a personification o f m aize o r perhaps the
e arth or m ountain from w hich m aize o rig i­
nates. Several O lm ec representations o f chin-
 109 MAIZE CODS
¡ess DWARVES display m aize signs on th e ir
bodies. A lthough it is possible th a t these
dwarves represent m aize, they also could
refer to ucHTNiNC, RAJN, or o th e r forces th a t
create corn. Am ong the Classic period Z ap o ­
tees, one e n tity com m only form ed on Zapotee
urns - the C od o f G lyp h L — o ften appears
w ith ears o f m aize. F o r this reason, he has
been identiB ed as the Classic form o f the
Zapotee m aize god, know n as P itáo C ozobi
during the e a rly C o lo n ial period. H o w e v e r,
the God o f G lyp h L shares m any characterist­
ics w ith the Classic form o f cocijo, th e Zapotee
god o f rain and ligh tn in g . In fac t, C ocijo also
generally bears m aize ears in his hands or
headdress.
T h e e arliest id en tiB ab le M esoam erican
m aize god appears in E a rly Classic M a y a a rt
as a you th fu l m ale w ith stylized m aize placed
at the top o f the head. D u rin g the L a te Classic
period, tw o d istinct b u t overlapping form s o f
this d e ity develop. O ne o f these, the Tonsured Macuilxochitl, the Central Mexican god of
M a ize G od, appears w ith a m arked ly elon­ gaming and pleasure, Florentine Codex, Book 1,
gated hum an head often shaved in zones 16th c. Aztec.
across the B attened b row ; he is the Classic
M a y a prototype o f HUN HUNAHPU o f the Q uiche
M a y a P O P O L v u n . R ecently discovered m urals
at C acaxtla, T laxcala, po rtray heads o f the
Tonsured M a ize God as rip en ed ears o f
yello w corn. H e thus represents m atu re and
fe rtile m aize; the other L a te Classic m aize
d eity , h ow ever, depicts ten d er grow ing
m aize. This Bgure, the F o lia te d M a iz e G od, is
p o rtrayed w ith a stylized m aize ear sprouting
from the top o f the head. T h e M a y a m aize
god continues in this form through the L ate
Postclassic period. In the codices, he is com ­
m only re fe rre d to as God E, follow ing the
Schellhas system o f d eity classiBcation (see
S C H E L LH A S C O D S ). (Above) Depictions of maize
Aside from the notable appearance o f the in ancient Mesoamerica. a,
Tonsured M a ize God a t C acaxtla, th ere are Olmec, incised jade, Middle
no clear representations o f m aize deities in Formative, b, State of Mexico,
Late Classic, c, Maya,
C e n tra l M exico u n til the L a te Postclassic
Palenque, Late Classic, d,
period. T h e most im p o rtan t o f these is ciN- Codex Borgia, p. 27, Late
TEOTL, w ho is closely re late d to tw o other Postclassic.
you th fu l m ale gods, xocmpiLLi and MACUiL-
xocmTL. L ik e the Postclassic C od E o f the
M a y a codices, C in te o tl typ ic ally has a p air
o f th in , broken, v ertic al lines passing down
across the brow and cheeks. T h e Aztecs
t also had fem ale personiBcations o f m aize, in
p a rtic u la r, cmcoMECOATL, or 7 S erpent. T o the
Postclassic M ixtees, m aize was com m only (Left) Foliated maize god in
conceived o f as a w om an. In the Codex dancing pose, Copán, Late
Vindobonensis, th ree m aize goddesses are Classic Maya.
M A N IK t N SCEPTER
m en tio n ed , 5 F lin t, 7 F lin t, and 7 C rass. .See
a / f O CREATION ACCOUNTS.
M a n ik in S cepter T h e M a n ik in S cepter, a
te rm coined by H . Spinden, is th e p a rtic u la r
m an ifestatio n o f a M a y a god also know n as
C od K or C II o f the PALENQUETRiAD. H is nam e
was B olon D zacab in C onquest p erio d Yuca­
tán and he was p ro b ab ly know n as K a u il in
Classic tim es. T h is sam e d e ity m ay h ave been
called T o h i! am ong the Q u ich e.
In g en e ral, th e M a n ik in S cepter is a fu ll-
Hgure b u t d im in u tiv e re p res en tatio n o f this
god designed to be held in the hand o f a ru le r
as a sym bol o f ru lersh ip its e lf. W h e n CHAC
carries the M a n ik in Scepter, it sym bolizes
ucHTUHNc. T h e god is ch aracterized by an axe
or sm oking tube th a t pierces his fo reh e ad , an
u p w a rd -tu rn in g snout, and, m ost d istinc­
tive ly , one leg th a t turns in to a SERPENT, like
the C e n tra l M exican d e ity TEZCATUPOCA, to
w hom some scholars have lin k ed h im . H is
first clear appearance is on E a rly Classic
m onum ents, b u t the M a n ik in Scepter rem ains
an im p o rtan t a ttrib u te o f ru lersh ip rig h t
through the Postclassic a t C hichen Itz á and
is probably the object held by the p atria rc h
depicted in the 1557 X iu fam ily tree . T h e
form m ay w e ll be based on an axe or C E L T .
m arriage T h e in stitu tio n o f m arriage was not
lim ite d in M esoam erica to the hum an plane
b u t was present am ong the CODS as w e ll.
In C en tra! M exico , gods w e re fre q u e n tly
described as having both fem ale and m ale
aspects, as if they w ere m arried couples.
Exam ples include O m etecu h tli and O m ecihu-
a tl (see O M E T E O T L ), M IC T L A N T E C U H T L I and M ic -
tecacihuatl, and TONACATECUHTH and Tonaca-
cih u atl. M a rria g e also describes p a rtic u la r
relationships betw een deities. Thus fo r exam ­
p le, C H A L c m u H T L i c u E - the goddess o f standing
WATER and rivers - is the w ife o f th e RAIN and
L IG H T N IN G god T L A L O C . O r there is the goddess
o f M A G U E Y , M A Y A H U E L , w ho ÍS the SpOUSe o f
Patecatl, a P U L Q U E C O D . In the M a y a area, the
M O O N goddess is fre q u e n tly described as the
w ife o f the SUN. Pages 57 to 60 o f the C e n tra l
M exican Codex Borgia contain a rem arkab le
series o f 31 god couples, perhaps composed
fo r m arriage prognostications. I t is possible
th a t the p airin g o f the you th fu l Goddess I
(see S C H E LLH A S GODs) w ith p artic u la r gods in
th e M a y a D resden Codex m ay s im ila rly have
served to d ete rm in e m arriag e partners.
In ancien t M esoam erica, m arriages w ere
!1(
fre q u e n tly a rran g ed through aged arbitrator!!
or m atchm akers. R itu a l banquets o ften fo rm ­
ed an essential p a rt o f the m arriag e cere­
m onies; am ong both the Aztecs and the
Yucatec M a y a , th e fe e d in g o f the groom by
th e b rid e w as an im p o rta n t rite d u rin g the
fe s tiv itie s . T h an ks to the F lo re n tin e Codex
and th e C odex M e n d o za , w e know a consider­
a b le a m o un t re g ard in g A ztec m a rria g e cere­
m onies. T h e F lo re n tin e C odex provides p a rt
o f th e speech d ire cted to the fu tu re b rid e :
O m y d au g h ter, tbou a r t h ere. F o r th y sake
th y m others, th y tá th e rs h a v e becom e o /d
m en, o /d w om en. N o w thou approaches? the
o /d w om en, a /re a d y thou commences? the
/d e o í an o /d w om an. F o re v e r n o w /e av e
cABcbsAnesy, g irh sh n ess... B e m ost consider­
a te o f one; re g a rd one w ith respect; speak
w e //, g re e t one w e //. B y m g h t /o o k to, take
care o f th e sw eeping; th e /a y in g o f th e t?re.
A ris e in the d eep o f n ight. D o n o t re /e c t us,
do n o t em barrass us as o /d m en, do n o t re /e c t
th y m others as o /d w om en. (Fe: V I)
A m ong th e A ztecs, the b rid e was c a rrie d at
dusk to the house o f th e groom . Seated on a
M A T b efo re th e household h e a rth , the couple
w e re presented w ith gifts. T h e union o f
m arriag e was ritu a lly expressed b y the old
m atchm akers tyin g tog eth er the couple's
clothing in a knot.
In h ighland M ex ico , m a rria g e was com ­
m only rep resen ted by th e couple seated upon
a m at or ly in g tog eth er u n d er a single b la n ke t.
A m ong M eso am erican n o b ility , m arriag e
cem ented alliances and le g itim ize d blood­
lines. O n e o f the m ost d e ta ile d scenes o f an
e lite n a tiv e m arriag e cerem ony appears in
the C odex Selden o f th e Postclassic M ixtees.
H e re L a d y 6 M o n k e y o f Jaltepec m arries a
lo rd nam ed 11 W in d . DANCING and cerem onial
b ath in g by the couple form p a rt o f the m a r­
riage rites. A m ong th e Classic M a y a e lite
m arriag e o ften served to re in fo rc e alliances
b etw een cities and re v ita lize dynasties. T h e
w ife o f th e C opán king Sm oke Shell cam e
fro m th e d istan t site o f P alenque. K in g F lin t-
Sky-G od K o f Dos P ilas m a rrie d a w om an
from the site o f Itz á n , and la te r sent a
d au g h ter to be m a rrie d to a N a ra n jo lord. O ne
o f the greatest kings o f N ara n jo , Sm oking-
S q u irrel, w as born o f this union.
m at H e o f the M a t was an eponym o f ru le r­
ship am ong m ost people o f an cien t M exico.
N o t every m a t, h o w ever, was a key to a ru ling
 I ll MAYAHUEL
lord or high PRIEST h im self, fo r even assistants
slept on finely w oven m ats, according to
Burgoa's description o f the palaces a t M itla ,
where m ats w oven o f reed and rush w e re
im portant furnishings o f a ll noble and p rie stly
dwellings.
M ats, nevertheless, w e re th e settings fo r
many im p o rtan t ritu a l events. Kings sat on
them on the ground or d raped them over
stone THRONES. In the C odex M en d o za, M o te -
cuhzoma h im self is shown in his palace on a
m at, or /cpa/A. A m ong th e A ztecs, th e p re ­
cious skins th a t draped thrones w e re also
referred to as special types o f m at. M ats w ere
im portant places for D iv iN A T iO N and the casting
of lots. W eddings w e re som etim es conse­
crated on mats (see MARRIAGE).
T h e M a y a called th e ir ru lin g lo rd the ah
pop, or H e o f the M a t, and the term was
synonymous w ith aAau, or lo rd , itse lf. In
Yucatán the p o p o / na, or m at house, was the
young m en's com m unity house fo r DANCE and
perform ance, as w e ll as a place fo r the
com m unity council to m eet. M a n y Puuc M a y a
buildings have w oven m a t-lik e m otifs on th e ir
exteriors, as do the palaces a t M itla , perhaps
because they once served as com m unity coun­
cil houses. T h e p o p o L v u H , th e surviving
Q uiche epic, is usually translated as the Book
o f C ouncil, b u t the root o f p o p o / is m at,
lin k in g a com m unity council and the m ats on
w hich they w ould sit.
T w o Classic M a y a stelae bear texts in te r­
w oven in the m at design, perhaps a d irect
referen ce to ah pop, or ru le r. Detail of Aztec marriage scene, the garments of
bride and groom symbolically tied, Codex
Mendoza, 16th c.
M a y a h u e l T h e C e n tra l M exican goddess o f
MAGUEY, M a y a h u e l is usually depicted as a
b e a u tifu l young w om an w ith a flow ering
m aguey p lan t. H e r earliest know n represen­
tatio n occurs in the To ltec-style E a rly Post­
classic rock p ain tin g a t Ixtapantongo, in the
State o f M exico. Dressed in a guecA guem /f/
(a draped blouse - see COSTUME), the goddess
appears w ith in a m aguey p la n t holding tw o
cups probably containing PULQUE. T h e L a te
Postclassic M a y a h u e l fre q u e n tly displays
attrib u te s o f the W A TE R goddess, C H A L C H iU H -
TLicuE, and, like that goddess, personifies fec­
un d ity and fe rtility . In one account, she is
described as "th e w om an o f fo u r hundred
, breasts," q u ite probably a referen ce to the
rich, m ilky agu am fe/ sap o f th e m aguey p la n t
from w hich the alcoholic pu lq u e is m ade.
T h e /ZYsfoyre cfu m ecA /gue provides an
account o f the origin o f M a y a h u e l and
M ERCHANTS
m aguey. !n this m y th , EMECATLQUETZALCOATL
takes M a y a h u e ! fro m h e r g ran d m o th er and
com panions, the fearsom e T z r r z iM iM E star
dem ons. Pursued by th e fz/ízín iA n e , E h e c a tl-
Q u e tza lc o a tl and M a y a h u e ! disguise th e m ­
selves as branches o f a tre e . T h e fz/fz/m A ne,
h o w ever, recognize the branch o f M a y a h u e !,
and te a r it to bits. E h e c a tl-Q u e tza lc o a tl buries
h e r rem ains, and from h e r body, the first
m aguey sprouts fo rth . In th e C e n tra ! M ex ica n
CALENDAR, M a y a h u e ! is the p atro n o f the day
T o ch th , or R ab b it, and the TRECENA o f I
M ah n aU i.
m erchants In A ztec society m erchants, or
pocAfeca as they w e re caHed in N a h u a t!, he!d
a very specia! niche in w hich they functioned
as em issaries, am bassadors, spies, and w a r­
riors - not m ere!y as traders. T h e richest
pocAleca !ived in T!ate!o!co, ju s t north o f
T en o c h titla n and on the sam e is!and. D u rin g
the 15th c., T en o c h titla n g rew jea!ous o f the
w ea!th o f h er sister city and in 1473, sm ote
T!ate!o!co, essentiaüy u n itin g the tw o cities
and com m anding g reat q u an tities o f trib u te
from the w e alth y T!ate!o!cans.
C en tra! M exican m erchants had th e ir ow n
patron god, Y acatecuhdi, and the auspicious
days for em barking on a trad in g expedition
w ere 1 C oat! or 1 O zom adi. L ik e the m erch­
ants, Y acatecuhdi bears a w a!king staff, w hich
its e !f was an object o f reverence. Y acatecuhdi
rose to g reat prom inence in the !ast 30 years
o f Prehispanic !ife , bu t the n atu re o f this god
rem ains obscure.
In m aking th e ir in itia ! forays in to n ew
country, m erchants usuaHy trave!ed in dis­
guise, adopting !oca! dress and m anners w h ite
they sized up the avai!ab!e !uxury goods th a t
they m ost sought, such as b ird feathers,
anim a! pe!ts, and precious stones. I f discov­
ered and attacked, they retu rn e d to inform
th e ir ow n ru ie r, w hereupon w a r was fre ­
q u en tly declared upon the hostile region. I f
the Aztecs w on - and they usuaHy did - they
im posed unfavorable trad e conditions on the
losers. W o rkin g in this fashion, the m erchants
professed them selves the allies o f H u r r z i L O -
p o c H T L i, in whose service they claim ed lan d ,
goods, and trib u te .
D esp ite th e ir w e alth , m erchants behaved
hum bly, if not h yp o critically, in o rder not to
d ra w excessive a tten tio n to th e ir success.
T h e y practiced self-abasem ent, and sim ul­
taneously offered g reat feasts w ith lavish
luxuries, usually beginning w ith the smoking
!11
o f TOBACCO and th e o ffe rin g o f fto w E M , fol
lo w e d by various courses o f food, and ending
w ith h o t chocolate and som etim es the con­
sum ption o f h allu cino g en ic mushroom s (see
HALLuemocENs). T h e pocA feca gave a w ay th e ir
m erchandise in abundance, p a rtic u la rly
capes, m a n tle s, and loincloths. Such exchange
fu e le d th e A zte c econom y.
Because o f the ro le m erchants played in
th e expansion and m e rc a n tile d o m in atio n o f
th e A zte c re a lm , th e y received special honors.
M ote cu h zo m a I I b ro u g ht the pocAfeca in to
his cou rt and tre a te d them as if th e y w e re
n o b ility . In th e VEINTENA o f P a n q u e tza liztli,
m erchants b ath ed slaves and w e re able to
o ffe r them to H u itzilo p o c h tli along w ith the
CAPTIVES o f w a r o ffered b y g re at w arrio rs.
W h e n a m erch a n t d ied on a m ission, he was
gloriously a do rn ed , p laced on a L IT T E R , and
borne to a m o u n tain top, w h e re the body was
crem ated . I t was understood, th en , th a t he
had d ied as a w a rrio r fo r th e state, and he
proceeded d ire c tly to the fo u rth h eaven , th a t
belonging to th e S U N.
A m ong the Classic M a y a , C od L (see
scH ELLH A s GODs) w as th e p atro n o f m erchants,
and in some o f his depictions he carries a
m erch an t pack lad en w ith rich goods. A t the
tim e o f the C onquest, E k C h u a h was the
patro n o f travelers and, by extension, m erch ­
ants, in Y ucatán. Professional m erchants
am ong the M a y a w e re know n as p b /o m , and
they bu rn ed cop a/ to X am an E k , the n orth
star, to ensure th e ir safe jo u rn e y . T h e Z ap o ­
tees nam ed th ree gods, P itáo p eeze, P itáo
q u ille , and P itáoyáge, as patrons o f riches
and m erchants.
M exican y ea r sign In L a te Postclassic h ig h ­
land M exico , the YEARBEARER days nam ing
p a rtic u la r years a re fre q u e n tly m arked w ith
a specific device, o fte n called the A O sign,
or the tra p e ze-an d -ray sign. D u e to its p re va ­
lence in M ix te e w ritin g , it is also fre q u e n tly
term ed th e M ix te e y e a r sign. T h e Postclassic
y ear sign is typ ic ally com posed o f tw o in te r­
tw in e d elem ents, a p o in ted device id e n tic al
to th e solar ray sign, and a squat form
resem bling a R attened " O ." A t tim es, the
sign is personified as a fro n ta l face, probably
th a t o f the x iu H C O A T L Rre serpent. In A ztec
iconography, the year sign is o fte n placed on
the bodies o f X iu hco atl serpents.
T h e id e n tific atio n o f the X iu hco atl w ith the
year sign has a phonetic basis. In N ah u a tl,
the term x iA u ii/ denotes year, T U R Q U O IS E , or
 H3 MILKY WAY
grass. In som e instan ces, th e A z te c year
sign appears w ith grass BUNDLES, p r o b a b ly a
reference to jd A u ii/. A m o n g th e C las sic M a y a ,
the y e ar sign also a p p e a rs w it h tu fts o f grass.
T h e id e n tific a tio n o f th e y e a r sign w it h grass
m ay w e ll h a v e b e g u n a t th e g r e a t C lassic site
o f TEOTiHUACAN. In T e o tih u a c a n ic o n o g ra p h y ,
grass b u nd les a re b o u n d w it h a p a rtic u la r
tria n g u la r kn ot. T h is sa m e k n o t a p p e a rs as
the p o in ted " r a y " p o rtio n o f e a rly y e a r signs
at T e o tih u a c a n , a n d it is q u ite lik e ly th a t th e
M e x ic a n y e a r sign d e riv e s fro m this b o u n d
grass b u n d le . T h is id e n tih c a tio n o f grass w it h
the y e a r sign a t T e o tih u a c a n su pp orts th e
possibility th a t its in h a b ita n ts spoke a n a n ­
cestral fo rm o f N a h u a tl. $ e e a/so CALENDAR.

M ic tla n .see UNDERWORLD

M ic tla n te c u h tli T h e C e n tr a l M e x ic a n god o f

DEATH, M ic tla n te c u h tli ru le d o v e r M ic tla n ,
place o f th e d e a d (s ee UNDERW ORLD), alo ng
w ith his w ife , M ic te c a c ih u a tl. S om etim es also
re fe r r e d to b y th e n a m e T z o n te m o c , M ic t la n ­
te c u h tli u s u ally a p p ea rs as a sk eleto n of
b le a c h e d w h ite bones w ith re d , b lo o d y spots.
He is o fte n festo oned w it h o w l fe a th e rs , (Top) Merchants
traveling with their packs
PAPER h e a d o rn a m e n ts an d b a n n ers , an d
along a road. In
w e a rs a co lla r o f e x tru d e d e y eb a lls. D u r in g
Mesoamerica, a tumpline
th e VEINTENA o f T i t it l, th e M ic tla n te c u h tli strung across the brow
im p e rs o n a to r w as sacrificed a t n ig h t a t th e serves as an essential
te m p le n a m e d T la lx ic c o , m e a n in g n a v e l o f means of carrying loads.
th e w o rld . B ecause o f th e U n d e r w o r ld associ­ (Aboye) Merchants and
their goods; along with
ation s o f DOGS, M ic tla n te c u h tli was th e p a tro n
the carrying pack and
o f th e d a y Itz c u in tli, or dog; h e also re ig n e d frame, one can discern a
o v e r th e TRECENA 1 T e c p a tl. W h e n th e im p e r ­ live bird, a feather
sonator o f M ic tla n te c u h tli d ie d , INCENSE w as bundle, and a string of Aztec sign for
o ffe re d o n ly a t n ig h t a t T lilla n , th e te m p le o f jade beads; Florentine. marketplace, Matrícula de
CIHUACOATL.
Codex, Book 9, 16th c. Huexotzinco, 16th c.
L ik e o th e r M e s o a m e ric a n DEATH CODS,
M ic tla n te c u h tli w as fu n d a m e n ta lly stupid
an d v u ln e ra b le to th e tricks o f s m a rte r gods.
In th e fin al a c t o f c re a tio n , QUETZALCOATL
jo u rn e y e d to M ic tla n to re tr ie v e th e bones o f
p rev io u s eras o f m a n k in d fro m w h ic h to
g e n e ra te a n e w race o f pe o p le. A lth o u g h
M ic tla n te c u h tli first g ra n te d th e re q u e s t fo r
bones, h e th e n ch an g ed his m in d . H e g ave
chase, b u t Q u e tz a lc o a tl escaped w ith th e
stolen bones, u n fo rtu n a te ly d ro p p in g an d
b re a k in g som e o f th e m , a n d thus y ie ld in g a Year 1 Rabbit
t race o f h u m a n s o f m ix e d sizes. S ee a/so marked with
Mexican year
CALENDAR; CREATION ACCOUNTS.
sign, stone
tablet, Late
M il k y W a y T h e g re a t b a n d o f STARS kn o w n Postclassic
as th e M ilk y W a y w as c o n ce ived o f in a Mexico.
MiLPA
v a rie ty o f w ays in an c ie n t M eso am erica.
In C e n tra ! M ex ico , tw o im p o rta n t d eities
p ersonified th e M ilk y W a y . D ressed in g a r­
m ents o f w h ite , the aged goddess iL A M A T E -
cuHTLJ w o re a star s k irt, o r c rf/a ii /cu e, an
A zte c term fo r the M ilk y W a y . A n o th e r M ilk y
W a y d e ity was M IX C O A T L , a god o f the h u n t
w hose face is fre q u e n tly p a in te d w ith a black
Held surrounded by stars. T h e term M ix c o a tl
signiEes "clo u d s e rp e n t," and could w e ll re fe r
to the cloudy s trip o f the M ilk y W a y .
L ik e the Rom ans (w h o Erst gave us the
term V ia L ac tea , or M ilk y W a y ), th e C e n tra l
M exicans considered this band o f stars to be a
road. A ccording to th e A&yfona J e Vos m e j­
icanos p o r sus p in tu ras , this becam e th e road o f
TEZCATUPOCA and QUETZALCOATL a fte r th e ir
creation o f the e a rth . In the M a y a region, the
M ilk y W a y is conceptualized as the road to
X ib a lb a , the UMDEnwoHLD, and the e n tire n ig h t
SKY m ay re p lic ate the U n d e rw o rld and the
m ovem ents o f its denizens. In Yucatec, it is
term ed zac be/?, or " w h ite ro a d ." A n o th er
Yucatec M ay an w ord for it was lam caz, a
curious term th a t also signiEes seizures.
m ilpa T h e m odern M esoam erican term for
MAtZE held, m ilpa derives from the N ah u at! m/V-
pan, "in the cultivated E eld ." As the source o f
m aize, beans, squash, and o th er plants o f v ita l
necessity, the m ilpa Eeld is o f cen tral concern.
I t is thus not surprising th a t m any n ative
peoples are profoundly linked to th e ir Eelds.
T h e term s fo r tw o related M a y a peoples, the
C hoi and C h o rti, d erive from th e ir n ative
words fo r m ilp a, cAo/and cAor. T h e y are tru ly
the "peo p le o f the m ilp a ." In m any instances,
the m ilp a represents order and balance, as
opposed to the threaten in g chaos o f the sur­
rounding w ild bush. In M a y a m ythology, the
cosmic act o f creation is com pared w ith m aking
m ilpa: in the Q uiche PO PO L v u H , the m easuring
and the m aking o f the w o rld is cast in term s o f
preparin g the m ilp a fo r the present race o f
hum ans, the people o f corn. L ik e the m ilpa
farm e r, the GODS are supported and nourished
by th e ir crop - the people w ho in h a b it the sur­
face o f the E A R T H . T h e conceptualization o f the
e arth as a rectan g u lar m ilp a is also found
am ong other M a y a groups, such as the C h o rti
and Yucatec. In highland M exico, contem por­
ary N ahuat-speakers in the S ierra de P uebla
also describe the w o rld as a m ilp a. M o reo v er,
the S ierra N a h u a t also com pare hum ans to
plants th a t are born or "p la n te d " upon the
earth .
114
m irro rs A n cie n t M esoam ericana used m ir­
rors fashioned o f stone in a v a rie ty o f ways
T h e y could fun ctio n as ornam ents o f dress,
cosm etic accessories, or as instrum ents o f
DiviNATiON. O n e o f the m ost w idespread uses
o f stone m irro rs was fo r d iv in a to ry scrying.
A m ong m any contact p erio d M esoam erican
peoples, in clu d in g th e Yucatec M a y a , Aztecs,
and Tarascans, the reE ective surfaces o f
bow ls E lled w ith w a te r w e re also used fo r
d iv in a tio n , and it is possible th a t this is an
esp ecially o ld tra d itio n , perhaps even d atin g
from b efo re the m a n u fa ctu re o f stone m irrors.
In M eso am erica, stone m irro rs a re know n at
least as e a rly as th e m id -2n d m ille n n iu m B e,
th a t is, b efo re the app earan ce o f O lm ec
c iv iliza tio n . O lm ec m irro rs o f the E a rly and
M id d le F o rm a tiv e perio d w e re usually
fashioned o f pieces o f iro n o re, such as
m a g n e tite , ilm e n ite and h e m a tite (.see c iN N A
BAR A N D H E M A T IT E ) . Since these m irro rs w e re
created from single pieces o f stone, they
a re fa irly sm all, ra re ly m ore than 15 cm or
6 inches in to ta l w id th . M o s t O lm ec m irrors
a re concave, g ivin g them m any unique
p ro p erties. The reE ected im age appears
in v e rte d as w e ll as reversed, and the la rg e r
concave m irrors a re capable o f sta rtin g F IR E .
In O lm ec a rt, concave m irro rs com m only
app ear as pectorals w o rn on the chest.
In Classic M eso am erica, th e favo red
m a te ria l fo r stone m irro rs was iro n p y rite . In
this case, artisans la id cut iro n p y rite upon a
slate backing, c reatin g a reE ective surface o f
Enely E tted m osaic. T h e slate backing is
usually c ircu lar and is o fte n b e a u tifu lly
carved. Since th e p y rite m irro rs w e re
fashioned o f m osaic ra th e r than o f a single
stone, they could be o f g re a t size, and certain
p icto rial Classic scenes suggest th a t there w ere
m irrors m easuring 30 cm (12 inches) or m ore
in d iam eter. H o w ev er, u n like the ores used
fo r the concave O lm ec m irrors, iro n p y rite is
not a stable m in eral and quickly oxidizes.
F o r this reason, th e surfaces o f ancient p yrite
m irrors ten d to be poorly p reserved, and now
o ften app ear no m ore than a reddish or y ello w
coloration upon th e slate backing. D u rin g the
Classic p eriod, nobles w o re c ircu lar p y rite
m irrors on the sm all o f the back, and m irrors
have been found so placed in E a rly Classic
burials fro m T E O T iH U A C A N and K am in alju yu .
Back m irrors continued to be w orn in
Postclassic C e n tra l M exico ; am ong the Aztecs
they w e re re fe rre d to as fezcacu/t/api/A . O ne
form o f back m irro r, a c en tral p y rite disk
115 MIXCOATL
surrounded by a TURQUOISE mosaic containing
representations o f xiUHCOATL serpents, was
especially com m on a t E a rly Postclassic T u la .
This T o ltec form had an unusually broad
distribution during the E a rly Postclassic, and
examples have been found a t C hichen Itz á ,
Yucatan, and as fa r n o rth as d istan t Casas
Grandes in C hih u ah u a.
The black volcanic glass know n as OBSIDIAN
was a favored m irro r stone in L a te Postclassic
C entral M exico. A lthough it is lik e ly th a t
smooth surfaces o f frac tu re d obsidian w ere
used in Classic and F o rm a tiv e M esoam erica,
ground and polished obsidian m irrors are not
common u n til the L a te Postclassic. T h e g re at
C e n tra l M exican god TEZCATLiPOCA, H e o f the
Sm oking M irro r, appears to have been a
personification o f the polished obsidian
m irro r. Q u ite freq u e n tly , a sm oking obsidian
m irro r appears a t the back o f the head and
as one o f the fe e t o f T ezcatlipo ca.
Carved slate backing of pyrite mosaic mirror,
In ancien t M esoam erica, m irrors o ften re p ­
Teotihuacan, Early Classic period. This image
resented objects and concepts occurring in appears to represent a fire goddess holding broad
n atu re and society. By representing a w o rld torches.
th a t could be looked in to b u t not passed
through, m irrors could be considered as CAVES
or passageways for the supernatural. Because
o f th e ir b rig h t, re flective surfaces, they w ere
also com pared to fiery hearths or shining
pools o f WATER. Q u ite fre q u e n tly , they are
id e n tifie d w ith the suN , and this is probably
also the case w ith the turquoise-rim m ed
p y rite m irrors o f the E a rly Postclassic T o ltec.
A t T eo tih u acan , circu lar m irrors w e re sym­
b o lically linked to eyes, faces, shields, and
FLOWERS. C onsiderable n ative m irro r lo re sur­
vives am ong the m odern H u ich o l o f N a y a rit.
H e re circu lar glass m irrors are considered to
be supernatural passageways, as w e ll as being
conceptually related to the sun, M OO N, faces
eyes, and Rowers.

M ixc o atl L ite ra lly "cloud s erp en t," M ixco atl

m ay have been physically id e n tifie d as the
MILKY WAY and the very heavens. P rim a rily a
hun tin g god, he was the patron god o f the
O to m i and the C hichim ecs, and o f m any
com m unities in C e n tra l M exico th a t claim ed
descent from the Chichim ecs. H e was also
w orshipped as the p rin cip al god o f H u e jo t-
zingo and T laxcala, g en erally under the nam e
C am axtli. H e m ay o rig in a lly have been a
legendary h u n ter and w a rrio r, d eified and
sanctified, whose tra d itio n a l role was then Mixcoatl, god of the hunt, whose name means
displaced by the intro d uctio n am ong the cloud serpent, signifying the Milky Way; Codex
Aztecs o f H u rrziL O P O C H T L i. W hereas H u itz ilo - Borgia, p. 25, Late Postclassic period.
M ÍX T E C C O D S
pochth is id en tiB ed w ith the s u \, h o w ever,
M ixc o atl is c!ear!y associated w ith the STARS.
M ix c o a tl s most d is tin c tive physical charac­
teristic is the red and w h ite "ca n d y -c a n e "
striped body p a in t he w ears. H e shares this
ch aracteristic w ith TLAHUtzcALPANTECUHTLi,
an o th er star god, and they both w e a r black
masks over the eyes, som etim es trim m e d w ith
stars. M ix c o a tl, u n lik e T la h u izc a lp a n te c u h tli,
m ay carry h u n tin g g ear, p a rtic u la rly a bow
and a rro w and a n etted basket fo r c arryin g
siaughtered gam e.
M ix c o a tl plays a n um ber o f im p o rta n t roles
in scattered references, m a in ly iocated in the
H is to ria d e /os m exicanos p o r sus prn turas.
O n e o f the fou r child ren o f TO NACATECUHTLi
and T o n acacih u atl, he was a!so id e n tifie d as
the Red Tezcatlipo ca. In a n o th er ch a p te r o f
the account, TEXCATLiPOCA transform ed h im self
in to M ixco at! in o rd er to o ffer a c eleb ratio n
to the o th er gods; w ith his in ven tio n o f the
(ire d ri!!, this T ezcad ip o ca-M ixco at! brought
HUE to m ankind. T h e first to use FLINT to strike
fire, M ixcoat! took on fire associations along
w ith those o f w a r and the hunt. H e was a!so
the fa th e r o f the 400 sons (th e C entzon
H u itzn a h u a ) and five w om en created to feed
the sun. A fte r the sun had consum ed the
HEARTS o f the 400, one o f the surviving w om en
gave BIRTH to M ixcoat!'s most fam ous progeny,
QUETZALCOATL.
T h e 14th VEINTENA, Q uechoüi, was d ed i­
cated to M ixco at!. T h e feast was ce!ebrated
by one or tw o days o f hunting and feasting
in the countryside during w hich the hunters
adorned them selves lik e M ixco atl him self
and kindled new fire to roast the gam e.
Subsequently, a m an and a w om an w ere
sacrificed to M ixc o atl in his T E M P L E . T h e
fem ale victim was slain like a w ild anim al:
h er head was struck fou r tim es against a rock
u n til she was half-conscious; then h e r th ro at
was s lit and the head decapitated. T h e m ale
victim displayed the head to the assem bled
crowds before he him self was sacrificed by
h e a rt extrusion.
M ix te e gods D u rin g the pioneering in vesti­
gations o f the 19th and e arly 20th c., the gods
o f the Postclassic M ix te e screenfolds w ere
thought to be essentially id en tical to those
appearing in A ztec and Borgia groups o f
codices. H o w ev er, it has becom e increasingly
a p p a ren t th a t the M ix te e pantheon was dis­
tin c t from th a t o f L a te Postclassic C e n tra l
M exico. Thus the M ix te e gods tend to have
no
e n tire ly d istinct calen d rlca! nam es, and m ore
o ve r, c e rta in M ix te e d eities a p p ear but rare!y
o r n ev er in C e n tra ! M exican iconography
Exam ples a re th e fanged stone beings often
re fe rre d to by th e in a p p ro p ria te C e n tra ! M e x i-
can term o f " x o L O T L ." I t is now know n that
these beings w e re re fe rre d to as nuAu by the
M ixte es , and w e re gods o f the EARTH and
v eg etatio n . In C e n tra l M exican m anuscripts,
th e y a p p ear o n ly in th e B orgia and Vaticanus
B codices. S till an o th er im p o rta n t M ix te e
d e ity is a Hying fig u re fre q u e n tly w e arin g a
Bre serp ent headdress and a TURTLE carapace
upon his back. H e com m only holds FLINT
blades in his hands, and it is possible th a t he
is a LIGHTNING god. T o the M ixte es , this figure
was know n as Y A H u i, and appears am ong
the n eig hb o ring Zapotees as ear!y as the
Protoclassic p erio d , o r M o n te A lb án n. F o r
the M ixtees, this b eing m ay be id én tica! to
one o f the sons o f the m ythica! c rea to r coup!e
1 D e e r recorded by th e D o m in ican G reg o rio
C a rc iá . In the Selden RoH, th e y a /m i figure
is nam ed I Jaguar.
T h e m ost im p o rta n t p ic to ria! source fo r
M ix te e gods is the obverse side o f the screen­
e d know n as the Vindobonensis o r V ien n a
Codex. T y p ic a lly , the M ix te e gods b ea r nam es
from the 260 -d a y C A L E N D A R , presum ab!y re fe r­
rin g to dates o f b irth . T h e crea to r couple w ho
are both nam ed 1 D e e r in the crea tio n account
m entioned by C a rc iá ap p e ar on page 51
o f the Codex Vindobonensis w ith skeletal
m ouths and w e a rin g the headdress o f the
cu ltu re hero 9 W in d . T h is sam e c a le n d rica lly
nam ed couple is also illu s tra te d in the Selden
R oll, w h e re they a re show n sim ply as an old
m an and w om an. O n e o f the m ost im p o rta n t
goddesses o f th e M ix te e pantheon was L ad y
9 Crass. U su ally d epicted w ith a s keletalized
face, she seems to have been a goddess o f
DEATH and th e fe rtile e arth . In th e Selden
RoH, L a d y 6 M o n k e y o f Jaltepec m akes p ilg ri­
mages to th e oracle o f 9 Crass a t C halcatongo.
In the Codex Vindobonensis, an old m an
nam ed 2 D og is p o rtray ed as a PRIEST, and
o ften appears w ith the TOBACCO gourd o f the
p rie stly ofBce. A n o th er aged being, L ad y 1
E ag le, is goddess o f the sw E A TB A T H , and by
extension, m ay also have been a goddess o f
m idw ives and CURING.
A m ong th e M ixtees, personifications o f p a r­
tic u la r plants or th e ir products are often
po rtrayed as goddesses. Thus in the Codex
Vindobonensis, the goddess o f MACUEY is Lady
11 Serpent, w h ile PULQUE is personified by tw o
117 MONKEY
goddesses n a m e d 2 F lo w e r a n d 3 A llig a to r.
Young te n d e r MAIZE seem s to b e e m b o d ie d b y
two goddesses n a m e d 5 F lin t a n d 7 F lin t.
M a tu r e m aize, h o w e v e r, seem s to b e id e n ti­
fied w ith a goddess n a m e d 7 C rass. In th e
Codex V in d o b o n e n sis, th e h a llu c in o g e n ic
psilocybin m ush ro o m is p o rtra y e d by tw o
s e rp en t-m o u th ed goddesses n a m e d 4 L iz a rd
and 11 L iz a rd . Creator coupie 1 Deer 9 Wind
A lth o u g h th e re lig io n o f th e Postclassic
M ixtees w as b y no m ean s id e n tic a l to th a t o f
C e n tra l M e x ic o , a n u m b e r o f M ix te e gods
have c le a r analo gues w it h C e n tr a l M e x ic a n
deities. T h u s th e M ix te e c u ltu re h e ro 9 W in d
is v e ry s im ila r to th e C e n tr a l M e x ic a n WIND
god, EHECATL-QUETZALCOATL. T h e solar god 1
D e a th is th e M ix te e fo rm o f TONATiuH, th e
C e n tra l M e x ic a n SUN god. L ik e T o n a tiu h , 1
D e a th is u s u ally re d a n d w e a rs a JADE b r o w
2 Dog 1 Death
piece an d a n EAGLE fe a th e r h eadd ress. T h e
M ix te e god 7 F lo w e r a p p ea rs to b e re la te d
to th e y o u th fu l solar d e ity k n o w n in C e n tra l
M e x ic o as xocHiPiLLi. T h e M ix te e fo rm o f xiPE
TOTEC is n a m e d 7 R a in , a n d lik e his C e n tra l
M e x ic a n c o u n te rp a rt, c o m m o n ly w e a rs a
H ayed h u m a n skin a n d re d an d w h ite v e s t­
m ents. F in a lly , th e Postclassic M ix te e s h a d a
fo rm o f th e RAIN a n d lig h tn in g god TLALOC. O n
pa g e 5 o f th e C o d ex N u t ta ll, h e a p p ea rs w ith
7 Rain 11 Serpent 9 Grass
th e fa n g e d m o u th , goggle eyes, a n d u p w a r d ly
tu rn in g lip o f th e Postclassic T la lo c . In his Mixtee gods appearing in the Codex
hands, h e w ie ld s a b u rn in g lig h tn in g b o lt an d Vindobonensis, Late Postclassic period.
ju g o f o u tp o u rin g WATER, c le a rly a p o rtra y a l
o f ra in . O n pa g e 28 o f th e C o d e x V in d o ­
bonensis, a s im ila r T la lo c is n a m e d 5 W in d .
.See a / y o CREATION ACCOUNTS; HALLUCINOGENS;
M AIZE CODS.

m o n k e y T h r e e species o f m onkeys once liv e d

in th e tro p ic a l lo w lan d s o f M e x ic o a n d G u a te ­
m a la : sp id e r, h o w le r, an d c a p u c h in (alth o u g h
o n ly sp id e r a n d h o w le r m onkeys a re fo u n d
th e re to d a y ). C a p u c h in m onkeys a re p a rtic u ­
la r ly fr ie n d ly an d a d e p t w it h th e ir hands, an d
m a y h a v e b e en m ost co m m o n ly ad o p te d as
pets in a n c ie n t tim es. H o w le rs b e llo w an d
ro a r w h e n th e y v ib ra te a b o n e in th e la ry n x ,
an d th e ir calls can b e h e a rd fo r m iles. S p id er
Stone sculpture of a spider monkey,
m onkeys, social a n im a ls th a t p r e fe r to liv e in
Late Postclassic Aztec.
groups o f 4 0 or 5 0 , ra n g e fa r th e r n o rth th a n
a n y o th e r N e w W o r ld m o n k e y .
In C e n tr a l M e x ic o , th e m o n k e y w as k n o w n
Spider monkey serving as the day
as o z o rn a i// an d w as th e 1 1 th d a y sign; am o n g
name Monkey, Codex Borgia, p. 13,
th e M a y a , th e Y u c a te c d a y n a m e w as C h u e n . Late Postclassic period. In the Borgia
G e n e r a lly those b o rn on th e d a y O z o m a tli Group of codices, monkeys frequently
w e r e th o u g h t to b e lu c k y a n d h a p p y persons. appear wearing suits of grass.
MERCHANTS considered a m onkey s h an d to be
a talism an o f good luck.
Sahagún describes w h a t is p ro b a b ly a
spider m onkey: " A n d as to its actions: it is a
shouter, a s h rill w h is tle r, m akin g gestures
to w ard one. I t stones one, it hurls sticks a t
one. I t has a face w hich is a little hum an.
(F C : xi)
T h e m onkey is re la te d to Q UETZALCO ATL in
his guise as EHECATL. A ccording to th e F IV E SUNS
cosmogonic accounts, Q u e tza lc o a tl presided
over the second sun, eAecafonatm A, the sun
o f w i N D , u n til it w as destroyed by g re a t w inds.
T h e people o f th a t e ra w e re tu rn e d in to
m onkeys. W h e n the M a y a gods destroyed
the people form ed o f w ood in the POPOL vuH,
they too tu rn ed them in to m onkeys.
Because they had m ore m onkeys close by
in the tropica! rain forest, the M a y a tended
to m ake m ore distinctions b etw e en the spider
m onkey (cAuen) and the h o w le r m onkey
(A atz). In Classic a rt, the spider m onkey
fre q u e n tly personifies licentiousness and sex­
ual abandon; M a y a clowns a t highland fe s ti­
vals today often im personate m onkeys w hen
they act out im m oral and in a p p ro p riate
behavior. T h e presence o f g reat num bers o f
m onkey figures in the a rt o f Classic V eracru z
m ay re flec t a sim ilar association o f the m on­
key and sexual license.
In the P opo/ VuA, H u n B atz (1 H o w le r
M o n k ey ) and H u n C huen (1 Spider M o n k ey )
w e re the tw in h a lf brothers o f the H e ro
T w in s. G ifte d in a ll the arts, p a rtic u la rly song,
D A N C E , W R IT IN G , and carving, H u n B atz and
H u n C huen w e re not beyond jealousy o f th e ir
younger brothers, and trie d hard to subdue
them , leaving them w hen young to perish
on an a n th ill and in bram bles and la te r
dem anding th a t the younger brothers do th e ir
h u nting fo r them . As usual, th e H e ro T w in s
had the last laugh: they convinced th e ir tw in
h a lf brothers to scale a tree to b ring dow n
birds stunned by a blow gun. W h en H u n B atz
and H u n C huen reached the birds, they found
th a t the tree had grow n, liftin g them so high
th a t they could no longer descend. T h e H e ro
T w in s advised them to u n tie th e ir loincloths to
tra il behind them w hereupon these suddenly
becam e tails - H u n B atz and H u n C huen had
tu rn ed in to monkeys.
These m onkey tw ins occur w id e ly in Classic
M a y a a rt as the patron gods o f a rt, w ritin g ,
and calculating. Som etim es rendered as
actual m onkeys, a t o th er tim es as hum ans
w ith certain m onkey a ttrib u tes, the M o n k ey
Scribes a re o fte n d ep icted as g ifte d and
industrious. a/so C R E A T IO N A c c o u w r s .
m oon T h e second b rig h test h eaven ly body,
th e m oon w as u n ifo rm ly associated w ith the
ra b b it in M eso am erican tho u g h t. O n the
surface o f a fu ll m oon, th e ra b b it is v isib le in
p ro file , and various m yths account fo r its
presence. S ilv e r was considered to be an
excretion o f th e m oon (see EXCREMENT).
A ccording to C e n tra l M ex ica n theology,
th e SUN and th e m oon w e re crea te d together
a t TEOTiHUACAN, in th e d aw n in g o f the c u rren t
e ra. N a n a h u a tzin and T e c u cizte ca tl p rep ared
to im m o late them selves b efo re the assem bled
gods. W h e n T ec u cizte ca tl h es itated , N a n a h u ­
a tzin w e n t firs t, becom ing th e sun, and then
T e c u cizte ca tl fo llo w e d , m aking an o th er sun,
b u t the gods d arken ed his face, h u rlin g ashes
or a ra b b it a t h im to d im his rad ian ce.
T h e 400 rab b its (C e n izo n fofocA&n) o f
C e n tra l M e x ic a n lo re w e re d ru n kard s, associ­
ate d w ith MAYAHUEL, goddess of PULQUE.
W ith in the TEMPLE p re cin c t o f T e n o c h titla n ,
the 44th tem p le , th e C en izo n fofocA #n in
fecpan, w as d ed icated to these rab bits.
R ab b it, or T o c h tli, w as the 8 th day sign in
the C e n tra l M e x ica n CALENDAR and one o f the
fo u r YEARBEARERS. In th e TRECENA 1 M a z a tl, the
day sign 2 R a b b it was p a rtic u la rly u n fo rtu ­
n ate: those born on this d ay and fo r several
th e re a fte r w e re given to drunkenness.
COYOLXAUHQUI, HUITZILOPOCHTLl's sister, was
id e n tifie d by E d u ard Seler as a m oon goddess,
h er ow n lig h t shattered and d im inish ed by
H u itzilo p o c h tli, although th e re is no textu al
confirm ation o f the id e n tific a tio n . In tw o
separate im ages a t th e sacred p re cin c t o f
T e n o c h titla n , C oyolxauhqui's d ism em bered
tw o-dim ensional im age was carved on a
round stone a t th e base o f H u itzilo p o c h tli's
p yram id , and h e r la rg e, lifeless, th re e -d im e n ­
sional head p ro b ab ly rested on the tem p le
steps, both possibly references to th e m oon.
Am ong the Classic M a y a , a young, b e a u ti­
fu l w om an was th e m oon goddess, and she
fre q u e n tly sits on th e crescent o f th e M a y a
glyph fo r m oon, b earin g a ra b b it in h er arm s.
Am ong the M a y a , although the m oon was
also id e n tifie d w ith the ra b b it, the fu ll moon
in p a rtic u la r - as opposed to any o th er phase -
m ay have been associated w ith the moon
goddess. T h e nam e o f this goddess is not
know n, b u t she is not ixcHEL, as is often
alleged; Ixch el is an old goddess.
M a n y m odern M a y a b elieve th a t the
 119
M OUNTAINS
fem ale moon was dim m ed a fte r a squabble
w ith her husband the sun, and th a t she m ay
have lost an eye in the q u a rre l. In a m odem
Zapotee story, a p a ir o f orphan ch ild ren w ho
later become the sun and m oon escape from
a sweathouse before th e ir apotheosis. See
a /s o CREATION ACCOUNTS.

m ortuary bundles In m any parts of

M esoam erica, the rem ains o f im p o rta n t in d i­
viduals w ere not b u ried a t the tim e o f DEATH ,
but w ere ra th e r placed in BUNDLES - a form
of the sacred bundle. A ccording to A ztec
b elief, the sacred god bundles a re sim ply the
Mixtee moon sign
funerary bundles o f those CODS w ho w ere containing a rabbit,
sacrificed fo llo w in g the creation o f the Bfth Stone of Tlaxiaco,
sun a t TEOTiHUACAN. Both d e ity and fu n e ra ry Oaxaca, Late
bundles took a som ew hat hum an form and Postclassic period.
w ore masks; am ong these w e re possibly
included the fam ous stone masks o f T e o ti-
huacan. O n Stela 4 o f T ik a l, the E a rly Classic
ru ler C u rl Snout holds a sacred bundle bear­
ing the mask o f TLALOC. A t T ik a l, m asked
m ortuary bundles appear as e arly as the
Protoclassic period. B u ria l 85, datin g to 50
B e , contained the rem ains o f a m o rtu ary
bundle accom panied by a fuchsite mask.
F o r the Postclassic perio d m o rtu ary
bundles are w e ll docum ented. Am ong the
M ixtees, it was usual fo r kings to be preserved
a fte r death in m asked fu n e ra ry bundles; a
CAVE a t Chalcatongo served as the repository
for the bundles o f M ixte e kings from the g reat
dynasty o f T ila n tongo. F o r the Tarascans o f
M ichoacán, a m ortuary bundle was m ade
from the crem ated rem ains o f the king.
A dorned w ith a TURQUOISE m ask, this bundle
was b u ried in a TOMB placed a t the base o f
the TEMPLE dedicated to the god C u ric av eri.
T h e Tarascans also fashioned bundles from
the heads o f w arrio rs slain in com bat. A fte r
perfo rm ing a night vig il w ith offerings, the
Tarascans burned the w a rrio r bundles, w ith
the crem ated rem ains being placed in ceram ic
vessels. This Tarascan rite relates to the A ztec
custom o f m aking bundles from the bodies o f
slain w arriors. B edecked w ith PAPER orna­
m ents, these bundles received hom age in the
form o f Music and offerings before being
burned. See a/so CREATION ACCOUNTS.

t m ountains M a n y m ountains in ancient M e x ­

ico and G u atem ala w e re h eld to be sacred.
Some o f these w e re active volcanoes, some Aztec. The bundle is portrayed as
d orm ant, w h ile others w e re not volcanic a t Mixcoatl (left), wearing turquoise
a ll, b u t ra th e r m ountains in p ro m in en t and regalia.
M O U NTAINS
d ra m a tic locations, fre q u e n tly w ith CAVES.
A m ong the M a y a , M ixte es , and A ztecs, com ­
m u n ities w e re nam ed a fte r th e ir m ountains;
in d e ed the v ery N a h u a tl w o rd fo r com m u nity,
a/fepefV, m eans w a te r-m o u n ta in . C e n tra l
M ex ica n p lace-nam es o ften in clu d e th e
m o untain g lyp h , re flec tin g th e g re a t n u m b er
o f places nam ed in this w ay.
F ro m e a rly tim es, m ountains fre q u e n tly
d e te rm in e d the siting o f com m unities. T h e
O lm ec s e ttlem e n t a t C h alcatzin g o lies in the
shadow o f a d ra m atic igneous plug o f a
m o u n tain , and M o n te A lb an is a m ountain
its e lf, flatten e d and shaped by generations o f
people to accom m odate hum an settlem e n t.
T h e unusual flu te d shape o f the Erst O lm ec
PYRAMID, a t L a V e n ta , suggests an a tte m p t a t
m aking an a rtific ia l "vo lcan o " along the non-
volcanic G u lf C oast, although some scholars
b eliev e that tim e and w e a th e r have sim ply
eroded w h at was a four-sided p yram id . T E O T i-
HUACAN s north-south axis leads d ire c tly north
to C e rro G ordo; tra d itio n a lly know n also as
T en a m , M o th e r o f Stone, this dead volcano
gurgles from w a te r trapped inside, the very
im age o f the a /fe p e f/. T h e M a y a c ity o f
A guateca is positioned beside a deep fissure,
and this c le ft m ountain is the actual sym bol
o f th a t city's toponym in M a y a hieroglyphic
W R IT IN C .
T h e tw in p yram id dedicated to TLALOC
and H u rrziL O P O C ü T L ! in the sacred p recin ct o f
T en o c h titla n was positioned against the tw o
sm oldering volcanoes to the east - Popoca­
tep e tl (Sm oking M o u n ta in ) and Ixtaccih u atl
(W h ite W om an) - w hom the Aztecs id e n tifie d
as a m arried couple, d eified and revered .
L iv e rock shrines w e re carved a t M a lin a lc o
and Texcotzingo, and, in e a rlie r tim es, at
D ain zu . Shrines w e re fre q u e n tly erected a t
the peaks o f m ountains.
T o the east o f T en o c h titla n , the T lalo q u e
w e re thought to re tre a t w ith th e ir th u n d er­
bolts to the T lalo c M ountains. QUETZALCOATL
jo u rn eyed to T o n acatep etl (Sustenance
M o u n ta in ) to End the origin o f MAIZE; in
o rder to obtain m aize fo r hum ankind, he
transform ed h im self in to an a n t and stole
some kernels. S im ilar accounts o f the origin
o f m aize are know n am ong the M a y a , and
the Q uiche called the m ountain o f o rigin
P axil.
M o u n ta in shrines are com m on today
am ong tra d itio n a l peoples in M exico and
G u atem ala. T h e M a y a Zinacantecos, fo r
exam ple, erect crosses a t m ountain shrines
!ZI)
and v isit them in cuwNC ritu als. A t each m oun­
ta in cross, fresh p in e boughs and fin w o w are
o ffe red , candles lit, prayers said, and c u rer and
p a tie n t d rin k rounds o f hom em ade sugar cane
ru m . Ancestors liv e in the sacred m ountains
th a t rin g Z in a c a n ta n , and each is classiEed as
m ale or fe m a le . Each m o untain has speciEc
associations; one can b rin g RAIN, fo r exam ple,
and a n o th er h ea t. In th e 20th c., the K ekchi
practiced continence and fasted b efo re m aking
PILGRIMAGES to CAVES on m o u n tain tops.
M esoam erican peoples fre q u e n tly b u ilt th e ir
TEM PLES in the form o f sym bolic m ountains.
M a y a tem ples in the Chenes region are entered
through g reat m onster m ouths th a t lead sym ­
b o lically to the h e a rt o f th e EARTH, o r the in te rio r
o f the m ountain. C opán T e m p le 22 is such a
sym bolic m ountain w ith a m onster m outh fo r­
m ing a cave en tra n ce ; the M A izE C O D s Eourishing
from its cornices suggest th a t it m ay have sym­
bolized the m ountain w h e re m aize originated.
E p ig rap h ic research by D a v id S tu art and
Stephen Houston re ve ale d th a t the C lassic and
Postclassic M a y a re fe rre d to pyram ids as
m ountains, or u/tz. T h e so-called C auac M o n ­
ster, nam ed a fte r the stony cauac m arkings
app earin g on this beast, is a c tu a lly a M a y a re n ­
d erin g o f a zoom orphic m o u n tain . In the sacred
p recin ct o f the A ztecs, the tw in p y ra m id d e d i­
cated to T la lo c and H u itzilo p o c h tli sym bol­
ic ally recreated COATEPEC, H ill o f the S erpent,
w h ere H u itzilo p o c h tli's m iraculous BIRTH took
place. T o d rill N e w F ire , th e A ztecs re tre a te d
to C itla lte p e c , H ill o f th e Star. C H ic o M O Z T O C , the
Seven C aves, th e place o f o rig in fo r m ost C e n ­
tra l M exicans, is usually d ep icted w ith in a
m ountain, and C u lh u acan , C u rv e d M o u n ta in ,
was a tra d itio n a l p lace o f ancestors.
In the 13th V E IN T E N A , T e p e ilh u itl, th e Aztecs
celeb rated w h a t w as know n as the M o u n ta in
Feast. D ed ic ate d to P opocatepetl and Izta c c i-
h u atl by the A ztecs, the cele b ratio n was
w id e ly c arried out by C e n tra l M exican
peoples in honor o f various m ountains. Dough
im ages in the shape o f m ountains w e re
fashioned o f ground A M A R A N T H seeds to honor
the dead, p a rtic u la rly those w ho had d ied a
DEATH associated w ith the T la lo q u e - by
Hood, d row ning, or L IG H T N IN G - rein fo rcin g the
connection b etw een T la lo c , m ountain, and
W A T E R . F iv e sacriHcial victim s, fo u r w om en
and one m an, then im personated m ountains,
w e re slain by h e a rt extrusion and then decapi­
tated . T h e dough m ountains, E nally, w ere
also d ecap itated and c a re fu lly consumed in a
ritu a l com m union. T h e la m e and crip p led ,
121 MUSIC
whose deform ities w e re thought to have been
sent by T lalo c (see DEFORMITY), sought a cure
in the consum ption o f the a m aran th dough,
áee a/so C A LE N D A R ; C R E A T IO N A C C O U N TS ; T E R M
[ \ A T I 0 N R ITU A LS .

muan ow! T h e screech ow l (O fu s as/o) occu­

pies an im portant role in Classic and Postclassic
M aya iconography. T h e M a y a m onth o f
M uan is nam ed a fte r the Yucatec term fo r
this b ird . T h e glyph fo r this m onth, th e head
of the m uan o w l, is fre q u e n tly accom panied (Aboye) Priest presenting an offering
by phonetic elem ents suggesting th a t the to a cleft mountain, Nochistlan Vase,
Late Postclassic Mixtee, Oaxaca.
term m uan is o f considerable a n tiq u ity . T h e
muan ow l can be id e n tifie d by its broad and
sharply tipped beak and spotted feathers. (AgAf) Maya glyph for mountain, or
Q u ite o ften, a p air of large spotted feathers u/fz, Copan Stela 1, Late Classic
appear on the brow and the back o f the head, period.
probably re fe rrin g to the h o rn -like fe a th e r
tufts o f the screech ow l.
In M a y a iconography, the m uan is id e n ti­
fied w ith R A IN , M A IZ E and the U N D E R W O R L D . In
Yucatec, the term m uan also bears conno­
tations o f clouds, rain and m ist. I t is probably
for this reason th a t the ra in god C H A C is
freq u en tly associated w ith the m uan ow l in
Classic and Postclassic M a y a a rt. O n page
78 o f the M a d rid Codex, Chac paints the
blackened ta il feathers o f the b ird . In Classic
iconography, m aize grow th com m only
appears w ith the m uan o w l, possibly to show The Muan Owl, Dresden
the rain b ird as a m aize-b rin g er. T h e m uan
Codex, p. 7, Postclassic
Yucatán. In Maya
ow l is also id e n tifie d w ith the m ajor M a y a iconography, the Muan
d eity re fe rre d to as God L in the Schellhas Owl frequently appears
system o f d eity classification. A god o f the with maize foliage upon
U n d erw o rld and o f M E R C H A N T S , God L usually its head.
w ears a broad h at topped by the m uan ow l.
3 e e a / s o OW LS; S C H E LLH A S CODS.

music R itu a l often included the perform ance

o f m usic. Since there is no Precolum bian
m usical n otation, the exact natu re of
M esoam erican music rem ains unknow n;
w h a t is know n is reconstructed from descrip­
tions, depictions, and surviving instrum ents
them selves. Singing accom panied in stru ­
m ents, and both singers and players trained
rigorously.
T h e M esoam erican ensem ble encom ­
passed a standard range o f instrum ents, going
back a t least to Classic tim es: flutes, ocarinas,
gourd rattles, bone rasps, tu rtle shells struck
Old man and woman playing music with rattles
w ith d eer antlers, a larg e, u p rig h t drum
and drums. While the man beats a Aue/mef/
(called the in N a h u a tl, the p a x in drum between his legs, the woman strikes a
M a y a ), a slit gong (called the feponaztA in turtle shell with a deer antler, Codex Laud,
N a h u a tl, the funA u/ in M a y a ), a hand drum p. 34, Late Postclassic period.
MAHUAL
held in the crook o f th e a rm , beHs, and
trum pets m ade o f conch shells, w ood, or
gourds. T h e re is no evidence o f a n y stringed
instrum ents b efo re the C onquest, nor fo r the
m arim b a (xylophone). T h e Spanish in tro ­
duced stringed instrum ents and A fric a n
slaves brought th e m arim b a.
B one rasps have been excavated from E a rly
F o rm a tiv e sites, b u t the Brst depictions o f
m usicians ap p ear tow ard th e end o f the
F o rm a tiv e e ra, in W est M exico . T h e 8th c.
M a y a fre q u e n tly show a ll o r some o f the
instrum ents o f the M eso am erican ensem ble
and confirm th a t they w e re p layed on a w id e
v a rie ty o f occasions, in clu d in g both HUMAN
SACRIFICE and ACCESSION, and by UNDERWORLD
anim als as w e ll as hum ans. T h e m usicians
usuaBy ap p ear in a fixed o rd er, w ith flutes,
rattles and tu rtle shells app earin g b efo re the
large drum ; trum pets and the hand drum
b ring up the rear. A n ab b re viated b u t s im ila r
m usical group played a t the w edding c ere­
mony o f the M ix te e princess 6 M on key.
M esoam erican music was larg ely percussive,
and nothing like a European scale was know n.
T h e Spanish described A ztec music as d o le­
ful and tuneless, b u t they w ere nevertheless
m oved by it, and they recognized the achieve­
m ents o f court perform ers over the less
skilled ru ra l players. A ztec m usicians p e rfo r­
m ed a w id e rep erto ry o f m usic, a ll o f it by
h ea rt, b u t in ven tio n was also considered
noble. Just as they credited the Toltecs w ith
the in ven tio n o f WRiTiNC and counting, the
Aztecs a ttrib u te d the inven tio n o f m any songs
to the Toltecs. E xp licit characteristics in fo r­
m ed th e ir notions o f good and bad music:
TAe good singer /is/ o í sound voice. Good,
sound /is/ Ais voice; weZ/ rounded /are/
Ais words. /He is/ of good sAarp memory,
keeping ¿Ae songs in mind; refen dve, nof
ibrgedu/. He sings, cries ouf, enunciates
cZear/y; /Ae sings/ wiiA wed-rounded voice,
in fud voice, in iaiseffo. /H e sings/ soif/y; Ae
tempers Ais voice, accompanies /udicicusiy,
gives fAe pifcA, iowers /¿Ae voice/, raises
if. He reduces if to medium; Ae uses if
moJenafeZy. He practices; Ae improves Ais
voice. He composes, sets to music, originates
/songs/. He sings songs, sings others' songs,
provides music for others, instructs others.
The had singer /is/ hoarse, AusAy, coarse­
voiced; crude, dud, Aeari/ess, uninfe/Agenf.
He revo/ts me; Ae is fraudulent, vaing/orious,
arrogant. /H e is/ haughty, fboAsh, oAstrnafe,
1Z2
avaricious, indigent, envious, absconding He
grunts, sounds AusAy, maAes one s ears ring,
Ae is resfiess, /brgetiu/, vio/enf, indigent; Ae
absconds, Ae brags; Ae is presumptuous, vain
ÍF C ;
S u rvivin g A zte c m usical instrum ents, p ar­
tic u la rly th e larg e drum s, h ea r the icon­
ography o f w a r and S A C R IF IC E , and w e re pro­
b ab ly used m ost o ften in sacrificial rituals.
V ictim s them selves fre q u e n tly m ade music:
th e T E Z C A T L tP O C A im p erso n ato r liv e d fo r a year
in th a t ro le and le arn e d to p lay the flu te and
w h is tle. T h e fes tivitie s fo r th e VEINTENA of
Toxcat! in clu d ed constant song and DANCE,
b u t - as if to sym bolize his ow n DEATH - w hen
the im p erso n ato r ascended the T ezcatlipo ca
tem p le fo r sacrifice, he broke his flu te and
w h istle and le ft th e sh a tte red pieces on the
steps.
A m ong the A ztecs, the gods MACUiLxocHiTL
and x o c H iP iL L i supervised the dom ain of
m usic.
nahua! A com m on w o rd in th e ethnographic
lite ra tu re o f M exico , naAuaZ derives from
the N ah u a t! term nauaZA, sig n ifyin g a fo rm ­
changing sorcerer or w itc h . T o th e e a rly
C o lo n ial priests, these form -changers w e re
not considered sim ply to be baseless super­
stitio n , b u t w e re a source o f m uch concern.
W ritin g in 1600, F ra y Juan B au tista w a rn ed o f
n ative sorcerers th a t tran sfo rm ed them selves
in to D ocs, w easels, O W L S , chickens, and JAC-
UARS. T h e 17th c. parish p rie s t R u iz de A larco n
m entioned specific cases o f n a tiv e fo rm -
changers and explained th e ir pow ers by claim ­
in g th e y had pacts w ith Satan. A ltho u g h the
concept o f naAuaZ recalls E uropean concepts
o f w itc h c ra ft, it is c le a rly o f n a tiv e o rigin and
is closely tie d to n a tiv e concepts o f sham anic
p o w er and tran sfo rm atio n . T E Z C A T L IP O C A , the
sorcerer p a r exceZ/ence o f L a te Postclassic
C e n tra l M exico , was b eliev ed to be able to
transform h im s elf in to a ja g u a r. T h e concept
o f ja g u a r form -changers also appears am ong
the F o rm a tiv e O lm ecs in the form o f "tra n s ­
form atio n fig u res," stone sculptures th a t dis­
p lay a kneelin g m an being tu rn e d in to a
ja g u ar. A long w ith th e a n im al alter-egos, the
naAuaZ could be transform ed in to a n atu ral
force, such as LIGHTNING. A lthough naAuaZ
sorcerers w e re fre q u e n tly fea red fo r th e ir
123 NAMES AND TITLES
ability to com m it m alig n an t acts, they could
also serve as protectors o f the com m unity.
D uring the C o lo n ial e ra , m any n ativistic
movem ents w ere led by n a h u a / sorcerers.
T h e nahuaV is g en e rally id e n tic al to the
M aya concept o f the UAY. R ecent epigraphic
advances reveal the presence o f u ay a lte r-
egos am ong the Classic M a y a e lite . H o w e v e r,
it is uncertain w h e th e r these Classic texts
refer to actual form -changers or to s p irit
com panions. .See a/so SHAMANISM ; TONAL.

names and titles In m any parts o f M eso am er-

ica, individuals w e re nam ed fo r the day in
the 260-day CALENDAR on w hich they w e re
born or bap tized . Because the 260-d ay calen ­
dar was a d ivin in g calendar, these nam es a ll
had very specific auguries: in the TRECENA 1
D e e r, the day 5 M on key was a good day (" H e
who was then born was lik e the w orkings and
qualities o f the day: the te llin g o f tales, and
Aztec musicians and dancers,
jesting . . . th e re was no a n g e r"), b u t next
Florentine Codex, Book 4, 16th c.
day, 6 Grass, was evil ( " . . . he w ho was then
born lived only in torm en t on e arth , suffered
pain and tro u b le, and found afflictio n s").
C alen d rical nam ing p re va ile d in C e n tra l
M exico, O axaca, and in parts o f the G u lf
region. T h e M ix te e c u ltu ra l hero 9 W in d , for
exam ple, is know n g en erally by his calend­
rical nam e, although he is also id e n tifie d w ith
QUETZALCOATL. In no region o f the M a y a w ere
calendrical names used (although divinations
for birthdays w ere calculated from the 260-
day calen d ar), and no one knows w h eth er
they w ere used at TEOTiHUACAN.
In d ivid u als carried other nam es as w e ll as
th e ir calendrical ones, and these som etim es
ran in fam ilies. T h e M otecuhzom a (H e W ho
is A ngry L ik e a L o rd ) w ho ru led at the tim e
o f the Conquest bore the same nam e as his
g ran d fath er, w ho then becam e know n as
H ueh u e M otecuhzom a, th a t is, O ld M o te ­
cuhzom a, or M otecuhzom a the E ld er. T h e
M ixte e king and hero 8 D e e r was also know n
as T ig e r C la w ; Princess 6 M o n k ey was given
a new nam e or title , S erpent Q u ech q u em itl,
a fte r h er v a lia n t victory over h e r enem ies.
M ixte e deities and oracles g en erally bore
calendrical nam es too: 6 M o n k ey was given
h er n ew nam e by 9 Grass, a fem a le oracle.
The Aztec /mehuef/, or upright
A t the tim e o f the C onquest, the M a y a o f wooden drum, used in music­
Yucatan bore fa m ily lineag e nam es. Am ong making, from Toluca.
the ru ling fam ily nam es, m any o f w hom
dom inated in d iv id u al provinces, w e re the
Cocom, the X iu , th e C u p u l, and the C h e l. In
the case o f the Classic M a y a , nam es w e re often
NEW FIRE CEREMONY
ch aracteristic o f a p a rtic u la r lin eag e: B ird
Jaguar the G re a t (reig n ed AD 7 5 2 -c . 7 7 0 ), as
he has been dubbed by m odem investigators
(his nam e glyphs are p ro b ab ly to be read
Yaxom B alam ) was the fou rth king o f Yax
chilan to b ear th a t nam e, and both his fa th e r
and his son had the nam e Shield Jaguar (again,
a m odem nicknam e: the glyphs m ay have
been read Itz B alam ), though his son was also
know n as C hac C h el. A com pletely distinctive
set o f nam es characterized the Palenque ru lin g
fam ily, and the same can be said o f most
M a y a cities and th e ir ru lin g fam ilies. T h e
evidence from P alenque shows too th a t
w om en in d iffe re n t generations m ight have
the same nam e. M a y a nam es freq u e n tly incor­
porated the significant anim als o f th e ir n atu ral
w orld: the jACUAH, SNAKE, QUETZAL, BAT, ta p ir
and PECCARY for exam ple. O fte n , am ong the
glyphic symbols used for w u rriN C th e ir ow n
nam es, M a y a kings nam ed th e ir parents as
w e ll.
M ay a hieroglyphic w ritin g also reveals that
the M ay a n o b ility held a great m any titles,
only some o f w hich can now be deciphered.
Specific rankings w ere spelled out, such as
lord (aJiau), sacred lord (ch'uJ aAau, applied
only to a king), or sun lord (m aA A?na or
chiÁFna or Avn/ch). A secondary stratum o f
rulers, probably regional governors, w ere
known by the title saha/, to w hich they could
be eith e r born or appointed. Both a saA a/and
a c h u /a h a u could append CAPTIVES' nam es to
th e ir own (e g. "captor o f F lin t B a t") as w e ll
as a count o f captives. K ing B ird Jaguar
the G re a t o f Yaxchilán counted h im self the
"capto r o f 20 captives" most o f his life , b u t
on one o f his last m onum ents, his count w e n t
up to 21.
Some captives m ay have been given new
nam es upon th e ir d efeat: a t Y axchilán, some
cap tive nam es re fe r to the day nam e on w hich
they w e re taken: both " M o l" and "C h u e n ,"
fo r exam ple, w e re captured on those p a rtic ­
u la r days. A fam ous captive lik e the Palenque
king K an X u l was p u b licly nam ed and p o r­
trayed a t T o n in a a fte r his d efeat. C ap tives'
nam es often appear on th e ir thighs, up p er
arm s, or clothing - perhaps as signs o f
h u m iliatio n or because they w ere indeed
tattooed or em blazoned fo r p ublic recognition.
Specific titles distinguish o th er noble m em ­
bers o f society: scribes and artists signed not
only th e ir nam es to w orks o f a rt b u t also th e ir
titles (ah dzib: he o f the w ritin g ; id za f: a rtis t
or w ise m an; ah naah: he o f the w a te r lily
1Z4
o r the d au b in g ). W h ile an a rtis t m ight sign
as m aker, th e o w n e r too m ight proclaim
possession, e g. "m y cacao p o t" or "m y e ar-
spool" o r "m y te m p le ."
N e w F ire cerem ony .see CALENDAR; EIRE
n ig h t In tra d itio n a l M eso am erican thought,
th e n ig h t was w id e ly reg ard ed w ith a certain
am o un t o f d re ad and fe a r. A t n ig h t, form -
changers and .dem ons from the perim eters of
th e social w o rld could w re ak havoc upon
hum ans. D u rin g th e tim e o f darkness, spooks
and dem ons o f th e UNDERWORLD rose to the
surface o f th e EARTH and the heavens. I t was
com m only b e liev ed th a t the sou! traveled
about w h ile one slep t, exposing the in d iv id u a l
to g re a t danger. D ream s w e re o ften consid­
ered to be m em ories o f the soul's nocturnal
journeys and exploits. Thus in most M a y a n lan ­
guages, the term UAY o ften bears connotations
o f sleep, d re am , fo rm -ch an g er, or s p irit com ­
panion. T h e forces o f the night often d ia m e tri­
cally oppose the o rd ered w o rld o f the SUN and
d ay lig h t. Thus fo r exam ple, d u rin g the N e w
F ire v ig il (see FIRE), the A ztecs g re a tly fea red
th a t the s te lla r dem ons o f darkness, the
TZiTZiM iM E, w o u ld plunge the e n tire w o rld
in to darkness and chaos, ^ee a/so CREATION
ACCOUNTS; DAWN.
num bers A ll M e s o a m e r ic a n p e o p le s used a
v ig e s im a l, o r base 2 0 , system fo r co u n tin g ,
r a th e r th a n th e d e c im a l, o r b ase 10, system
d e v e lo p e d fo r A ra b ic n u m e ra ls . T h e M ix te e s
a n d A ztec s, a m o n g o th ers, used dots to re c o rd
n u m b e rs : 12 dots w o u ld m e a n 12 th ing s o r
th e co efB cient 12, w h ile th e M a y a used b a r-
a n d -d o t n u m e ra tio n : th e b a r eq u als E ve, so
tw o ba rs a n d tw o dots w o u ld m e a n 12 things
o r th e co efB cien t 12. I n C e n tr a l M e x ic o , th e
te rm c e a iz o n lit e r a lly m e a n t 400, p a rtic u la rly
in counts o f tr ib u te , b u t i t c o u ld also be
used fig u ra tiv e ly to m e a n a la rg e q u a n tity
o f u n s p e c ifie d a m o u n t, as in th e C e n tz o n
# u itz n a h M a , th e 400 sons o f coATLicuE, p e r ­
sonifications o f th e m a n y STARS o f th e h e ave n s.
T h e Classic M a y a could configure any
n um ber not only in b a r-a n d -d o t n u m eratio n
b u t by a head or fu ll-fig u re v a ria n t. In this
m ore e lab o rate fo rm at, th e num bers 1 to 12
are a ll d istinct, b u t the num bers 14 to 19
re p e a t the heads o f 4 to 9, w ith the a dd itio n
o f a skeletal ja w or a skeletal hand over the
ja w . This skeletal ad d itio n m ust have had
m uch th e sam e m eaning as the " te e n " th a t
English speakers add to the num bers 13 to 19.
125 OLMEC GODS

N um ber 13 could be represented by a distinct

head (see WATER LELYSERPENT) or as a "te e n ." T h e
head variants o f 1 to 13 represent various deit­
ies : 4, for exam ple, is the sun god, 8 is the MAIZE
G o o , and 9isX b alan q u e, o n eo f the H e ro T w in s -

who functioned as the patrons o f the num bers.

In A ztec n um eration, dots in d icate num ­
bers up to 20. A banner equals 20, a fe a th e r The Aztec sign for the starry night, Codex Mendoza, 16th c.
or le a f represents 400, and a copa/ bag
indicates 8000. W h en the au th o r o f th e Codex
T elleriano-R em ensis w a n te d to in d ic ate th a t
20,000 captives had been k ille d in 1487 AD a t
the rededication o f the T em p lo M a y o r, he
used 2 copa/ bags and 10 feathers.
ww p 9
$
C e rta in num bers also h eld m etap h orical 2 10 20 40 400 8000
m eaning: 1 m eant the beginning o f things; 9
re fe rre d to the levels o f the UNDERW ORLD; and
13 em bodied the strata o f th e heavens.
* *. +* * - SB
o 1 4 6 19

Aztec (top row) and Maya (second row) numbers.

obsidian A dark volcanic glass, obsidian was Late Classic Maya

g reatly p rized for its razor-sharp edge and head variants for
lustrous sheen. F ro m E a rly F o rm a tiv e tim es selected numbers,
on, it was trad ed w id e ly in ancient M eso- showing how 14, 15
and 16 are skeletal
am erica. P a rticu lar obsidian sources w ere
adaptations of 4, 5
held in high regard, especially Pachuca, near
and 6.
T u la , w hich yielded a fine o live green v arie ty.
Q u ite freq u e n tly , obsidian was p repared in 4, can 14,cantahun
the form o f polyhedral cores, w hich resem ble
Hu ted cones. T h e prism atic blades obtained
from these cores are razor sharp, and served
as one o f the m ore com mon B L O O D L E T T IN G
instrum ents in ancient M esoam erica. Am ong
the Postclassic inhabitants o f highland M e x ­
ico, the blades w ere set along the edge o f a
w ooden club, the m acua/m /f/.
5. ho 15, ho!ahun
Because o f its black, lustrous surface, obsid­
ian was also used as a M IR R O R stone. D u rin g
the Protoclassic and Classic periods, a sim ple
fractu red plane form ed the reHective surface.
H o w ev er, during the L a te Postclassic period,
ground and polished obsidian m irrors w ere
also present. T h e C e n tra l M exican d eity TEZ
C A T L iP O C A probably personified such a m irro r.

T h e 16th c. C akchique! M a y a com m unicated 6, uac 16, uadahun

w ith the C hay A bah, the sacred obsidian
stone. This stone seems to have had oracular
powers and spoke d ire ctly to the C akchiquel.
Q u ite possibly, the C h ay A b ah was a sacred
The Aztec sign for Itzteyocan,
obsidian m irro r. See a/so D iv iN A T iO N .
composed of an obsidian core and
blade atop a stone and the sign for
O lm ec gods T h e Olm ecs w e re the first people a road; Matrícula de Tributos,
in M esoam erica to create a codified religious 16th c. Central Mexico.
OLMEC CODS
universe th a t w e can recognize today through
th e surviving a rt. in fact, it was th e existence
o i a standard sym bolic code th a t forced
archaeologists, beginning in the 1930s, to face
the fa c t th a t some c u ltu re had preceded th a t
o f the Classic M a y a . B efo re this c u ltu re had
been docum ented archaeologicaU y o r its d ate
p ro ven , the term "c u ltu ra m a d re ," o r m o ther
c u ltu re , had been in tro d uced. T h e O lm ecs
are now recognized to have developed high
c iv iliza tio n in M eso am erica, w ith a charis­
m atic cast o f d eities , some o f w hom w e re to
survive, a lb e it in a changed fo rm , fo r 2500
years, u n til the Spanish C onquest in the 16th
c. T h e term "O lm e c " its e lf is sim ply the nam e
used by the A ztecs to re fe r to the "ru b b e r
p e o p le ," m eaning the people o f the G u lf
C oast; th ere is no clue o f the nam e this
c iv iliza tio n m ay have used to describe itse lf.
A ccording to the sunuNC HYPOTHESIS, the
O lm ecs' p rin cip al d e ity was a W E R E -jA C U A R ,
brought to life by the m ating o f a fem ale
hum an and a m ale JAG UA R , or a m ale hum an
and a fem ale ja g u a r. T h e "c u ltu ra m a d re "
theory proposed th a t w ere-jag u ars w ere
essentially RAIN gods, and from O lm ec rain
gods one could see the evolution o f a ll m ajor
M a y a , C en tra! M ex ica n , and Zapotee deities.
M o re recen tly (and w ith fa r m ore exam ples
o f O lm ec a rt than w ere a v a ila b le to an e a rlie r
g en eratio n ) scholars, p a rtic u la rly D a v id Jor-
alem on, have begun to sort out a rich p an ­
theon o f O lm ec deities as w e ll as to recognize
the beginnings o f a cosmic structure th a t
endured in to la te r c u ltu ra l florescences.
G iven the nascent state o f studies o f O lm ec
relig io n , the follo w in g guide to O lm ec gods
can be n eith e r d e fin itiv e nor com prehensive.
O lm ec deities take the form s o f the p o w e r­
fu l anim als o f the tropical ra in forest, w h ere
the c u ltu re its e lf arose. P rin cip al d eities
include th e S N AK E , h arpy eagle (see E A G L E ),
SH A R K , C A IM A N , and JAG UA R , and m any com bi­
nations th ereo f. N o ne has specific sexual
characteristics to indicate gender. T h e cosmic
structure o f the O lm ecs included a SKY dragon,
an EARTH caim an, and the id ea th a t fou r
DW ARVES held the sky in place, p robably
aligned w ith the card in al points (see D IR E C ­
T IO N S ) and COLO RS.
O ne o f the most enduring o f O lm ec d eities
is the R ain B aby. O rig in a lly id e n tifie d as a
w e re -jaguar, he certain ly has ja g u a r charac­
teristics, p a rtic u la rly in term s o f posture.
Joralem on term ed this figure G od iv. T h e
R ain B aby has a hum an nose and the squal­
!ZH
lin g , o pen-m outhed and uauaMy toothlewg face
o f an in fa n t; this is the O lm ec d e ity moat
com m only h eld in th e arm s by an a d u lt. C le ft -
h ead ed , he w ears a headband and w avy PAPER
adornm ents th a t c rin k le along the side o f his
face, in fro n t o f th e ears. C rin k le d paper
ornam ents distinguish th e rain god o f C e n tra l
M ex ico m any g enerations la te r and m ay
d e riv e fro m this e a rly ch ara cterizatio n .
T h e m ost im p o rta n t characteristic o f Jorale­
m on G od n is the foliage th a t sprouts from
the c le ft in his h ead, possibly in d ic atin g a
MAIZE god. T h e nose o f this c re a tu re seems to
be anth ro p o m o rp hic; the m outh is usually
toothless and open, lik e th a t o f th e R ain B aby,
b u t in som e cases it has b ird characteristics.
A fu ll body is ra re ly d ep icted . T h is ch aracter
m ay also sym bolize the fe rtile e a rth or MOUN
TAIN fro m w hich m aize grow s.
T h e P ersonified E a rth C av e (Joralem on
G od i-B) sym bolizes the e a rth and e n try in to
the e a rth . I t occurs as a ctu al CAVE entrances
and also as fram es fo r seated ru lers, both on
O lm ec A LTA R S and on R e lie f 1, C h alcatzin g o .
A lw ays o p en -m aw ed , th e im age is usually
toothless. T h e eyes have crossed bands; fo li­
age sprouts fro m the e x te rio r o f th e m aw .
T h e O lm ec D rag o n , the p rin c ip a l sky god,
p ro b ab ly derives zo o m orphically fro m the
crested h arp y eagle. O n e o f the m ost p re va ­
le n t im ages o f O lm ec iconography (Joralem on
C od i - A ) , the O lm ec D rag o n includes m any
symbols th a t the O lm ecs o fte n chose to re p ­
resent schem atically and in d e p e n d en tly, such
as the p a w -w in g m o tif or flam e eyebrow s.
These symbols o fte n ap p e ar as th e m otifs on
ceram ic seals, and th e y com m only occur on
p o ttery found fa r fro m the O lm ec h e a rtla n d
along th e C u lf Coast.
T h e Shark C od (Joralem on G od vni) occurs
ra re ly , b u t has a c le a rly d efin ed shark tooth
w hen represented. T h is m ay be a SEA god.
T h e F e a th e re d S erpent (Joralem on C od
vn) o ften has a crest o f fea th e rs, the rattle s
o f a ra ttlesn ake, a forked SER PENT tongue, and
m ay flo at in cloud sym bols, perhaps linkin g
him to the la te r cloud serpents o f the M a y a ,
Toltecs, and Aztecs. T h e presence o f QUETZALS
and crossed bands over th e head o f the
hum an w ho rests against the serpent's body
on L a V e n ta M o n u m e n t 19 suggests a read ­
ing, if w ritte n in a M a y a n language, o f
kukulcan (q u e tza l = kuk; crossed bands =
can or chan), or Q U E T Z A L C O A T L .
A n o th er characteristic O lm ec d e ity w ith
c le ft head bears a stripe dow n the m id d le o f
127 OMETEOTL
the face, usually through the eye (Joralem on Olmec gods: (right) a
God vi). Such face p a in t characterizes the probable depiction of the
ia te r god o f the G u lf Coast and C e n tra l Olmec rain baby, San Lorenzo
Monument 52, Early
M exico, x iP E T O T E c , b u t the O lm ec creatu re
Formative period. A deep
has the d o w n tu m ed beak o f a b ird , and is trough is cut down the back of
probably not re late d to X ip e . this sculpture, and it is
O th er O lm ec deities a w a it fu rth e r id e n tifi­ possible that it served as part
cation. Some are basic w ere-jag u ars, m any of the stone drainage systems
have c le ft heads; some have in terlo ckin g used at San Lorenzo.
teeth , lik e those o f a caim an, w h ile others
have only upper fangs and y et others are
toothless. See a/so INTRODUCTION.
(Below) Joralemon Cod VI,
incised pottery vessel,
omens T h e peoples o f ancien t M esoam erica Tlapacoya, Middle Formative
keenly observed strange b eh avior and events Olmec.
in the n atu ra l w o rld , signs th a t could p ortend
events o f everyday life or even w o rld destruc­
tion. Because they regarded the h eavenly
bodies as especially im p o rtan t, these signs
constitute one o f the m ore com m on subjects
in the Prehispanic m anuscripts. Possibly
because o f th e ir proxim ity to the heavens and
th e ir speech-like qu alities, birds w e re w id e ly
regarded as omens. Even today, OWLS are
considered to be harbingers o f D E A T H . T h e
Yucatec M a y a n term m u f signifies both b ird
and augury. In the Postclassic D resden
Codex, this term appears in scenes illu stratin g
the y ou th fu l Goddess I (see SC H E LLH A S G O D s )
w ith the M U A N o w L , the Q U E T Z A L , and other
birds, here re fe rrin g to "good" or "b a d "
auguries.
M a n y n ative peoples noted strange, disturb­
ing omens ju s t before the com ing o f the
Spaniards; for the Aztecs, Sahagun records
eig h t e v il signs. Am ong these omens w ere
tw o probable com ets, LIGHTNING striking the
TEMPLE o f xiuH TECU H TLi, the sound o f a crying
wom an during m any nights, and a strange
b ird w ith a d ivin ato ry MIRROR in its forehead.
T h e Tarascans o f M ichoacán noted evil
omens fo re te llin g the Spanish Conquest.
T h e y also described tw o com ets, and added
th at th e ir tem ples w ere con tin u ally being
destroyed. W h en re b u ilt, these structures
w ould only catch FIRE again, and th e ir w alls
tum ble to the ground. See a/sc DiviNATiON.

O m eteo tl L ite ra lly the "tw o go d ," O m eteo tl

em bodies the C e n tra l M exican p rin cip le o f
This d u al, bisexual god ru led over
D U A L IT Y .

the highest heaven o f the N a h u a tl schem e,

O m eyocan, "P lace o f D u a lity ," in the form
o f O m etecu h tli and his consort O m ecih u atl.
T o g eth er, O m e tec u h tli and O m e cih u a tl w e re
the ever-p resen t progenitors, fo r they sent
OMEYOCAN
th e souis o f those a bo u t to be born to the
surface o f the EARTH. O m e te c u h tli and O m e ci-
h u at! m ay also be id e n tifie d w ith C ipactona!
and O xom oco, aged progenitors and perhaps
d iv in e g randparents (see A N C E S TR A L C O U P L E ).
G e n e ra lly not a subject o f a rtis tic rep resen ­
tatio n , O m eteo t! had no specific TEMPLE d e d i­
cated to him in the sacred p recin ct nor an
active c u lt cele b rated a t one o f the annua!
vEiKTE\As, but this being was the subject to
w hom a m u ltitu d e o f form a! prayers w e re
addressed. Some authors have sought to
id e n tify an evo lu tio n through the w orship o f
O m eteo t! tow ard m onotheism in la te C e n tra !
M exican thought.
O m eyocan see OMETEOTL; sxv; TONACATECUHTLi
opossum W ith its gray fu r, sham bling g a it,
and snaggle-toothed m outh, the opossum
(D x /e /p /u s /narstvp/a/is) was id e n tifie d w ith
old age in M esoam erica. T h e opossum figures
p ro m in en tly in the new year pages o f the
M a y a D resden Codex corresponding to the
end o f the o!d year. In these scenes, the
opossum is !abe!ed m am , a term signifying
both an aged g ra n d fath er and the god o f the
old year. In Classic M a y a iconography, the
opossum appears w ith attrib u te s o f the aged
d e ity know n as P A U A H T U N , w ho is probably
none o th er than the god o f the dying year.
In the M ix te e codices, the opossum is
closely id e n tifie d w ith the intoxicating b ev er­
age P U L Q U E . In the Vindobonensis and N u tta ll
codices, depictions o f the d ecap itated pulque
goddess L ad y 11 S erpent are accom panied by
an opossum holding cups fille d w ith pulque.
owls As a nocturnal b ird th a t fre q u e n tly
resides in CAVES and underground burrow s,
the ow l is w id e ly id e n tifie d w ith th e N IG H T
and the UNDERWORLD. A bove the entrance to
O x to titla n C ave, G u errero , th e re is a M id d le
F o rm a tiv e O lm ec p ain tin g o f a m an dressed
as a green horned ow l. G reen owls com m only
occur in the a rt o f T E O T iH U A C A N , and are
q u ite fre q u e n tly placed atop M IR R O R S , symbols
them selves o f supernatural caves or passage­
w ays. A n E a rly Postclassic cache fro m the
T e m p le o f C hac M o o l a t C hichen Itz á con­
tain e d a finch and a b u rro w in g pygm y o w l
placed atop a p y rite m irro r.
L ik e o th er birds, owls w e re considered as
O M E N S or messengers b etw een hum ans and
the d iv in e. Because o f th e ir n a tu ra l affin ities
to n ig h t and caves, owls h eld special ties to
iz a
the d ark and d e a th ly U n d e rw o rld . In the
C e n tra ! M ex ica n B orgia G ro u p o f codice*,
the ow l can a p p e ar w ith a hum an skull for a
head. T h e o w l also o ften occupies the bone-
festooned TEM PLE of M 1 C T L A N T E C U H T L !, the
d eath god, w ho fre q u e n tly w ears an o w l-
fe a th e r crest. T h e A ztecs c le a rly regarded
ow ls w ith a certain am ount o f fe a r; thus the
d read ed n o ctu rn al form -ch an g in g sorcerer
w as term e d ¿/acafecoVoí/, or ' ow l m a n /*
T h e a n cien t M a y a seem to have had an
a m b iv a le n t a ttitu d e tow ard ow ls, id e n tify in g
them w ith both fe rtility and DEATH. The
horned M UAN OW L, fo r exam ple, brought R A IN
and MAIZE and had associations o f d eath and
th e U n d e rw o rld . T h is d u al n atu re can he
seen also fo r the o w l messengers o f the
Q u ich e M a y a PO PO LVUH. A lthough assistants
and messengers fo r th e d eath gods o f X ib a lb a ,
th e ow ls also assisted X q u ic, the p regn an t
w ife o f HUN HUNAHPU, in h e r escape to the
surface o f th e EARTH.
P a d d le r Cods Because one o f th e ir p rim a ry
actions is to p ad d le a C A N O E , tw o Classic M a y a
deities have been nam ed the Paddlers. T h e y
app ear in Classic p erio d a rt and in d ic ate a
specific p a ir o f oppositions, day and N IG H T ,
a p p a ren t through the hieroglyphs th a t re p ­
resent them , a^b a/, darkness or n ig h t, and
Ain, or day. U n lik e m ost M a y a hieroglyphs,
those id e n tify in g the P addlers a re d ra w n
w ith in id e n tify in g cartouches th a t w ould
seem to rep resen t th e ir canoe, as seen fro m
above.
T h e O ld Jaguar P a d d ler (n ig h t) usually
paddles the bow o f the canoe w h ile the O ld
Stingray P ad d ler (d a y ) handles the stern.
A lthough alw ays anthropom orphic, the O ld
Jaguar P ad d ler shares characteristics w ith a
num ber o f aged JAG UA R C O D S , in clu d in g the
Jaguar G od o f th e U n d e rw o rld ; he is tooth­
less, w ears a ja g u a r headdress, and usually
carries a p addle. T h e O ld Stingray P addler
also has an aged, sagging face, and a p e rfo r­
ato r, e ith e r bone o r stingray spine, pierces
the septum o f his nose. B oth P addlers w ear
the kno tted w aist o rn am en t o f C l o f the
P A L E N Q U E T R IA D .
A ccording to M a y a h ieroglyphic texts, the
Paddlers are created or born w hen a M a y a
king lets B L O O D . In scenes o f B L O O D L E T T IN G ,
129 PALENQUE TRIAD
they freq u e n tly occur in sw irls o f clouds
created w hen blood is le t on PAPER and then
set afire. T h e ir presence is m ost lik e ly to be
invoked on period ending dates.
W h en they paddle th e ir canoe, the P ad-
dlers are o ften ushering the M A IZ E C O D to his
next engagem ent. T h e canoe its e lf m ay have
a relationship w ith bowls used fo r SACRmcE
and offerings, ap p ro p riate fo r e ith e r MAIZE or
blood.

P ainal s e e H u r r z iL O P O C H T L i

P alenque T ria d Based on h ieroglyphic texts

a t Palenque, H e in ric h B e rlin id e n tifie d a
trio o f gods in 1963. O ne o f the striking
characteristics o f these gods is th a t a ll three
appear a t other M a y a cities in d iv id u a lly and
over a long period o f tim e, b u t only a t
P alenque do they occur as a hieroglyphic
tria d . K now n as G I, G II, and G U I, for Gods
1, 2, and 3, they function as special patron
deities for P alenque.
T h e three births w ere not a ctu ally recorded
u n til C han B ahlum (reigned AD 6 8 4 -7 0 2 )
b u ilt a group o f tem ples know n as the G roup
o f the Cross a t the end o f the 7th c., b u t the
T ria d was re fe rre d to by most Palenque kings,
from Pacal onw ard (ru led AD 6 1 5 -6 8 3 ), and
offerings w ere m ade to them . O n the G roup
o f the Cross, each In itia l Series text begins
w ith a d ate calculated 3000 to 4000 years
before it was inscribed. T h e b irth o f G I is
recorded in the T em p le o f the Cross, G II in
the T e m p le o f the F o lia te d Cross, and G U I
in the T em p le o f the Sun. I t m ight even be The Paddler Cods at fore and aft of a canoe
best to consider them trip lets for, according containing the Tonsured Maize God and animal
passengers (complete canoe shown together with
to the texts, these gods w e re a ll bom in 2360
two details); incised bone, Burial 116, Tikal, Late
Be over a three -w ee k period. Each b irth is Classic Maya.
accom panied by an 819-day D iv iN A T iO N , and an
ancestral goddess is nam ed as th e ir collective
m other. G I is the first born, follow ed four
days la te r by G U I, and then 14 days la te r by
G II.
Since B erlin 's id en tificatio n o f the T ria d in
1963, G I's id e n tity has been scram bled w ith
th at o f CHAC - whose zoom orphic form , some­
tim es called the R ain Beast, shares character­
G!! G!t)
istics w ith G I - and the relationship b etw een
the tw o o f them has not been sorted out
The Palenque Triad, gods GI, GII, and G ill
satisfactorily. G I's M a y a nam e rem ains
unknow n; h iero g lyp h ically he is represented
by his ow n distinctive head, w hereas C hac's
nam e, som etim es ren dered C hac-xib-chac, is
w e ll know n. G I's B IR T H is the m ost confused,
for he is nam ed as both fa th e r (b o m in 3122
PALMA
Be) and son (b o m in 2360 B e) on th e T e m p le
o f the Cross, possibly because th e sam e nam e
was h eld in tw o generations.
W h ereas C Í has a m a tu re , anth ro p o ­
m orphic face, th e anth ro p o m o rp hic C hac is
young. G Is squared eye has a c u rl th a t
turns in w a rd from th e e x te rio r c o m er; his
"b a rb e ls " o r Bsh 6ns a re a t th e c o m er o f the
m outh, and his only tooth m ay be a p ro m in e n t
SHARK tooth. L ik e C hac, h e w ears la rg e spon-
dylus (spiny oyster) shells as e ar Hares. U n lik e
C hac, he fre q u e n tly w ears the sam e q u a d ri­
p a rtite headdress w orn by th e re a r head
o f the BiCEPHALic MONSTER: a stingray spine,
spondylus shell, and crossed bands inside a
cache vessel, im agery th a t m ay be conHated
w ith a heron w hen w orn by G I. H is im age,
usually w ith the q u a d rip a rtite headdress, is
one o f the most com m on on E a rly Classic
censers from the P etén, and he was a p rin cip al
re cip ien t o f M a y a oíTerings. M a y a kings a t
Copán and T ik a ! w e re rendered in the
costum e o f G l. H e ra rely appears as an actor
on M a y a polychrom e vessels.
G II is one m ore nam e for the M a y a d eity
also know n as God K in the Schellhas system
(see S C H E L LH A S C O D S ) and the M A N IK IN SCEPTER.
T his is a very an cien t being, and m ay be seen
on A b aj T a k a lik Stela 5, a m onum ent dating
to the early second century A D . C a lle d Bolon
D zacab a t the tim e o f the C onquest, G od K
was probably know n as K au il du rin g the
Classic era, and as T o h il am ong the Post­
classic Q uiché. H is nam es suggest bounty
and abundance (Bolon D zacab means nine
generations; K a u il, abundance; T o h il, very
roughly, storm ), and the T e m p le o f the F o li­
ated Cross, w h ere his b irth is recorded,
depicts abundant MAIZE rising up fro m a
personiHed kern el. C han B ahlum , w ho has
a ttire d h im s elf as the M A IZ E C O D , stands on a
personiHed m ountain in the T e m p le o f the
F o lia te d Cross, in whose eyes are glyphs th a t
read L%z naV, o r H ill o f M a ize , probably
analogous to the Sustenance M o u n ta in w h ere
Q U E T Z A L C O A T L sought the source o f m aize. G II
h im self does not appear on the T a b le t o f the
F o liated Cross, although he is held in the hands
o f C han B ahlum on the T a b le t o f the Sun.
In his various form s, as the M a n ik in Scepter
or an elongated staff, em erging fro m a C E RE ­
M O N IA L BAR, or as a h an d -h eld object, G II is
usually shown to be m uch sm aller than
hum ans. H is zoom orphic head has a long
snout, p robably SERPENT in o rig in , and one o f
his legs g en erally turns in to a snake. A lthough
136
his head has no anth ro p o m o rp hic fo rm , his
body, w ith th e exception o f th e serpent leg,
is hu m an . H is foreh ead is usually punctured
b y an axe o r sm oking tube o r M!RHOR. In one
p a rtic u la rly unusual re p resen tatio n on the
piers of th e T e m p le of Inscriptions at
P alen q u e, an a d u lt carries a large b u t in fa n tile
G II as i f it w e re a hum an c h ild ; w ith the
a d u lt p ro b ab ly in ten d e d to rep resen t C han
B ahlum h im s elf, such a stucco ren d erin g
shows the ru lin g fa m ily to he d iv in e in th e ir
ow n life tim e .
On M aya ceram ics, G II appears fre ­
q u e n tly , u su ally in passive ra th e r than active
situations, and ra re ly in n a rra tiv e . O n some
codex-style pots, his serp ent leg is a visiON
SERPENT. C IT s nam e glyph is a com m on com ­
p o n en t o f ru le rs ' nam es. H e can sym bolize
LIGHTNING, and his re p res en tatio n overlaps
w ith th a t o f C hac, lin k in g RAIN and lig h tn in g .
G U I is p ro b ab ly the SUN god, KiNiCH AHAU
(lo rd sun), b u t G U I is th e m ost obscure
m em b er o f the P alen qu e T ria d . P ro b ab ly to
be idendH ed w ith the G od o f N u m b e r 4,
G U I appears as the head th a t fram es the
e arth b an d on the base o f the T a b le t o f
the Sun. T h e c en tral im age o f th a t p an el,
h o w ever, is the Jaguar C od o f the U n d e r­
w o rld (^ee JAGUAR cops), the SUN a t NIGHT and
a p rin c ip al Classic M a y a im age o f w a rfa re .
T h e relad o n ship o f G U I to the Jaguar G od
o f the UNDERWORLD is not clea r, b u t C I I I
m ay encompass both d iu rn a l and no ctu rn al
aspects o f the sun.
B orn only fo u r days a p a rt, G I and G U I
have som edm es been idendH ed w ith the
H e ro T w in s o f the POPOL vuH. These pairings
occur p a rd c u la rly on codex-style vessels o f the
8th c., and suggest the a lte rn a d n g SACRIFICES
p erfo rm ed by th e H e ro T w in s . T h e re is every
reason, h o w ever, to disdnguish G I and G U I,
as w e ll as C hac and th e Jaguar B aby, fro m the
H e ro T w in s. P a ire d opposidons (Fee DUALITY),
TWINS, and brothers, h o w ever, a re a ll com m on
in M a y a and M ex ica n m ythology, and struc­
tu ra l p arallels w ith th e H e ro T w in s m ay w e ll
be expected.
p alm a T h e ta ll, p alm ate stone called the
paAna is one o f several standard elem ents o f
BALLCAME e qu ipm en t th a t survive in stone
fo rm , p ro b ab ly as trophies. PaAnaF w ere w orn
a t the fro n t o f the body and inserted in to the
YOKE. M a n y take th e form s o f hum an arm s
and hands, standing b allp layers, or fa n -ta ile d
birds. I f a ctu ally w o rn a t the w aist, some
 131 PARROTS AND MACAWS
examples w ould block the vision o f the p la ye r.
U n like other item s o f b allg am e equ ip m en t,

A
few pa/m as have been recovered aw ay from

- Q
the G u lf Coast, b u t they a re dep icted in the
sculpture a t C hichen Itz á and C o tzu m a l-
huapa.

paper T h e peoples o f ancien t M esoam erica

prepared p ap er from the pounded in n e r bark
o f trees, p a rtic u la rly species o f strangler figs,
such as FYcns co& ni/o/ia and jFYcus padi/o/za.
Paper was probably present in M esoam erica
by the E a rly F o rm a tiv e p erio d . M o n u m e n t
52 from the O lm ec site o f San Lorenzo
portrays a figure w earin g e ar pennants o f
folded paper. D u rin g the Protoclassic period,
people a ll over M esoam erica used stone b ark- The Palenque Triad. (Right) GI, detail from
beaters to m anufacture p ap er, and these Early Classic carved vessel. (Left) GII, or Cod K,
detail from Abaj Takalik Stela 5, Protoclassic
stone tools m ay have succeeded w ooden b ark-
Maya.
beaters, lik e those o f Southeast Asia and
O ceania. A lthough it has been suggested th a t
the M esoam erican m ode o f p ap er m anufac­
ture m ay have orig in ated in Southeast A sia,
this paper technology m ay w e ll have been an
ind epen d en t N e w W o rld innovation.
In ancient and contem porary M esoam er­
ica, supplicants splash and daub pap er strips
w ith B L O O D , copa/, RUBBER, or other liquid
substances and then burn them as sacrificial
offerings. I t is perhaps because the RAIN and
LIGHTNING gods often receive these offerings Often elaborately carved, stone palmas can also
th at they commonly w ea r paper ornaments. display a subtle elegance of form; from Classic
Paper was also w id ely used as an offering to Veracruz.
the dead. In the iconography o f both C e ntral
M exico and the M a y a region, paper often
appears in DEATH-related scenes. MiCTLANTE
c u H T L i , the skeletal death god o f C e ntral

M exico, is usually depicted w earing a pointed

cap and other apparel fashioned from paper.
In addition to its uses as offerings and
ritu a l clothing, paper served as an im p o rtan t
m a te ria l fo r screenfold books. T h e M a y a
seem to have especially favored paper screen-
fold codices (see coDEx) and a ll fou r o f the
know n Prehispanic M a y a codices w ere
fashioned from pounded bark paper.
A lthough the surviving Prehispanic m anu­
scripts o f the M ixtees and peoples o f C e n tra l
M exico are m ade o f DEER h id e ra th e r than
paper, codices o f paper w e re p robably also
com m on. N ahuatl-speakers called d iv in ato ry
books fan a/am af/, a w ord containing the term
^ fo r p ap er, am af/.

parrots and m acaws B oth parrots (A m azona

sp.) and the re la te d la rg e r m acaws (A ra ra
PATOLLI
sp.) w e re m uch esteem ed fo r th e ir b rillia n t
and m u ltih u e d p lu m ag e. Perhaps the m ost
im p o rta n t o f these b irds o f th e p a rro t fa m ily
w e re th e lo n g -ta ile d m acaw s, especially the
scarlet m acaw (A ra m acao) and th e m ilita ry
m acaw (A ra /n r/ifa rts ). In M eso am erican a rt,
m acaw s can o ften be id e n tifie d not only by
th e ir thick beak and long ta il, b u t also by a
beaded rin g en circlin g th e eye. B irds o f the
p a rro t fa m ily a re com m only d ep icted in the
Protoclassic TOMB a rt o f W e s t M ex ico , and it
is p ro b ab le th a t m any o f these birds are
tro pical m acaw s th a t w e re trad ed in to this
region. A t the g re a t E a rly Postclassic site o f
Casas G randes, C h ih u ah u a, m ilita ry m acaw s
(A ra m iZ/íar/s) w e re raised in specially p re ­
p ared pens.
In ancient M eso am erica, m acaws w e re
often id e n tifie d w ith FtRE. T h e Aztecs called
m acaw ta il feathers cueza/in, signifying
' fla m e ." In the M a y a D resden and M a d rid
codices, m acaws hold flam ing torches. F ra y
D iego dc L an d a records th a t the m ost massive
structure a t the site o f Iza m a l, Yucatán, was
dedicated to K inich K akm o, or "S u n -fad ed
F ire M a c a w ," a fiery e n tity th a t descended
a t noon to burn and consum e sacrificial o ffe r­
ings. T h e Q uiché M a y a called the m acaw
C aquix, m eaning " fie ry fe a th e r." In the POPOL
v u H , the H e ro T w in s tric k the gods o f DEATH
by placing m acaw feathers on the tips o f th e ir
u n lit cigars to suggest burning em bers. T h e
m onster b ird slain by the H e ro T w in s was
v u c u B C A Q u ix , or 7 M a c a w . H o w e v e r, although
this im p o rtan t episode is w id e ly depicted in
Classic M a y a a rt, the m onster b ird in this
instance bears no d ire c t resem blance to a
m acaw .
p a to lli P a to lli is a M esoam erican gam e o f
chance in w hich gam e piece m arkers m ove
through a set course depending upon the ro le
o f the dice, m uch lik e a m odern board gam e.
T h e 19th c. anthropologist E d w ard B. T y lo r
noted th a t p a to lli is m arked ly sim ilar to the
In d ia n parchesi, and suggested th a t p a to lli
o rig in ated in A sia. H o w ev er, although the
sim ilarities are indeed striking, th e re is no
evidence th a t p a to lli is h istorically re late d to
parchesi.
Q u ite com m only, the p a to lli gam e course
resem bles a cross enclosed w ith in a square.
T h e y are not discrete units, h o w ever, b u t are
in terw o ven in to a single contiguous course.
C arv ed onto Hat stones or p laster Aoors,
p a to lli designs o f this form are w idespread in
132
M eso am erica, and o ften a p p e a r a t Classic
and Postclassic sites o f both h ighland M exico
and th e M a y a region. A p a to lli course, along
w ith p ro b ab le stick, b ean , and bone dice, is
illu s tra te d on page 20 o f th e M ix te e Codex
Vindobonensis. In th e C e n tra l M ex ica n cod­
ices, this p a to lli p a tte rn also occurs in scenes
illu s tra tin g the TRECENA I C u a u h tli, dedicated
to th e goddess xocHiQUETZAL. T h e m odern
Tarascans o f'M ic h o a c á n s till use th e cross
and square p a to lli course; the T a rah u m ara
o f C h ih u ah u a and P ueblo peoples o f the
A m erica n Southw est also p lay a m o d em form
o f the gam e.
In a n c ie n t M eso am erica, p a to lli is best
docum ented fo r the A ztecs. H e re the course
w as o fte n p a in te d on MATS and com m only
took th e fo rm o f a cross w ith o u t the encircling
square. P layers g am bled on the p a to lli gam e
and, a t tim es, people even sold them selves
in to slavery as a fin a l d esp erate w a g er. T h e
p atro n o f this gam e w as M A C U iL X O C H iT L , the
m ost im p o rta n t o f the AHUiATETEO gods o f
excess. A ccording to D ie g o D u ra n , O m e-
to ch tli, a n o th er bein g o f vice and excess and
god o f the in to xicatin g P U L Q U E , also presided
over the p a to lli gam e. Thus, as in W e s te rn
society, d rin k in g and g am blin g w e re closely
re la te d am ong the a n cien t A ztecs.
P au ah tu n A n cie n t M eso am erican peoples
w id e ly b eliev ed th a t th e cosmic balance o f
the w o rld rested on th e shoulders o f fo u r
gods situ ated a t the fo u r q u arters. F o r the
an cien t M a y a , this SKYBEARER was g lyp h ically
nam ed as P auahtun. H e corresponds to the
w o rld D IR E C T IO N S , and appears in both single
and q u a d rip a rtite fo rm . Iro n ic a lly , although
he bears th e w e ig h ty office o f supporting the
s x Y , he is fre q u e n tly p o rtray ed as a d ru n ken
and lecherous old m an, h ard ly a paragon o f
security and resp o n sibility. A long w ith his
d istinctive n etted cloth headdress, he often
appears w ith in a conch or tortoise shell. A t
tim es, he w ears a spider's w e b ra th e r than
the conch or carapace. As w e ll as being a
skybearer, P auahtun seems to be a god o f
th u n d e r, M O U N T A IN S , and the in te rio r o f the
E A R T H , m uch lik e the m odern M a m god o f
hig h lan d G u atem ala. In th e Postclassic codi­
ces, he appears as C o d N in th e Schellhas
system o f d e ity classification. See a/so L iC H T -
N IN C A N D T H U N D E R ; S C H E L L H A S GO DS.
peccary Peccaries, sm elly, blunt-snouted
w ild pigs, g en erally roam th e tropical rain
133 PILGRIMAGE
forest o f M esoam erica in sm all herds; they
are om nivores w ith a keen sense o f sm ell and
hearing. T w o peccary species a re n a tiv e to
M esoam erica: the co llared (Tayassu angu-
/afus) and the w h ite -lip p e d (7ayassu pecar?).
Peccaries w ere o f in tere st m a in ly to the
M a y a insofar as religious iconography is con­
cerned. A num ber o f M a y a nobles included
the peccary in th e ir nam es. In the th ree
b rig h t STARS th a t m odern skyw atchers read as
the b e lt o f O rio n , the M a y a saw m ating
peccaries. In some exam ples, the M a y a god
rrzAMNA rides the peccary. Snout-dow n pec­
cary heads form the legs o f E a rly Classic
quadrupod bowls and m ay b ea r cahan curls,
or EARTH signs, perhaps in some referen ce to
the p illars o f the cosmos. M a y a artists m ay Parrots and macaws: macaw ballcourt marker,
have used sharp peccary tusks to carve stone Xochicalco, Morelos, Late Classic period. Macaw
m onum ents. head ballcourt markers are also known for Late
According to one 19th c. account, the Classic Copán, and it appears that the macaw
had a special association with the ballgame.
peccary was also the e arth god o f the H u ich o l.

pilgrim age C e rta in MOUNTAINS, shrines, and

cities becam e objects o f M esoam erican
religious pilgrim ages. M otecuhzom a I I h im ­
self rep u ted ly w alked to TEOTMUACAN regu­
la rly to w orship there. As the setting for
the creation o f the fifth sun (see FIVE s u N s ) ,
T eotihuacan held g reat p o w er for the Aztecs,
and they le ft testim ony o f th e ir visits there
in the form o f broken A ztec p o ttery. T h ey
trea te d T u la , H id alg o, as a site o f pilgrim age
too, b u t they also rem oved m any o f its visible
sculp tures and hauled them back to Tenoch-
titla n . As the trad itio n a l refuge o f QUETZAL
COATL, C h olu la was also an im p o rtan t p ilg rim ­
age destination.
Macuilxochitl presiding over a patolli game,
A fte r the Zapotees abandoned M o n te
Codex Magliabechiano, 16th c. Aztec.
A lb an , the M ixtees treated the m ountain w ith
reverence and as a place o f pilgrim age. T h ey
honored it by placing th e ir ow n dead in
ancient Zapotee TOMBS (w hich they first
em p tied and presum ably desecrated).
Pilgrim ages w ere c arried out to sanctify
ru lership, to seek advice, and to change
one's fo rtu n e. A M ix te e princess, 6 M o n key,
jo u rn eyed w ith the w e ll-kn o w n lord 10 W in d
to seek the advice o f 9 Grass, a priestess or
goddess w ho guarded an im p o rtan t oracle,
probably a t C halcatongo.
L ittle is know n o f Classic M a y a p ilg rim ­
ages, although there is evidence fo r royal
visits. A t the tim e o f the Spanish Conquest,
L an d a noted th a t 'th e y held C ozum el and the
w e ll o f C hichen Itz a in the sam e ven eratio n as Two Pauahtun skybearers, detail from a carved
w e have fo r pilgrim ages to Jerusalem and bench, Copán, Late Classic Maya.
POPOL VUH
Rom e, and so th ey used to go to visit these
places and to o ffe r presents th e re , especially
to C o zum el, as w e do to holy places; and if
they d id not go them selves, th e y alw ays sent
th e ir offerings, and those w ho w e n t th e re
w e re in the h a b it o f e n te rin g th e abandoned
tem ples also, as they passed by th em , to o ffe r
prayers th e re and to b u rn c o p a l/'
In the Postclassic p erio d , b eginning w ith
the fa ll o f Classic cities, the Sacred CENOTE
a t C hichen Itz á was the m ost im p o rta n t
p ilg rim ag e d estin atio n fo r the M a y a , and
so it rem ained u n til 1539. A ltho u g h L an d a
considered C ozum el the g re a te r p ilg rim ag e
d estin atio n , it was p ro b ab ly in fa c t th e lesser.
txcHEL's c u lt was celeb rated th e re , as it was
on the neighboring island, Is la M u je re s , and
m any pilgrim s to these islands w e re w om en
w ho sought fe rtility and guidance from the
goddess. A ccording to L an d a , p ilgrim s cam e
from g reat distances - som etim es from as fa r
aw ay as the Putun M a y a region, or w h a t is
the m odern M exican state o f Tabasco.
Religious pilgrim ages rem ain im p o rtan t in
M exico and G u atem ala today, based on p rac­
tices coincident both from the past in the N e w
W o rld and from E urope. T h e shrine o f the
V irg in o f G u adalupe a t the h ill o f Tepeyac,
the most im p o rtan t p ilgrim age destination for
M exican C atholics today, was once the site
o f w orship to T o n an tzin , a C e n tra l M exican
goddess re late d to Toci. C h alm a, a tow n once
know n fo r its ancient CAVE shrine, now houses
w ith in its C ath o lic church a black C h rist
claim ed to w o rk m iracles, and an adjacent
sacred a h u e h u e f/ tree receives m odern o ffe r­
ings from the pilgrim s w ho Rock to the tow n.
Popol V uh T h e most im p o rtan t surviving
sacred book o f the Q uiche M a y a is called the
P opo/ Vuh, or "council book." As the D ennis
T ed lock tran slatio n o f the text tells us, "th e re
is the o rig in al book and ancien t w ritin g , b u t
he w ho reads and ponders it hides his fa c e ,"
so e a rly in the era o f C h ris tia n ity , some tim e
in the m id -16 th c., a Q uiche noblem an sat
dow n w ith w h a t m ust have been a h ie ro ­
glyphic book and w ro te a transcription in
the Rom an alp h ab et. A t the beginning o f
the 18th c., a Q uiché-speaking Spanish fria r,
Francisco X im en ez, learn ed o f the m anuscript
in Chichicastenango. H e copied the Q uiche
text and w ro te a p a ra lle l Spanish text:
his is the e arliest surviving version o f the
P o p o / VuA, and it is preserved today in the
N e w b e rry L ib ra ry in C hicago. T h e book has
134
been tran slated m any tim es and In to m any
languages.
T h e P o p o / Vuh has essentially th re e parts:
6rst, th e creatio n o f the EARTH and its Brat
in h a b ita n ts ; second, th e story o f the H ero
T w in s and th e ir foreb ears; and th ird , the
leg en d ary h istory o f the founding o f the
Q u ich é dynasties, con tin u in g up to the years
fo llo w in g the Spanish C onquest. T h e m id d le
section o f th e P o p o / Vuh, tre a tin g not only o f
the H e ro T w in s b u t also o f th e ir fa th e r, uuN
HUNAHPU, is the m ost an c ie n t, app earin g in a rt
from L a te F o rm a tiv e tim es o n w ard . From
th a t p o in t on, M a y a kings seem to have
em u lated th e H e ro T w in s and th e ir exploits.
T h e tales a re not re la te d in a lin e a r fashion
and presum e a fa m ilia rity w ith the characters
on th e p a rt o f the audience.
U n lik e the c reatio n a t th e beg inn ing o f the
B ib le , the M a y a c reatio n in the P o p o / Vuh
takes p lace in g re a t q u ie t. C u g u m a tz, the
Q uiché tran slatio n of Q UETZALCO ATL, and
H u ru ca n , p ro b ab ly to be id e n tifie d w ith Town./
C od K (see S C H E L L H A S coos), first shape the
earth and its fea tu re s, and then raise the SKY
overhead. T h e SUN does no t rise u n til m uch
la te r. T h e gods then p o p ulated the e a rth w ith
a ll its anim als, b u t w h en th e y fou n d th a t the
anim als w e re u n ab le to speak and praise th e ir
m akers, they condem ned them fo re v e r to
being the food o f h ig h er beings.
In a second a tte m p t to crea te a being th a t
w ould praise its m akers, th e gods shaped a
hum an o f m ud, b u t it dissolved in fro n t o f
them . F o r a th ird a tte m p t, H u ru c a n and
C u gu m atz called on ancestral d ivin ers, X p i-
acoc and Xm ucane, to g en e rate m an kin d .
This tim e hum ans w e re carved o f w ood, and
although they q u ickly p o p ulated the e a rth ,
they forgot th e ir m akers and w e re destroyed
by the gods, w ho sent various destructions
fro m the sky and w ho tu rn e d the pots, the
griddles, th e g rin d in g stones, and even the
DOGS, against the people o f w ood.
A fte r this destruction, the P o p o / Vuh begins
to re la te stories o f the H e ro T w in s , H u nah p u
and X b alanq u e. D em igods, th e H e ro T w in s
d e fe a t the false sun and vanquish the gods
o f the X ib a lb a , o r UNDERWORLD, setting the
stage fo r the gen eratio n o f tru e hum ans la te r
in th e P opo/ Vuh.
H u n ah p u and X b alan q u e took on vucuB
CAQUD( (7 M a c a w ), w ho had set h im s e lf up as
a false sun w ith the support o f his sons
Z ip acn a and C abracan. G re a t blow gunners,
the T w in s took th e ir weapons and struck the
135 POPOL VUH
bejew eled tee th o f V ucub C aq u ix, and then
tricked him into accepting ground corn as the
replacem ent. U n ab le to e a t and d ep rived o f
the jew els th a t gave him his false radiance,
Vucub C aquix was d efe ated , and his sons
w ere defeated th e re a fte r.
T h e story then Bashes back to the g en er­
ation o f H u n H u nah p u and his b ro th e r Vucub
H u nah p u , such s k illfu l b allp layers (see
BALLGAME) th a t th e ir constant p lay disturbed
the lords o f X ib a lb a , w ho com m anded th a t
they com e to X ib a lb a for a contest. M essenger
OWLS from X ib a lb a guided the brothers into
the U n d e rw o rld , w h e re they fa ile d one test
a fte r another. T h e day a fte r they a rriv e d ,
they w ere sacrihced by the lords o f X ib a lb a
and b u rie d in the b allco u rt, w ith the exception
o f the head o f H u n H u n a h p u , w hich was
stuck in a calabash tree , as if it w e re a Head of Hun Hunahpu, father of the Popol Vuh
skullrack, or TZOMPANTLi. Hero Twins, placed in a fruit-laden tree, detail
W h en X q u ic, a young X ib a lb a goddess, from a Late Classic Maya vase. Although the
Popol Vuh states that the head of Hun Hunahpu
le arn e d o f the strange fru it o f this tre e , she
was placed in a gourd tree, this image clearly
visited it, and H u n H unahpu's head spat in to represents a cacao tree. A cacao pod with human
h er hand, im p reg n atin g h er w ith w h a t w ould features can be seen in an upper branch, which
be H u nah p u and X balanque. W h en h er con­ probably refers to the transformation of Hun
d itio n becam e ap p aren t, she was d riven out of Hunahpu's head into the fruit.
X ib alb a and w e n t to liv e w ith H u n H unahpu's
m other, w ho tested h er before allo w in g h er
to stay and d e liv e r the T w in s. H u n H unahpu
had a lread y fath ered another p a ir o f tw ins,
H u n B atz and H u n C huen, g re at artists and
m usicians, w ho resented, abused, and took
advantage o f th e ir baby brothers. B u t w hen
they g rew old enough, the H e ro T w in s out­
sm arted th e ir brothers and lu red them into
a tre e , w h ere, unable to get dow n, they
becam e MONKEYS.
T h e ir grandm other h id th e ir fath er's
ballgam e equ ipm en t from the H ero T w in s,
bu t they tricked her and becam e even m ore
p ro ficien t ballplayers than th e ir fa th e r and
uncle. Once again, the lords o f X ib alb a sum­
m oned the ballplayers to the U n d e rw o rld ,
b u t the H e ro T w in s w ere not defeated by
the tests and traps set fo r them . In stead , the
gods fe ll in to the T w in s ' traps. T h e y used a
m osquito to b ite each god in sequence, and
so the gods revealed th e ir nam es, p a rt o f
th e ir d efe at. Each day, the H e ro T w in s played
the X ib a lb a lords on the b allco u rt; each n ight, A monkey scribe dancing with a mirror, detail
they w ere sent to a d iffe re n t house to be from a Late Classic Maya vase. The monkey
tested. W h en told to keep th e ir cigars lit for scribes appearing in Classic Maya iconography
are now known to be early forms of Hun Batz
a n ight, they com plied by using fireflies on
and Hun Chuen of the Popol Vuh. Although
the ends; w hen told to p ro vid e cut FLOWERS, widely recognized to be gods of the scribal arts,
the T w in s sum m oned c u tter ants to cut the Hun Batz and Hun Chuen were also identified
Rowers o f the X ib a lb a . W h en sent to the C old with music and dance.
PRIESTS
H ouse, the T w in s d rove th e cold a w a y ; w h en
sent to the Jaguar H ouse, th e T w in s o ffered
the fACUARs th e Hesh o f a il o th e r anim als. In
th e F ire H ouse, FmE d id not consum e th e
T w in s . In th e B a t H ouse, h o w e ve r, although
the T w in s slept inside th e ir blow guns, w h en
H u n a b p u stuck his head o u t e a rly in the
m o rning, a k ille r BAT sliced o ff his head.
X b a la n q u e called the anim als to h e lp h im ,
and they fashioned a n ew head fo r H u n a h p u
from a p u m p kin, b u t w h en th ey got to th e
b allco u rt, the lords o f X ib a lb a in tro d uced the
head o f H u n a h p u as the b a ll. X b a la n q u e
struck the head o u t o f th e court, and a RABBIT
c u rled up and bounced aw ay as if it w e re th e
b a ll, lead in g the X ib alb an s on a w ild chase
and g ivin g X b alan q u e tim e to restore H u n a h -
pu's head. B u t the T w in s then le t them selves
be d e fe a te d , cooked in an oven, and th e ir
bones ground and tossed in to the riv e r.
F iv e days la te r the T w in s reap p eared from
the riv e r, first as catfish, then disguised as
w an d erin g m agicians and p erform ers. T h e
lords o f X ib a lb a sum m oned them to th e ir
court, w h e re the T w in s p erfo rm ed g re at
feats: they danced, they sacrificed a dog and
brought him back to life , they sacrificed a
hum an and brought him back to life , and
X b alanq u e sacrificed H u nah p u and brought
him back to life . T h e lords o f X ib a lb a g rew
ecstatic a t the sight and begged to be sacri­
ficed them selves. T h e T w in s obliged, o f
course, b u t did not re vive the D E A T H gods.
T h ey dug up the bodies o f H u n H unahpu and
Vucub H unahpu and revived them before w a lk ­
ing into the sky to reign as the sun and M O O N .
T h e fin a l and longest section o f the PopoV
Vuh begins w ith the A N C E S TR A L C O U P L E
attem p tin g once again to m ake a c reatu re
th a t w ould praise the gods. This tim e , the
fo u r founders o f the Q uiche lineages w e re
form ed o f M A IZ E . T h e y praised th e ir m akers
and Hourished. In th e ir n ear p erfectio n , these
m en o f m aize alarm ed th e gods, w ho cu rta ile d
th e ir vision to only w h a t was nearby. A ll this
took place b efo re the tru e sun rose.
T h e fou r founders jo u rn eyed to T u la n
Z u yu a, the M O U N T A IN o f the seven CAVES, and
th e re th ey received th e gods, w hom they then
c arried hom e in B U N D LE S on th e ir backs. B alam
Q u itze received T O H iL , w ho gave hum ans fire ,
b u t only a fte r HUMAN SACRIFICE to h im had
begun. A t last the tru e sun rose in the east.
T h e P o p o / Vuh closes by listing the lineage
heads in each g eneration, 14 fro m B alam
Q u itze to his descendants in the m iddle o f the
116
16th c. áee aA?o CREATION ACCOUNT*.
priests T h e p rie st h eld one o f th e most
im p o rta n t p u b lic offices in an cien t M eso am er-
ican society. In te rm e d ia rie s b etw e en hum ans
and th e su p e rn atu ral, priests w e re fu lltim e
specialists w ho possessed a vast am ount o f
esoteric know ledge concerning such subjects
as calendhcs, W R IT IN G , ritu als and m ythology.
T y p ic a lly , priests w e re m ales culled from the
e lite ranks o f society. T h e y endured a life o f
p en iten ce and fasting , and ra re ly cohabited
w ith w o m en . A ccording to B urgoa, the Z ap o ­
tees castrated the e lite ch ild ren to becom e
neophyte priests know n as púrana. U n lik e
SHAM ANS, w ho fre q u e n tly engaged in trances
and s p irit possession, priests u sually served
in the m ore detached position o f a m e d iato r
or spokesperson b etw e en hum ans and the
G O DS. Thus one o f th e ir m ore im p o rta n t roles
was th a t o f p resentin g sacrificial offerings to
the gods. H o w e v e r, the d istinctio n b etw een
p riest and sham an w as fa r fro m fast: the
Z apotee high p rie s t o f M itla fo r exam ple,
the U ija T ao , w o u ld com m unicate w ith the
sup ern atu ral through ecstatic tran ce.
A ltho u g h priests w e re u n d o u b ted ly present
in F o rm a tiv e and C lassic M eso am erica, it is
d iffic u lt to id e n tify th e ir offices in th e ancien t
w ritin g and a rt, even in the n a tu ra lis tic a rt
and d e ta ile d w ritin g o f the M a y a . As it
c u rre n tly stands, th e re is no know n glyph or
read in g fo r the office o f p rie s t in an cien t
M a y a script. N onetheless, it is q u ite possible
th a t priests, religious experts fu lly versed in
cou rtly esoteric know ledge, crea te d a g re a t
d eal o f the fin e e lite a rt.
Priests are w e ll docum ented fo r th e L a te
Postclassic perio d in d e ta ile d e a rly C o lo n ial
accounts. A m ong th e A ztecs and o th er
peoples o f C e n tra l M exico , as w e ll as am ong
the M ixtees o f O axaca and the Tarascans o f
M ichoacán, priests com m only w o re gourds
fille d w ith TO B A C C O upon th e ir backs. T o d ay,
th e tobacco gourd is s till an im p o rta n t acces­
sory o f the H u ich o l m a ra a A a m e sham an
p riest. A long w ith the tobacco gourd, A ztec
priests usually w o re a w h ite JHcoJVi ja c k e t and
a kno tted cotton INCENSE bag. In a d d itio n , the
A ztec p rie st is o fte n rep resen ted w ith B LO O D
in the a rea o f his tem ples, in d icatin g his role
as p e n ite n tia l b lo o d le tter. T h e ethnohistorical
accounts reveal th a t am ong the A ztecs, Zapo­
tees, Tarascans, and Yucatec M a y a , com plex
hierarchies o f p riestly offices specified p articu ­
la r roles and responsibilities.
137 PRINCIPAL BIRD DEIT1
In Postclassic M esoam erica, p artic u la r gods
w ere id en tified w ith the office o f priest. F o r
the Aztecs, QUETZALCOATL w as the param ount
god of priests, and the ca/m ecac school o f noble
youths and neophyte priests was dedicated to
him . In addition, the tw o highest priests o f
the Aztecs bore the title o f Q uetzalcoatl.
Among the M ixtees, the d e ity know n as 2 Dog
appears as an aged priest w earin g a prom inent
tobacco gourd upon his back. F o r the Post­
classic Yuca tec M a y a , rrzAMNA freq u e n tly
serves as a priest, com plete w ith priestly
accoutrem ents as m entioned by the early
C olonial chroniclers. H o w e v e r, the Yucatec
priests w ere also id e n tifie d w ith the SUN, and
bore the title o f A h K in , or H e o f the Sun.
Possibly, this is a referen ce to the aspect
o f Itza m n a know n as KiNiCH AHAU Itza m n a ,
m eaning "sun-faced lord Itz a m n a ."

p rim o rd ial couple see ANCESTRAL COUPLE

An Aztec priest with his tobacco gourd, copa/

P rin cip al B ird D e ity A t the beginning o f
incense pouch, and long-handled censer, Codex
M a y a c iv iliza tio n , one o f the first deities to Mendoza, 16th c.
take consistent, public form is the P rin cip al
B ird D e ity , a g reat avian creatu re th a t m ay
be based on the king v u ltu re . In a ll likelih o o d ,
this god is to be id en tih ed w ith vucuB C A Q U ix
o f the POPOLvuH, a b ird god w ho sets h im self
up as a false suN b efore the DAWN o f tim e. In
the P opo/ Vuh, the H ero T w in s shoot dow n
Vucub C aquix w ith blow guns, and his dem ise
sets the stage for the rising o f the tru e sun at
the daw n o f the era o f the c u rren t race
o f h u m an ity. T h e M a y a did not v ie w the
P rin cip al B ird as an un m itig ated evil pow er,
h ow ever, and p a rtic u la rly in early represen­
tations, the P rin cip al B ird is presented in a
positive lig h t. In fact, there m ay w e ll have
The Principal Bird Deity was one of the major
been a sh ift in the perception o f this god over gods of the Protoclassic Maya; in many scenes,
tim e. such as the one here, the bird is represented
V e ry early versions o f the P rin cip al B ird holding a snake in its mouth, possibly a reference
D e ity form ed huge stucco sculptures on the to storms and lightning; El Mirador Stela 2,
Guatemala, Protoclassic Maya.
exteriors o f pyram ids a t C erros and N akb e,
perhaps by as early as 300 B e . E a rly portrayals
em phasize a long, d o w n w ard -cu rving beak
and wings bordered by serpent faces.
A lthough the P rin cip al B ird is considered a
M a y a d eity , the p o w e rfu l lord on L a M o ja rra
Stela 1, from outside the M a y a area, w ears
a large head o f the P rin cip al B ird as his
headdress and a sm aller version as his pec­
to ral. E a rly M a y a kings a t K am in alju y u also
El Ave de Pico Ancho, the Zapotee form of the
adopted the P rin cip al B ird as an im p o rtan t Maya Principal Bird Deity, is common in Proto­
sym bol o f p ow er. L a te r lords ra re ly include classic and Classic period Zapotee iconography;
the P rin cip al B ird D e ity in th e ir reg alia. detail from a Classic Zapotee urn, Oaxaca.
 D u rin g th e Classic period, th e Principa!
Bird often bears aspects o f rrzAMNA. A lthough
the relationship b etw ee n th e tw o gods is not
d e a r , the Principa! B ird m ay be the UAY, or
spirit com panion, o f Itza m n a .
O n p a in te d p o tte ry , the P rin c ip a l B ird
D e ity appears w ith th e H e ro T w in s in scenes
c!ose!y p a ra lle lin g th e m u c h -la te r tex t o f the
P o p o / Huh. T h e m onster b ird o f the P o p o /
Huh also appears on tw o stelae fro m Iza p a .
T h e P rin cip al B ird D e ity like w is e appears
in ancien t Zap o tee a rt, w h e re it has been
lab eled E / A v e d e P ico A ncho, or ' the b ird
w ith the broad b e a k ." T h e Z ap o tee m o tif
know n as the Planees d e CYe/o, or "jaws o f
h e a ve n ," is form ed by tw o proR le faces o f
this b ird jo in e d a t the eye. A ltho u g h the
Zapotee e n tity is v irtu a lly id e n tic a l in form
to the M a y a one it is not know n w h e th e r
the P rin cip al B ird D e ity p layed the sam e
m ythological role am ong the Zapotees. See
a h o V U C U B C A Q U !X .
pulque A n alcoholic beverage d erive d from
the ferm en ted sap o f the MAGUEY (A g a ve sp.),
pulque played an im p o rtan t role in p ublic
cerem onies and festivities. T h e peoples o f
C en tra! M exico fre q u e n tly fortiR ed the re la ­
tive ly m ild pulque w ith certain roots to
increase its potency.
Pulque was a v itam in -rich m ilky liqu id, and
was identiRed w ith m other s m ilk in C en tral
M exico. O n the stone A ztec B ilim ek Pulque
Vessel, pulque is represented cascading into a
pulque pot from the breasts o f a fearsom e
EARTH goddess. T h e Aztecs clearly had an
am bivalent a ttitu d e concerning pulque, for
although a fe rtile and intoxicating Ruid, it
also caused drunkenness and social discord.
According to A ztec legend, Q U E T Z A L C O A T L slept
w ith his sister w h ile in a drunken stupor.
Thus sham ed, he le ft his cap ital o f T O L L A N .
P ulque p layed a m ajor cerem onial ro le
am ong the ancien t M ixtees and Zapotees o f
O axaca. O n page 25 o f the M ix te e Codex
Vindobonensis, a series o f 12 deities d rin k
p ulque from sm all cups. Am ong the neighbor­
ing Zapotees, pulque appears in e lite MARRIAGE
scenes d epicted on m onum ents d atin g from
roughly A D 800 to 1000. T h e Aztecs considered
the H uastec M a y a o f northern Veracruz to be
g reat drinkers o f pulque. Thus according to
the F lo ren tin e Codex, the king o f the Huastecs
becam e so d ru n k w ith pulque th a t he cast ofF
his loincloth. Because o f this, the Huastecs
m oved in disgrace to the present region o f
Panuco. T h e ancien t M a y a o f southeastern
M eso am erica p ro b ab ly also had pulque In a
n u m b er o f C o lo n ial M a y a n d iction aries, form s
o f the term c / or cA/ a re glossed as m aguey
and p u lq u e. In C lassic M a y a vessel scenes of
d rin k in g , pots a re fre q u e n tly lab eled w ith a
glyph d en o tin g the p h o netic valu e c / or c/u.
M o re o v e r, recen t excavations have revealed
th a t m aguey w as c u ltiv a te d in Classic tim es
a t the site o f C e ré n , E l S alvador. 5 ee a/so
M A Y A H U E L ; PU LQ U E CODS.
p u lq u e gods T h e Rrst know n personiRcation
o f PULQUE in M eso am erica appears a t the
Classic site o f TEOTiHUACAN. H e re a n u m b er o f
scenes d ep ict a m asked in d iv id u a l w ith w h ite
gouts o f m ilk y p u lq u e. In one instance, the
head o f this Rgure is surrounded by the long
p o in ted leaves, o r pencas, o f the MAGUEY p la n t.
A m ong th e Postclassic M ixtees, the p ulque
deities ap p e ar to have been distinguished from
the goddess o f m aguey: thus w h ile m aguey is
represented by the goddess 11 S erpent, pulque
is personiRed by goddesses 2 F lo w e r and 3
A llig a to r. In C e n tra ! M e x ica n iconography,
the p u lq u e gods a re s im ila ry distinguished
from m aguey: MAYAHUEL is the fe m a le d iv in ity
o f m aguey w h ile the p u lq u e gods a re g en er­
a lly m ale. A n o te w o rth y exception is the
aged EARTH goddess upon the B ilim e k P ulque
Vessel, w ho has p u lq u e s q u irtin g fro m her
p en d en t breasts.
T h e concept o f pu lq u e gods w as v ery h ig h ly
developed am ong the A ztecs. C o lle c tiv e ly
know n as the C en tzo n T o to c h tin , o r "4 0 0
R ab b its," these beings took a g re at m any
form s and perm u tation s. A n u m b er o f pu lq u e
gods w e re b u ried a t the base o f an e arly phase
o f the T em plo M a y o r, on the HurrziLOPOCHTLi
side o f the TEMPLE, la id out lik e victim s, possibly
id en tifyin g the C entzon T o to ch tin as the
C entzon H u itzn a h u a, the 400 youths slain by
H u itzilo p o c h tli.
M a n y o f these p u lq u e gods a re illu s tra te d
in the C o lo n ial A ztec Codex M ag liab ec h ia n o .
C e rta in p u lq u e gods reig n ed o ver p a rtic u la r
regions: T ep o ztec atl, fo r exam ple, was the
god o f T e p o ztla n , and the rem ains o f his
tem p le s till survive above th e contem porary
tow n. T h e pulque gods w e re represented
collectively by the d e ity O m e T o c h tli, or
2 R ab b it. A n o th er im p o rta n t pu lq u e god,
P a tec atl, presided over the day M a lin a lli and
the TRECENA 1 O zo m atli.
p u rificatio n M u c h lik e the English adage o f
139 PYRAMID

"cleanliness is next to godliness," p u rificatio n

was a m ajor concern in M esoam erican ritu a l.
The success o f m any cerem onies depended
on physical and m oral cleanliness. In m any
cases, th e re w e re restrictions on sexual
behavior during im p o rtan t cerem onies, p a r­
ticu larly for PRIESTS, w ho usually abstained
from contact w ith w om en. B u t the concern
for p u rity was by no means lim ite d to ritu a l
events; p u rificatio n was also necessary to
achieve a h ealth y and successful life . M is ­
deeds, fre q u e n tly o f a sexual n atu re , pos­
sessed an alm ost p alp ab le form th a t could
accrue like filth around the in d iv id u a l, the
household, and even the e n tire com m unity.
F o r this reason, calen d rically tim e d events
ensured the puriR cation and harm ony of
com m unities. Am ong the L a te Postclassic
Yucatec M a y a , the new year was m arked
by the casting out o f sweepings and old
Pulque pouring from the breasts of an earth
household utensils. T h e Aztecs o f T e n o c h tit-
goddess, detail of Bilimek Pulque Vessel, Late
lan rep eated this p u rificatio n event on a Postclassic Aztec.
massive scale: a ll household debris was
rem oved d uring the N e w F ire cerem onies
perform ed a t the com pletion o f a 5 2-year
cycle (see CALENDAR; FIRE).
In M esoam erica, m oral im p u rity was con­
sidered much lik e contam inating d irt or dust.
F o r this reason, brooms and sw eeping w ere
symbols o f cerem onial p u rificatio n . In the
C e n tra l M exican codices, grass brooms are
often placed by CROSSROADS, popular places
fo r depositing dangerous and contam inating
im p u rities. WATER also sym bolized p u rifi­
cation, and w ashing or aspersing (sprinkling
w ith w a te r) w ere com mon ritu a l form s o f
cleansing. swEATBATHS w e re w id e ly used for
s p iritu al as w e ll as physical pu rificatio n . F ire ,
an im p o rtan t com ponent o f the sw eatbath,
could also p u rify : the burning o f sw eet­
sm elling INCENSE was often used to cleanse
and p u rify. In d ivid u als fre q u e n tly perform ed
personal acts o f p u rificatio n , such as sexual
abstention, fasting, p e n ite n tia l BLOODLETTING,
and CONFESSION. See a/yo TLAZOLTEOTL.

pyram id M esoam erican pyram ids are stable

form s th a t resist destruction in a land prone
to earthquakes. G e n era lly rising as a fo u r­
sided form w ith stairs only on one side, a Pulque god, Codex Magliabechiano, 16th c.
p yram id usually supports a TEMPLE on its Aztec.
broad, fla t sum m it. A lthough o ften now con­
sidered m ysterious, pyram ids had q u ite
specific religious functions.
M a n y pyram ids w e re dedicated to p artic u ­
la r cu lt d eities. Sahagun lists over 70 deities
QUADRiPARTiTE MONSTER
th a t had th e ir ow n raised tem ples in th e
sacred p recin ct a t T e n o c h titla n , and am ong
these w e re QUETZALCOATL, TEZCATLIPOCA, XIPE
TOTEc, HumnLOPOCHTLi, and TLALOC. S urviving
illu stratio n s o f A zte c p yram ids show th a t
the iconography o f th e roofcom bs re ve ale d
p a rtic u la r associations: T la lo c's p y ram id , fo r
exam ple, had a b lu e roofcom b w ith aq u atic
m otifs. D u a l pyram ids, such as the T em p lo
M a y o r o f T e n o c h ü tla n , had a single g re at
p la tfo rm , tw o staircases, and in d iv id u a l
shrines a t the top, and w e re g en e rally d e d i­
cated to tw o d istinct cults.
For e a rlie r M eso am erican civilizatio n s
such specific associations a re not know n w ith
assurance. A tT E O T iH U A C A N , the p rin c ip a l p y ra ­
m ids w e re said by the Aztecs to be d ed icated
to the SUN and MOON, and this m ay w e ll be
tru e. Because o f its association w ith the long
d o rm ant, gurgling volcano w hich fram es it,
the Pyram id o f the M oon a t T eo tih u acan was
q u ite possibly dedicated to a WATER or fe rtility
cult. A t M o n te A lb án , little elu cid atin g icono­
graphy survives to id e n tify any pyram id o th er
than the D anzantes, w hich, w ith its icono­
graphy o f sacrificial victim s and h u m iliatio n ,
m ay w e ll have been dedicated to a cult o f
w ar.
Some M a y a pyram ids w e re d edicated to
specific d eity cults, for exam ple, the G roup
o f the Cross a t Palenque, w ith its d edicatory
links b etw een the BIRTH o f the PALENQUETRIAD
gods and the ru lersh ip o f C han B ahlum . M o re
c h aracteristically, though, M a y a pyram ids
w e re dedicated to ancestor w orship. W hen
kings and o th er h igh-ranking nobles d ied ,
pyram ids w e re raised over th e ir TOMBS. T e m ­
p le I a t T ik a l housed R u ler A and the T em p le
o f Inscriptions a t P alenque h eld the rem ains
o f Pacal: fro m the tim e these pyram ids w ere
com pleted, they em bodied g re at kings and
acted as the cen ter o f th e ir w orship.
A lthough m ost M a y a pyram ids h eld the
tom bs o f ancestors, some w e re dedicated to
o th er purposes. R ad ial pyram ids, such as E -
V H -su b a t U axactun or the C astillo (T e m p le
o f K ukulcan) a t C hichen Itz á , w ere places o f
celeb ratio n for the com pletion o f periods o f
tim e. Pyram ids w ith surrounding colonnades
a t C hichen Itz á , such as the T e m p le o f
the W a rrio rs, m ay have been dedicated to
ru lersh ip and w a rfa re .
Pyram ids o ften re p lic ate MOUNTAINS, p a r­
tic u la rly sacred m ountains. T h e dual pyram id
d edicated to H u itzilo p o c h tli and T lalo c a t
T en o c h titla n sym bolically recreates COATEPEC,
!4H
th e h ill o f H u itzilo p o c h tli's b irth , w h ile at the
sam e tim e the offerings deposited in the
tw o tem ples suggest th a t the tem ples w ere
conceived o f as one o f the m ountains d ed i­
cated to T la lo c . T h e deposit o f crem ated
ashes o f n oble predecessors dem onstrates
th a t such p yram ids w e re also centers of
ancestor w orship fo r p o w e rfu l lineages.
The e a rlie s t p yram id in M exico , the
e arth en m ound a t L a V e n ta from c. 800 Be,
is ro ughly in th e form a flu te d cupcake and
m ay w e ll be an efHgy o f a volcano, although
its unusual contours m ay sim ply be the result
o f n a tu ra l erosion o f a four-sided structure.
N a tu ra l rises a re used to e le v a te pyram ids,
such as th e T e m p le of Inscriptions at
P alen q u e, and in the ro llin g p la in o f the
P eten , th e g re a t pyram ids o f T ik a l ap p ear
lik e m an -m ad e m ountains, cresting above the
canopy o f th e tro p ical ra in forest.
Q u a d rip a rtite m onster see BiCEPHALic MON­
STER; PALENQUE TRIAD
q u etzal K n ow n as th e quetza/Zi in N a h u a tl
and in M a y a , the resp len d en t trogon,
.Rharom acArus m ocm no, was p rize d fo r its
extrao rd in a ry feath ers. T h e q u etzal lives in
cloud forest, th a t ra re and v u ln e ra b le ecologi­
cal niche o f tropical ra in forest b etw e en 3000
and 4000 fe e t (ab o u t 900 m and 1200 m ) in
a ltitu d e . S o litary creatures th a t a re ra re ly
glim psed o th er than a t DAWN or dusk, quetzals
feed on the w in g and o ften h o ver w h ile eatin g
fru its , bugs, tre e frogs, o r snails. A lthough
both m ale and fe m a le o f th e species a re
b rillia n tly colored, w ith b lu e -g re en feath ers
on w ings, ta il, and crest, and scarlet ones on
th e breast, it is th e iridescence and unusual
len g th o f the m ale ta il feath ers - o ften about
a yard in len g th - th a t m ade the b ird th e
m ost desired in a ll M esoam erica.
Because o f th e ir ro le in e lite and ritu a l
costum es, q u etzal feathers w e re an im p o rtan t
e lem en t in M esoam erican trib u te . T h e fam ­
ous headdress housed in V ien n a th a t is often
called M otecuhzom a's headdress (b u t w hich
he p ro b ab ly n ever w o re ) includes 500 q u etzal
feath ers. H u n ters w e re fo rb id d e n to k ill the
birds; ra th e r, they stunned th em w ith a
blow gun, rem oved the feath ers, and set them
fre e . T h e m ales a re best spotted d uring the
141 QUETZALCOATL
nesting season: the birds nest in holes in tree
trunks and w hen th e m ale sits on th e eggs,
his !ong ta il feathers tra il out o f the nest.
A lthough few M exican or M a y a ancien t
cities w ere in q u etzal h a b ita t (th e M a y a city
of C h in k u ltik is an exception), the b ird and
its distinctive crest and feath ers w e re w e ll
know n throughout M esoam erica. B ern al D ia z
reported seeing quetzals in M otecu h zo m a II's
zoo. XuTr was included in the nam e o f a
num ber o f M a y a kings, and q u efza/, o f course,
form ed p a rt o f QUETZALCOATL. In N ah u a tl
poetry, the q u etzal fe a th e r was o ften m en­
tioned m etap h orically, and the idea o f its (Above) Disguised Aztec
tearin g or decay re fe rre d to the transience o f merchants obtaining
l i f e O n EARTH. quetzal plumes from
Zinacantan, Chiapas,
Florentine Codex, Book 9.
Q u etzalcoatl O n e o f the g re at gods o f ancient
M esoam erica, Q u etzalcoatl is a m iraculous
synthesis o f SERPENT and b ird . T h e Postclassic
N a h u a tl nam e Q u etzalcoatl derives from the
N a h u a tl term s fo r the em erald plum ed QUET
ZAL ( P h a r m n a c h r M F m oc/nno) and the SERPENT,
or coa ¿7. Thus the term could be glossed as
"q u e tza l s erp en t," although the serpent is
specifically a rattlesnake. T h e earliest know n
3 ^
representations o f this avian serpent appear
am ong the F o rm ative O lm ecs. M o n u m e n t 19
from L a V e n ta portrays a rattlesn ake w ith an
avian beak and fea th e r crest. N e x t to this
snake, tw o q u etzal birds Hank a SKY BAND.
A lthough the language o f the Olm ecs is s till
unknow n, in M ay an languages the words for
snake and SKY are id en tical. Thus it is possible (Above) Quetzalcoatl atop a
pyramid, Codex Telleriano-
th a t this sign is a reference to q u etzal sky or
Remensis, 16th c. Aztec.
q uetzal snake.
T h e earliest know n appearance o f the q u et­
zal serpent in C e n tra l M exico occurs a t the
T em p le o f Q uetzalcoatl atT E O T iH U A C A N , dating
to the 3rd c. A D . R epresentations o f plum ed
serpents a lte rn a tin g w ith the mosaic head­
dress o f the WAR SERPENT - a probable ancestor
o f the xiuH C O A T L Hre serpent - cover this
rem arkab le structure. In the m urals o f T e o ti-
huacan and the la te r site o f C acaxtla, Q u e tza l­
coatl is ren dered as a snake covered w ith
q uetzal plum es. A t both sites, this being
appears w ith both drops o f RAIN and standing
WATER, suggesting th at it was considered a
s p irit or d e ity o f w a te r.
M o d e rn Pueblo peoples o f the A m erican
Southw est id e n tify a plum ed serpent w ith
(Agbf) Quetzalcoatl with
w a te r. L ik e Q u etzalco atl, th e Z u n i K olow isi
bicephalic serpents, cut conch
and the H o p i P alulukong plum ed w a te r ser­ pectoral and hands in the form
pents can b rin g abundance and fe rtility . of quetzal heads, detail of a
A lthough the fe a th e red serpent appears a t Late Classic pa/ma, Veracruz.
RABBIT
such C lassic sites as T e o tih u ac an , X ochicalco,
and C acaxtla, fe w hum an form s o f this b eing
occur d u rin g the C lassic p erio d . O n e n o te w o r­
thy exam ple appears on a stone PALMA from
L a te C lassic V e ra cru z, w h e re Q u e tza lc o a tl is
show n w ith hum an hands c le v e rly ren d ered
as q u etzal heads. C o m b in ed w ith the
b icep h alic serpents covering the body, these
q u etzal heads p ro vid e an e x p lic it re fe ren c e
to Q u e tza lc o a tl. An especially im p o rta n t
d e ta il is the sectioned conch w h o rl w orn on
the chest o f the fig u re. T h is is id e n tic a l to the
cut conch "w in d je w e l," o r eA ecai/acacozcaf/
o f the Postclassic Q u e tza lc o a tl. D u rin g the
L a te Postclassic p erio d , Q u e tza lc o a tl usually
appears in hum an form , o fte n w ith a conical
cap, the w iN O je w e l, and o th e r shell JEW ELR Y.
A ra re M a y a form o f Q u etzalco atl m ay be
found on page 4a o f the D resden Codex.
In L ate Postclassic C en tra! M exico , Q u e t-
zalcoat! often takes the form o f the god o f
w in d , E h e ca tl-Q u e tzalc o atl. In this context,
Q u etzalcoatl appears as the life -g iv in g aspect
o f w ind . A ccording to the A ztec F lo re n tin e
Codex, Q u etzalcoatl was the roadsw eeper o f
the T la lo q u e rain gods, th a t is, the w ind that
brings the rain clouds. A long w ith the conical
h at and shell je w e lry , E h ecatl-Q u etzalco atl
typ ically w ears a red buccal mask resem bling
a duck beak. Patron o f the day E hecatl and
the TRECENA 1 O celotl, E h ecatl-Q uetzalcoatl was
the great culture hero, and plays an im por­
tan t role in C en tra! M exican C R E A T IO N A C C O U N TS .
Am ong the M ixtees o f Oaxaca, this figure
was know n by the calendrica! nam e 9 W in d .
In the ethnohistorical docum ents o f 16th c.
M exico , the ancient d eity know n as Q u e tza l­
coatl is confused w ith the historical figure
C e A catl T o p iltzin Q u etzalcoatl, the king o f
legendary T O L L A N , now know n to be the site
o f T u la . A ccording to A ztec b e lie f, C e A catl
T o p iltzin Q u etzalcoatl d ep arted TOLLAN fo r
th e red lands o f the east, an even t corrobor­
ate d by C o lo n ial docum ents from Yucatán
w hich m ention the com ing o f an in d iv id u al
nam ed K ukulcan, the Yucatec term fo r qu etzal
serpent. In these accounts, K ukulcan is said
to have come to C hichen Itz a , a site w ith
striking sim ilarities to T u la . A t C hichen Itz a ,
depictions o f a m asked in d iv id u al backed by
a green -plu m ed fea th e red serpent m ay re fe r
to the actual historical in d iv id u al. H o w e v e r,
the historical figure m ay have been apotheo­
sized a t D E A T H as his nam esake, thus fu rth e r
b lu rrin g the distinction b etw een the m an and
the god.
142
Q u e tza lc o a tl w as closely id e n tifie d w ith
the site o f C h o lu la w hich becam e the great
PILGRIMAGE c en ter fo r devotees o f Q u etzalco atl
d u rin g th e L a te Postclassic p erio d . F re ­
q u e n tly th e patron o f ru le rsh ip , Q u etzalco atl
w as also considered to be a god o f PRIESTS and
MERCHANTS in L a te Postclassic C e n tra l M exico.
Fee a /s o C R E A T IO N A C C O U N T S ; EHECATL; M IX T E C
C O D S ; P U L Q U E ; T E O T IH U A C A N C O D S .
ra b b it A lo n g w ith the DEER, the ra b b it (3y/¿v-
/agus spp.) w as one o f the favo red creatures
o f the h u n t. F o r this reason, the Aztecs often
id e n tifie d rab bits w ith the h u n te r-g a th e re r
Chichim ecs and th e ir p atro n h u n tin g god,
M ix c o A T L . D u rin g the A zte c VEINTENA o f Q u ech -
o lli, d ed icated to M ix c o a tl, th e re w as a c ere­
m onial h u n t d u rin g w h ich d ee r, rab b its, and
o th e r anim als w e re ro u ted and k ille d on
Z ac ate p e tl M O U N T A IN . H o w e v e r, in an cien t
M esoam erican re lig io n , the ra b b it is best
know n as a sym bol o f the M O O N. M a n y peoples
o f the N e w W o rld and A sia observe the
p a tte rn o f a ra b b it upon th e face o f the moon.
D epictions o f the lu n a r ra b b it m ay be seen
in P rehispanic C e n tra l M ex ico , the Classic
M a y a a rea , and th e ceram ic M im b re s a rt o f
the A m erican Southw est.
In Postclassic C e n tra ! M exico , th e ra b b it
was also closely id e n tifie d w ith the in to xic at­
ing d rin k P U L Q U E . T h is association is w e ll
docum ented in the d ay nam e T o c h tli, m ean ­
ing ra b b it in N a h u a tl. T h e p atro n o f T o c h tli
was M A Y A H U E L , the goddess o f M A G U E Y and
by extension its p rin c ip a l product, pulque.
M o re o v e r, the m any P U L Q U E CODS w e re know n
collectively as the cenízon fofccAtm , m eaning
400 rab bits, or by the calen d rical nam e O m e
T o c h tli, or 2 R ab b it.
In Classic M a y a a rt, th e ra b b it steals the
broad h a t and o th er re g alia o f G od L . T h e
significance o f this m ythological episode is
now unknow n.
ra in T o th e farm in g peoples o f ancient
M esoam erica, ra in was o f g re a t im portance.
A t C halcatzingo, M orelo s, e xp lic it portrayals
o f ra in occur as e a rly as the M id d le F o rm a tiv e
p eriod, w h e re an O lm ec-style rock carving
shows ra in fa llin g fro m clouds above young
grow ing MAIZE and a m is t-fille d zoom orphic
C A V E . F u rth e rm o re , the gods o f ra in and
143 REPTILE EYE

LIGHTNING are am ong the m ost continuously

w orshipped deities in an cien t M esoam erica,
and TLALOC o f C en tra! M exico , the Zapotee
coeijo, and the M a y a CHAC can ai! be easily
traced to the beginnings o f the Postclassic
period. In the M a y a region, offerings continue
to be m ade to C hac to this day.
Auguries for ra in w ere o f g re at im portance.
On page 28 o f the Codex B orgia, five T la lo q u e
rain gods w a te r m aize Reids w ith various
types o f rain . B eneficia! ra in is m arked w ith
Rowery JADE signs, b u t the fou r o th er form s
are depicted as destroyers o f corn, specifically
fiery rain (possibly dro u g ht), fungus ra in ,
w ind ra in , and flin t blade ra in , the last
probably a referen ce to cutting h ail. T h e la te r
pages o f the M a y a D resden codex are Riled
w ith alm anacs concerning the Chacs and rain . A rabbit holding the headdress and staff of Cod
L, detail of a Late Classic Maya vase.
In the C olonial Yucatec Books o f C h ilam
B alam , auguries describe speciRc types o f
ra in ; in the C M a m B a/am o f C hum aye/,
RABBIT sky rains, parched sky rains, w ood­
pecker sky rains, v u ltu re sky rains and DEER
rains, are a ll set in re latio n to K atun 3 A hau.

re p tile eye T h e re p tile eye sign is both an

iconographic elem en t and a day nam e. In
both cases, its m eaning is still unknow n. A t
TEOTiHUACAN, the probable place o f origin for
this sign, the re p tile eye appears p rim a rily as
an iconographic device. C om m only occurring
w ith in circu lar m edallions a t Teotihuacan, it
tends to have a large curl placed against an
eye -like elem en t a t the lo w e r portion o f the
device. Because o f this sem icircular lo w er
elem en t, the sign has been w idely in terp re ted
as a re p tile 's eye. H o w ev er, ra th e r than
re fe rrin g p rim a rily to an eye, the device m ay
represent b rillia n c e or FIRE. In T eotihuacan A rabbit in the moon, Florentine Codex, 16th c.
iconography, eyes are freq u e n tly used to Aztec.
depict shining or reRective surfaces, such as
MIRRORS or WATER. In add itio n , the Teotihuacan
sign is often accom panied by secondary
devices denoting Rre.
D u rin g the L a te Classic period in highland
M exico , the re p tile eye sign is w id e ly used
as one o f the 20 day nam es o f the 260-day
CALENDAR. As a day nam e, it appears at
such sites as Teotenango, Xochicalco, and
C acaxtla. A t Xochicalco and P ied ra L ab ra d a,
V eracru z, the day glyph is depicted w ith
Ram ing Rre elem ents. A lthough present at
the E a rly Postclassic site o f T u la , the re p tile
eye day glyph was no longer used du rin g the
L a te Postclassic period. F o r this reason, the The reptile eye glyph, detail from a Teotihuacan
day sign cannot be re a d ily correlated w ith vessel, Early Classic period.
RUBBER
the know n day glyphs o f the contact perio d
ru b b e r O b ta in e d fro m th e latex sap o f th e
ru b b e r tre e (GastáMa e /as#ca), ru b b er had a
v a rie ty o f uses in an cien t M eso am erica. T o
the A ztecs, ru b b e r was know n as c/%i, from
w hich the Spanish w ord fo r ru b b e r, h u /e ,
derives. T h e w o rd o/A c le a rly relates to the
N a h u a tl term o/An, or m o tio n , p ro b ab ly
because o f the re m a rk a b le bouncing and
elastic q u alities o f ru b b e r. T h e b est-know n
use o f ru b b er was as the b a ll p layed in the
M eso am erican BALLCAM E, know n as o/^ama or
u /ia /n a in N a h u a tl. R ecent excavations a t the
O lm ec site o f E l M a n a tí have y ield e d the first
know n ru b b er balls in M eso am erica. D a tin g
roughly to the 9th c. B e, the balls a re p a rt o f
a rich assem blage o f offerings placed in a
SPRING. It is e n tire ly ap p ro p riate th a t the
first know n ru b b er derives from the O lm ecs,
whose nam e (given to them by the A ztecs)
can be tra n s ite d as 'th e ru b b er p e o p le ."
T h e hum id O fm ec h eartfand o f the southern
G u lf Coast was a w ell-kn o w n ru b b er produc­
ing region.
In a dd itio n to its use in the M esoam erican
ballgam e, ru b b er also served m edicinal
purposes. According to the F lo re n tin e Codex,
the latex was drunk w ith chocolate to re lie ve
stomach and in testin al upset. As a sap, ru b b er
was also treated as an INCENSE much lik e copa/.
In the offerings recovered from the Sacred
C enote o f C hichen Itz á , ru b b er was fre ­
q u en tly m ixed w ith copa/. T h e ru b b er latex
was o fte n burned as a b a ll, in efBgy form , or
as drops sprinkled upon PAPER. Because o f the
thick clo u d-like sm oke, ru b b er was a favored
offerin g to the R A IN gods.
sacrifice M esoam erican CO DS re q u ired sacri­
fice. A ccording to the PO PO L v u H o f the Q uiche
M a y a , the gods re q u ired praise from th e ir
subjects, w hom they had m ade; w hen praise
was not forthcom ing, they destroyed them .
O nce the gods had created hum ans w ho d id
praise them , these people w e re given th e ir
ow n god B U N D L E S , and the c h ie f Q uiche lineage
received T O H iL , w ho dem anded the sacrifice
o f HEAR TS in exchange for his g ift o f F IR E . T h e
trib a l leaders offered precious m e ta l, but
T o h il insisted on costlier sacrifice: hum an
flesh. T o h il then m ade fu rth e r dem ands o f
144
the lin eag e heads: " f t rem ains fo r you to give
thanks, since you have y e t to take care of
b le ed in g your ears and passing a cord through
your elbow s. You m ust w orship. T h is is your
w ay o f g ivin g thanks b efo re your god. "
A t th e tim e o f the C onquest, HUMAN sAcm
FiCE was seen as the fa ir exchange for the
sacrifices th a t the gods had m ade to create
the EARTH and h u m an ity . T h e violence o f
hum an sacrifice w as also p a rt o f the appease­
m en t of the vio len ce o f creation itself.
A ccording to the version o f the creation
o f th e e a rth in the ZV/yfoyre t/u m ácA/gue,
Q UETZALCO ATL and TEZCATHPOCA took TLALTE
cuHTLi fro m the heavens, turned them selves
in to tw o SERPENTS, and th en , each taking
a hand and opposite foo t o f the goddess,
squeezed h er u n til she s p lit in h a lf. O f one
h a lf, they form ed the SKY and o f the o th er
h a lf, the e a rth . A ll the gods then descended
to console h e r, "an d they o rd ain ed th a t from
h er w ould spring a ll the fru it necessary fo r
the life o f m an. A n d in o rd e r to do this, they
m ade o f h e r h a ir trees and Rowers and
grasses, o f h e r skin m any com m on and sm all
flow ers, o f h e r eyes w ells and fountains
and little caverns, o f h e r nose valleys and
m ountains, and o f h er shoulders m ountains.
A n d this goddess c ried m any tim es in the
n ig h t d esiring the hearts o f m en to e a t. A n d
she w ould not be q u ie t ju s t w ith those th a t
w e re given h er, nor w o u ld she take fru it
unless it was sprin kled w ith the blood o f
m e n ." H um ans liv e d in the d e b t of, and a t
the grace of, the gods: th e ravaged body
o f T la lte c u h tli p ro vid ed the sustenance fo r
h u m an ity, and she h o w led a t N IG H T unless
offered hum an B L O O D .
M esoam erican gods could see through
insincerity. In the A ztec account o f the creation
o f th e fifth sun (see F IV E s u N s ) , the gods sought
volunteers to becom e the S U N . T ecu ciztecat!
p u t h im s elf fo rw a rd , and th en , m ore hesi­
ta n tly , N a n a h u a tzin cam e fo rw a rd w hen
called to do so. As a p re p a ra to ry sacrifice,
the tw o fasted fo r fo u r days and p erfo rm ed
penance. A ccording to Sahagun, " th a t w ith
w hich [T e c u c izte c a tl] d id penance was a ll
costly. H is fir branches [w e re ] q u etzal fea th ­
ers, and his grass balls o f gold; his m aguey
spines o f green stone; the red den ed , bloodied
spines o f coral. A n d his incense was very
good incense. A nd [as fo r] N an a h u a tzin , his
fir branches w e re m ade only o f green w a te r
rushes - green reeds bound in threes . . . A nd
his grass balls [w e re ] only d rie d p ine needles.
145 SACRIFICE

And his m aguey spines w e re these same

m aguey spines. A nd the M ood w ith w hich
they w ere covered [w as] his ow n M ood. A nd
[fo r] his incense, he used only the scabs from
his sores . . ." (F C : vn)
N an ah uatzin 's spines to pierce the Resh,
then, w e re red w ith his ow n M ood, w h ile T ecu -
ciztecatl's w e re o f a precious red coral. Even
N anahuatzin's incense was o f his ow n Resh.
T h e fou r days o f penance com pleted, these tw o
w ere to becom e gods by im m olatin g th e m ­
selves in the bonRre m ade by the gods. F o u r
tim es T ecu ciztecatl ran up to the Rre b u t le ap t
back. O n ly w hen N an a h u a tzin took his turn
and h u rled h im self in to the Rre d id T ecu cizte­
catl fo llo w . N an ah uatzin rose as the sun. W h en
Tecu ciztecatl rose w ith equal b rillia n c e , one o f
the gods darkened the face o f T ecu ciztecatl
w ith a RABBIT, and he was m ade the lesser heav­
enly body, the M OO N. In this story, the sincerity,
generosity, and im m ediacy o f sacrifice a re the
keys to N an ah uatzin 's transform ation.
G e n era lly the m ost im p o rtan t form s o f
sacrifice w ere the most precious: hum an Resh
and M ood, w h e th e r d raw n from one's ow n
body or from a sacrificial victim . Such o ffe r­
ings could be m ade through anointm ent o f
sculptures o f gods or through offerings in
special vessels, or through th e ir transfor­
m ation into Rre and smoke. AUTOSACRiFiCE in
p artic u la r was freq u e n tly collected on strips
o f bark PAPER and then set aRre. In the
resulting sm oke, a supplicant w ould see the SacriRce: Lady Xoc kneels before the ruler of
Yaxchilán, Shield Jaguar, and performs a
ancestor or god to w hom the sacriRce was
bloodletting ritual by passing a spiny chord
m ade. A n offering o f INCENSE or TOBACCO also through her tongue. Whereas ancient Maya men
generated copious smoke and often accom­ commonly performed bloodletting from the penis,
panied other sacriRces. the tongue appears to have been the favored
O th e r offerings w ere also im p o rtan t as organ for Maya women. Yaxchilán Lintel 24,
Late Classic Maya.
sacriRces, and a t tim es, m ay have preem pted
hum an blood. W h en Q uetzalcoatl cam e to
T u la , he supposedly com m anded only a p e r­
fect devotion and the offering o f serpents
and BUTTERFLIES. In both C e n tra l M exico and
am ong the M a y a , Docs, q u ail, and turkeys
w e re a ll reg ular offerings, as w ere foodstuffs.
T h e offerings recovered from the Sacred
C enote at C hichen Itz a reveal the im portance
o f precious m etals and JADE as sacriRcial
offerings, and the abundant vessels offered
th e re and in o th er places o f sacriRcial deposit,
such as CAVES, dedication caches, and m oun-
taintop shrines, surely held varie d offerings,
including balls o f incense and foodstuffs.
Penitent priest in the act of self-sacriHce, Codex
T h e offering o f dough im ages form ed Borgia, p. 10, Late Postclassic period. In the
another means o f sacriRce to th e gods. K now n Borgia Group of codices, the act of piercing the
as tzoaZ/i, these dough im ages w e re m ade o f eye serves as a symbol of penance.
SCHELLHAS CO DS
ground AMARANTH m ixed w ith hum an b!ood
and a sticky sw ee te n er, o fte n honey, to b in d
th e m ix tu re tog eth er. D u rin g ce!ebrations fo r
the VEINTENA o f P a n q u e tza liztli, a la rg e dough
im age o f H U iT Z iL O P O C H T L i was m ade o ver a
w ooden fra m e ; d u rin g T e p e ilh u itl, dough
m o untain efEgies w e re m ade. U su ally
conjunction w ith hum an sacrifice, celeb ran ts
ritu a lly broke a p a rt the tzoa/A and
them to com m une w ith the gods. See a/so
C R E A T IO N A C C O U N T S ; C U A U H X IC A L U .
Schellhas gods D u rin g th e p io n eerin g eRorts
o f the ¡ate 19th c., researchers faced a com p¡ex
and poorly understood a rra y o f su p ern atu ral
beings in th e th ree ancien t M a y a screenfblds
know n as the D resd en , Paris, and M a d rid
codices. Paul Schellhas, the first to id e n tify
system atically the various gods and accom ­
panying nam e glyphs occurring in these Post­
classic screen folds, organized and lab eled the
various gods according to the L a tin alp h ab et.
B eginning w ith A , each isolated god was thus
provided w ith a le tte r designation.
T h e Schellhas system o f le tte r designation
has proven to be o f g re at use for several
reasons. F o r one, the poorly understood
id e n titie s o f p artic u la r gods can be re fe rre d
to by non-com m ittal letters, ra th e r than by a
tenuous or uncertain m eaning, such as WIND
C od, or EARTH G od. F u rth e rm o re , le tte r desig­
nations avoid the use o f w h o lly in ap p ro p riate
M a y a n term s. A lthough the M A IZ E C O D , C od
E, is freq u e n tly re fe rre d to as Yum Kaax in
m odern lite ra tu re , this term sim ply means
'lo r d o f the forest bush" and bears no d ire ct
re latio n to m aize or even the corn Held. In
add itio n , the Yucatec M a y a o ften called a
p a rtic u la r god by a num ber o f epithets, and
it is fre q u e n tly d ilE cu lt to select w hich term is
the m ost ap p ro p riate. A g ain , recen t research
indicates th a t the m a jo rity o f Postclassic codi-
cal gods isolated by Schellhas also appear in
the Classic p erio d , and it is u n w a rran ted to
assume th a t the Yucatec d e ity term s recorded
for the e a rly C o lo n ial period w e re also p re ­
sent du rin g th e Classic era. A side from a fe w
em endations and additions, the Schellhas god
lis t continues to be w id e ly used in M a y a
studies.
C o d A : T h e skeletal god o f D E A T H , G od A
is eq u iva len t to M iC T L A N T E C U H T L i o f C e n tra l
M exico. O n page 77 o f the M a d rid Codex,
he is p h o netically nam ed C izin , or "fla tu le n t
o n e," a com m on term fo r the d ev il in contem ­
p o rary Yucatec.
146
C o d A A lth o u g h not isolated by Schelthsa,
C od A ' is a d istin ct d ea th god w ho usually
has a h o rizo n tal black band across the eyes
and th e A k b a l sign o f darkness upon his
b ro w . T h is god is o f considerable a n tiq u ity ,
ap p e arin g in E a rly C lassic M a y a a rt as w e ll
in as in th e Postclassic codices. C o d A ' is a d eity
o f v io le n t SACRIFICE, such as d ecap itatio n .
a te C o d F : T h is d e ity is the Postclassic form o f
CHAC, one o f the m ost continuously w o r­
shipped gods- o f an c ie n t M eso am erica. T h e
M a y a god o f R A IN and L IG H T N IN G , C hac is
rep resen ted on S tela 1 from Protoclassic
Iza p a . M a y a ep ig rap h y reveals th a t during
both th e Classic and Postclassic periods, this
d e ity w as a c tu a lly nam ed C hac.
C o d C : A ltho u g h fre q u e n tly and erroneously
id e n tifie d as the god o f the north star, Cod
C is a c tu a lly a personiH cation o f the concept
o f sacredness. Thus d u rin g both the Classic
and Postclassic periods, the p o rtra it o f this
god p ro vid ed th e ph o netic valu e o f Au or
ch'u, a p a n -M a y a n term s ig n ifyin g d e ity or
sacredness.
C o d D : O n e o f the g re a t gods o f the M a y a
pantheon, G od D appears to be the M a y a
form o f the aged c rea to r god, m uch lik e
T O N A C A T E C U H T L i o f C e n tra ! M exico . D u rin g
both the Classic and Postclassic periods, God
D was re fe rre d to as iTZAMNA. H e seems
to be a god closely id en tiH ed w ith esoteric
p rie stly know ledge, such as D iv iN A T iO N and
W R IT IN G .
C o d F : T h e M a y a god o f MAIZE, th e Postclassic
G od E usually has a hum an head th a t m erges
in to a grow ing m aize e ar. D u rin g th e Classic
p eriod, th e re w e re tw o re la te d form s o f the
m aize god. O n e o f these, the F o lia te d M a iz e
C od, is essentially id e n tic a l in fo rm to the
Postclassic G od E . T h e o th e r Classic form ,
the Tonsured M a iz e G od, has a hum an head
fla tte n e d by c ran ia l d efo rm a tio n to resem ble
a m a tu re m aize ear. T h e Tonsured M a iz e
G od is th e Classic p ro to typ e o f H U N H U N A H P U ,
the fa th e r o f the Q uiche H e ro T w in s.
Cocf F : U n fo rtu n a te ly , w ith this le tte r desig­
n atio n Schellhas conflated and confused three
distinct gods. O n e o f these w as th e afo rem en ­
tioned G od A ', w hereas th e o th er tw o w e re
coined C od Q and C o d R by J. E ric S.
Thom pson. Thus in contem porary usage,
th e re is no speciHc d e ity c o rrela tin g to C od
F.
C<x/ C : T h e SUN god o f th e M a y a , G od C
com m only appears w ith th e solar Am glyph
upon his head or body. In the codices, he
147
SCHELLHAS CODS

seems be nam ed K iN iC H A H AU , or "sun-faced

lo rd /* D u rin g the Classic p erio d , this being
appears as the head coeiE cient o f the num era!
4.
Cods i f a n d C H : U n d e r th e le tte r H ,
Schellhas conflated tw o d istinct gods. O n e
of these is a poorly understood yo u th fu l m ale
d eity th a t m ay be a M a y a version o f the w in d
god. A lthough this being is s till know n as C od
H , the o th er figure has been term ed G od C H
by G . Z im m erm an n. E rroneously called the
"C hicchan G o d /' God C H is the Postclassic
codical form o f the Classic H ead b an d T w in
w ith JAGUAR p e lt m arkings. T h is being is the
Prehispanic form o f X b alan q u e, one o f the
H ero T w in s o f the Q uiche POPOLvuH.
Goddess f: A lthough Schellhas id e n tifie d this
goddess as an old w om an, subsequent schol­
ars have considered Goddess I to be a d iffe r­
e n t being, a you th fu l and b e a u tifu l w om an.
A lthough this y ou th fu l goddess has often
been id e n tifie d as ixcHEL and the M OON god­
dess, th ere is no concrete evidence th a t she
was e ith e r. In fact, Ixch el appears to have
been the aged Goddess O , not Goddess 1. In
the codices, the lo vely Goddess I is often
coupled w ith various m ale gods, and it is like ly
th a t she is id e n tifie d w ith hum an fe rtility and
sensual love.
C od D u rin g the Postclassic period, God K
MYTHOLOGICAL A N IM A IS .
appears w ith a large u p w ard ly turned snout.
T h e Classic form o f God K displays a sim ilar
uptu rn ed nose, although in this case the d eity
typ ically has a burning torch or CELT in his
forehead and a sm oking SERPENT foot. T h e
Classic God K also occurs as the MANIKIN
SCEPTER held by Chac and M a y a rulers. I t
1 2 * 1 * ?
appears th a t God K was id e n tifie d w ith
ligh tn in g , FIRE, and dynastic descent. E p i- The Schellhas god list published in 1904.
graphic evidence indicates th a t God K was
ancien tly know n as K au il, a d eity nam e also
appearing in e arly C olonial Yucatec texts.
C o d L : A n aged and fre q u e n tly black JAGUAR
GOD, God L com m only w ears an ornam ented
back cape and a larg e, b road-brim m ed h ead ­
dress topped by the MUAN OW L. An im p o rtan t
god o f the UNDERWORLD, God L was also a
m erchant god. Thus during the Classic period,
God L com m only appears w ith a m erchant
bundle (see MERCHANTS). R ecent excavations
a t the L a te Classic site o f C acaxtla, T laxcala,
have uncovered a m u ral d ep ictin g God L
w ith a m erchant bundle com plete w ith
feathers and o th er trad in g goods.
C o d M : O ne o f the m ost strikin g gods o f the
M a y a codices, C od M is a black d e ity w ith a
SCRIBAL CODS
pendulous lo w e r lip and long P in occh io-like
nose. T h is d e ity is a M a y a form o f Y acate-
c u h tli, th e long-nosed m e rch an t god o f C e n tra l
M ex ico . G od M is p rim a rily a Postclassic
M a y a god th a t appears to have g ra d u a lly
eclipsed th e e a rlie r M a y a m erch an t d e ity ,
C o d L . T h e contact perio d nam e o f this god
was E k C h u a h , eHr b eing th e M a y a n w o rd fo r
black.
C o J JV: In th e codices and C lassic M a y a a rt,
the aged G od N com m only appears w e arin g
a TURTLE carapace or conch upon his back.
D u rin g both the Classic and Postclassic p e r­
iods, the nam e o f this god was p h o n e tica lly
w ritte n as PAUAHTUN. Q u a d rip a rtite in n a tu re ,
God N seems to have had th e w e ig h ty
responsibility o f supporting th e SKY.
C o& fess O : A n aged and fearsom e goddess,
Goddess O usually has ja g u a r claw s as hands
and w ears a serpent in h er headdress. In the
codices she is p h o netically nam ed C hac C h el.
Goddess O appears to be an aged gen etrix,
much lik e the A ztec rLAMATECUiiTLi-ciHUA-
COATL.
Coc/ P: A lthough term ed a frog god by
Schellhas, C od P m ay not be a d istinct d eity .
A p pearin g only in the M a d rid Codex, this
being m ay sim ply be a version o f C od N .
scribal gods A num ber o f M esoam erican gods
served as the patrons o f WRITING and the arts.
T h e Aztecs a ttrib u te d a ll such lo re g en erically
to the Toltecs: They w ere thinkers, fo r they
o rig in ated the yea r count, the day count; they
established the w ay in w hich the n ig h t, the
day, w ould w o rk; w hich sign was good, fav o r­
a ble; and w hich was e v il, the day sign o f w ild
beasts. A ll th e ir discoveries form ed the book
fo r in te rp re tin g d re am s /* (F C : x) Those born
d u rin g the TRECENA 1 M o n k ey w e re m ost lik e ly
to be artists and scribes. As patro n o f the
trecena 1 M o n k ey , xocm riLLi m ay be the
C e n tra l M exican p atro n o f scribes and WRIT­
ING.
F o r the M a y a , scribal gods are both m ore
exp lic it and m ore num erous. A ccording to
various sources, rrzAMNA invented w ritin g ,
and he appears as a scribe on Classic M a y a
pots; occasionally he teaches o th er scribes
and instructs them in th e ir counting. A super­
n a tu ra l RABBIT scribe sits as if he w e re a
stenographer and records a scene on a M a y a
pot. In the M a d rid Codex, CHAC w rite s, paints,
and spews a stream o f "p rin t-o u t,** as M a y a n -
ists have term ed num bered strips o f p ap er
th a t scribal gods occasionally b ear. T h e most
146
com m only d ep icted patrons o f w ritin g and
tim e ke ep in g , h o w ever, a re th e m onkey
scribes and artists o f th e POPOLVUH, H u n B atz
and H u n C h uen (see MONKEY). T h e y usually
have a DEER e ar o ver the hum an one, and
hold an in k p o t, p en , or coDEx; the face m ay
be a m onkey grotesque o r th a t o f a b e a u tifu l
young hu m an , and a s trip o f " p rin t-o u t" m ay
be attach ed to the body.
sea T h e sea w as w id e ly b elieved to be the
p rim o rd ia l WATER upon w h ich the EARTH
flo ated . Since this w a te r lay u n d ern eath the
e a rth , sub terran ean and surface bodies o f
fresh w a te r w e re also id e n tifie d w ith th e sea.
In an e a rly Classic m u ral from th e T e m p le o f
A g ric u ltu re a t TEOTiHUACAN, fre s h w a te r WATER
HUES flo a t atop w aves con tain in g sea SHELLS.
M a rin e shells fro m both the G u lf C oast and
th e P acific abound in T eo tih u acan represen­
tations. A t the T eo tih u ac an a p a rtm e n t com ­
pound o f T e titla , a p a ir o f m urals illu strates
divers c ollectin g shells in n etted bags.
T h e C lassic M a y a c le a rly id e n tifie d th e sea
w ith fresh w a te r and the w a te ry UNDERWORLD.
As a t T eo tih u ac an , the w a te r lily is id e n tifie d
w ith the p rim o rd ia l sea. T h e M a y a n w o rd fo r
w a te r lily , na6, can also d en o te th e sea and
o th er standing bodies o f w a te r. O n e head
v a ria n t o f the n u m eral 13, th e WATER LILY
SERPENT, ty p ic a lly appears w ith a bound w a te r
lily pad headdress. A n e lab o ra te stucco frie ze
a t the T e m p le o f the Seven D o lls a t D z ib il-
chaltu n depicts this w a te r lily serp ent w ith
w a te r signs and m a rin e life ; accom panying
caches contained ab u n d a n t rem ains o f m a rin e
shell. I t is q u ite possible th a t this b eing is a
sea god.
T h e A zte c T em p lo M a y o r contains one o f
th e clearest id en tificatio n s o f the sea w ith
fresh w a te r and a g ric u ltu ra l fe rtility . O n the
TLALOC side o f the te m p le , corresponding to
th e w a te ry m o untain o f fe rtility and susten­
ance, e lab o rate caches contained sea shells,
coral, and even m arin e fish.
serpent In religious term s, serpents m ay
have been the m ost im p o rta n t fau n a o f
M esoam erica. N o single o th er type o f crea­
tu re receives such e lab o ra te tre a tm e n t in
Sahagun*s F lo re n tin e C odex, fo r exam ple,
in term s o f e ith e r text or illu stratio n . A nd
although m any p o w e rfu l anim als - JAGUARS
and EAGLES, m ost n o tab ly - p lay an im p o rta n t
ro le in iconography, snakes, perhaps because
o f th e ir num ber and v a rie ty in the n atu ral
149 SERPENT
w orld, have the broadest and m ost v arie d
roles in relig io n and religious sym bolism : in
states o f ecstasy, lords dance a serpent DANCE;
great descending rattlesnakes adorn and sup­
port buildings from C hichen Itz á to T e n o c h tit-
lan, and the N a h u a tl w ord coat/, m eaning
serpent or tw in , form s p a rt o f th e nam es o f
prim ary deities such as MDtcoATL, QUETZAL
COATL, and COATLICUE.
Am ong the most im p o rta n t snakes in
M esoam erica are the boa constrictor, the fe r-
de-lance, the rattlesn ake, and the bushm as-
ter. T h e harm less boa constrictor (C b n stn cfo r
constrictor), called c/ncchan by the M a y a and
m azacoat/ by the Aztecs, m ade d p rized
costum e elem en t, as evidenced by the stuffed
boa skins w orn by M a y a lords in the B onam -
pak m urals. T h e fe r-d e-la n ce (B othrops
a tro z), silen tly coils befo re striking, u n like its
fe llo w p it v ip er, the rattlesn ake (C ro fa/u s The monkey scribal gods painting a codex, detail
durissus), w hich gives a w arn in g w ith its from a Late Classic Maya vase.
tw itch in g rattles. T h e deadly bushm aster o f
C e n tra l A m erica (LecAesis m u ta) is second
in size only to the In d ia n king cobra am ong
the w orld's poisonous snakes and often
reaches 10' (3 m ) in length.
T h e Aztecs m ade a large num ber o f sculp­
tures o f rattlesnakes, m any o f them extrem ely
n atu ralistic, and they are characteristically
carved on a ll sides, including the underside.
In both C e n tra l M exican and M a y a day
counts, the fifth day is snake. Snakeskin,
w ith its d ram atic geom etric p attern in g , is
fre q u e n tly em ulated in textiles and architec­
tu ral ornam ent. E xp licit rattlesnakes are rare
in Classic M a y a a rt b u t occur w ith g reat
frequency in the a rt o f C hichen Itz á . A lthough
serpents com bine w ith other creatures to
m ake m any fantastic anim als found in no
zoological guide, the open snake m outh is the
fe a tu re on w hich m any deities, g en erally
those w ith upturned snouts, are based. T h e
forked tongue is a characteristic unique to
Coral, shell, and other sea offerings deposited in
serpents; it is not to be confused w ith the a cache on the Tlaloc side of the Templo Mayor,
long, curling proboscis o f the BUTTERFLY. Tenochtitlan, Late Postclassic Aztec.
T w o features o f serpentine behavior w ere
probably o f p aram ount in terest to M eso am eri-
can peoples: first, snakes sw allow th e ir prey
w hole, le ttin g it decompose inside th e ir bod­
ies; and second, snakes shed th e ir skins. T h e
skins split along th e ir backs, allo w in g the
snake to slith er out, leaving behind the old
skin, and in the case o f rattlesnakes, even the
rattle s. Both these features o f snake behavior
m ay have supported the p an -M esoam erican
notion th a t snakes w e re vehicles o f re b irth
SERPENT
and tran s fo rm a tio n , fo r g re a t superna tu ra!
serpents fre q u e n tly belch a n o th er c re a tu re
from th e ir m ouths - a w a rrio r, a h u m an , a
god, or a skeleton.
T h re e fu n d a m en tal notions accom pany the
M eso am erican serpent: one, th a t th e serp ent
is WATER, the con d u it o f w a te r, or th e b e a re r
o f w a te r; tw o , th a t its m outh opens to a CAVE;
and th re e , th a t the serpent is th e SKY. A m ong
the M a y a , linguistic support survives fo r the
la tte r concept: the w ords snake and sky
a re hom ophones, g e n e ra lly caan or chan,
dep en d in g on the language, and th e sam e
w o rd is usually the n u m b er 4 as w e ll. M a n y
M eso am erican d eities , in clu d in g serpent
d eities, a re considered to exist as fours, o r as
fo u r-in -o n e , o ften w ith separate color and
d ire c tio n a l associations.
M esoam erican people b elieved in serpent
d eities from e arliest tim es. T h e fea th e red
serpent occurs from O lm ec tim es on, and
although it is rare am ong the Classic M a y a ,
it is com m on a t contem porary TEOTmuACAN.
A t Postclassic T u la , C hichen Itz á , and T e n -
o ch titla n , the feath ered serpent was g en erally
know n as Q u etzalco atl, and u n til the Spanish
C onquest, was g en erally conHgured as a
rattlesn ake w ith b rig h t green p arro t or Q U E T ­
ZA L feath ers, ra th e r than as a hum an. T h e
fea th e red serpents ra re ly hold another crea­
tu re in th e ir m ouths; w hen they do, it is often
the hum an im personator o f Q u etzalcoatl. In
various A ztec accounts, Q u etzalcoatl turns
h im self in to a serpent and then back in to an
anthropom orphic god.
T h e feath ered serpents a t Teo tih u acan and
C acaxtla have specific aquatic associations.
O n the T em p le o f Q u etzalcoatl a t T e o tih u a ­
can, fea th e red serpents w ith ru ffed collars
How dow n the balustrades and form u n d u lat­
ing friezes across the tem p le; m arin e SHELLS -
conch, pecten, and spondylus - H!1 the in te r­
stices and g re at WAR SERPENT headdresses ju t
out fro m the frie ze a t re g u lar in tervals. In
th e m urals a t C acaxtla, a lo rd in a b ird suit
stands on top o f a b rillia n t green fea th e red
serpent w ho Hows dow n the side to the base
o f the p ain tin g , a ll the w h ile atop fres h w ate r
aqu atic life . T h e fea th e red serpents th a t
function as columns (i.e . serpent colum ns) a t
C hichen Itz á , T u la , and other Postclassic
cities m ay w e ll in d icate the channeling o f
w a te r and life -g iv in g forces from the sky to
th e EARTH.
B oth TLALOC and CHAC carry snakes in th e ir
hands horn tim e to tim e; these snakes are the
ucHTM Nc bolts they hurt from the wouwTAma
w h e re RAIN gods m ake th e ir re tre a t. A lthough
E uropeans g en e rally see lig h tn in g as jagged
ra th e r than u n d u latin g lik e a serpent, w hen
lig h tn in g strikes sand it can form an u n d u lat­
in g solid strand o f glass, and M esoam erican
peoples m ay have been fa m ilia r w ith this
phenom enon.
T h e serp ent w as the body fo r m any speci-
Hcally M a y a gods and deiHed objects. T h e
e a rlie s t versions o f the CEREMONIAL BAR are
Hoppy d o u ble-h ead ed serpents from w hich
em erge th e heads o f gods and ancestors; la te r
exam ples a re g e n e ra lly s tiff stylized bars.
O ccasionally b ea rin g iconography o f th e sky
b an d , th e cerem o n ial b ar p ro b ab ly sym bol­
ized the sky its e lf. T h e ru le r w ho held it thus
h eld th e sky.
W ith his u p tu rn e d snout and serp ent leg,
C I I o f the PALENQUE TRiAD gods is based on the
serpent. T h e serp ent leg form s th e s ta ff to be
h eld by rulers w h en C I I is in the form o f the
MANIKIN SCEPTER. T h e only analogous fe a tu re
o f any C e n tra l M e x ica n god is th e serp ent foot
th a t som etim es replaces one o f TEZCATLiPOCA's
fe e t.
In states o f ecstasy and u su ally fo llo w in g
BLOODLETTiNC, p a rtic u la rly as g ra p h ica lly
depicted a t Yaxchilán, M a y a n o b ility conjure
up the visiON SERPENT. T h is g re a t u n d u latin g
serpent rises fro m b u rn in g bloody PAPER, and
from its m outh em erges an ancestor or,
occasionally, a d e ity . T h e serp ent its e lf, then ,
is p ro b ab ly w h a t one sees in the clouds o f
smoke rising fro m the b u rn in g SACRIFICE, and
cloud symbols m ay Hank the vision serp ent s
body. T h e vision serp ent can b e th e veh icle by
w hich ancestors or d eities m ake them selves
m an ifest fo r h u m an ity , and is p ro b ab ly the
sky serpent com m only dep icted a t C h ich en
Itz á , p a rtic u la rly on th e gold plates dredged
fro m the Sacred C en o te.
A s im ila r deiHed serpent, th e xiuHCOATL,
know n as th e Hre serpent, b u t m ore lite ra lly
turquoise snake, plays an im p o rta n t ro le in
A ztec religious iconography. HurrziLOPOCHTH
brandished the X iu h c o atl as his w eapon w hen
he was born, and the X iu h c o atl fre q u e n tly
appears in d ep en d en tly. O n th e A ztec C a le n ­
d ar Stone, h o w ever, tw o Xiuhcoatls carry the
SUN on th e ir backs, and from th e ir m ouths
em erge w h a t m ay be deiHed ancestors; the
tied knots o f paper on th e ir bodies are the
same b lo o d lettin g knots used a m illen n iu m
before by the M a y a . T h e snakes, then , are
the vehicle fo r the m ovem ent o f the sun, the
151 7 AND 9 ZOOMORPHIC HEADS
bearers o f ancestors, and carry references to
bloodletting.
A coATEPANTLi, o r snake w a ll, was con­
structed a t m any Postclassic cities to shield
sacred buildings or precincts. T h e earlies t
know n exam ple is a t T u la , w h e re a frie ze o f
rattlesnakes spews or devours hum an skele­
tons.
T h e m ain C e n tra l M ex ica n serpent gods
at the tim e o f the Spanish C onquest w ere
Q uetzalcoat! and M ixc o atl. T h e y w e re both
celestial serpents, Q u e tza lc o a tl as th e WIND,
a sky serpent, and the b ea re r o f bounty;
M ixco atl as the personification o f the MILKY
WAY. C oatlicue is characterized by h er skirt
o f snakes, b u t she does not take the form o f
a serpent. cmcoMECOATL, 7 Snake, is a MAIZE
CODDESS w ith a calen d rical nam e; in one
instance she is v iv id ly represented by cobs o f
m aize carved on a rattlesn ake ta il.
Dances w ith snakes or in im ita tio n o f ser­
p entine m ovem ents played an im p o rtan t role
in ancient rituals (see DANCE). B oth M a y a pots
and carved m onum ents d ep ict dances w ith
snakes, and in a t least one case, the text
specifically reads th a t a M a y a king "p e rfo r­
m ed the snake dance." D u rin g the A ztec
VEINTENA o f P achtontli, m en, w om en, and
child ren adorned in feathers lin ked hands
Aztec serpent sculptures. (Top) Turquoise mosaic
pectoral of a double-headed rattlesnake. (A&ove)
and sang w h ile perform ing the serpent dance. Stone carving of a coiled rattlesnake.
D u rin g To xcatl, young seasoned w arriors
lin ked hands and m oved in an undulating
p attern , p erform ing the serpent dance w h ile
young w om en sim ultaneously danced the
popcorn dance, w ith carefu l supervision a ll
the w h ile th a t none o f the w om en be seduced
by the serpent dancers.

7 and 9 zoom orphic heads T w o d istinct heads

o ften app ear as a p air in Classic M a y a icono­
graphy, and each bears a coefficient in bar and
dot n um eration, one o f 7 and the other o f 9.
Both heads have long, u pturned snouts based
on the shape o f a SERPENT head, b u t the
lo w e r ja w (and som etim es the e n tire head) is
skeletal. T h e 7 head bears the glyphs
(b lack), n a /(e a r o f MAIZE), and Áran (som etim es
a referen ce to m aize); the 9 head includes a
ra re glyph fo r 20 (m ay) and m ig h t re fe r to an
obscure d e ity - Bolon M a y e l - know n in
C onquest-era Yucatan.
T h e 7 and 9 zoom orphic heads m ay be
carried in the hand, rest on CEREMONIAL BARS,
or set Boating in space, in cised obsidians m ay
d ep ict the heads, as m ay the e xterio r surfaces The 7 and 9 heads, Temple of the Sun,
o f cache vessels. T h e m eaning o f these heads Palenque, Late Classic Maya.
SHAMAN
is not d e a r, b u t th ey m ig h t fun ctio n as
toponym s re fe rrin g to sup em atu ra! places.
sham an In anthropological lite ra tu re , th e re
is fre q u e n tly a d istinctio n b etw e en th e cere ­
m onial roles o f PRIEST and sham an. W h ereas
a p rie st tends to com m unicate w ith the d iv in e
through offerings and p ra y e r, th e sham an
becom es an a ctu al veh icle fo r the super­
n atu ral through ecstatic trance and s p irit-
possession. D u rin g ecstatic trances - often
brought on by DANCE, HALLUCINOGENS, or d e p ri­
vation - the sham an in teracts d ire c tly w ith
the s p irit w o rld . W hereas priests a re p a rt o f
an established religious bureaucracy, sham ­
ans tend to be m ore in d ep en d en t, w ith th e ir
pow er based upon personal charism a and
expertise. A lthough the contrast b etw een
priest and sham an is a useful dichotom y, the
d istinction is not hard and fast. In actual
practice, the roles o f sham an and p riest
o verlap considerably. A lthough p riestly
offices w e re com m on in the com plex urban
societies o f Postclassic M esoam erica, m any
p riestly roles suggest an o ld er substratum o f
sham anic b e lie f and practice.
T h e term sham an is not n ative to
M esoam erica or even to the N e w W o rld but
ra th e r derives from the Tungus language
o f S iberia. N onetheless, m any o f the traits
observed in Siberian sham anism , such as
ecstatic trance, supernatural flig h t, and
a nim al s p irit com panions, are also present in
m uch o f the N ew W o rld , including
M esoam erica. M a n y features o f M eso am er-
ican sham anism are o f considerable a n tiq u ity ,
and w e re probably brought from Asia by
the Erst P aleoindian in h abitan ts o f the N e w
W o rld . T h e sham anic im portance o f anim al
transform ation and anim al spirits in
M esoam erica suggests rem ote h u n te r and
g ath erer origins from b efo re the developm ent
o f agricu ltu re and food production.
A lthough sham anism was probably p resent
in M esoam erica w e ll befo re the appearance
o f a g ricu ltu re and settled v illag e life , it can
be Erst docum ented am ong the F o rm a tiv e
O lm ecs. P e ter F u rst has called a tten tio n to a
fascinating them e in O lm ec stone sculpture,
a kneeling m an th a t becomes a JAGUAR - w h a t
he term s transform ation figures. F u rst has
suggested th a t these sculptures d ep ict the
sham an being transform ed in to his a lte r ego,
the ja g u a r. W hereas the b ear is fre q u e n tly
the c reatu re o f p o w erfu l shamans and curers
in N o rth A m erica, b elo w the T ro p ic o f C a n ­
152
cer, th e ja g u a r is th e sham anic s p irit com ­
panion p a r exce#ence. Am ong the Classic
M a y a , th e glyph d en o tin g a UAY, or sp iritu al
a lte r ego, is a stylized hum an face h a lf covered
by a ja g u a r skin. T h e d e ity o f sham ans and
sorcerers o f L a te Postclassic C en tra! M exico ,
TEZCATLiPOCA also appears to have had the
ja g u a r as his s p iritu a l co-essence. See a/?o
NAHUAL; TONAL; UAY.
shark R ecen tly, T o m Jones has d ete rm in ed
th a t th e E nglish w o rd shark is b orrow ed from
th e M a y a xoc, as in tro d uced by English sailors
w h o had encountered the c rea tu re in the
C a rib b e a n Sea. Because the b u ll or cub shark
leaves th e SEA and travels in to fresh WATER,
th e c rea tu re w as fa m ilia r not only to
M esoam ericans w ho liv e d along the sea coast
b u t p ro b ab ly also to those w ho liv e d w e ll
u p riv e r, such as the M a y a o f Piedras N egras
and Yaxchilán o r th e O lm ecs o f San Lorenzo.
A te rrify in g c re a tu re to hum ans, th e shark
was d eified e a rly on in M eso am erican society.
T h e O lm ecs had a shark god, c le a rly m arked
by a shark tooth, and fossilized G re a t W h ite
Shark tee th have been found a t O lm ec sites.
A shark m ay v ery w e ll be the basis fo r the
M a y a JESTER COD, v ery e a rly versions o f w hich
have a d efin ed shark tooth, and th e shark
tooth o f C l o f the PALENQUE TRIAD also indicates
a relatio n ship w ith the shark. T h e A ztecs
cached shark tee th in to the T em p lo M a y o r
along w ith o th e r m a rin e m a te ria l.
shell N obles in an cien t M exico and G u a te ­
m ala im p o rted sea shells to in la n d centers from
both coasts through tra d e and trib u te . A t the
tim e o f the C onquest, the A ztecs dem anded
1600 spondylus shells a y e a r in trib u te from
coastal regions. T h e Aztecs deposited thou­
sands o f shells along w ith o th e r m a rin e and
aqu atic m aterials, in clu d in g corals, snail
shells, and skeletons o f SEA creatu res, in
caches in th e T em p lo M a y o r. T h e conch
shells in clu d ed in O ffe rin g 48, a deposit o f
sacrificed c h ild ren , re fe rre d to the aquatic
n atu re o f TLALOC, to w hom th e o fferin g was
d edicated. G ia n t stone effigies o f conchs
rested along the T la lo c side o f the T w in
P yram id . A b alo n e shells, w h ich occur n a t­
u ra lly no fa rth e r south than th e coast o f B aja
C a lifo rn ia , m ade th e ir w ay in to A zte c caches,
giving us some sense o f the long-distance
trad e th a t th e Aztecs m anaged.
A t T ik a l, archaeologists found spondylus
shells o f both A tla n tic and Pacific species,
153
SKY

and the pearls from such tho rn y oysters w e re

w om as je w e lry by the M a y a e lite . M a n y
spondylus shells w e re scraped to re ve al a
b rig h t red or orange concavity; w h en thus
carved, the shells w ere sew n onto cloaks,
w orn as necklaces or w o rn a t the w aist. T h e
MAIZE GOD, for exam ple, o fte n w ears such a
Olmec portrayal of a shark, San Lorenzo
shell a t the w aist, as do m any w om en who Monument 58, Early Formative period.
w e ar the costum e, perhaps signifying fem ale
fe rtility . A t C opan, an excavated cached spon­
dylus shell still held traces o f hum an BLOOD.
Along w ith strings o f dots, a lte rn a tin g cuta­
ways and proHles o f spondylus shells w ere
used by the M a y a to in d ic ate w a te r in th e ir
representations. M a y a lords w o re oliva shells
as noisem aking tinklers a t the w aist. In Post­
classic M a y a hieroglyphic w ritin g , a shell
functions as the com pletion sign, probably
in d icatin g th a t shells w e re used in counting
out sums.
Conch, spondylus, and pecten shells Hank
the und ulatin g body o f QUETZALCOATL on the
T em p le o f Q uetzalcoatl a t TEOTiHU AC AN. Since
the v a rie ty and num ber o f shells increased
d ra m atic ally a t T ik a l a fte r it cam e in contact
w ith Teo tih u acan , the Teotihuacanos m ay
have dom inated the shell trad e during the
Classic period. A t C acaxtla, paintings o f Youth Hshing for marine shells, Tetitla,
shells, som etim es in h abited by creatures th a t Teotihuacan, Classic period. Shells are
never d w e lt in such shells, form aquatic widespread in the iconography of Teotihuacan
borders around regal lords. T h e Olm ecs
carved JADE into the shapes o f clam shells and
then strung these large disks into necklaces.
D u rin g the L a te F o rm ative period W est M e x ­
ican artists m ade clay Hgures o f musicians
playing conch shell trum pets, a practice w e ll
docum ented a t the tim e o f the Conquest.
Some W est M exican nobles w ore conch shells
on th e ir heads to signify high status.
W orn around the neck as a pendant or
chest ornam ent, a cross-sectioned slice of
conch shell is one o f Q uetzalcoatl *s identifying
characteristics. Dozens o f such pieces of conch
have been found, p articularly in Veracruz.
T h e M a y a God N (seescHELLHAScoDs) usually
emerges from a shell, eith er a conch or a snail
shell. T h e C entral M exican god Tepeyollotl,
H e a rt of the M o u n tain , is often depicted w ith
conch shells, w hich may be w h y the T em p lo
M a y o r, conceived to be a symbolic MOUNTAIN,
held so m any shells.

skullrack see TZOMPANTLi

Tonacatecuhtli in the highest realm of the sky,
sky U n lik e the realm s o f th e EARTH and UNDER Omeyocan, the place of duality; Codex Vaticanus
WORLD, w h ich could be p en e trated by hum ans, A, 16th c. Aztec.
SKY BANOS
the sky was a source o f m ystery, a super­
n a tu ra l re a lm e n tire ly d istin ct fro m th a t o f
hum an beings. T h e concept o f sacredness
w as o fte n tie d to the d eg ree o f p ro xim ity to
th e heavens. Thus sacred shrines and TEMPLES
w e re fre q u e n tly placed ato p especially
hig h p rom ontories, such as MOUNTAINS and
PYRAMIDS.
Since a t least the F o rm a tiv e O lm ec p erio d ,
specific signs d e lin e a te d the sky. In th e a rt
o f C lassic M eso am erica, d eities fre q u e n tly
em erge from the sky or heavens. A m ong the
Zapotees, the m o tif know n as the "ja w s o f
the sky" is based on the jo in e d profiles o f the
e n tity know n as E / A v e de A ncho, the
Zapotee version o f the PRINCIPAL BIRD DEITY. In
L a te Classic Z apotee a rt, figures descend fro m
these celestial ja w s . Ancestors and d eities are
fre q u e n tly depicted in the u pper portion o f
Classic M a y a stelae, in the region correspond­
ing to the sky.
In ancien t M esoam erica, the sky was
believed to have d istinct levels, often cited
as 13, p a rtic u la rly am ong the Classic and
Postclassic M a y a . A sky sign w ith the
coefficient o f 13 fre q u e n tly accom panies the
MUAN owL in M a y a representations. T h e C o l­
onial A ztec V atican us A m anuscript provides
us w ith a d eta ile d account o f the 13 levels o f
the sky, w ith the creato r couple TONACATE-
CUHTH and Tonacacihuat! residing in the
highest level also know n as O m eyocan, "place
o f d u a lity ." .See a/so SKY BANDS; SKYBEARERS.
sky bands In southern M esoam erica, the sky
was freq u e n tly rendered as a band m arked
w ith diagonal and vertic al elem ents. T h e
sky band first appears w ith the F o rm a tiv e
O lm ecs, and continues in the M a y a region
u n til the Spanish C onquest, a clear exam ple
o f c o n tin u ity from the Olm ecs to the la te r
M a y a . O ne o f the earlies t know n sky bands
appears on P otrero N uevo M o n u m e n t 2, an
E a rly F o rm a tiv e ALTAR-throne. Q u ite pro­
b ab ly, this O lm ec m onum ent was considered
as a celestial THRONE, m uch lik e the sky band
thrones o f the la te r Classic M a y a . Stela 1
fro m the M id d le F o rm a tiv e O lm ec site o f L a
V e n ta displays a sky band in its upper portion.
T h e band contains the same in v erted " U "
elem ents w hich appear on the e a rlie r P otrero
N uevo M o n u m e n t, although here they are
topped by a p a ir o f o u tw ard ly lean in g diag­
onal bands. T h e A lvarad o S tela, a Protoclassic
m onum ent w ritte n in the script o f the T u x tla
S tatu e tte and L a M o ja rra Stela 1, contains a
!M
sky band w ith the sam e o u tw a rd ly sloping
diagonal bars and in v e rte d " U " elem ents as
those th a t a p p e ar on Stela I a t L a V en ta.
C a rv e d som e 500 years a fte r L a V en ta
Stela 1, th e A lv ara d o Stela is roughly contem ­
poraneous w ith Iza p a , K am in alju y u and o th er
Protoclassic sites o f the M a y a region. A t
Iz a p a , sky bands also ap p ear w ith the p a ir o f
o u tw a rd ly lean in g diagonal bands, although
h ere the lo w e r in v e rte d " U " elem ents are
missing. In s te a d , the lo w e r p ortion typ ically
contains a c en tral v e rtic a l tab Hanked by a
p a ir o f o u tw a rd ly cu rlin g elem ents. Classic
M aya sky bands a re usually represented
by a segm ented band. W ith in the re g u larly
spaced segm ents are signs d e lin e a tin g the
S U N , M O O N , STARS, darkness, and o th e r celestial
phenom ena. A t tim es, the lo w e r p o rtio n o f
the sky band m ay be m arked w ith the b elly
scutes o f the SER P E NT. T h is p ro b ab ly derives
from the fac t th a t the M a y a n w ords snake
and sky a re hom onym s. T h e sam e punning
o f snake and sky m ay be seen in m any
instances o f the Classic M a y a C E R E M O N IA L BAR,
w hich can a p p ear as a bicep h alic serpent
w ith a sky band body. T h e segm ented sky
band continues in M a y a a rt u n til the L a te
Postclassic, and m ay be seen in the m urals o f
T u lu m as w e ll as in the M a y a codices. á*ee
a / s o SKY; SKYBEARERS.
sky bearers A ccording to Postclassic C e n tra l
M exican b e lie f, p a rtic u la r gods had th e ro le
o f sustaining the SKY. A ccording to th e F&yfona
de /os m exicanos p o r sus p in furas, the heavens
w e re raised by the fo u r sons o f the c reato r
couple along w ith fo u r o th er gods. T o assist
in this e ffo rt, QUETZALCOATL and TEZCATLIPOCA
transform ed them selves in to tw o g re a t trees.
In the Vaticanus B and B orgia codices, p a ra l­
le l passages illu s tra te fo u r skybearers, each
o rien ted to a specific w o rld DIRECTION and
YEARBEARER. In both codices th e fo u r gods,
directions and y e a rb e a re r days ru n as follow s:
TLAHUizcALPANTECUHTLi w ith th e east and
A c a tl, x iu H T E C u H T L i w ith the n o rth and T e c -
p a t!, EHECATL-QUETZALCOATL w ith the w est and
C a lli, and fin a lly , MiCTLANTECUHTLi w ith the
south and T o c h tli. T h e C e n tra ! M exican
skybearers w e re fa r fro m being e n tire ly
benevolent. A ccording to Tezozom oc, the sky­
bearers w e re T z rrziM iM E , the fierce STAR
dem ons o f darkness th a t th reaten ed to
descend and destroy the w o rld d u rin g ECLIPSES
and the NIGHT v ig il m arking the end o f the
5 2 -ye ar cycle.
155 SMILING FIGURES

T h e M ix te e form o f E h e ca tl-Q u e tzalc o atl,

9 W in d , was also regarded as a skybearer.
Thus on page 47 o f the Codex Vindobonensis,
9 W in d supports the sky. H o w e v e r, in this
instance, the SEA Elled w ith m arin e SHELLS is
depicted lying above the sky. W h a t p a rtic u la r
cosmic event this scene refers to is still
../?=a '--- =3__cm .
unknow n.
T h e ancient M a y a had h ig h ly developed
concepts regarding the skybearers. According
to D iego de L an d a, the Postclassic Yuca tec
M a y a had fou r skybearers know n as the
d
bacabs. As in C e n tra l M exico , each o f the
four bacabs was associated w ith a p a rtic u la r
yearb earer day as w e ll as directio n . In creas­
ing evidence suggests th a t the bacabs are
identical to the aged q u a d rip a rtite d eity e
know n as PAUAHTUN. A lthough some have Examples of sky bands, a, Potrero Nuevo
suggested that Pauahtun supported the EARTH Monument 2, Early Formative Olmec. A La
ra th e r than the heavens, th e re a re explicit Venta Stela 1, Middle Formative Olmec, c,
exam ples o f Pauahtun supporting celestial Alvarado Stela, Late Formative, d, Izapa Stela
THRONES rendered w ith a seat in the form of 12, Protoclassic Maya, e, Sarcophagus lid of
Pacal, Palenque, Late Classic Maya.
a SKY BAND o r SERPENT.
In ancient M esoam erica, the skybearers
w e re w id e ly id e n tifie d w ith the ofRce o f
rulership. Tezozom oc m entions an A ztec term
for the skybearers, "sustainers o f the cane
m a t," w hich re fe r to the w oven cane MAT th a t
sym bolized the seat o f kings. T h e concept
o f skybearers supporting celestial thrones
extends even as fa r back as the E a rly F o rm a­
tiv e O lm ec period. T w o DWARVES support a
sky band on P otrero N uevo M o n u m en t 2.
T h e role o f skybearers probably re late d to
the M esoam erican concept o f public ofBce as
an elevated burden or CARGO to be passed
from one office-holder to another.

sm iling Egures Sm iling faces characterize

m any sm all, solid figurines as w e ll as larg er,
h o llow -bodied ceram ic sculptures from
Classic period V eracru z, and they have come
to be know n by this distinctive facial
expression. T ra d itio n a lly , such figures have
been associated w ith the site o f Rem ojadas,
from w hich large num bers are reputed to
com e, b u t they have also been found at
m any o th er sites, including N opiloa and D icha
T u e rta . L ittle is know n about them archaeo-
logically, b u t most com e from L a te Classic
burials.
Sm iling figures usually engage in pleasur­
able activities: m any DANCE, others m ake
s till others hold o u t th e ir arm s in
M u s ic ;
the o ran t or prayin g position. M o s t w e a r
costumes o f ric h ly p a tte rn e d cotton CLOTH.
SNAKE
L iv e ly MONKEYS jo in hum ans, and a fe w o th e r
an im als, such as DEER and RABBITS, a re associ­
a te d w ith the sm ilin g figurines, though fe w
o f the anim als sm ile. Som e o f th e anim als
tu rn on w h e e le d fe e t, and such toys are th e
o n ly know n exam ples o f th e w h e e l in a n cien t
M eso am erica.
T h e sheer d elig h t o f these figurines long
m ade them a focus fo r collectors w ho sought
an a lte rn a tiv e to the ico nographically dense
a rt o f the M a y a o r A ztecs. Some investigators
have suggested th a t th e sm iling figures m ay
be in states o f ecstatic tran sfo rm atio n or
perhaps d ru g -ind u ced trances; h o w e ve r, it is
m ore lik e ly th a t m any o f the sm iling figures
rep resen t perform ers.
snake see SERPENT
spider In ancient M eso am erica, spiders w e re
com m only id e n tifie d w ith fem ale goddesses
and the EARTH. A t TEOTiHUACAN, an im p o rtan t
goddess id e n tifie d by a fanged nose b ar
appears w ith spiders. It seems th a t this e n tity
was considered to be a spider earth goddess,
much lik e Spider G ran d m o th er o f the contem ­
p o rary A m erican Southw est. ixcHEL, the aged
Postclassic Yucatec goddess o f DiviNATioN,
m id w ife ry and cuRiNC, was also idenüE ed
w ith the spider. D iv in a tio n stones re fe rre d to
as spiders played an im p o rtan t p a rt in the
cerem onies dedicated to Ixchel d u rin g the
m onth o f Z ip . In the C o lo n ial A fu a / o í the
Bacahs, Ixchel is m entioned p ro m in e n tly in
a p ra ye r concerning venom ous spiders.
In Classic and Postclassic M a y a iconogra­
phy, the old Pauahtun SKYBEARER can appear
w earin g a spider's w eb . T h is correlated w ith
C e n tra l M exican conceptions o f the skybear-
ers, w ho threaten ed to descend to the earth
in the form o f dem onic T zrrziM iM E . Because o f
th e ir headlong descent, th e ¿z/&únúne w e re
com pared to the spider descending by its
thread . O n an A ztec stone copy o f the
jMuhmo/pi7h y ear BUNDLE, a tz itz im it/ star
dem on is depicted descending from the starry
sky as a spider, com plete w ith a w eb placed
a t the tip o f the abdom en. A lthough by no
m eans a n a tu ra l tra it, the curious p a ir o f
antennae is found w ith o th er A ztec spider
representations.
springs F ro m the F o rm a tiv e period to con­
tem p o rary tim es, springs have been places o f
religious w orship. In m any religions, springs
HM
a re reg ard ed as the source o f WATER, including
even th e RAIN clouds. T h e re ce n tly discovered
O lm ec site of El M a n a tí, V e ra cru z, has
y ie ld e d offerings o f carved w ood, JADE, RUBBER,
and o th e r goods th a t w e re placed in the
crystal c lea r w aters o f a n a tu ra l spring. T h e
m any CENOTES and w a te r-fille d CAVES o f Yuca­
tán can be considered as form s o f springs, and
have been places o f w o rsh ip fo r m ille n n ia . For
ra in cerem onies, th e con tem po rary Yucatec
M a y a s till collect the sacred 'v irg in w a te r," or
zu h u y ha, fro m isolated sub terran ean pools.
D u rin g the Tarascan fe s tiva l o f Sicuindiro,
th e BLOOD fro m tw o sacrificed slaves was
p oured in to tw o hot springs ded icated to
C u e ra v a p e ri, the m o th e r o f the gods, and
vapors rising from these h o t springs brought
the ra in clouds. A m ong the Aztecs o f C e n tra l
M ex ico , springs w e re fre q u e n tly id e n tifie d
w ith the ahuehue% or " w a te r d ru m " tree
(TTarodiuin m ucronaiM /n). A ccording to F ra y
D ieg o D u rá n , these g re a t trees alw ays g re w
a t springs. S till today, p ilg rim s collect spring
w a te r fro m the roots o f a g re a t a h u e h u e t/
tree on the outskirts o f C h alm a.
stars and planets A n c ie n t skyw atchers
keenly observed th e m ovem ents o f a ll h eav­
e n ly bodies in M eso am erica th a t could be
observed w ith th e naked eye, in clu d in g the
SUN, MOON, M e rc u ry , VENUS, M a rs , Jup iter,
and Saturn. T h e y observed the MILKY WAY,
perceived groups o f stars to fo rm constel­
lations, and M a y a astronom ers - lik e th e ir
counterparts in the an cien t O ld W o rld - m ay
have recognized a zodiac along th e eclip tic.
Glass, and, by extension, lenses, w e re n ever
in ven ted in the N e w W o rld ; astronom ers
used pairs o f crossed sticks and observed
featu res on th e horizon through the notches.
T h e anom alous round b u ild in g called the
C aracol ("s n a il") a t C h ich en Itz á p ro b ab ly
functioned as an observatory, its n arro w w in ­
dows a t th e upperm ost story guid in g observa­
tions o f the m ovem ents o f Venus. O n e M ix te e
city was know n as N d is i nuu (n o w T laxiaco ),
or "c le a rly seen"; it was th e site o f a p ro m i­
nen t observatory. M o u n d J, one o f the oldest
buildings a t M o n te A lb a n , p ro b ab ly acted as
an observatory fo r the rising o f the star
C a p e lla , w hich m ay have been understood to
guide the sun on the day o f the Erst zen ith
passage a t the la titu d e o f M o n te A lb án .
(Z e n ith passage occurs w h en the sun passes
d ire c tly overhead, a phenom enon w hich
occurs tw ic e an n u ally a t the E q u ato r, on the
157
STELA
equinoxes, once an n u ally a t the T ro p ic o f (AgAf) Spider
Cancer and the T ro p ic o f C ap rico rn , a t th e ir descending from the
respective sum m er solstices, and tw ice ann u ­ starry sky as a iz/tzKcut/;
note the web at the
ally in b etw een , ranging according to la ti­
tip of its abdomen.
tude.)
Detail from a stone
A lthough n e ith e r the Erst nor last astron­ copy of a year bundle,
omers in M esoam erica, th e Classic M a y a Late Postclassic Aztec.
becam e the most s k illfu l skyw atchers w e
know of. R ecent investigations in to Classic
texts have revealed a high le v e l o f sophistic­
ation in M a y a observations, p a rtic u la rly o f (Be/ow) Stela D,
planets. T h e M a y a v iew ed the M ilk y W a y as Quiriguá, Late
the road to X ib a lb a and saw in the seasonal Classic Maya.
m ovem ents o f constellations along the ecliptic
th e ir fun d am en tal CREATION story. T h e y tim ed
events o f w a r and SACRIFICE to coincide w ith
the m ovem ents o f Venus and Jup iter. A ccord­
ing to his inscriptions, C h an B ahlum , a la te
7th c. P alenque king, not only live d by the
m ovem ents o f Jupiter, b u t the m ajor events
o f his life dovetailed w ith the m ovem ents o f
th a t p la n et deep in the past.

stela M esoam erican peoples erected p ris­

m atic stone slabs called stelas or stelae to
celeb rate the reigns and ritu a l passages o f
the ru lin g e lite , and usually o f the suprem e
ru le r h im self. T h e im petus to erect stelae Erst
cam e in the M id d le F o rm a tiv e am ong the
O lm ec, w hen other efforts to record history
also developed. Stelae a t L a V e n ta depict
historical rulers a ttire d in re g alia th a t sym bol­
ized and reinforced the oiRce and p o w er o f
an e a rly king.
T h e custom o f erecting stelae subsequently
took root in the Isth m ian region during the
L a te F o rm a tiv e and Protoclassic, p a rt o f the
constellation o f traditions characterizing east­
ern M esoam erica. A t C h iap a de C orzo and
Tres Zapotes, M esoam ericans began to
inscribe long count dates (CALENDAR) on stelae,
Exing them in tim e. A t A b aj T a k a lik and
Iza p a , altars w ere p aired w ith stelae, a p a t­
tern th a t continued a t most Classic M a y a
sites. Iza p a stelae featu re m ythical scenes
and g en erally lack dates; the A baj T a k a lik
m onum ents depict rulers in E a rly Classic
M a y a poses, and the hum an Egures are
accom panied by dates and long texts.
Classic M a y a stelae h ear texts th a t reveal
some ancient perceptions o f the m onum ents.
F o llo w in g the katu n ending d ate , the glyphs
on Stela 9 a t L am an ai can be read dzapah fe
¿un or The setting o f the stone tr e e /' as
recently deciphered by D av id Stuart and N iko ­
lai G rube. These stelae, then, w e re in d ivid u al
STÍHLÍNC HYPOTHESIS
trees; as tim e passed and dozens o f m onu­
m ents clustered on a c en tral p laza th ey fo r­
m ed w h a t L in d a Scheie and D a v id F re id e l
have called a "fo re s t o f kings."
T h e C lassic b u ild ers o f C h o lu la in C e n tra l
M exico adopted the custom o f e rec tin g stelae
and ALTARS, although no fig u ra tiv e carved
im ag ery survives; a t Xochicalco and T u la ,
b efo re AD 900, ru lin g lords adopted the prac­
tice o f e rectin g stelae w ith th e ir p o rtraits . In
Y ucatan, stelae w e re erected throughout the
Postclassic, b u t the im ag ery sh ifted , the d yn ­
astic ru le r g ivin g w ay to representations o f
th e setting o f th e sup ern atu ral lords o f the
katu n , re flec tin g a changed society m ore
concerned w ith the collective com m unity
than the single a ll-p o w e rfu l ru le r.
S tirlin g H ypothesis In 1955, the noted O lm ec
archaeologist M a tth e w S tirlin g suggested th a t
m any "wKRHjACUAn" figures app earin g in
O lm ec a rt d erived from an ancient O lm ec
origin m yth in w hich a JACUAR copulated
w ith w om an. Thus the O lm ecs m ay have
considered them selves as "peo p le o f the
ja g u a r," a union o f ja g u a r and hum an. H o w ­
ever a ttra c tiv e or in trig u in g this concept m ay
be, there is little m a te ria l evidence fo r such
a creation m yth am ong the O lm ecs.
S tirlin g based his theory on tw o badly
dam aged E a rly F o rm a tiv e O lm ec m onum ents
from the region o f San Lorenzo, T en o ch titlan
M o n u m e n t 1 and P otrero N uevo M o n u m e n t 3.
According to Stirlin g , T en o ch titlan M o n u m e n t
1 represents an anthropom orphized ja g u ar
copulating w ith a supine w om an. H o w ev er, on
close inspection, it can be seen th a t the up p er
figure displays no ja g u a r a ttrib u tes b u t is fu lly
hum an. M o reo v er, the figure appears to be in
b a llp la y e r garb, m uch lik e the contem porane­
ous b a llp la y e r figurines from Las Bocas.
A ltho u g h it is possible th a t the lo w e r Rgure is
a w om an, the ankles a re crossed and bound.
In stead o f representing a m yth ical copulation,
this m onum ent m ay d ep ict the S A C R IF IC E o f a
C A P T I V E in association w ith the B A L L G A M E . T h e
o th er sculpture, Potrero N uevo M o n u m e n t 3,
c le a rly displays a ram p an t ja g u ar over a
hum an. U n fo rtu n a te ly , the m onum ent is too
dam aged to provide any in d icatio n o f the gen­
d er o f e ith e r figure or to d eterm in e w h e th e r
copulation is in ten d ed. I t is q u ite possible th a t
th e m onum ent depicts a ja g u a r attacking a
hapless hum an. In them e, the sculpture is not­
ably sim ilar to an O lm ec-style re lie f fro m the
M id d le F o rm a tiv e site o f C halcatzingo,
t!M
M o relo s, d ep ictin g tw o jaguars c lim b in g atop
and a ttackin g hum an victim s, w ith no in d i­
cation o f any sexual act. See a/so JAGUAR com ;
OLMEC CODS.
sun A ltho u g h the sun was u n doubtedly w o r­
shipped fro m rem o te a n tiq u ity , the first clear
rep resen tatio n o f it appears am ong the P roto­
classic M a y a in th e fo rm o f the fou r-p eta led
elem e n t com m only re fe rre d to as the Ain sign,
Am being the M a y a n term fo r "su n " or "d a y. "
A t th e Protoclassic site o f C erros, B elize, the
Ain sign appears on the cheek o f a b lu n t­
snouted m ask, p ro b ab ly to id e n tify this e n tity
as th e solar JAGUAR. T h e Ain glyph continued
to serve as the M a y a solar sign u n til the
Spanish C onquest.
In highland M exico , solar signs cannot be
re a d ily id e n tifie d u n til the T e rm in a l Classic
p erio d . In this case, the sun is in d icated by
a disk w ith ra d ia tin g tria n g u la r elem ents
representing solar rays. O n e o f the e arlies t
occurrences o f the rayed solar disk appears
on the abdom en o f a standing ja g u a r on the
T e rm in a l Classic N evad o de T o lu ca S tela.
T h e rayed solar disk is especially com m on in
the a rt and w ritin g o f L a te Postclassic C e n tra l
M exico . In m any instances, the disk bears
the d ate 4 O llin , the nam e o f the p resent sun
created a t TEOTIHUACAN.
In an cien t M eso am erica, solar gods tend
to be yo u th fu l m ales, consistent w ith th e vigor
and p o w er o f th e rising sun. In the M a y a
region, th e sun was also id e n tifie d w ith the
m ost p o w e rfu l c rea tu re o f th e forest, the
JAGUAR. T h e N evad o de T o lu ca S tela suggests
th a t th e ja g u a r w as also considered a solar
c reatu re in C e n tra l M exico d u rin g the T e r­
m in al Classic p eriod. In th e A ztec m yth o f
the creation o f th e fifth and p resen t sun, both
the ja g u a r and the EAGLE w e re born out
o f the solar p yre a t T eo tih u ac an . In L a te
Postclassic C e n tra l M ex ico , th e sun was p e r-
sonihed by the y o u th fu l TO N A TiuH , w ho tends
to be p o rtrayed w ith red skin, golden h a ir
and a p ro m in en t rayed solar disk. .See aVso
CREATION ACCOUNTS; DAWN; FIVE SUNS; SCHELLHAS
GODS.
sun god see KiNiCH AHAU
sw eatbath T h e sw eatb ath served th e ancient
M esoam erican com m unity as a place o f
CURING, rest, and m ain ten an ce o f h ealth .
T ra d itio n a l n ative com m unities today often
construct sweathouses and continue to use
159 SWEATBATH

them as places o f healing. In M esoam erica,

rituals o f healing w e re religious rites, in w hich
app ro p riate gods w e re invoked. T h e process
of re tre atin g to the sw eatbath offered seclu­
sion from society, in its e lf a p u rify in g act, b u t
the trea tm en t by m oist h ea t was seen as
a pinnacle o f P U R IF IC A T IO N . W h en a person
em erged from a sw eatbath, th a t person was
as if "re b o rn " from the w om b o f the E A R T H .
A ncient M esoam erican sw eatbaths have
been found near the ritu a l precincts o f cities,
as w e ll as in dom estic sectors. A t th e M a y a
city o f Piedras N egras, a t least eig h t elab o r­
Stirling Hypothesis: Potrero Nuevo Monument
a te, m asonry sw eatbaths served the core o f
3, a sculpture purportedly showing the copulation
the city, some d ire ctly adjacen t to the king's between a jaguar and a woman, Early Formative
palace and TE M P L E S . U n lik e sim pler contem ­ Olmec.
porary exam ples, each o f these Piedras
N egras sw eatbaths was encompassed w ith in
a la rg er structure, perhaps a place o f
additional ritu a l, b u t also, surely, fo r the
m undane needs o f privacy and dressing. To
increase the tem p eratu re w ith in the bath
itse lf, the steam cham ber was a sm all, lo w ,
vau lted room w ith in the la rg e r structure, w ith
room for tw o benches and a firebox. As in
most ancient sw eatbaths, the Piedras Negras
exam ples included fireboxes lin e d w ith
broken p o ttery for repeated heatings. WATER
w ould have been throw n on this firebox to
release clouds o f steam in to the cham ber,
and a channel led outside to carry aw ay the
w a te r.
T h e recognition o f sw eatbaths a t Piedras
N egras led to fu rth e r such identifications in
o th er M esoam erican cities, b u t a t no other Tonatiuh, the Centra! Mexican sun god, Codex
place have they been found in such abund­ Borgia, p. 23, Late Postclassic period.
ance or on such a scale. As the ethnohistoric
record makes clear, how ever, the sw eatbath
was a standard fea tu re o f M esoam erican
cities, and m any o f the m odern, ethnograph-
ically docum ented exam ples are sm all and
w ould be m ore d ifficu lt to recognize in an
archaeological context.
Know n in C en tra! M exico as the fem asca/,
the sw eatbath was dedicated to the god
T E Z C A T L iP O C A , according to the gloss o f the

Codex M ag liab ech iano , b u t the p ictu re o f the

same m anuscript shows the fro n ta l face o f
the goddess TLAZOLTEOTL over the doorw ay,
and m ost sw eatbaths w e re probably d ed i­
cated to h er or to Toci, a re late d fem ale
goddess. T la z o lteo tl was the A ztec goddess
know n by the e p ith e t " e a te r o f filth ," and
she w as the one to w hom C O N FESSIO NS w e re
m ade, so she is the m ost a p p ro p riate d eity The fema^ca/, or sweatbath, Codex
for the dedication o f the p u rify in g sw eatbath. Magliabechiano, 16th c. Aztec.
TAMOANCHAN
T h e C odex M a g liab ec h ia n o also inform s us
th a t w h en any sick person w e n t to the b ath
house, [th a t sick person] o # e re d incense,
w hich th ey caü copa/, to th e id o l and covered
the body in black in ven eratio n o f th e ido!
th ey c a ll T ezc ate p o c atl [T e zc a tlip o c a ], w ho
is one o f th e ir m ajo r gods."
T h e s w eatb ath was especially im p o rta n t to
m idw ives and th e ir p atie n ts , p reg n an t or
recen t!y d e liv e re d w om en, fo r w hom T la z o l-
teot! was also patroness. Sahagún cites the
form a! speech o f a m id w ife , w ho addresses
h e rs e lf to the parents o f a p re g n a n t w om an:
he speciBes Y o a!ticit! as th e m o ther o f the
gods, w ith dom inion over sw eatbaths, know n
in some cases as xocÍMca/Zi, or B ow er houses.
O nce inside the sw eatb ath , a tten d in g PRIESTS
and priestesses (o r the supphcants th e m ­
selves) struck the bodies o f the supphcants
w ith various grasses, herbs, and sticks, but
p regnant w om en w e re som etim es excused
from such rigors. A fte r a BIRTH, a w om an
rep aired to the sw eatbath for massage by the
m id w ife , probab!y to h elp shrink the uterus.
R ecently d elive re d highland M a y a w om en
and th e ir m idw ives in G u a te m ala s till fre ­
q u en t the sw eatbath.
Tam oanchan In L a te Postclassic C e n tra l
M exico , Tam oanchan was considered a m y th ­
ical and paradisiacal place o f origin. A t
Tam oanchan, the gods fashioned the present
race o f hum ans from p e n ite n tia l B LO O D and
ground hum an bones stolen from the U N D E R ­
W O R L D (see C R E A T IO N A C C O U N T S ). T h e F lo re n ­
tin e Codex relates th a t P U L Q U E was also disco­
vered a t Tam oanchan. In the F lo re n tin e
C odex account, Tam oanchan appears to be
placed in the g eneral G u lf Coast region
o f the H uastec M a y a . In fa c t, the term
Tam oanchan is a M a y a n w o rd , and could be
paraphrased as "p lace o f the m isty sky,"
an a p p ro p riate description o f th e hum id G u lf
Coast.
In the C e n tra l M exican codices, T am oan ­
chan is represented by a B ow ering c le ft
tre e e m ittin g blood. T h e signiBcance o f this
toponym is u n certain , although it m ay re la te
to the A ztec origin legend o f M A Y A H U E L , in
w hich TzrrziMiME dem ons tore a p a rt th e tree
containing M a y a h u e l and Q U E T Z A L C O A T L . In
th e codices, Tam oanchan com m only appears
160
in illu stratio n s fo r the iRBcm** o f 1 C a lli.
T h e goddess p residing over this frecen# is
rrzpAPALOTL, one o f th e p rin c ip al ¿zt&r/m/fne
dem ons.
T e c p a tl see C A L E N D A R ; F L IN T ; YEARBEARERS
tem a la ca tl A ccording to various accounts, in
o rd er to h u m ilia te the d efe ated Tepanecs and
to reen act th e ir dem ise in a p ublic forum ,
M otecuhzom a.1 in v en ted a sort o f g la d ia to ria l
SACRIFICE subsequently used to cele b rate gen­
erations o f A ztec victo ries. In these contests,
an A zte c w a rrio r tied a hapless prisoner to a
sacriBcia! stone called the fe m a /a c a f/ and
forced h im to engage in com bat u n til DEATH
or d e fe a t. These round stones w e re p e rfo r­
ated by a hole a t the c en ter, and a rope ran
from the CAPnvE s leg and through the stone,
handicapping the v ictim . In such g la d ia to ria l
com bat, the victorious w a rrio r usually donned
the a ttire o f a JAGUAR kn ig h t w h ile the d efe ated
one w o re a fe a th e r costum e; the victorious
w a rrio r arm ed h im s e lf w ith a m a c u a /iu /f/,
or club w ith em bedded OBSIDIAN blades dis­
guised by feath ers w h ile the d e fe ated one
w ield e d a club w ith only feath ers. D esp ite
such odds, the cap tive tied to th e fe m a /a c a f/
occasionally succeeded a t b ea tin g o ff his
enem y, and perhaps several o f them in
succession. In some cases, the cap tive im m e d i­
a te ly achieved his lib e rty ; in others he
was nonetheless sacriBced. In s till others, the
v a lia n t c ap tive then faced a le ft-h a n d e d
w a rrio r, w ho was alm ost c e rta in to slash and
d e fe a t his enem y.
L arg e crowds observed such g la d ia to ria l
com bat w ith in th e sacred p recin ct o f T en o ch -
titla n , adjacen t to the TzoMPANTLi o r skullrack,
and n ear xiPE T O T E c 's tem p le Yopico, w hence
the d efeated captives w e re rem oved fo r sacri-
Bce by H E A R T extrusion.
tem p le T h e Spanish w o rd "te m p lo " and
English " te m p le " have com e to re fe r to w h a t
th e A ztecs called a feo ca/ii, o r lite ra lly god
house, and g en e rally in d ic ate a place o f
w orship. Thro u gh o u t M eso am erica, PRIESTS
and supplicants re p a ire d to tem ples to com ­
m unicate w ith th e ir CODS, to m ake offerings
to th e gods in exchange fo r d iv in e in te r­
ven tio n , and to m ake them selves one w ith
the gods. In th e ir sacred p recin ct, the Aztecs
constructed 78 d iffe re n t structures, most o f
them tem ples dedicated to p a rtic u la r gods
or cults. (O th e r buildings included p riestly
161
TEOTIHUACAN
residences and schools.) T h e ifu e fe o c a /h The Aztec sign for
(G re a t T em p le or T em p!o M a y o r) re fe rre d Tamoanchan, Codex
specihcally to the g re at d u al PYRAMID d e d i­ Vaticanus A, 16th c.
cated to H U iT z iL O P O C H T L i and T L A L O c . T h e T e m ­
plo M a y o r precinct, lik e those throughout
M esoam erica, was the h e a rt o f the c ity , and
it was roughly a t the cen ter o f T e n o c h titla n .
To show conquest, the Aztecs d epicted the
failin g , burning tem p ie o f th e ir foes; they
often hauled the sculptures o f enem y gods (Re/ow) Gladiatorial
back to T en o c h titla n , w h e re they kep t them sacrifice: an Aztec
warrior attacks a
in a separate tem p le o f cap tive deities. In d i­
prisoner tethered to
vidual tem ples w ith in the precinct m ay have the temalacatl, or
been thought to encapsulate the m ountain sacrificial stone,
homes o f various deities. Research a t the Codex Magliabechiano,
T lalo c side o f the dual p yram id has shown 16th c. Aztec.
th a t the Aztecs created the m anm ade
em bodim ent o f Tlaloc's m ountain through
offerings and deposits.
Am ong M esoam erican cities know n only
archaeologically, the w ord tem p le has often
been app lied w ith o u t specific know ledge o f
any religious practices th a t m ay have taken
place there. W h a t have been term ed M a y a
tem ples" and "palaces," fo r exam ple, seem
to grade in to one another, and in recent
years, archaeologists have p re fe rre d to give
structures n eu tral num bers ra th e r than nick­
nam es lik e "T e m p le o f the G ia n t Jaguar."
N evertheless, M a y a tem ples can gen erally be
id e n tifie d : a tem ple has a high p latfo rm
topped by sm all cham bers; access is lim ite d (Re/ow) The double temple: the Templo Mayor
at Tenochtitlan, with its two shrines dedicated to
and is usually by a single staircase, although
Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli; Codex Ixtlilxochitl,
a fe w exam ples have o th er arrangem ents. 16th c. Aztec.
M o st such tem ples w ere constructed a t the
death o f a king to enshrine his TOMB, as for
exam ple, a t T ik a l, although occasionally, as
at Palenque, such a tem p le was constructed
beforehand, leaving access to a sarcophagal
cham ber. A lthough clearly associated w ith
specific deities, these M a y a tem ples p rim a rily
com m em orated royal ancestors and the gods
w ith w hom the kings w ere united in death.
.S e e a / y o MOUNTAINS.

Tem plo M a y o r F e e TEMPLE

Teodhuacan T h e Aztecs b elieved in serial

creations, th a t the suN and the population o f
the EARTH had been g enerated five tim es, w ith
the c u rren t sun and hum ankind having been
m ade in the fifth and last creation. T his
final creation o f the fifth sun took place a t
T eotihuacan. A lthough a re al place, w h ere
high c iv iliza tio n in C e n tra l M exico th rive d in
the first m illen n iu m AD, it was also a place
T H O T iH U A C A N C O D S
o f the im a g in atio n , the locus o f religious
g en eratio n , w h e re the Aztecs b eliev ed the
gods had conjoined to c re a te the fifth sun.
A ccording to som e accounts, T eo tih u ac an was
also the b irth p la c e o f th e gods them selves.
A ccording to the F lo re n tin e C odex, d u rin g
the long p ereg rin a tio n from AZTLAN th a t
e v e n tu a lly le d to T e n o c h titla n , th e Aztecs
w e n t from TAMOAKCHAN to T e o tih u ac an , w h e re
they m ade offerings and b u ilt PYRAMIDS o ver
the bu rials o f ru lers, thus g iving them life
everlastin g .
In 1971, archaeologists found the opening
to a CAVE u n d er the P yram id o f th e Sun a t
T eo tih u acan . Archaeologists found th a t this
cave extended fa r b eneath the P yram id o f the
Sun, w ith sm all a n c illa ry cham bers ra d ia tin g
from the centra! passagew ay. C eram ic e v i­
dence indicates th a t the cave was in use from
Protoclassic u n til A ztec tim es, and it m ay
w e ll have been an ancien t site o f w orship
hallo w ed by the construction o f the g re at
pyram id above it. T h e Aztecs claim ed to have
com e from a place called cmcoMOZTOc, or
Seven Caves: perhaps this sacred place lay
under the ground at T eo tih u acan . In any
case, the Aztecs c ertain ly considered the
abandoned city sacred: they carried out ritu ­
als th e re , brought pieces o f its sculpture and
p ain tin g back to T en o c h titla n , and m ade it
the site o f royal PILGRIMAGE. See a/so CREATION
A C C O U N T S ; F IV E SUNS.
T eotihuacan gods In the com plex and poorly
know n iconography o f T eo tih u acan , a series
o f characters th a t appear to p o rtray d istinct
deities occur tim e and tim e again. A lthough
certain o f these gods can be re ad ily id e n tifie d
as ancestral form s o f deities know n am ong
the L a te Postclassic Aztecs, other figures
app ear to be unique to Teotihuacan. In con­
trast to the Classic M a y a , fem a le d ivin ities
have a p ro m in en t position. In this respect,
T eo tih u acan is sim ilar to L a te Postclassic
C e n tra l M exican relig io n , w hich also has a
g re at m any goddesses.
TTaVoc. U n til recen tly, m any d istinct T e o ti­
huacan gods w e re confused w ith T la lo c, the
C e n tra l M exican god o f RAIN and LiGHTNiNC.
A ltho u g h Alfonso Caso and L a u re tte
Séjourné both m ade progress in d eterm in in g
T lalo c's characteristics, E sther Pasztory first
successfully isolated and defined the T e o ti­
huacan T lalo c from other gods. A t Teotihuacan,
T la lo c ty p ic a lly appears w ith goggle eyes and
a p ro m in en t u pper lip containing a set o f
tea
larg e tee th . Paaztory Id e n tifie d tw o form s
o f T la lo c. O n e fo rm , T la lo c A , displays a
p ro m in en t set o f JAGUAR canines; q u ite fre ­
q u e n tly , a WATER ULY is placed in the m outh.
T h e o th e r aspect, T la lo c B , has a sei o f
id e n tic a lly sized conical tee th and a p ro m in en t
b ifu rc a te d tongue, m uch lik e the pendulous
tongue o f cocqo, th e Zapotee god o f rain and
lig h tn in g .
G re a t G oddess. A ltho u g h this term is w id e ly
used in re ce n t lite ra tu re , it p ro b ab ly sub­
sumes a n u m b er o f d istin ct goddesses. O ne
fem a le e n tity c u rre n tly placed in this category
w ears a fanged nose b ar. D u e to the a p p e ar­
ance o f SPIDERS w ith this fig u re, she has been
term ed the T eo tih u acan S pider W om an. Yet
a n o th er T eo tih u ac an goddess appears w ith a
stepped facia! p a tte rn in g around the m outh
and lo w e r cheeks. T h e significance o f this
goddess is s till unknow n.
N e tte d /a g u a r. T h is po o rly understood e n tity
is a jACUAR covered w ith in te rla c e d cords,
resem bling a n et. T h is n e t p a tte rn in g is also
found on T eo tih u acan representations o f
MiRRons, and it is possible th a t lik e the Post­
classic TEZCATLiPOCA, th e N e tte d Jaguar re p ­
resents a personification o f the stone m irro r,
fft/e /m e te o t/; T h e aged FIRE god o f the h e a rth ,
H u eh u ete o tl com m only appears a t T e o ti­
huacan in the fo rm o f a stone efEgy censer.
C eram ic H u e h u e te o tl censers can be traced
back to Protoclassic C u icu ilco , and th e re are
still e a rlie r M id d le F o rm a tiv e exam ples from
T laxcala.
Q u e & a /c o a f/. O n e o f the e a rlie s t appearances
o f the plu m ed SERPENT a t T eo tih u ac an occurs
upon the o rig in al facade o f the T e m p le o f
Q u etzalco atl. H e re fe a th e re d serpents pass
through fe a th e re d m irro r rim s and sw im in a
S H E LL-filled SEA. A t T eo tih u ac an , th e fe a th e re d
serpent is usually dep icted w ith symbols o f
ra in and standing WATER. T h e T eo tih u acan
plum ed serpent is ty p ic a lly rep resen ted w ith
a c an in e -like m uzzle and a ra ttlesn ake body
covered w ith the green plum es o f th e QUETZAL.
A lthough anthropom orphic form s o f Q u e tza l-
coat! are v irtu a lly unknow n a t T eo tih u acan ,
th e p lum ed serpent can ap p ear upon a w oven
MAT, a w idespread sym bol o f ru lersh ip in
M esoam erica. I t is thus possible th a t as in
Postclassic M eo sam erica, the T eo tih u acan
Q u etzalco atl was identiR ed w ith an im p o rtan t
office o f ru lersh ip.
W a r S e rp en t. O n the T e m p le o f Q u etzalcoatl,
the p ro jectin g fe a th e red serpent heads a lte r­
nate w ith another being freq u e n tly m isidenü-
163 TERMINATION RITUALS
iBed as T lalo c. R ath er than T la lo c , this form
depicts a mosaic headdress in the form o f a
serpent head. A lthough p ro b ab ly o rig in atin g
a t T eotihuacan, this serpent being is also
com m only found in Classic M a y a a rt. E ith e r
as a headdress or as a com plete serpent, it
occurs in the context o f w a r. F re q u e n tly
appearing w ith smoke or Barnes, the WAR
SERPENT is probably an ancestral form o f the T!a!oc A
x iu H C O A T L Bre serpent o f Postclassic C e n tra l

M exico.
P u/gue Cocf. Since the tim e o f the Spanish
C onquest, Teotihuacan has been a fam ed
center for the production o f P U L Q U E . A lthough
ra re, th e re are exam ples o f a Teotihuacan
pulque d eity . This being appears w ith a
sim ple m ask, possibly o f the p a p e r-lik e MAGUEY
skin. U n d ern eath the mask, in the region o f
the eyes and m outh, it m ay be seen th a t the
face is blackened. In one instance, the head
is surrounded by pointed m aguey leaves
spouting w h ite pulque. In another exam ple,
the pulque spills from the m outh o f the god.
F a t Cocf. A com m on d eity o f Classic
M esoam erica, the F A T G O D often appears on
m old-m ade Teotihuacan Bgurines. In v a ri­
ably, the h eavily lid d ed eyes are shut, as if
the Bgure is dead. In a num ber o f instances,
the F a t God appears w ith the sign o f the
REPTILE EYE or a FLOWER upon his forehead.
See a /S 0 F A T C O D ; H U E H U E T E O T L ; P U L Q U E CODS;

QUETZALCO ATL; TLALO C .

term in atio n ritu als W h en M esoam erican

peoples cam e to the end o f th e ir use o f a
b u ild in g or even o f a period o f tim e, they
engaged in w h a t anthropologists have called
term in atio n ritu als, in w hich they ritu a lly
" k ille d " certain m a te ria l m anifestations. T h e
defacing o f O lm ec sculpture m ay be am ong
the earliest indications o f this practice. An
arm y o f w orkers ground dow n the colossal
heads and tab le-to p A LTA R S, leaving system atic
round pits; in some cases the e ffo rt o f destruc­
tion equaled th a t o f the o rig in al creation.
T h e y then bu ried the defaced m onum ents
w ith layers o f specially p repared sand and
stone. T h e Olm ecs m ay have thought that
through such efforts they n eu tralized the
p o w er in h e ren t in such rep resen tatio n al
sculpture. W h e re v e r the oversized masks o f
the Protoclassic perio d are uncovered,
Putque God
w h e th e r a t E l M ira d o r or C erros, there is
evidence th a t the faces suffered active dam ­
age before being covered. D u rin g the reign
o f R u ler A , T ik a l M a y a lords sm ashed the Classic period Teotihuacan gods.
TEXTILES
base o f S tela 31, cached the u p p er p a rt o f the
m onum ent in S tru ctu re 33 tog eth er w ith
b u rn t offerings, and then b u ilt a new super­
stru ctu re. T h e subject o f S tela 31, K in g
Storm y Sky, m ay w e ll be th e in te rre d subject
o f the tom b below S tru ctu re 33, and this
destruction o f his stela w as q u ite possibly
p a rt o f a te rm in a tio n ritu a l in w h ich th e last
vestige o f his presence was rem oved from
v ie w . A t L a g a rte ro , Susanna Ekholm un­
covered m iddens o f sm ashed cerem o n ial
p o ttery fre e o f any household debris, and
despite the presence o f vast q u an tities o f
fig u rin e bodies, no m atching heads w e re
found. In a ll like lih o o d , such a deposit w as
m ade as a term in atio n ritu a l, perhaps to m ark
the com pletion o f a period o f tim e.
B efore the d rillin g o f the last N e w F ire
(see FiRK) b efo re the Spanish C onquest, the
Aztecs carried out a term in atio n ritu a l: a ll the
old pots w e re sm ashed, a ll fires extinguished,
and pregnant w om en hidden from v ie w in
o rd er to start the m undane w orld an ew once
the N e w F ire was kindled in the open chest
o f a slain CAiTivn.
t e x t i l e s s e e CLOTH; COTTON
T czcatlipoca O n e o f the m ore fascinating
gods o f Postclassic C en tra! M exico, T e zc a tli-
poca was the o m in ip o ten t god o f rulers,
sorcerers and w arrio rs. T h e nam e o f this
being signifies "sm oking m irro r," and is a
term rich in sym bolic m eaning. F o r one,
MIRRORS o f OBSIDIAN and o th er stone w ere
w id e ly used in necrom ancy and sorcery in
ancien t M esoam erica. H o w e v e r, in the early
17th c. chants recorded by R uiz de A larcón,
the surface o f the EARTH its e lf is re fe rre d to
as a sm oking m irro r. In the m yth o f the FIVE
SUNS, T ezcatlipo ca presided over the SUN o f
earth . According to th e H is to ria d e Aw m ex­
icanos p o r sus p m furas, a b a ttle raged
betw een the god o f this first sun, the sun
o f e a rth , and QUETZALCOATL, the god o f the
follo w in g sun o f WATER. Thus the first sun
ended w h en Q uetzalcoat! struck Tezcatlipoca
dow n, turnin g h im in to a JAGUAR. In tu rn ,
Tezcatlipo ca term in ated the sun o f WIND by
knocking over Q u etzalcoatl. This cosmic b a t­
tle b etw een T ezcatlipo ca and Q u etzalcoatl is
also reflected in the legends o f TOLLAN, in
w hich T ezcatlipo ca eve n tu ally bests Q u e tza l­
coatl through a series o f ruses. T h e conflict
b etw een Tezcatlipo ca and Q u etzalco atl could
be v iew ed in term s o f a d u alistic opposition
!64
o f ea rth and w in d , or by extension, m a tte r and
s p irit. H o w e v e r, T ezcatlip o ca encompasses
m ore than the e a rth . A ccording to the Fhyren-
tin e C odex, T ezc atlip o c a is om nipresent, and
causes discord and conflict e v e ryw h e re he
passes. N onetheless, the sam e passage also
describes h im as a c reato r as w e ll as destroyer,
a b rin g e r o f fo rtu n e as w e ll as disaster. In
C e n tra ! M exican b eliefs, T ezcatlip o ca not
o n ly b attles against b u t also assists Q u e tza l­
coatl in th e Creation o f the w o rld and its
in h ab itan ts. M o re than anyth in g , T e z c a tli­
poca appears to be the e m b od im en t o f change
through conflict.
In v ie w o f his o m nipresent and v o la tile
n a tu re , it is not surprising th a t Tezcatlipo ca
was re fe rre d to by m any epith ets. D oris
H ey d en has counted an astonishing 360 dis­
tin ct phrases fo r h im in Book 6 o f the F lo re n ­
tin e C odex. A m ong them a re df/acuaA uan,
"h e whose slaves we a re ," y a c í/, "th e
e n e m y ," y o u a //i ehecaf/, "n ig h t w in d ," and
/M u lcah u a í/a7í7qpaque, "possessor o f the sky
and e a rth ."
T h e first c lea r representations o f T e z c a tli­
poca ap p e ar on T o lte c -s ty le stone sculptures
from E a rly Postclassic C hichen Itz á . L ik e
la te r im ages o f this being, he displays a
sm oking m irro r upon his head and a SERPENT
foot. D u rin g the L a te Postclassic p erio d , T e z ­
catlipoca m ay ap p e ar w ith a serp ent foot,
although in this case the serp ent usually
appears em erging from the sm oking m irro r
th a t ty p ic ally replaces his foot. T h e m irro r or
serpent foo t p ro b ab ly alludes to the creation
m yth in w hich T ezcatlip o ca loses his foot
w h ile b attlin g w ith the e a rth m onster. A side
from the sm oking obsidian m irrors m arking
his head and foot, the L a te Postclassic T e zc a t­
lipoca tends to have broad a lte rn a tin g bands
o f y ello w and black across th e face. T h e
nocturnal JAGUAR, th e m ost p o w e rfu l a n im al
o f M esoam erica, was th e a n im al c o u n terp a rt
o f T ezcatlipo ca. T e p e y o llo tl, or H e a rt o f the
M o u n ta in , was a ja g u a r aspect o f T e zc a tli­
poca. I t is thus e n tire ly fittin g th a t T e z c a tli­
poca was p atro n o f the TRECENA 1 O celo tl. A n
o m nipotent god o f fa te and p u n itiv e ju stice,
he often m erges in to iTZTLACO LiUH Q ui-ixQ ui-
M iL U , the b lin d fo ld ed god o f stone and casti­
gation. In this com posite form , T ezcatlipo ca
appears as th e black god o f the n o rth , and
patron o f the day A ca tl.
M ic h a e l C oe firs t noted a series o f striking
correspondences b etw e en T ezcatlipo ca and
the ancien t M a y a d e ity com m only know n as
165 THRONE

God K (see scHELLHAS GODS). L ik e T ezcatlip o ca, The smoking mirror

God K has a serpent foot and usuaHy displays of Tezcatlipoca,
a smoking m irro r on his head. In a d d itio n , Aztec stone
sculpture, Late
both Tezcatlipoca and G od K are closely
Postclassic period.
tied into the suprem e oiRce o f ru lersh ip.
Nonetheless, despite these d ire c t and
im portant p arallels, these gods a re not
(Be/ow) Tezcatlipoca
e n tire ly equ ivalen t. W hereas the ja g u a r con­ with the twenty
stitutes the fau n al c o u n terp art o f T e z c a tli­ trecena periods, Codex
poca, G od K c learly has serpentine c h aracter­ Fejérváry-Mayer, Late
istics. In add itio n , the lig h tn in g and Postclassic period.
agricu ltu ral com ponent o f God K is not re ad ily
evid en t in the attrib u te s o f T ezcatlipo ca. See
a / s o C R E A T IO N A C C O U N TS .

throne M esoam erican lords ru le d from elev ­

ated seats o f pow er, or w h a t w e call thrones,
from around 1200 BC u n til the tran sfer o f
pow er to the Spanish conquerors. T h e so-
called "ta b le -to p a lta rs " o f the Olm ecs are
probably the oldest p erm an ent thrones th a t
survive in M esoam erica, and they are am ong
the largest ever m ade. A huge stone from
K am in aljuyu depicts some o f the early
M a y a o f the G u atem ala highlands presiding
from sm all thrones du rin g the Protoclassic.
CAPTIVES kneel befo re the enthroned rulers,
each o f w hom bears w h a t m ay be a nam e
glyph in his headdress, and the sequence
m ay record a series o f rulers or a genealogical
chart.
D u rin g the L a te Classic, w edge-legged
thrones predom inated in the w estern M a y a
(Be/ow) The Aztec Temple Stone, in fact the
region, p a rtic u la rly a t Palenque, Yaxchilán, throne of Motecuhzoma II, 16th c.
and Piedras N egras, w h ere artists carved
thrones w ith elaborate reliefs. T h e rich ly orna­
m ented throne, installed by Pacal in House E
o f the P alenque Palace in the 7th c., was
replaced by a la rg er version in an extension o f
the Palace a t the beginning o f the 8th c. Both
sculpture and p ain tin g in d icate th a t M a y a
thrones w ere often p ain ted , p a rtic u la rly in
b rig h t red and g re en ; ru lin g lords draped them
w ith ja g u a r pelts and reclined against ja g u a r-
covered cushions. According to the F lo re n tin e
Codex, rulers sat on several d iffe re n t types o f
pelts, including pum a, JAG UA R , w o lf, coyote,
and various cured leathers w ith p ain ted
designs.
T h e A ztec T em p le Stone, long called the
M on u m en t o f Sacred W a r, has been recog­
nized as the official throne com m issioned by
M otecuhzom a I I to com m em orate the N e w
F ire cerem ony o f 1507. A flig h t o f stairs leads
up to the seat o f the thron e, inscribed w ith
the im age o f T L A L T E C U H T L i, the A ztec EARTH
rLAHUIZCALPAKTECLHTH
m onster; w h a t w o u ld be a tem p le cham b er
form s the backrest, and it featu res th e rayed
d iad em o f th e sux. W h e n the th ro n e was
occupied by th e TLATOANi, o r ru le r, his ro le in
sustaining the e a rth and SUN in th e ir p ro p er
places was e xp lic it.
G ods, too, reig n ed fro m thrones, and
am ong th e M a y a , the h ie rarc h y am ong c er­
ta in d eities is p a rtic u la rly n o tab le. IT Z A M N A ,
fo r e xam p le, o fte n receives th e appeals o f
o th e r gods. In one strikin g e xam p le, G od L
(see scHELLHASCODs), w ho o ften presides fro m
a thron e h im self, appears h u m b ly b efo re C od
C , the sun god, a fte r losing his ritu a l a ttire
to a RABBrr. A ltho u g h M ix te e lords o ften sit
or squat on MATS to sym bolize th e ir a u th o rity ,
M ix te e gods and oracles m ay o lfe r counsel
from elev ated seats. A ztec figurines o fte n
take the form o f sm all TEMPLES th a t are
probably thrones for the gods seated on them .
In the 260-day io n a/am ai/s (see CALENDAR) o f
L a te Postclassic C en tra! M exican m anu­
scripts, enthroned gods reign over in d iv id u al
TRECENAS, and iconographic d etails o f the
thrones them selves often reveal aspects o f
the d iv in atio n .
T la h u izca lp an tec u h tli In C e n tra l M exico,
the god o f the m orning STAR was know n as
T la h u izca lp an tec u h tli, m eaning Lord o f the
D aw n . T lah u izca lp an tec u h tli represented an
especially fierce and dangerous aspect o f
V E N U S . According to M esoam erican b e lie f, the
rays o f the m orning star at heliacal rising
could in flic t g reat dam age upon p a rtic u la r
classes o f people as w e ll as on M A IZ E and
W A T E R . In the B orgia, Cospi, and Vaticanus B
codices, Venus tables p re d ict the days and
victim s o f the heliacal appearance o f the
m orning star. In these pages and o th er scenes,
T la h u izca lp an tec u h tli hurls his b a lefu l rays
in the form o f a t/-a t/ darts (see W E A P O N R Y ). In
the L eyen d a de /os so/es, T la h u izca lp an te ­
cu h tli hurls a d a rt a t the n ew ly created suN
a t T E O T in u A C A N . In response, the sun god
transfixes T lah u izca lp an tec u h tli, transfor­
m ing h im in to IT Z T L A C O L IU H Q U I-IX Q U IM IL L I, the
god o f coldness, stone, and castigation.
T h e first clear representations o f T la h u iz­
calp an tecu h tli appear d u rin g the E a rly Post­
classic p eriod. T h e T o ltec-style rock p ain tin g
a t Ixtapantongo bears an eroded b u t id e n tifi­
a b le representation o f the skull-faced T la h u iz­
calp an tecu h tli w ith a plum ed SERPENT m arked
w ith star signs. A t Ixtapantongo and C hichen
Itz á , the E a rly Postclassic T la h u izca lp an te-
166
c u h tli is c le a rly id e n tifie d w ith th e plum ed
serp ent, o r pucrzALcoATL. T h e C o lo n ial A na/e.*
d e C uaúA & dan states th a t a fte r being burned
upon th e fu n e ra l p y re , Q u e tza lc o a tl was
reborn as T la h u izc a lp a n te c u h tli. T h e god o f
the m o rn in g star was also closely id e n tifie d
w ith the star god MixcoATL, and in a num ber
o f instances appears w ith th e fac ial m arkings
o f M ix c o a tl, a field o f black surrounded by
w h ite spots den o tin g stars. H o w e v e r, the
typ ical star m arkings o f T la h u izc a lp a n te c u h tli
a re Eve w h ite spots upon the nose, b ro w ,
cheeks, and chin. T la h u izc a lp a n te c u h tli
appears as one o f the fo u r sxYBEARERs, in
this case the skybearer corresponding to the
eastern YEARBEARER A c a tl.
T la lo c T h e C e n tra ! M ex ica n god o f RAIN and
LiCHTNiNC, T la lo c first appears on ceram ic
vases from T lap acoya th a t d ate to the 1st
c. BC and p o rtra y T la lo c w ith serp entin e
lig h tn in g bolts. T la lo c is one o f the m ost
com m on deities a t TEOTinuACAN and often
appears w ith lig h tn in g , MAIZE, and WATER. L ik e
Postclassic exam ples, th e T eo tih u acan T la lo c
typ ic ally has goggled eyes and larg e, ja g u a r
tee th . In contrast to the M a y a CHAC, T la lo c is
c le a rly p a rt JAGUAR, and it is possible th a t the
rum blings o f th u n d er w e re com pared to the
bellow s o f the ja g u a r.
In Postclassic M exico , T la lo c was b elieved
to reside in m ountain CAV E S . These caves w e re
considered to be m iraculous treasu re houses
Riled w ith w e a lth and pro sp erity. T o the
Aztecs, T la lo c w as know n as " th e p ro v id e r,"
and depending on the rains, could be e ith e r
generous or m iserly. O n e o f the d u al T E M P L E S
upon the T em p lo M a y o r o f T e n o c h titla n was
d edicated to T la lo c , and this side o f th e
P Y R A M ID w as a p p a re n tly considered as his
M O U N T A IN abode. Excavations in the fou n d a­
tions o f this tem p le have re ve ale d rich o ffe r­
ings, m any o f w hich a re re la te d to w a te r
and the SEA. N e a r T e n o c h titla n , th e re was a
special m ountain tem p le d ed icated to T la lo c.
Located on th e peak o f M o u n t T la lo c, some
13,500' (c. 4100 m ) above sea le v e l, it housed
a shrine containing stone im ages o f M o u n t
T la lo c and o th er neighboring h ills and m oun­
tains.
P atro n o f the day M a z a tl and th e TRECENA
o f 1 Q u ia h u id , T la lo c also presided over the
th ird sun o r w o rld , 4 Q u ia h u itl, the sun o f
ra in destroyed by a Rery deluge.
T la lo c and his consort CHALCHiUHTLicuE
governed th e T la lo q u e, lite ra lly the " T la -
167
TLALTECUHTLI
io c s /' w ho w e re recognized to be the m u ltip le The Central Mexican
spirits o f m ountains and p o w e rfu l w e a th e r god of the morning star,
phenom ena. See a/so cocijo; FIVE SUNS; ucHT Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli,
Codex Telleriano-
N IN C A N D T H U N D E R ; M O U N T A IN S ; R A IN ; T E O T IH U A C A N
Remensis, 16th c.
GODS.
Aztec. In this scene,
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is
Tlalocan N ahu atl-speald ng C e n tra l M e x i­ named 1 Reed, the
cans a t the tim e o f the C onquest called the calendrical name of
fourth le ve l o f the heavens or u pper w o rld Quetzalcoatl.
Tlalocan, m eaning the place o f T L A L O C .
Because it was in the heavens, T lalo can is
often thought o f as T lalo c's paradise. Accord­
ing to the Vaticanus A codex, those who
drow n or d ie from o th er aspects o f W A T E R ,
such as Roods and the strikin g o f L I G H T N IN G ,
go d ire ctly to T lalo can , as do the deform ed -
D W ARVES, cripples, and so fo rth - th a t are the

special charges o f T la lo c. T h e F lo re n tin e

Codex notes th a t T lalo can is v erd a n t, a place
o f endless spring, abounding in green and
yello w plants: M A IZ E , chilis, squash, A M A R A N T H ,
tom atoes, beans, and m arigolds. Tlaloc's TEM
PLE was also know n as the T lalo can .
A lthough the Classic perio d p ain tin g at
T e p a n titla has been called the T lalo can , the
w a te ry lan d o f abundance th a t it depicts
is probably not an illu stratio n o f this la te r
concept.

T la lte c u h tli T la lte c u h tli lite ra lly means

"e a rth lo r d /' b u t most A ztec representations
c learly d ep ict this creatu re as fem ale, and
despite the m ale gender o f the nam e, some
sources call T la lte c u h tli a goddess. U sually in
The Central Mexican god, Tlaloc, Codex Laud,
a Aoc/rer, or b irth -g iv in g squat, w ith head p. 2, Late Postclassic period.
Rung backw ards and h er m outh o f FLINT
blades open, T la lte c u h tli m enaces h um anity
and dem ands constant appeasem ent. T la lte -
cuh tli's im age is usually carved on the bottom
o f A ztec sculptures, w h ere it m akes contact
w ith the E A R T H . This im age on the base o f
m onum ents m ay m erge w ith aspects o f TLALOC
and M iC T L A N T E C U H T H . O n the Stone o f Tízoc,
T la lte c u h tli is conRgured by the open-
m outhed fro n ta l face and m arkings o f CAIMAN
skin, the surface o f the earth .
According to the Tf/sfoyre tfu m dchigue,
Q U E T Z A L C O A T L and T E Z C A T L iP O C A carried T la lte ­

c u h tli dow n from the heavens and turned

them selves in to g reat SERPENTS. O n e grasped
the rig h t hand and le ft foot and the o th er took
the le ft hand and rig h t foot; they squeezed
T la lte c u h tli u n til th e y had re n t h e r body
asunder. A fte r th ey had taken one h a lf aw ay
to the SKY, o th er gods descended to the earth The earth monster Tlaltecuhtli, Aztec sculpture,
to console h er, and from the rem aining, Late Postclassic period.
TLATOANI
vio late d h a lf o f h er body th ey fo rm ed the
surface o f th e e a rth , m aking o f h e r h a ir ' trees
and Sow ers and grasses, o f h e r skin . . . Row ­
ers, o f h er eyes w ells and fou n tains and little
caverns, o f h e r nose valleys and m ountains,
and o f h e r shoulders m ountains. A n d this
goddess cried m any tim es in th e n ig h t d esiring
th e hearts o f m en to eat. A n d she w o u ld not
be q u ie t ju s t w ith . . . fru it unless it was
sprin kled w ith the blood o f m e n ."
M id w ives exh o rted T la lte c u h tli to com e to
th e ir aid w hen an in fa n t w a rrio r th rea te n ed
to k ill th e m o ther d u rin g a d ifE c u it lab o r.
A long w ith p reparatio n s fo r w a r, prayers to
T ezc atlip o c a o ften invoked T la lte c u h tli as the
SUN.
A ltho u g h rep resen ted in the sculpture o f
M a y a p a n , T la lte c u h tli cannot be located in
C lassic M a y a a rt, and h e r origins rem ain
obscure.
tlato an i W ith th e ir rise to pow er in the V a lle y
o f M exico in the 15th c., the Aztecs replaced
th e ir tra d itio n a l trib a l ad m in istra tive
arran g em en t o f four lineage heads w ith the
position o f f/afo an /, a ru le r w ho was in turn
advised by a four-m an council, including
the cmuACOATL. L ite ra lly m eaning "h e w ho
speaks" in N a h u a tl, the i/afo am was the
suprem e A ztec ru le r in p o litical affairs, and
som etim es in religious ones as w e ll. A lthough
in theory a n ew f/afo an i could be selected or
elected by the council from one o f hundreds
o f m ale nobles, in p ractice the n ew ru le r was
alw ays b ro th e r, son, or grandson o f a previous
t/afo an /. F o r exam ple, a t the tim e o f the
C onquest, the B atoani M otecuhzom a 11,
know n also as M otecuhzom a Xocoyotzin, was
the grandson o f M otecuhzom a i, the longest
reigning A ztec ru le r. T h e Aztecs trea te d the
t%afoam as a d ivin e being, and the p ublic
ra re ly saw th e ir sovereign. Perhaps because
a d iv in e being d id not reveal m undane bodily
functions, the i^aíoain a te in solitude, a carp et
protected his fe e t from touching the soil o f
the EARTH w h e rev er he w alked , and o th er
hum ans d id not touch h im in public, a taboo
vio lated w hen the Spaniard C ortés reached
out to em brace M otecuhzom a a t th e ir Rrst
m eeting. See a/so ACC ESSIO N.
T la zo lte o tl As a C e n tra l M exican goddess o f
p u rific atio n , T la zo lte o tl was also id e n tifie d
w ith filth , or f/azo/A. In N a h u a tl, the term
t/azoBi can re fe r to both vices and DISEASES.
As th e goddess o f t/azeB i, T la zo lte o tl was a
KM
goddess o f PUMiricATiow and cuwmc, p a rtic u ­
la rly o f diseases caused by sexual m isdeeds
or excess. A ccording to F ra y D iego D u rá n ,
p e n ite n t in d ivid u als w o u ld p erfo rm (xw
FESsiON and B LO O DLETTING in fro n t o f an im age
o f T la zo lte o tl. As an in d icatio n o f h er clean­
sing ro le , she is com m only depicted w ith a
grass broom . In th e codices, she can be re ad ily
id e n tifie d by a black zone around h er m outh
and spools o f COTTON in h e r headdress. She
appears to d e riv e from th e G u lf C oast and
m ay have o rig in a lly been a H u astec goddess.
T la zo lte o tl is p atro n o f th e day O c elo tl and
th e TRECENA I O llin .
toad A m p h ib ians o f the genus B ufo, toads
p layed an im p o rta n t and e a rly ro le in the
religious sym bolism o f an c ie n t M eso am erica.
D ep ictio n s o f toads first ap p e ar in F o rm a tiv e
O lm ec a rt, and it is lik e ly th a t m any o f the
" W E R E -J A C U A R " figures a re a c tu a lly toads. O n e
species, B u /b m ar/m M , a g ia n t toad th a t
produces a p o w e rfu l HALLUCINOGEN know n as
b u fo ten in e through glands a t the back o f the
head, w as o f special im p o rtan ce. S tela 6 from
the Protoclassic site o f Iza p a p o rtrays a seated
toad w ith the p itte d p a ra to id gland p ro m i­
n en tly displayed. T h e scrolls s w irlin g fro m
this area p ro b ab ly re fe r to b u fo ten in e exuded
from the gland. A t Iz a p a , K a m in a lju y u , and
o th er Protoclassic M a y a sites, toads com ­
m only ap p ear in the fo rm o f m assive A LTA R S .
These toad -altars a re usually p laced in fro n t
o f S T E L A E , and constitute an e a rly com ponent
o f the M a y a s te la -a lta r com plex.
A m ong the Classic M a y a , th e toad serves
as the zoom orphic form o f th e 2 0-d ay u ln a /
period o f the Long C o u n t. Q u ite p ro b ab ly,
this derives fro m the fa c t th a t toads, lik e
people, possess 20 digits. Thus in Yucatec
M a y a n , w hereas the nam e fo r th e 2 0-d ay
p erio d is tuna/, th e te rm fo r person is u/nic.
In re ce n tly discovered E a rly Classic stucco
reliefs fro m B alam kú, C am peche, th e re a re
full-R g u re toads w ith u p w a rd ly facing heads.
Seated lords are positioned in th e ir m ouths,
as i f th e toads w e re m eta p h o rica lly giving
B IR T H to th e kings. In Classic M a y a a rt, th ere
is a clear iconographic o verlap b etw e en toads
and JAG UARS, as if toads w e re considered the
g re at predators o f th e ir d im in u tiv e w o rld.
Thus fo r exam ple, a th ree-sp o tted circu lar
elem e n t p ro b ab ly re fe rrin g to th e parotoid
gland o f the toad can substitute fo r a ja g u a r
e ar in representations o f th e p atro n god o f
Pax. In th e M a y a -s ty le m urals fro m the Red
169
TO CI

Tem ple a t C acaxtla, a toad displays th e black-

spotted yello w coloration o f the ja g u ar.

tobacco Tobacco (M co R an a sp.), one o f the

most im p o rtan t ritu a l plants o f ancien t
M esoam erica, was consum ed in tw o p rin c ip al
ways, e ith e r chew ed w ith p ow dered lim e or
smoked. In m any regions o f M esoam erica,
dried tobacco was ground and m ixed w ith
lim e to increase the stim ulatin g effects o f
nicotine. T h e discovery o f lim e -E lle d pits in
the cen ter o f T ie rra s Largas phase public MOTECUHZOMA t MOTECUHZOMA t!
1440-1469 1502-1520
buildings a t San Jose M o g o te, O axaca,
suggests th a t the practice o f chew ing tobacco The Aztec king or tlatoani, Motecuhzoma I
(Motecuhzoma Ihuilcamina), with his grandson
w ith lim e m ay have been present d uring the
Motecuhzoma II (Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin),
E a rly F o rm ative period. D u rin g the Post­ Codex Mendoza, 16th c.
classic period, b o ttle gourds fille d w ith
tobacco and lim e served as insignia fo r PRIESTS.
T h e tobacco was chew ed to re lie ve fatig u e
d uring long vigils and o th er cerem onies and
The goddess Tlazolteotl,
possibly to induce visions as w e ll. T h e
detail from a Huastec
H u ich o l, T z e lta l M a y a , and o th er contem por­ conch shell pectoral,
a ry peoples o f M esoam erica continue to carry Postclassic Veracruz.
ground tobacco in b o ttle gourd containers.
Am ong the ancient M a y a , cigars seem to
have been the p re fe rre d m eans o f consum ing
tobacco. In fact, P ierre V e n tu r has noted th a t
our w ord cigar derives from the highland
M a y a n siAar, signifying cigar or tobacco.
Classic and Postclassic M a y a a rt contains
abundant scenes o f actual people and gods
sm oking cigars. O n e d eity in p artic u la r, the
aged God L (see S C H E LLH A S c o D s ) , is com m only
shown sm oking a large cigar. Am ong the
Postclassic Tarascans o f M ichoacán, tobacco
was usually smoked in long-stem m ed ceram ic
pipes. E lbow -shaped pipes seem to have been Seated toad, Izapa Stela 6,
the p re fe rre d means o f sm oking tobacco over
Protoclassic Maya. The
curls emanating from its
much o f Postclassic W est M exico. shoulder probably refer to
According to M e n d ie ta , the Aztecs consid­ poisons exuded from the
ered tobacco to be the em bodim ent o f ciHUA parotoid glands of
coATL, an aspect o f iLAMATECUHTLi, the great particular toad species.
goddess o f the M ILK Y WAY. In the early 17th c.
treatise o f R uiz de A larcón, tobacco was said
to have been born o f the S tar-S kirted O ne,
th a t is, the M ilk y W ay.

T o ch tli s e e C A L E N D A R ; M A Y A H U E L ; R A B B IT; YEAR-

BEARERS

Toci A form o f the aged g en etrix, T oci, O u r

G ran d m o th er, was a m ajor A ztec goddess.
Am ong h er o th er epithets w e re T e te o In n a n ,
or M o th e r o f the Cods, and T la lli lyo llo , Tobacco: God L smoking a
m eaning H e a rt o f the E a rth . A n EARTH god­ cigar, detail from a Late
dess, T o ci was a patroness o f m id w ives and Classic Maya vase.
curers, and was closely id e n tifie d w ith the
fem ases/, or swEATBATH. A ccording to
Sahagun, T o ci w as a!so term e d T e m a zc a lte c i,
or G ra n d m o th e r o f th e S w eatbaths. She w as
d e a rly re la te d to TLAZOLTEOTL, and fre q u e n tly
displayed th e sam e b lack fa c ia l m arkings and
coTTO\ spool headdress. T h e m a jo r fe s tiva l o f
T o ci was the h arvest rite p erfo rm e d d u rin g
the VEINTENA o f O c h p a n iztli.
A long w ith being a goddess o f th e e a rth
and ccRtNc, T o ci was id e n tifie d w ith w a r,
and was also c alled th e W o m an o f D iscord.
A ccording to A zte c legend, w h ile serving
as m ercenaries fo r the C u lh u a , the A ztecs
received a d au g h ter o f the ru le r o f C u lh u acan .
A lthough the ru le r in ten d ed his d au g h ter to
m a rry an im p o rta n t A ztec, HurrziLOPOCHTLi
in stru cted th a t the m aiden be sacrificed and
flayed to becom e T o ci. E nraged by this b ru ta l
act, the ru le r o f C ulhuacan banished the
Aztecs. Forced onto Lake Texcoco, th ey dis­
covered and founded th e ir capita! o f Tenoch-
titla n .
T o h i! Patron d e ity o f the Q u ich e a t the tim e
o f the Spanish C onquest, T o h il is a p rin cip al
god nam ed in the POPOLvun and guides the
lineages a t the beginning o f th e ir p ereg rin a­
tions. H e is the d e ity w ho dem ands BLOOD
offerings from his people, and so they sacrifice
to him both th e ir ow n blood and the blood
o f CAPTiVEs o f w a r. In the P opo/ MuA, T o h il
insists on the rig h t to suckle from his people,
m eaning to d rin k not m ilk from the breast,
b u t blood: to be suckled by T o h il is to have
one's HEART rip p ed out. T h e Q uiche estab­
lished his p rin c ip al TEMPLE a t U ta tla n , th e ir
cap ital, and brought offerings to h im on the
day ToA, one o f the 20 days and corresponding
to the Yucatec day M u lu c . T o h il means OBSiD-
iAN, is cognate w ith T a h il in o th er M a y a n
languages, and probably can be id e n tifie d
w ith the Classic G od K (see SCHELLHAS GODs).
T o lla n T h e Aztecs and m ost o th er C e n tra l
M exican peoples b elieved th a t th e re had once
been a m ore glorious era, w hen the Toltecs
had reig n ed a t T o lla n , or T u la , as it is also
called . B u t the nam e T o lla n can also sim ply
m ean "place o f rushes" and, as such, was the
term a pp lied to any g re at city. A t the tim e
o f th e C onquest, T en o c h titla n its e lf was a
T o lla n , and the archaeological sites o f both
T E O T iH U A C A N and T u la , H id alg o , w e re Tollans.
A ll across M esoam erica, from the Chichim ecs
to the M a y a , noble lineages claim ed descent
and le g itim ac y fro m T o lla n and the Toltecs
W h o w e re th e To ltecs, and w h e re exactly
w as T o llan ?
A ccording to th e A ztecs, these Toltecs w e re
h eld to be th e inventors o f a ll a rtis try , from
wRmNC to g o ld w o rkin g to m ed icine, and the
v ery w o rd " to lte c " m e an t a rtis t or craftsm an.
T h e y liv e d in u n p a ra lle le d m ajesty, reigned
o ver by QUETZALCOATL, w h o d w e lt in a palace o f
fo u r b u ild in g s ,o rie n te d to the fo u r DIRECTIONS,
one o rn am en ted w ith sheets o f COLD, ano th er
w ith JADE and TURQUOISE, a n o th er o f SHELLS and
silv er, and a last one em bedded w ith red
shells and precious stones. In this T o lla n
th e re was abundance; the QUETZAL fle w and
the b lu e cotinga d azzled . T h e F lo re n tin e
C odex places T o lla n along the banks o f the
X ico c o titla n , and acknow ledges th a t this is
the place w h e re T o lte c treasures and pots
can be dug fro m th e e a rth . In fact, the
Aztecs d id in d eed sack the cities o f th e ir
predecessors, especially T u la , H id alg o , and
they h au led the booty back to T e n o c h titla n ,
b u t the description o f tropica! birds and a
paradisiacal abundance sounds less lik e a
place in the C e n tra l M e x ic a n highlands and
m ore lik e TAMOANCHAN, a m yth ical place usu­
a lly thought to be dow n in th e tro pical lo w ­
lands, perhaps even in the M a y a area . In the
POPOL vuH, the Q u ich é M a y a te l! o f a jo u rn e y
to the east, to T u la n , and th e ir T o lla n m ay
w e ll have m ean t C h ich eo Itz á o r perhaps one
o f the g re a t trad in g ports along the G u lf
Coast.
T h e id ea o f T o lla n m ay w e ll d a te to the
rise o f the historical Toltecs in M eso am erica,
w ho, around th e yea r AD 900, con tro lled tra d ­
ing netw orks extending fro m th e A m erica n
Southw est dow n in to C e n tra ! A m erica. T h e
tw o largest cities o f th e T o lte c n etw o rk w e re
T u la , H id a lg o , and C h ich en Itz á ; C h o lu la
also th riv e d in th a t era. B y A ztec tim es, the
g reat cities o f the past and th e ir achievem ents
m ay w e ll have been conflated in to a single
concept o f a glorious past, tro p ica l abundance,
and in ven tio n , w ith T o lla n m ore an id ea than
a single place.
tom bs Some M esoam erican nobles w e re
in te rre d in tom bs upon th e ir DEATH, w h ile
others w e re w rap p ed in to BUNDLES w ith layers
o f CLOTH and then b u rn t or in te rre d , or both,
depending on the customs o f the c u ltu re. In
C e n tra l M exico , fo r exam ple, the noble dead
w e re w rap p ed in to m um m y bundles. M a n y
o f the g re at TEOTiHUACAN masks w e re probably
171
TOMBS
once sewn onto such bundles and then in te r­
red. T h e Aztecs crem ated th e ir dead, and
then in te rre d the ashes, although victim s o f
death by drow ning w e re b u rie d . T h e Codex
M agliabechiano illu strates the m um m y b u n ­
dle o f a MERCHANT accom panied by th e tokens
o f his w e alth - JAGUAR p e lt, COLD, and valu ab le
beads - w ith w hich his ashes w o u ld be
in terred in case he chose to take up his
profession in the UNDERWORLD.
But throughout m ost of the rest of
M esoam erica, in W est M exico , in O axaca,
along the G u lf Coast, and in the M a y a lands,
nobles and ro yalty began th e ir jo u rn e y in to
Two nobles seated before the sign for Tollan, or
the ArrERUFE once th e ir bodies had been
'place of rushes." The central mountain marked
placed in tom bs. T h e stone sarcophagus Brst by a snake refers to Coatepec, the birthplace of
appeared at L a V e n ta , in O lm ec tim es, w ith in Huitzilopocbtli; Manuscrit Tovar, 16th c. Aztec.
a tom b fram ed by basalt colum ns. T h e m ost
extrao rd in ary sarcophagus know n belongs
to Pacal a t Palenque and is carved on sides
and top w ith the im ages o f Pacal's descent
into the U n d erw o rld and his reception
by his forebears. Pacal's sarcophagus lies
inside a tom b deep w ith in the T em p le o f
Inscriptions, reached only by an in te rio r,
secret staircase.
T h e im agery o f the M a y a tom b som etim es
suggested the en try into the U n d e rw o rld b u t
a t o th er tim es the foundation o f a MOUNTAIN.
A rtists p ainted the fine m asonry tom bs a t Rio
A zu l and elsew here d uring the E a rly Classic
period w ith symbols o f transition from this
w o rld to another, fre q u e n tly w ith symbols
o f WATER and BLOOD. L ik e the la te r A ztec
m erchants, M a y a nobles took w ith them the
things they w ould need in ano th er w o rld. A
K am in alju yu lord was in te rre d w ith the tools
for w orking ja d e ; a Copán lineage head was
accom panied by the m aterials a PRIEST or
scribe w ould need. A t U axactún, srnaü
TEMPLES w e re erected over the burials o f E a rly
Classic rulers in C ro u p A ; during the L ate
Classic, the same build in g com plex received
sim pler burials o f w om en and c hild ren . W hen
R u ler A o f T ik a l died in AD 725, a tom b was
dug in to the bedrock o f the G re a t Plaza, and
over his m ortal rem ains, his successors raised
up T e m p le I, p erm an ently enshrining the
king. M a n y M a y a PYRAMIDS, then , w e re great
tom b structures.
A t M o n te A lb an , the Zapotees b u ried th e ir
noble dead in tombs a t the centers o f th e ir
patios, in underground cham bers reached by
a single Bight o f stairs. N iches fo r offerings
in te rru p t rich paintings o f p arad in g d eities; Tomb of the Late Classic Maya king, Pacal, in
perhaps if the offerings suiRced, the in te rre d the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque.
TONACATECUHTLi
noble m ade an easy tran s itio n . T h e Zapotees
a t M it!a b u i!t cru cifo rm tom bs u n d er th e ir
palaces. D u rin g the L a te Postciassic, w hen
th e M ixtees h eld g re a te r p o litic a l a u th o rity
in O axaca, they w e n t to an c ie n t M o n te A lb a n ,
e m p tie d som e o f th e Z ap o tee tom bs, and
b u rie d th e ir ow n noble dead in th e old
tom bs to g e th e r w ith ab u n d a n t n e w offerings,
including the largest single deposit of
M esoam erican gold discovered in its Prehis-
panic context this century.
In W est M ex ico , in the 1st m ille n n iu m Be,
the peoples o f C o lim a , Jalisco, and N a y a rit
dug shaft tom bs in to the bedrock, lik e th e ir
contem poraries in E cuador, a fa c t w hich
raises questions abo u t contact b etw e en N o rth
and South A m erica . F re q u e n tly m u ltic h am -
b ered , these shaft tom bs received the in te r­
m ents o f a fa m ily or lineag e, and have y ield e d
the m ost d ra m atic W est M exican figures. T h e
liv in g m arked the surrounding surface area
above the shaft tombs w ith stones, possibly
to d em arcate a place o f in terfa ce b etw een
the livin g and the dead. See a/so DEATH.
T o n acatccu h tli Lord of O ur Sustenance,
T o n acatecu h tli was a C e n tra l M exican form
o f the aged creato r god. A ccording to the
Vaticanus A codex, this d e ity and his consort,
To n acacih u atl, resided in the 13th and u p p er­
most heaven, O m eyocan. From O m eyocan,
the creato r gods sent dow n the souls o f infants
to be born. T o n acatecu h tli is id e n tifie d w ith
the m iracle o f p rocreation, and in a num ber
o f scenes appears w ith copulating hum an
couples. As a god o f creations and beginnings,
it is a p p ro p riate th a t he is p atron o f C ip a c tli,
the first o f the 20 days, and the TRECENA 1
C ip a c tli, the first o f the 20 irecenas.
tonal In contem porary ethnographic lite ra ­
tu re , th e term ¿onaf is fre q u e n tly used in
contrast to N A H U A L . W hereas nah n af g en erally
signifies a form -changer, fre q u e n tly in the
form o f an an im al, ¿ona/ is used to re fe r to a
s p irit-fa m ilia r or soul. Am ong contem porary
M esoam erican peoples, the ¿ona/is gen erally
synonymous w ith the concept o f the
"sh ad o w " s p irit o f an in d iv id u al. Am ong a
num ber o f M esoam erican peoples, the Io n a /
o f an in d iv id u a l is discovered soon a fte r B IR T H ,
fre q u e n tly by contact w ith a p a rtic u la r
anim al. T h e term ¿ona/ derives from the
N a h u a tl ¿ona//i, a w o rd b earin g such conno­
tations as solar h eat, day, day nam e, destiny,
and soul or s p irit. A ccording to Sahagún, the
172
¿ona/A sou! o f an in fa n t was sent from the
highest heaven o f O m eyocan, th e Place o f
D u a lity . T h is sou! was in extricab ly tied in to
th e &Mia%x?huaM CALENDAR o f 260 days. Q u ite
fre q u e n tly , the ¿ona/// corresponded to the
day o f b irth , w ith this p a rtic u la r d ay becom ing
th e personal nam e o f an in d iv id u a l. See a/yo
NAMES AND TITLES; TONACATECUHTLI; UAY.
T o n a tiu h T h e sun god o f Postclassic C e n tra l
M exico , TonaKiuh ty p ic a lly appears w ith red
body p a in t, an EAGLE fe a th e r headdress, and
a larg e rayed solar disk. H e is first found in
E a rly Postclassic To! tec a rt from lx tapan tongo
and C h ich en Itz á . T h e T o lte c T o n a tiu h is
fre q u e n tly p a ired w ith QUETZALCOATL in his
aspect as the m orning star. A t C hichen Itz á
and Ixtap an to n g o , the costum e o f T o n atiu h
seems to be based on th a t o f a M a y a king.
In term s o f C e n tra l M ex ica n cosm ography,
the id en tih e atio n o f T o n a tiu h w ith the M a y a
is a p t, since he is the god o f the east, th a t is,
the region o f the M a y a . In th e L a te Postclassic
CALENDAR, he serves as the p atro n o f th e day
Q u ia h u itl. In the TRECENA o f 1 M iq u iz tli, or
I D e a th , he appears w ith the lu n a r god
T ec u cizte ca tl, and in this reg ard it is in te re s t­
ing to note th a t the Postclassic M ix te e sun
god was know n as 1 D e a th .
T o the peoples o f C e n tra l M ex ico , T o n a tiu h
was a fierce and w a rlik e god. D u rin g the w ars
o f Spanish C onquest, the 16th c. A ztecs c alled
P edro de A lvarad o - a vicious conquistador -
T o n atiu h . .See a/so MixTEC GODS; s u N .
traders see MERCHANTS
trecena In th e ¿ona/am a¿/(see CALENDAR), the
period o f 260 days w as d iv id ed in to ¿recenas
(th e N a h u a tl w o rd is no lo n g er know n, and
M esoam ericanists use th e Spanish te rm ), or
periods o f 13 days, counted 1 -1 3 , w ith each
n ew trecena beginning w ith 1. T h e first day
o f th e ¿recena and its auguries, as w e ll as one
or tw o gods, reig n ed over th e e n tire 13-day
period. A ccording to the C odex Borbonicus,
fo r exam ple, those born in th e ¿recena 1 A tl
w ould be im poverished, and th e e n tire 13-
day period begun on th a t p a rtic u la r day
was in general a bad one. H o w e v e r, the
Borbonicus and the F lo re n tin e codices, the
tw o m ost com plete sources fo r the auguries
o f the ¿recenas, do not alw ays agree on the
DiviNATiON fo r the ¿recena.
T h e A ztec ¿recenas and th e ir patron deities
ran as follow s:
173
TROPHY HEADS
trecena patro n d eities o f each trecena

1 1 C ip ac tli T onacatecuhdi
2 1 O celotl Q u etzalcoat!
3 1 M a za tl T ep e yo llo d , Q u etzalcoatl, or T la zo lte o tl
4 1 Xóchitl H uehuecoyod or M acu ilxoch id
5 1 Acad C h alch iu h tlicu e and T la zo lte o d
6 1 M iq u iz tli T o n atiu h and Tecuciztecad
7 1 Q u ia h u id T la lo c and C hicom ecoatl or 4 Ehecad
8 1 M a lin a lli M a y a h u e l and X o c h ip illi or C in te o tl
9 1 C oad T la h u izca lp an tec u h d i or X iu h te cu h tli
10 1 T ec p atl T o n atiu h and M ic d a n te c u h tli
11 1 O zo m atli Patecatl and C u au h tlio celo tl
12 1 C u etzp allin Itztla c o liu h q u i
13 1 O llin Ixcu in a or T la zo lte o tl and Tezcadipoca
or U acd i
14 1 Itz c u in tli X ip e T o tee and Q uetzalcoatl
15 1 C a lli Itzp a p a lo tl
16 1 Cozcacuauhdi X o lo tl and T la lch ito n atiu h or 4 O llin
17 1 A tl C h alch iu h to to tl
18 1 E hecatl C hantico and 1 A cad or 1 C ip ac tli
19 1 C u a u h tli Xochiquetzal and Tezcadipoca
20 1 T o ch tli Iztap a lto te c and X iu h te cu h tli

trophy heads L ik e peoples o f C e n tra l and

South A m erica, the ancient M a y a preserved
the severed heads o f CAPTIVES as trophies.
In add itio n , these heads m ay have been
considered as a source o f supernatural pow er,
the repository o f the s p irit o f the d efeated
w a rrio r. D epictions o f trophy heads abound
in Protoclassic a rt from the M a y a region.
F re q u e n tly they are held in the hand, in the
crook o f the arm , or w orn on b e lt assemblages.
T h e mask and trip le CELT b e lt assemblage
com m only w orn by Classic M a y a rulers pro­
bably derives from trophy heads w orn upon
the b elt. T h e peoples o f Classic V eracruz also
seem to have had trophy heads. T h e stone
The aged creator god, Tonacatecuhtli, as patron
HACHAS associated w ith ballgam e belts appear
of the day Cipactli, Codex Borgia, p. 9, Late
to be based on the concept o f trophy heads. Postclassic period.
Thus the e a rlie r exam ples are not b la d e-lik e
but rounded, and com m only p o rtray lifeless
hum an heads. T h e id en tificatio n o f trophy
heads w ith ballgam e belts concerns the w id e r
association o f decapitation w ith the B A L L C A M E .
In M esoam erica, the b all was often m etaph­
o rically considered as a severed hum an head.
It is even possible th a t am ong the M a y a ,
hum an skulls w e re placed in la rg er RUBBER
balls, giving them lightness and bounce. P e r­
haps the most developed use o f trophy heads
w ith the ballgam e is the T Z O M P A N T U skullrack.
A w ooden rack w ith im paled hum an skulls, The sun god, Tonatiuh, detail from a wooden
the ¿zom pant/í appears to have been spe­ lintel at the Upper Temple of the Jaguar,
cifically id e n tifie d w ith ballcourts. Chichen Itzá, Early Postclassic period.
TUERTO
tu e rto S ig nifyin g an in d iv id u a] b lin d in one
eye, the Spanish te rm fu e rfo is used to re fe r
to a p e c u lia r a n cien t m o tif, a grotesquely
d efo rm ed and tw isted face. T y p ic a lly , th e
face appears w ith one eye shut and the nose
and m outh tw is te d to one side. A t tim es, the
tongue curves sidew ays o u t o f the m outh.
T h e fu e rfo m o tif seems to d ate to as e a rly as
the F o rm a tiv e O lm ec, fo r an exam ple appears
on an O lm ec-style stone y u g u ifo (a sm all U -
shaped stone ob ject, possibly used in the
BALLCAME). D u rin g the Classic p erio d , tuertos
a re know n fo r TEormuACAN, c en tral V e ra cru z,
and the M a y a area. A ltho u g h ra re , the tu e rto
m o tif continues in to the L a te Postclassic p e r­
iod. A t the A ztec capita! o f T e n o c h titla n , a
stone tu e rto head was discovered w ith in the
Stage 11 p la tfo rm o f the T em p lo M a y o r, a
constructional phase d atin g to app ro xim ately
AD 1390. T h e sculpture was found on the
T la lo c side o f the T em p lo M a y o r, th a t is
the side d edicated to R A!N and a g ricu ltu ra l
fe rtility .
T o the Aztecs and possibly the e a rlie r
peoples o f M esoam erica, the tu e rto face m ay
have been id e n tifie d w ith gods o f rain . Am ong
the Aztecs, the teptetoton m ountain gods
w e re considered to be aspects o f T L A L O C .
A ccording to the A ztec F lo re n tin e Codex, the
teptetoton punished those w ho tasted P U L Q U E
befo re it was fu lly p repared: "A n d o f him
w ho secretly tasted it, w ho in secret drank
some, even tasting only a little , it was said
th a t his m outh w ould becom e tw isted, it
w ould stretch to one side; to one side his
m outh w ould sh ift; it w ould be d raw n o v e r."
This a ilm e n t sounds very lik e the fu erfo face.
M ato s M octecum a suggests th a t the fueráo
portrays the fac ial paralysis know n as B ell s
palsy, w h ich can d erive from trau m a or expo­
sure to extrem e cold. Such a condition could
easily occur am ong individuals w ho visited
the w in d y and icy fastness o f high m ountains,
th e re a lm o f the T la lo q u e and the fepicfofon.
S * e e a /% ? D E F O R M IT Y .
turquoise A n e n tire ly opaque stone o f aqua­
m arin e color, turquoise was one o f the treas­
u red gem stones o f ancien t M esoam erica.
H o w e v e r, turquoise does not occur n a tu ra lly
w ith in th e confines o f M esoam erica. M o s t
turquoise appearing th e re derives fro m the
C erillo s region o f N e w M exico. This turquoise
does not app ear in M esoam erica u n til the
ad ven t o f the Toltecs du rin g the E a rly Post­
classic p erio d . T h e y probably secured the
174
C erillo s turquoise through the trad in g cen ter
o f Casas G randes in no rth ern C h ih u ah u a.
T o lte c Bgures, especially w a rrio rs , a re fre ­
q u e n tly rep resen ted w e arin g costum e e le ­
m ents covered w ith turquoise mosaic. Some
o f the com m on turquoise mosaic elem ents
a re larg e back MIRRORS, pointed crow ns, and
pectorals in the form o f stylized BUTTERFLIES
or D o c s . D u rin g the L a te Postclassic p eriod,
C e n tra l M ex ica n w a rrio rs w e re s im ila rly
id e n tifie d w ith turquoise. T h e Codex M a g lia -
bechiano illustrates a MORTUARY B U N D LE p rio r to
b u rn in g . T h e dead w a rrio r is dressed in p ap er
copies o f turquoise ornam ents, these being
a p o in ted crow n, a nose piece, and a
dog-shaped p ecto ral. In C e n tra l M exico , the
turquoise nose piece, or yacajo h u /f/, was
e m b lem atic o f the sou! o f the dead w a rrio r.
Perhaps because o f the b lu e color a t the
h e a rt o f in ten se flam es, turquoise was id e n t­
ified w ith F IR E in L a te Postclassic C e n tra l
M exico. T h e god o f fire , x iU H T E C U H T L i, or
T u rq u oise L o rd , was ric h ly costum ed in
turquoise, in clu d in g a p o in ted crow n, breast
p en d an t, and shield o f turquoise mosaic.
D u rin g the L a te Postclassic p erio d , the
poin ted turquoise jH u h u /izc M crow n was an
im p o rtan t distinguishing m a rk o f ru lers.
In N a h u a tl, the term x rh u /i/ signifies
"grass" and "so lar y e a r" as w e ll as turquoise.
In C e n tra l M ex ica n WRITING and a rt, these
three d istin ct m eanings a re d e lib e ra te ly
associated w ith one an o th er. Thus the Post­
classic x iU H C O A T L fire serp ent is fre q u e n tly
p o rtrayed w ith grass and the tra p e ze -a n d -ra y
year sign. D u rin g the L a te Postclassic p erio d ,
turquoise is rep resen ted e ith e r as a quincunx,
or as a circle containing a c en tral e le m e n t o f
roughly hourglass fo rm . a/so JA D E .
tu rtle B oth m arin e and te rre s tria l turtles
w e re o fte n id e n tifie d w ith W A T E R in ancien t
M esoam erica. In larg e p a rt, this c le a rly
derives fro m th e com m on occurrence o f
turtles in aqu atic h ab itats. H o w e v e r, the
id e n tific atio n w ith w a te r m ay also be due to
the use o f tu rtle shells as m usical instrum ents,
possibly as an allusion to th u n d e r. T u rtle
carapaces w e re w id e ly used as drum s, and
w e re struck w ith an a n tle r, stick, or o th er
h ard im p lem en t.
Because th e ir bodies form an in stru m en t,
tu rtles m ay have been id e n tifie d w ith M usic
in C e n tra l M exico. O n page 24 o f the Codex
B orgia, a tu rtle plays a d ru m w h ile blow ing
a conch tru m p et. T h e Y A n u i figure o f the
 175

M ixtees and Zapotees fre q u e n tly w ears a

tu rtle carapace, possibly as an allusion to th e
rum ble o f thu n d er. T h e tu rtle shell o ften
w orn by the M a y a d eity PAUAHTUN m ay also
be a reference to th u n d er. O n one L a te
Classic vessel, fo u r Pauahtuns are accom ­
panied by fou r C H A C S , the gods o f R A m and
LIGHTNING. T h re e o f the Chacs a re p layin g
m usic, one w ith a tu rtle carapace and a n tle r.
F o r the ancient M a y a , the tu rtle shell
described the circu lar and rounded E A R T H . A
num ber o f L a te Classic ALTARS are carved in
the form o f turtles. O n e such m onum ent,
Itz im te A lta r 1, depicts C aban curls - a w e ll-
know n earth sign - upon the shell. T h e
Tonsured M a ize God is o ften represented
rising out o f the tu rtle shell e arth . In L a te
Postclassic Yucatán, sm all stone turtles served
as the locus for penis p erfo ratio n . Page 19 o f Place sign for Xiuhtepec, meaning turquoise or
the Codex M a d rid illu s tra te Eve gods engaged grass mountain, Matrícula de Tributos, 16th c.
Aztec.
in B L O O D L E T T IN G around a tu rtle a lta r. Q u ite
possibly, this rite was to fe rtiliz e the earth
w ith blood d u rin g calen d rical perio d -en din g
celebrations. A t M a y ap a n , some stone turtles
b ear probable Aafun ending dates. In one
instance, an e n tire round o f 13 Aafuns is
represented on the rim o f the shell, m aking
this sculpture a P rehispanic K atu n W h eel.

tw ins M esoam erican peoples g en erally

believed tw ins to be dangerous. T h e Aztecs
considered the b irth o f tw ins a m alevolent
om en and to be such a source o f m isfortune
th a t one o f them should be k ille d a t b irth .
X O L O T L is the patron o f tw ins and other

d efo rm ities, and the very w ord xo /o f/ means Stone turtle bearing a Katun Wheel on its back,
Mayapan, Late Postclassic Maya. This sculpture
tw in in N a h u a tl, and m ay also m ean a doubled
constitutes the only Prehispanic Katun Wheel
M A IZ E p la n t or, as m exo/ol/, a doubled M A G U E Y
known.
p lan t. X o lo tl and Q U E T Z A L C O A T L are often
p aired , although probably not tw ins; because
o f this relatio n ship , c o a l/ has been corrupted
in M exican Spanish to cuafe, pal or buddy,
and cuafay, tw ins.
In the Codex B orgia, T E Z C A T L iP O C A and
Q u etzalcoatl are tw ins as they jo u rn ey
through the U N D E R W O R L D . T h e PO PO L v u n
relates the adventures o f tw o sets o f tw ins
fa th ere d by H U N n u N A H P u : H u nah p u and X b a -
lan q ue, the H e ro T w in s, and H u n B atz and
H u n C huen, the M o n k ey Scribe tw ins (see
MONKEY). P ain ted M a y a ceram ics reveal o th er
p aired in d ivid u als, b u t no o th er pairs o f tw ins
can be surely id e n tifie d . Some M a y a pairs,
such as the P A D D LE R C O D S , express opposition
^ ra th e r than id e n tity and can be like n e d to The Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque,
A ztec di/rasis/nos, p aired oppositions. 5*ee painted within Naj Tunich Cave, Guatemala,
a / y o B IR T H ; D E F O R M IT Y ; D U A L IT Y . Late Classic Maya.
rXiTZÍMÍMK
tz itzim im e A m ong th e most feared super­
natural beings o f L a te Postclassic C e n tra l
M exico w e re the íz/tzñ n ñ n e (singular fz/tz/
m vf/), the star demons o f darkness. According
to C e n tra l M ex ic an b elie f, planets and con­
stellations could be transform ed into fierce
devouring demons durin g p a rtic u la r calen-
drical and celestial events. Solar ECLIPSES w e re
an especially feared phenom enon, since it
was b elieved th at the star demons w e re
attacking the sux. This concept is probably
based on the fact that durin g total solar
eclipses, STARS can be discerned close to the
sun, as if they w e re attacking and o verp o w er­
ing it. F o r the Aztecs, the end o f the 52 -ye ar
cycle was an o ther fea rfu l tim e. I f N e w F ire
was not created on the H ill o f the Star
(see F!RE), the tz/tzúnñne w ould descend and
destroy the w orld.
T h e iz/tz/m u n e w e re believed to dive h ead­
first from the heavens, and for this reason,
they w ere com pared to the sptDEH hanging
head d ow n w ard from its thread. T h e four SKY
BEARERS, TLAHU!XCALPANTECUHTU, X1UHTECUHTLÍ,
EHECATL-QUETXALCOATL and MHTTLANTECUHTL!,
could also take on the role o f tzdzñnúne star
demons, b ut the tz/fz/m /m e themselves w ere
usually considered to be fem ale. T h e Codex
M agliabechiano contains skeletal tz/fzñnúne
w earing shell-fringed skirts. Am ong the
most im p ortan t íz/fzúnñne was the skeletal
/fzp a p a /o d , the goddess o f TAMOANCHAN.
tzom pantli O ne o f the m ore striking struc­
tures o f M esoam erican public architecture
was the fzom pand/, or skullrack. This was
a wooden scaffold containing hum an skulls
pierced horizontally by crossbeams. T h e term
izompand? is N a h u atl, and it has been w id ely
assumed th at this structure derives from
Postclassic C entra! M exico. H o w e v e r, a pro­
bable Protoclassic tzom panf/f was excavated
a t L a Coyotera, Oaxaca. M o reo ve r, there are
indications th at they w e re present a t U xm al
and other T e rm in a l Classic M a y a sites in the
Puuc region o f Yucatan.
In the Q uiche M a y a P O P O L V U H , the severed
head o f H U N H U N A H P U was placed in a gourd
tree next to the ballcourt. This gourd tree is
clearly a reference to the izom pa nf/i filled
w ith hum an skulls. In N a h u atl, the term for
head is fzonfeccvnaf/, w ith feccvnaf/signifying
gourd tree. I t appears th at like the Sumbanese
skull trees o f Indonesia, the tzompand? was
considered as a tree laden w ith fru it. In a
Toltec-style rock painting a t Ixtapantango,
there is a izo m p a n d / portrayed as a tree
176
containing shalb and banners, or panf/f, O n
page 19 o f the Codex Borgia, the fzo m p an d/
is also depicted as a tre e w ith p a n t// banners
5e e a/yo TROPHY HEADS.
@U
uay In M a y a n languages, the term n ay com­
m only refers to sorcerers and form-changers.
Am ong contem porary Yucatec, th ere is a
great deal o f concern and fear regarding uay
sorcerers. In fact, the w ord even appears in
local Spanish as an expression o f alarm and
fear. B u t although the u ay sorcerer corre­
sponds closely w ith the highland M exican
NAHUAL, in certain M a y a n languages the term
signifies a soul-like spirit companion sim ilar
to the M exican TONAL. In M a y a n languages,
uay can also m ean d ream in g or sleep. This
m ay w ell re fe r to the w idespread M a y a b e lie f
that the soul or spirit com panion travels in
dream s w h ile one is asleep.
Stephen Houston and D a v id S tuart have
isolated a glyph denoting uay. This sign is
composed o f a stylized hum an face serving
as the sign for a/ia u or king, b u t w ith one
im p ortan t difference - h a lf the face is covered
by a jACUAR pelt. In Classic texts, anim als and
supernatural figures com m only serve as the
uay o f p articu lar M a y a lords. E ven gods are
described as having uay counterparts. Thus
a skeletal SERPENT is described as being the
uay o f C o d K, or K a u il (see scuELLHAS CODS).
In the Classic inscriptions, it is uncertain
w h e th e r form -changers or spirit companions
are being described. F o r this reason, Houston
and Stuart p re fe r to describe the u a y as a
"co-essence." .See a /fo TONAL.
U a ye b Am ong the most im p o rta n t cerem on­
ies described for the contact-period M a y a o f
Yucatan w e re the rites concerning the U ayeb,
the five unlucky days a t the end o f the
year. D e ta ile d descriptions o f the U a ye b rites
appear in the 16th c. account by D ieg o de
Lan da, and in the C olonial Yucatec Cantares
de Dzff&a/cAé. In addition, passages p e rta in ­
ing to the U a ye b rites appear in the Prehis-
panic D resden, Paris, and M a d rid codices.
T h e Yucatec term U a ye b probably signifies
the sleeping or resting place o f the year.
H o w e v e r, the U a ye b period clearly had more
sinister connotations. T h e C an fares de D z ff-
baVcAá describes this period as a tim e o f evil
177
UNDERWORLD
w hen the UNDERWORLD is open. T h e Prehis-
A tzitzimitl demon,
panic g!yph for the U ayeb p erio d is the 360- Codex Magliabechiano,
day fun sign topped by a U -shaped skeletal 16th c. Aztec.
m aw , q u ite probably the cav e-lik e entrance
to the U n derw o rld . T h e U ayeb cerem ony
continues to be celeb rated by the T zo tzil o f
C ham ula as a n ative form o f C ath o lic C a rn i­
val. In this Eve-day festival, perform ers
im personating MONKEYS and o th er dem ons
from the perim eters o f the social w o rld take
control o f the com m unity. A ccording to the
C ham ula people, this festival is p erfo rm ed
during the Eve days o f U ayeb. See aVso
CALENDAR.

U n d e rw o rld T h e M esoam erican U n d e rw o rld

was a fearsom e and d readed place. F o r
exam ple, the Q uiche M a y a w ord X ib alb a
means "place o f frig h t," and th a t it was
indeed. B ut u n like h e ll in the C h ristian w o rld ,
the M esoam erican U n d e rw o rld was not the
preserve o f sinners, b u t ra th e r the destination
o f a ll those w ho escaped v io len t d eath, for it
was only these la tte r w ho w e n t d ire ctly to one
o f the heavens. In th e ir preaching, the Spanish
friars g en erally translated the w ord for the
C h ris tia n h e ll as M ic tla n , b u t threats o f an (AgAf) A
e te rn ity in M ic tla n had little effect, since the tzompantli
skullrack, Codex
audience alread y knew th a t a ll souls, w h e th e r
Durán, 16th c.
rich or poor, good or e v il, m ust go there. Aztec
A t the tim e o f the Conquest, most C e n tra l
M exican people believed in the cosm ograph-
ical scheme o f nine levels o f the U n d erw o rld , (Re/ow) A water
jaguar described
w ith 13 levels o f upper w o rld. According to
as the uay of a
the Codex Vaticanus A , w h ere the 9 -1 3 Seibal lord, detail
schem e receives its most e xp licit and am ple from a Late
presentatio n , T la lticp a c, lite ra lly "on the sur­ Classic Maya
face o f the e a rth ," belongs to both sequences, vase.
and so was considered the Erst level o f both
w orlds. T h e M a y a c ertain ly perceived layers
o f both U n d e rw o rld and up p er w o rld but the
notion o f nine levels o f the U n d e rw o rld is not
speciEc or universal for the M a y a , nor is
it fo r e ith e r the M ixtees or the Zapotees.
N evertheless, the construction o f num erous
n in e -le ve l PYRAMIDS du rin g the Classic and
T e rm in a l Classic era (e.g. T e m p le I a t T ik a l,
T e m p le o f Inscriptions a t P alenque, and the
C astillo a t C hichen Itz á ) m ight reEect such a
conceit, p a rtic u la rly in the case o f fu n e ra ry
pyram ids. T h e notion o f "houses" in w hich
the H e ro T w in s undergo ordeals in X ib a lb a
also suggests com partm ents, if not exactly
levels, in the U n d e rw o rld .
X ib a lb a , and the M a y a U n d e rw o rld in (B/gAf) The sign for the Eve-day Uayeb
general, could be entered through a CAVE, or period, Palenque, Late Classic Maya.
VEINTENA 176

stiH, standing WATER. F ro m w h e re v e r one g re at a tte n tio n from th e Spanish a t th e tim e

stood, th e U n d e rw o rld la y to the w est, w hich
m ay be w h y th e islands o ff C am peche, in c lu d ­
in g Jaina, received so m any b u ria ls: th e y
w e re th e last lan d masses to th e w est o f the
Y ucatan p en insu la. In th e POPOL vuH, th e
U n d e rw o rld geography includes a t least tw o
rivers and varies m uch lik e th e geography o f
the surface w o rld , and its re alm is vast. W h e n
p re p a rin g fo r d eath and a jo u rn e y in to the
U n d e rw o rld , a M a y a steeled h im s e lf to be
lik e a H e ro T w in , th a t is, to b e a b le to
overcom e the U n d e rw o rld gods and th e ir
tria ls through w it and perseverance.
In C e n tra l M exico , the eig h t layers u n d er
the surface o f the EARTH o ffered discrete
hazards th a t had to be endured by the souls
o f the dead: dangerous w aters, clashing MOUN­
TAINS, OBSTAN blades, a rro w SACRIFICE, and
HEART sacrifice am ong them , befo re the souls
fin a lly reached M ic tla n , w h e re M ic r L A N T E -
cuHTLi and his w ife M ic te ca cih u a tl reigned
over the deepest n eth er region. T o aid the
dead soul in the perilous jo u rn e y , the dead
w e re crem ated w ith th e ir w o rld ly pos­
sessions, p a rtic u la rly th e ir tools - such as a
w om an's w eavin g k it - as w e ll as precious
item s from the surface th a t m ight speed the
ordeal - such as JADE beads and fro th y hot
chocolate (see C A C A O ). W hen the souls o f the
dead fin a lly a rriv ed in M ic tla n , they offered
up th e m aterials w ith w hich the bodies had
been burned.
Some gods traveled in and out o f the
U n d e rw o rld : to create a n ew g eneration o f
m ankind, for exam ple, QUETZALCO ATL
o f th e C onquest, perhaps because the series
o f 18 a g ric u ltu ra l festivals offered closer a n a l­
ogies to E u ro p ean m onths and C h ris tia n feast
days than any o th e r aspect o f the M es o am e ri-
can CALENDAR. U n fo rtu n a te ly , the N ah u at!
term fo r th e tim e perio d has been lost; no
record o f the veintena survives in a C en tra!
M exican m anuscript m ade b efo re th e C o n ­
quest, p ro b ab ly because it d id not p lay th e
sam e ro le in DiviNATiON th a t the TRECENA, as
p a rt o f the tonaipoA ua///, d id . N evertheless,
because religious festivals w e re organized fo r
each vein ten a, the Spanish studied them
assiduously, and fro m th e ir accounts em erge
some o f th e m ost d e ta ile d descriptions o f
A ztec religious practices. T h e veintena fe s ti­
vals w e re la rg e ly a g ric u ltu ra l, w ith m any
ded icated to the RAIN gods and the MAizECODs.
V eintena cerem onies w e re w id e ly cele b rated
throughout M eso am erica, b u t usually the
term is reserved fo r the peoples o f C e n tra !
M exico . W e can also consider the M a y a count
o f m onths to have been veintenas.
T h e 18 A zte c veintenas ran as follow s, to
be succeeded by the nem ontem i, or nam eless
days, a fte r T ititl, b efo re the b eginning o f a
new 365-d ay year. T h e re is some disagree­
m en t ab o u t the tim in g o f the p rin c ip a l feasts.

descended in to M ic tla n to steal the bones o f

a previous race o f hum ans.
Throughout M esoam erica, Docs w e re con­
sidered valu ab le com panions and guides fo r
the dead sp irit, and dog skeletons are
occasionally found in TO M B S from the b egin­
ning o f Classic tim es onw ard. In W est M exico,
p a rtic u la rly in C o lim a, m ourners placed
p o ttery dogs in shaft tom bs, p ro b ab ly as
an expression o f a sim ilar concept. In the
F lo re n tin e Codex, only a y ello w dog could
fe rry his m aster across the treacherous w aters
o f the U n d e rw o rld , ^ee a/so A F T E R L IF E ; D E A T H .

vein ten a T h e veintena, or 20-d ay p erio d , or

"m o n th ," in th e A ztec calendar, received
179 VEINTENA

vein ten a nam e p rin c ip al deities p rin cip al celebrations

1 Izc a lli T la lo c, X iu h te c u h tli ffu a uAquífVfarnaVcMa/tzí/í

(m eal of am aranth
tam ales); feast for
X iu h te cu h tli every four
years
2 A tlcahualo, X ilo m a n a liztli T la lo q u e C u au h u itleh u a (liftin g o f
posts, p lan tin g o f trees,
stretching of lim bs);
young m aize
3 T la ca xip e h u aliztli X ip e Totee Feast o f X ip e , god o f
spring; Haying o f cap­
tives
4 T o zo zto n tli T la lo q u e, T la lte c u h tli, B loodletting; first flow ers
X ip e T o tee
5 H u ey to zo ztli T la lo q u e, C in te o tl, C h i- B loodletting; feasts to
com ecoatl T lalo c, m aize gods; first
fruits
6 Toxcatl, T epopochtli T ezcatlipo ca, H u itzilo - Feasts to Tezcatlipoca and
pochtli H u itzilo p o ch tli
7 E tza lc u a liztli T lalo c Feasts to young crops
8 T e c u ilh u ito n tli H u ixto cih u a tl, X o ch ip illi Feast to goddess o f salt,
H u ixto cih uatl; exchange
o f noble clothing and
Rowers
9 H u e y te c u ih u itl X ilo n en , m aize gods Feast o f X ilonen
10 Tlaxochim aco, M ic c a il- H u itzilo p o ch tli Feast o f m erchants; sm all
h u ito n tli feast fo r the dead
11 X o co tlhu etzi, H u eym ic- H u eh u ete o tl, X iu h te cu h tli Feast o f the xocot/ pole
c a ilh u itl
12 O ch p an iztli T la zo lteo tl, Toci Mamfena o f sw eeping and
bathing; feast o f T la zo l -
teo tl, Toci; scaffold sacri­
fice; harvest feasts
13 T eotleco or P achtontli X iu h te cu h tli, H u itz ilo ­ B loodletting; feast of
pochtli H u itzilo p o ch tli
14 H u ey p ac h tli or T e p e ilh u itl T la lo q u e, Xochiquetzal M o u n tain feasts to T lalo c;
sacrifice o f X ochiquetzal
im personator
15 Q uecholli M ixcoat! or C am axtli Feasts o f M ixco atl; ritu a l
hunts
16 P a n q u etzaliztli H u itzilo p o ch tli M a in festival to H u itz ilo ­
pochtli; banners
17 A te m o ztli T lalo q u e Feasts to w a te r deities
18 T itit! Ila m a te c u h tli. Feasts to Ila m a te c u h tli,
old people

(O p p ose) Celebrants dance around a Xocotl

pole erected during the veintena of Xocotlhuetzi.
This rite featured a climbing competition in
which noble youths tried to obtain an image
placed at the top of the pole, Codex Borbonicus,
p. 28, 16th c, Aztec.
 As recorded in th e 7?e/a<nón cfe AircAoacdn, Venus N o fem a le sym bol o f ero tic love, in
the Tarascans abo c ele b rated veintenas, M esoam erica the p la n et Venus em bodied
although th e surviving list is in co m p lete. O n ly dan g er, and alw ays took anthropom orphic
C u in g o, "H a y in g ," can be surely lin k ed to a form as á m ale god. T h e p erio d ic m ovem ents
speciHc M ex ica n fe s tiv a l, T la c a x ip e h u a liztli, o f Venus o ffered w arnings o f drought, danger,
although Johanna B roda has in vestigated and w a rfa re . TLAHurzcALPANTEcuHTLi, C e n tra l
o th e r p a rallels . A lfonso Caso o ffe red a recon­ M ex ica n god o f the m orning star, is the
struction: p rin c ip a l Venus god, b u t o th e r gods m ay h u rl
darts and preside o ver these b a le fu l periods.
Tarascan v ein ten a A zte c v ein ten a
QUETZALCOATL is also a god o f the m orning
star; X O L O T L has som etim es been considered to
1 T zitacu aren scu aro Iz c a lli be his tw in and to represent the evening star,
2 Purecoracua A tlcah u alo b u t there is no evidence fo r these associations,
3 C uingo T la c a x ip e h u a liztli and it m ay have been th a t T la h u izc a lp a n te -
4 U n isperacuaro T o zo zto n tli c u h tli presided over the evening star as w e ll.
5 n /a H u e y to zo ztli A m ong th e Postclassic M a y a , L ah u n C han
6 n /a T oxcatl was a m a lev o le n t Venus god. F o r the Classic
7 M azcu to E tza lc u a liztli perio d M a y a , a skeletal d e ity whose nam e is
8 U azcata cónscuaro T e c u ilh u ito n tli unknow n was the god o f the evening star.
9 C a h e ri cónscuaro H u ey te cu ih u it! A ccording to the F lo re n tin e C odex, the
10 H anciñáscuaro Tlaxochim aco influence o f Venus could be good o r e v il, bu t
11 H ic u a n d iro X o co tihu etzi the instructions fo r d ealin g w ith it re ve al th a t
12 S icuindiro O c h p an iztli m ost people p erceived it to be the source o f
13 C h arap u zapi P achtontli dangerous rays: those a fra id o f its pernicious
14 U apánscuaro H u eyp ach tii lig h t sealed any openings in th e ir houses lest
15 C a h e ri uapánscuaro Q u ech o lli it b rin g on sickness and m isfortu n e.
16 n /a P a n q u etzaliztli Venus lies closer to th e SUN than the EARTH
17 Peuánscuaro A te m o ztli and orbits the sun m ore q u ickly, b u t seen
18 C u rin d aro T ititl from the vantage p o in t o f the e a rth , it takes
Caso, Jacques Soustelle, Pedro C arrasco, 584 days fo r th e e a rth , sun, and Venus to
and Johanna B roda have also investigated re tu rn to a specific alig n m en t. F ro m a t least
the O to m i veintenas, and these align c learly E a rly Classic tim es o n w ard , the M a y a k ep t
w ith A ztec counterparts: track o f the cycle (as th e Teotihuacanos m ay
w e ll have done too, although th ey have le ft
O to m i vein ten a A ztec vein ten a us no speciHc records), recognizing th a t this
b rig h test " s ta r" o f tw o d istin ct phases, m o rn ­
1 A n thudoeni Iz c a lli ing and evening star, was a single heaven ly
2 A buoentaxi X ilo m a n a liztli body. W h e n Venus rises as th e m o rning star,
3 A n ttzayo h T la c a x ip e h u a liztli it appears b efo re sunrise and leads the sun
4 A tzhotho T o zo zto n tli out o f the UNDERWORLD; w h en Venus rises as
5 A n ta tzh o n i H u eyto zo ztli the evening star, it comes in to v ie w ju s t a fte r
6 A tzib ip h i Toxcatl sunset and then follow s th e sun in to th e
7 A neguoeni E tza lc u a liztli U n d e rw o rld .
8 A nttzengohm uh T e c u ilh u ito n tli W h e n Venus passes d ire c tly in fro n t o f the
9 A ntangohm uh H u ey te cu ih u it! sun, m odern astronom ers call its position
10 A nttzengotu M ic c a ilh u ito n tli, in fe rio r conjunction, and it g en e rally cannot
Tlaxochim aco be observed fo r a fe w days (usu ally 8) before
11 A ntangotu H u ey m ic ca ilh u itl, its AeRacai ris in g as the m o rning star; it then
X o co tlhu etzi rises as the m orning star fo r roughly 263 days.
12 A m baxi O c h p an iztli Its o rb it then takes Venus b eh ind the sun for
13 A nttzenboxegui P ach to n tli su p erio r conjunction, a period o f 55 to 60
14 A tam axegui H u ey p ac h tli days w h en again th e p la n e t cannot be seen,
15 A n tzh o n i Q u ech o lli b efo re it m akes it Erst appearance as the
16 A nthaxm e P a n q u e tza liztli evening star, in w hich position it rem ains fo r
17 A ncandehe A te m o ztli 263 days b efo re vanishing in fro n t o f the sun
18 A m bue T ititl again. T h e cycle takes 584 days to com plete;
 181
VISION SERPENT
irreg u larities g en erally occur in days o f v ie w ­
ing a t a p artic u la r station ra th e r than in the
cycle over a ll. C uriously, according to both
M a y a and C en tra! M exican m anuscripts,
M esoam erican astronom ers reg u larized the
Venus periods, extending superior conjunc­
tion and ab b reviatin g both the m orning and
evening star, bu t p a rtic u la rly the fo rm er, to
create unequal periods, w hereas, in fact, the
tim es o f v is ib ility are roughly equal. A ccord­
ingly, in fe rio r conjunction lasted 8 days, the
m orning star 236 days, superior conjunction
90 days, and the evening star 250 days.
F iv e com plete Venus cycles = 2920 days =
8 x 365 days, so the Venus cycle easily in te r­
locked w ith the solar year (see CALENDAR).
Several Precolum bian books c are fu lly chart
Venus, most notably the D resden and C ro lie r
codices (M a y a ) and the B orgia, Vaticanus B,
and Cospi (C e n tra l M ex ica n ). B oth sets show
stabbings and destruction under the auspices
o f the Venus gods, usually a t h eliacal rising.
In both C e n tra l M exico and am ong the M a y a ,
Venus calendars are read from 1 X ó ch itl or 1
A h au , the base day for heliacal rising. Long
thought to have been a Postclassic religious
construct, the b alefu l influence o f Venus is
now know n to be o f g re ater a n tiq u ity in
M esoam erica.
Classic M a y a inscriptions recording "star
w a rs /* or w ars tim ed to coincide w ith the
m ovem ents o f Venus and som etim es Jupiter,
in d icate th a t m any battles w ere scheduled to
occur on the days w hen Venus rose for
asssM;
the first tim e a fte r its in fe rio r or superior
conjunction. T h e inscriptions also indicate
th a t M aya astronom ers charted both
m axim um brightness and greatest elongation
o f both m orning and evening star and tim ed (Above) A section from the
battles accordingly. These "star w ars" w e re Venus pages of the Dresden
the g reatest conflagrations in Classic M a y a Codex, Postclassic Yucatán.
tim es and took place w ith increasing fre q u ­
ency du rin g the 8th c., probably contributing (Agbf) A Vision Serpent
to the Classic M a y a collapse. Victorious M a y a rising from a burning blood
lords o f Venus w a rfa re donned costumes offering, Yaxchilán Lintel 15,
laden w ith C en tra! M exican im agery, in clu d ­ Late Classic Maya.
ing B U T T E R F L IE S , T L A L O C faces, O W LS , the WAR

SER PENT, and the M E X IC A N YEAR S IG N .

Vision Serpent Through ritu als o f BLO O DLET-

T iN C , Classic M a y a nobles conjured up im ages

o f rearin g SERPENTS whose m ouths belch gods,
ancestors, and other nobles. A t Yaxchilán,
such im ages are specifically lin k ed to penis
and tongue b lo o d lettin g and a re g en erated in
clouds o f smoke rising fro m the burning
V U C U B C A Q U fX
BLOOD oE ering. In a ll like lih o o d , these Vision
Serpents fun ctio n as visual m etaphors fo r
BiBTH and re b irth , w h e th e r o f d iv in itie s o r
hum ans. Vision Serpents usually have a single
head and p ro m in e n t snake m arkings; they
m ay u n d u la te , although th e y ra re ly a p p ear
on the ground, and they som etim es have
fe a th e r crests.
As SKY d eities , V ision Serpents also a p p ear
on the C hichen Itz á gold disks, some w ith
cloud m arkings along th e ir bodies. Some
codex-style C lassic vases d ep ict the serpent
foo t o f C od K (see scHELLHAS coos) as a Vision
S erp en t or in the process o f becom ing one,
lin k in g the Vision S erpent to the M a y a god o f
ucHTMmc. M o rp h o lo g ic a lly , th e M a y a vision
serpent closely resem bles the Postclassic C e n ­
tra! M exican xiuncoATL, or fire serpent. L ik e
the X iu h co atl, the Vision S erpent m ay ap p ear
in clouds, em bodying ligh tn in g and FIRE, and
perhaps, by extension, p o w erfu l storm s.
Vucub C aquix In the popoLvuu (th e creation
epic describing the deeds o f the H e ro T w in s )
a g reat m onster b ird know n as V ucub C aq u ix,
or 7 M a c a w , presides over the m urky tw ilig h t
w o rld follo w in g the flood. A lthough he pro­
claim s h im self to be the SUN and MOON, the
d aw ning and separation o f day and N icm have
not y e t occurred. A ngered by his arrogance,
H u nah p u and X b alanq u e w a it for the m on­
ster b ird un d er his fav o rite fru it tree , and
then shoot him dow n w ith th e ir blowguns.
D u rin g the fierce b a ttle th a t ensues, H u nahpu
loses his arm . H o w ev er, through m agic and
tric ke ry, the H ero T w in s even tu ally d efe at
and k ill Vucub C aquix and restore the arm
o f H u nah p u .
A lthough the P opo/ VuA is a C olonial M a y a
docum ent, the episode o f Vucub C aquix can
be traced to th e Protoclassic beginnings o f
M a y a civiliza tio n . Stela 2 from th e site o f
Iza p a portrays the tw o H e ro T w in s running
tow ard Vucub C aquix, w ho is descending to
his fru it tre e . A t the base o f the tre e , one can
discern the crum pled rem ains o f the defeated
b ird w ith a bone ja w . T h e m onster b ird also
appears on Iza p a Stela 25, above a m ale w ith
a b leed in g stum p fo r an arm . C le a rly , this
scene portrays the fig h t in w hich Vucub
C aquix tears o ff H unah p u 's arm .
Representations o f the PRINCIPAL BIRD DEITY
abound in the a rt o f Protoclassic and Classic
M a y a and can be id e n tifie d w ith Vucub
C aquix. A lthough V ucub C aquix signified 7
M a c a w in Q u ich é, the Protoclassic and
!M
Classic e n tity does not display th e beaded
round eye and thick beak o f the m acaw , and
m ay ra th e r be based upon the king vi LTLw
(Sarroram pA u^ p a p a ). Supplied w ith a WATER
LILY pad headdress and a SERPENT body, this
b ird h ead can serve as the head v a ria n t of
th e 3 60-d ay tun p erio d and th e num eral 13.
In a d d itio n , this sam e character is re p ­
resented as th e personified b lo o d le tte r re n d ­
ered w ith a headdress o f tied knots. See a/so
WATER LILY SERPENT.
v u ltu re T h e king v u ltu re (Sarcoram phus
p a p a ), one o f the larg est birds o f M eso am er-
ica, reaching a size roughly e q u iv a le n t to the
h arp y E A G L E , ra re ly ventures above 4 000'
(c. 1200 m ), and so was best know n to
M esoam erican civilizatio n s outside the V a lle y
o f M exico , although the s m aller tu rkey v u l­
tu re (C a lA a rfe s a u ra ) and th e black v u ltu re
(C bragypes a ira lu y ) a re com m on e ve ryw h e re
in M eso am erica. T h e C e n tra l M ex ica n day
sign C o zcacu auh tli is th e v u ltu re .
A lfonso Caso and Ig n acio B ern al id en tiE ed
a Z apotee d e ity , E l A ve de Pico A ncho, as a
v u ltu re . This Zapotee d e ity is id e n tic al to the
PRINCIPAL BIRD DEITY o f the M a y a , w ho is also
a v u ltu re . Protoclassic kings a t K am in alju y ú
and L a M o ja rra a rra y e d them selves as this
god. O fte n adorned w ith a h eadband, the
king v u ltu re head substitutes fo r aAau in
M a y a n w n m N C , both fo r th e d ay sign and to
m ean " lo rd ."
W a r Serpent C re a te d d u rin g th e 3rd c. A D , the
T e m p le o f Q u etzalcoat! o rig in a lly contained
one o f the m ost e lab o ra te a rch itec tu ral
facades know n in a n cien t M eso am erica. T w o
form s o f tenoned sculpture p ro ject ou t o f the
facade. O n e o f these heads is c le a rly the
p lum ed serpent, or Q U E T Z A L C O A T L . H o w e v e r,
the o th er e n tity has been m ore d iffic u lt to
id e n tify . A ltho u g h it has been w id e ly in te r­
p re te d as th e head o f T la lo c , it is a ctu ally a
m osaic headdress p o rtray in g a serpent being
w ith ja g u a r attrib u te s . Because o f its fre q u e n t
appearance w ith w eapons and w a rrio r Egures,
this e n tity can be called the W a r Serpent.
T h e W a r S erpent is p ro b ab ly an ancestral
form o f the x iu H C O A T L , th e Ere serpent o f
Postclassic C e n tra l M exico . A ltho u g h the w a r
serpent probably originates a t T E O T IH U A C A N , it
183 WATER

is also com m only found in Classic M a y a and

Zapotee a rt. <See a/so TEonHUACAN coos.

w a rrio r orders A t the tim e o f the Spanish

Conquest, certain A ztec w arrio rs w e re id en -
tiBed w ith p o w erfu l predators o f the n atu ra l
w o rld , p artic u la rly EAGLES and JAGUARS, and
these have come to be called the eagle knights
and the ja g u ar or tig er knights. (In m odern
M esoam erica, there are no tigers, b u t a ll w ild
cats, p a rtic u la rly pumas and jaguars, are
often called &gre in Spanish.) T h e N ah u a tl
m etaphor fo r w arrio rs, in c n a n h t/i in oce/oi/,
"th e eagles, the ja g u ars ," expressed the oppo­
sitions o f SKY and EARTH and o f day and N ic m r.
T h e eagle and ja g u ar knights served HuiTZiLO-
P O C H T L i , the SUN, and the A ztec c u lt god p a r

exce/ience. A t the creation o f the Bfth sun

a t T eotihuacan (see CREATION ACCOUNTS), the
eagle and ja g u ar hu rled them selves into
the burning pyre a fte r N an ah u atzin and
T ecu ciztecatl to generate the Brst eagle and
ja g u ar knights. T h e A ztec m yth thus
suggests an a n tiq u ity to the w a rrio r orders.
A lthough th ere was no standing A ztec
arm y, m em bers o f the eagle and jag u ar The defeat of Vucub Caquix, Izapa Stela 2,
knights cam e from e lite society and dedicated Protoclassic Maya. In this scene, the descending
th e ir lives to th e ir roles. T h ey freq u e n tly bird is being attacked by the two Hero Twins.
Vucub Caquix appears a second time, now
p artic ip a te d in public celebrations, p artic u ­
defeated, at the base of the fruit tree.
la rly o f the VEINTENAS. D u rin g the m onth o f
T la c a x ip e h u a liztli, fo r exam ple, the eagle and
ja g u a r knights fought CAPTIVES tied to the
T E M A L A C A T L in g la d iato ria l bouts, and engaged

in s treet skirm ishes w ith the X ip e im person­

ators. R ecent excavations in T en o ch titlan
have revealed a tem ple to the eagle knights
(RigAf) Maya Bgure wearing
adjacent to the d ual P Y R A M ID dedicated to War Serpent headdress, vessel
T L A L O C and H u itzilo p o ch tli. sherd, Belize, Late Classic
P ain ted friezes o f a lte rn a tin g coyotes and Maya.
pum as or jaguars a t T E O T I H U A C A N m ay sym bol­
ize e arly w a rrio r orders there, and the cults
(Be/ow) The eagle and jaguar
m ay have been quickly adopted by the M a y a ,
warrior orders, Codex
fo r some E a rly Classic w arrio rs a t T ik a l and Borbonicus, p. 11, 16th c.
elsew here include coyote fu r in th e ir costumes. Aztec.
A t the end o f the 8th c., the c h ie f victorious w a r­
riors in the B onam pak m uráis a ll w e ar ja g u ar
costum es; in contem poraneous paintings at
C acaxtla, a noble eagle w a rrio r and ja g u a r
w a rrio r fram e a doorw ay. E agle and ja g u ar
w arrio rs parade a t both T u la (seeTOLLAN) and
C hichen Itz á , and the presence o f coyotes a t
T u la and bears a t C hichen Itz á suggest
add itio n al orders there as w e ll.

w a te r Because o f th e ir dependence upon

a g ricu ltu re , w a te r has been o f c en tral concern
WATEH LJLY
to both a n cien t and contem porary peoples o f
M eso am erica. P a rtic u la r regions, such as the
ocean, SPRINGS, and MOUNTAINS are fre q u e n tly
w orshipped as m agical sources o f w a te r. In
M es o am e ric a, the gods o f w a te r - especially
RAIN - a re am ong the m ost an c ie n t and pervas­
iv e d eities , p a rtic u la rly the M a y a CHAC, the
Zap o tee cocido, and TLAjuoc o f C e n tra ! M ex ico .
O fte n , m ale gods o f ra in a re distinguished
from fem a le d eities o f standing w a te r. T h e
nam e o f th e C e n tra l M e x ica n goddess CHAL
cHiUHTLicuE, She o f th e Jade S k irt, is a
m etap h oric allusion to a shining expanse o f
v erd a n t w a te r.
As w e ll as a source o f a g ric u ltu ra l fe rtility ,
w a te r was also an im p o rta n t m eans o f cere­
m onial PURIFICATION. A m ong the M aya of
Y ucatán, n ative pRiEsrs consecrated an area
by scattering w a te r from a s e rp e n t-ta ile d
aspergillum . T h e w a te r used in this act o f
p u rific atio n d erived from d ew gath ered from
leaves or from v irg in w a te r, zu h u y ha, col­
lected in distant locations rem oved from the
presence o f w om en; zu h u y ha continues to
be an im p o rtan t com ponent o f m odern M a y a
a g ricu ltu ra l cerem onies. A m ong both the
Postclassic Yucatec M a y a and C e n tra l M e x ­
ican Aztecs, w a te r was used in BAPTISM cere­
m onies as a means o f p u rifyin g the child.
w a te r lily O ne o f the m ore lovely flo w erin g
plants o f M esoam erica, the w a te r lily (M y /n -
p h aea spp.) grows in re la tiv e ly still w aters
such as ponds, lakes, and slow -m oving rivers.
These conditions correspond w e ll to the
hum id M a y a low lands, and it is thus not
surprising th a t this p la n t abounds in Classic
M a y a a rt.
In M a y a iconography, the w a te r lily fre ­
q u en tly denotes standing W A T E R , including
the surrounding and sustaining S E A . Perhaps
because o f its alm ost m iraculous em ergence
out o f the s till w a te r, the w a te r lily m ay have
served as a m odel fo r the creation o f the
E A R T H . T h e lid o f one E a rly Classic M a y a
ceram ic vessel depicts a p a ir o f 8sh and birds
n ib b lin g a w a te r lily , as if the p la n t is the
te rre s tria l in terfa ce b etw een the S K Y and the
w a te ry U N D E R W O R L D . M o re o v e r, th e veined
surface o f the w a te r lily le a f is fre q u e n tly
m arked w ith a n e t-lik e p a tte rn also used to
d ep ict the surface o f tu rtle shells. A m ong the
M a y a , th e TURTLE was ano th er m odel fo r the
c ircu lar e arth floating upon th e sea. T h e ro le
o f the w a te r lily in M a y a creation m ythology
continued in to this century. A ccording to one
164
Lacandon account, the g reat god Kakoch
created a w a te r lily from w hich a ll the other
gods w e re born.
In M a y a iconography, tw o gods a re p artic u ­
la rly associated w ith the w a te r lily . O n e of
these is th e U n d e rw o rld d enizen know n as
the W a te r L ily Jaguar, whose m odern nam e
derives from the w a te r lily flo w er placed
p ro m in e n tly on his b ro w . T h e o th er being is
th e W A T E R L IL Y S E R P E N T , id e n tifie d by its SERPENT
body, b e a k -lik e face, and the bound w a te r
lily pad and B ow er serving as its headdress.
The W a te r L ily S erpent serves as head
varian ts o f the n u m eral 13 and th e 360-day
tun p erio d . <See a/yo jA C U A H C O D S .
W a te r L ily S erpent K now n only am ong the
M a y a , the W a te r L ily S erp en t sym bolizes the
surface o f s till W ATER. A ltho u g h the body
is an u n d u latin g SERPENT, the head has the
d o w n w ard curvin g b eak o f a b ird , often w ith
crossed bands in fixed in the lo w e r ja w . A
W A T E R L I L Y pad and F L O W E R form th e headdress,
and a 6sh o ften nibbles a t the flo w e r. H e is
a su p ern atu ral p atro n o f the NUMBER 13 and
substitutes fo r th a t n u m b er, and m ay also
figure as the personified fun, o r yea r, sign. A t
D zib ilc h a ltu n , W a te r L ily Serpents u n d ulate
along the u pper frie ze o f the T e m p le o f the
Seven D o lls, and ab u n d an t a d jac en t sea S H E L L
offerings suggest th a t the a n cien t c ity m ay
have represented the im age o f an oasis in
hot, d ry n o rth e rn Yucatan. T o d ay, w a te r lilie s
Boat on the D zib ilc h a ltú n C E N O T E .
Classic M a y a kings and o th e r lords o ften
w e a r the head o f th e W a te r L ily S erpent
as a headdress, som etim es in contexts o f
aspersion and daubing o f p a in t. T h e W a te r
L ily S erpent is closely re la te d to th e S h e ll/
W in g dragon, w ho som etim es rests on the
W a te r L ily Serpent's headdress. T h e K an -
cross W a te r L ily M o n s te r, o r T u b u la r H e a d ­
dress M o n s te r, is p ro b ab ly a v a ria n t o f the
W a te r L ily S erpent.
w eaponry M eso am erican d eities, lik e th e ir
m o rtal counterparts, carried w eapons, and
some M esoam erican w eapons w e re th e m ­
selves d eities. T h e fo llo w in g lis t is not com ­
prehensive, b u t it includes the w eapons m ost
com m only c arried b y the gods.
E ven am ong the O lm ecs, some d eities w ere
arm ed: the e a rly flyin g figures b ea r clubs,
and seated figures - sup ern atu ral or d ivin e -
often hold "kn u ckled u sters:" hand stones
th a t m ay have been some sort o f w eapon.
 185
WERE-JACUAR
By Classic tim es, w eaponry is fa r m ore
elaborate: both gods and hum ans w e a r
arm or, bear shields and carry a w id e v a rie ty
o f weapons. In C e n tra l M exico , a t T e o ti-
huacan, w arriors b ear OBsmiAN-tipped lances,
arrow s, and a f/a i/s , or d a rt throw ers, and this
la tte r w eapon retains an id e n tific atio n w ith
C e n tra l M exico throughout tim e. T h e M a y a
adom th e ir shields w ith the face o f the Jaguar
God o f the U n d erw o rld (see JAGUAR GODs), a
patron o f w a r, and som etim es the Jaguar God
o f the U n d erw o rld h im self is arm ed. M a y a
kings som etim es b ear the MANIKIN SCEPTER in
hand as if it w e re a w eapon; h eld in the
hands o f CHAC, the M a n ik in Scepter em bodies
LIGHTNING. D eitie s and w arrio rs both hold
h afted axes, often w ith bloody tips. T h e H ero
T w in s shoot pellets from th e ir blowguns.
In the Postclassic era, perhaps most
im p o rtan t am ong d eified weapons is the
xiUHCOATL, or Ere serpent, the w eapon th a t
HuiTziLOPOCHTLi bears in his hand a t b irth and
uses to k ill his h alf-sister, coYOLXAUHQui, and
to banish his h alf-b ro th ers, the C entzon H u itz -
nahua. O th e r A ztec deities also carry w eapons,
usually the a t/a t/, b u t occasionally long
spears. In close com bat, the Aztecs fought
w ith the m acuahuit/, a club im bedded w ith
obsidian blades.
Across M esoam erica and throughout tim e,
w eapons w e re in most cases used in com bat to
disable bu t not to k ill the opponent. Victorious
lords dispatched th e ir captured enem ies pub­
licly , using knives w ith h afted obsidian blades
e ith e r to decapitate or to rem ove the H E A R T .

w e re-ja g u ar As the O lm ec civilizatio n began

to be recognized early in this century, m any
o f its zoom orphic figures w ere thought to be
o f fe lin e d erivatio n and the anthropom orphic
ones o f a h u m an -felin e blend - or w h a t have
come to be called w ere-jaguars. W e re there
h a lf hum an, h a lf J A C U A H creatures? In his
fam ous hypothesis, M a tth e w S tirlin g argued
th a t the Olm ecs believed in a supernatural
m ating betw een hum ans and jaguars, leading
to a special race o f w ere-jag u ars, b u t this
overarching theo ry cannot explain the d iv e r­
sity and com plexity o f O lm ec supernaturals.
O n ly one, the R ain B aby, clea rly seems to
be a hu m an -jag uar blend. A n o th er class o f
figures th a t dem onstrates the change o f
hum ans into jaguars and o th er anim als pro­
bably illustrates sham anic transform ation. Were-jaguar: a chart by Miguel Covarrubias
^ e e a / y o JAGUAR; NAHUAL; OLMEC CODS; SHAMAN; suggesting the evolution of Mesoamerican rain
STTRLINC HYPOTHESIS; TONAL; UAY. gods from the Olmec jaguar god.
w in d S om ething th a t m oves bu t cannot be
seen, th e w in d com m only sym bolizes the
en g en d erin g , c re a tiv e s p irit from w h ich life
d erives. A m ong the Zapotees, this force w as
know n as p e e , sig n ifyin g w in d , b re a th , or
s p irit, i t was b eliev ed to reside in a ll things
th a t m oved and thus show ed life . A m ong
the M a y a , w in d was rep resen ted by a sign
resem bling th e le tte r "T " o f th e L a tin
a lp h ab et, in M a y a wRiTmc, this T -sh ap ed
d evice is the id e n tify in g e lem e n t o f the second
day nam e, ik , signifying " w in d " in Yucatec.
D u rin g the Classic p erio d , the head v a ria n t
o f the num ber 3 fre q u e n tly displays the w in d
sign upon his cheek, possibly d enoting him
as the god o f w in d .
Perhaps the best-know n w in d god of
ancien t M eso am erica is EHECATL QUETZAL
CO ATL, th a t is, Q u etzalco atl in his aspect as
god o f w in d . In L a te Postclassic C en tra!
M exico , he typ ically appears w ith a red buccal
mask resem bling a duck beak, and shell
JEWKLHY, including p a rtic u la rly his "w in d
je w e l," a pectoral form ed from the cut cross-
section o f a conch w h o rl. A ccording to the
m yth o f the F I V E S U N S , E h ecatl-Q u etzalco atl
presided over the sun o f N ah u i E h ecatl, or 4
W in d , the w o rld destroyed by w inds. In A ztec
m ythology, E h ecatl-Q u etzalco atl is also a
g reat c u ltu re hero w ho creates the w o rld ,
hum ans, and MARE. Scenes in the Prehispanic
Codex Vindobonensis reveal th a t 9 W in d , the
M ix te e eq u iva len t o f E h ecatl-Q u etzalco atl,
had a sim ilar role in M ix te e m ythology, See
a V s o C R E A T IO N A C C O U N T S ; M tX T E C C O D S .
w o rld trees In M esoam erican thought, the
card in al D I R E C T I O N S w e re associated w ith a
broad spectrum o f things fro m the n atu ra l
and c u ltu ra l w orlds. O n e o f the most
im p o rtan t and pervasive o f these em bodi­
m ents o f the directions w e re w o rld trees,
each o rien ted to a specific d irectio n . These
trees seem to express the fo u r fo ld n atu re o f
a single g reat tre e , or axis m um #, located a t
the cen ter o f the w o rld .
Am ong the Yucatec M a y a , this c en tral tree
was a yaxcAé (C e ib a spp.), the n atio n al tree
o f m odern G u atem ala. W ith its roots in the
U N D E R W O R L D and its branches in the heavens,
this g re at tre e connected the planes o f S K Y ,
E A R T H , and U n d e rw o rld . In Yucatec, the term
yaxcAé signifies first or green tre e . A lthough
the concept o f firs t tree is e n tire ly a p t fo r the
cosmic tre e a t the cen ter o f the w o rld , the
referen ce to green is also a p p ro p riate; in
an cien t M a y * relig io n , green ia the color
associated w ith the c en tral place. T h e C o lo n ­
ia l Yucatec C /u /a m B a/am o f C A um aye/
describes fou r /m ix yaxcAe set up a t the four
corners o f the w o rld , each associated w ith
th e c a rd in a l d ire c tio n a l COLORS o f re d , w h ite ,
black and y ello w . Thus the yaxcAe w o rld tree
is sim ultaneously a single green tre e and fou r
trees associated w ith a d ire ctio n al color. O n
pages 25 to 28 o f th e Postclassic M a y a Codex
D resden the fq u r d ire ctio n al trees are illu s­
tra te d w ith a p a rtic u la r god and card in al
region.
In the D resden passage, the w o rld trees
a re associated w ith th e fo u r YEARBEARERs, the
days by w h ich th e 3 65-d ay y ear was nam ed.
A m a rke d ly s im ila r passage occurs on pages
49 to 52 o f the C e n tra l M exican Codex B orgia,
w h e re fo u r trees a re o rie n te d to the fo u r
yearb earers and d ire c tio n a l gods. A fifth ,
centra! tre e o f g ro w in g MAIZE appears on page
53, h ere flan ked by Q U E T Z A L C O A T L and
the green A h u iateo t! nam ed 5 M a lin a lli. In
C en tra! M exican iconography the fo u r d ire c ­
tio n al trees a re distinguished by species and
by a p a rtic u la r a n im al, usually a b ird , a p p e a r­
ing a t the top o f the tre e . O n page 1 o f the
Codex F é je rv á ry -M a y e r, the fo u r d ire ctio n al
trees app ear w ith th e ir accom panying birds,
gods, days, and Y E A R B E A R E R S .
T h e placing o f birds in w o rld trees is o f
considerable a n tiq u ity in the M a y a region.
A t L a te Classic P alen q u e, this m o tif occurs
on the T a b le t o f the Cross, th e T a b le t o f the
F o lia te d Cross, and th e sarcophagus lid fro m
Pacal's tom b in the T e m p le o f th e In s crip ­
tions. Stela 25 fro m the Protoclassic site o f
Iza p a , C hiapas, portrays a b ird ato p a tre e ­
lik e CAIMAN fo r a tru n k , p ro b ab ly a re fe ren c e
to the spiny green tru n k o f th e yaxcAe.
Iza p a S tela 5 bears one o f the m ost com plex
representations o f a w o rld tre e eve r carved,
b u t extensive erosion o f the m onum ent p ro ­
h ib its a clea r understanding o f this e a rly
and im p o rta n t scene. See a/yo C R E A T IO N
ACCO UNTS.
w ritin g C e rta in ly no la te r than 600 Be some
M esoam erican peoples kn e w how to w rite ,
for by th a t d ate, carved inscriptions app ear
a t San José M o g o te, O axaca. D u rin g the
Protoclassic, w ritin g th riv e d and developed
in V eracru z and O axaca, and a fe w carved
m onum ents, such as the L a M o ja rra stela,
re ve al th a t th e system w as fu lly developed,
although it rem ains im p e n etrab le to m odern
187
WRITING
scholars. By the 1st c. Be com plex calendrics
w ere inscribed in the M a y a area , w h ere
M esoam erican w ritin g e ve n tu ally achieved
its greatest sophistication.
D u rin g the Classic p erio d , the M a y a w ro te
in w h a t linguists called a "m ix e d " script,
composed o f both phonetic syllables and
logographs (th a t is, w ord pictures) th a t
allow ed them to rep licate m ost o f the nuances
of speech. T h e w ord ja g u a r, ba/am , could be
w ritte n by a ja g u a r head, or by the phonetic The wind god Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl or 9 Wind in
syllables ba-7a-m a, w ith the 6 nal vow el silent, front of his wind temple, Nochistlan Vase, Late
Postclassic Mixtee. The cut conch wind jewel of
or even by a m ix o f the tw o, a ja g u a r head
Quetzalcoatl can be seen on the thatched roof of
w ith a phonetic com plem ent, such as m a the temple.
underneath, probably to m ake it p la in th a t
the ha/am w ord was m eant fo r ja g u a r and not
some o th er synonym . D u rin g the Postclassic,
perhaps because o f the d earth o f public
m onum ents, w ritin g g rew ever m ore phonetic
and thus less accessible to those not train ed
to read and w rite .
A t the tim e o f the Conquest, the Spanish
described w ritin g in both C e n tra l M exico and
am ong the M a y a as the preserve o f P R IE S T S ,
and most w ritin g was considered sacred. F o r
the Classic M a y a , lite ra c y was probably the
province o f the n o b ility , b u t noble w om en
m ay also have learn ed to read and w rite : a t
least one noble w om an, L ad y A hau K atun of
Piedras N egras, bore the title A hau K in , or
lord sun, one o f the highest noble titles,
probably in dicating h er lite rac y.
A t T E O T i n u A C A N , despite w h at m ust have
been a fa m ilia rity w ith M a y a script, there
was little in terest in w ritin g , and even w hen
it g rew m ore com m on in Postclassic C e n tra l
M exico , fe w phonetic elem ents w ere added
u n til a fte r the C onquest, w hen Precolum bian World trees oriented to the four directions,
w ritin g flourished fo r several decades before Codex Fejérváry-Mayer, p. 1, Late Postclassic
period.
dying out altogether.
A ccording to sources from separate
M esoam erican regions, the gods invented
w ritin g . T h e M a y a a ttrib u te d the invention
to rrzA M N A , w ho m ay be called ah dz/h, H e o f
the W ritin g . In the POPOL vuH, the older
brothers o f the H e ro T w in s , the M on key
Scribes, are the patrons o f w ritin g and the
arts. T h e Aztecs called w ritin g by a m etaphor,
th /h "th e black, the re d ," w hich, as
M ic h a e l Coe has suggested, m ay re fe r to a
M a y a origin for C e n tra l M exican books and
Writing: the Mayan word &a/am, meaning
w ritin g , since th e surviving M a y a books are
jaguar, could be written logographically (left),
w ritte n in red and black w h ile the C e n tra l phonetically (right), or logographically with a
M exican ones a re not. <See a/so scMBAL CODS. phonetic complement (center).
KBALAKQLE
gx
X h a la n q u e see cREATioNACCOL\Ts;popoLvm;
TWINS
X ib a lb a see UNDERWORLD
X ip e T o te e X ip e T o te e , O u r L o rd the F la ye d
O n e , had achieved a targe c u lt fo llo w in g in
C e n tra l M exico a t the tim e o f the C onquest,
and the c eleb ratio n o f his fe s tiv a l, T la ca xip e -
h u a liz tli, re v e rb e ra te d beyond the norm al
VENENA, or 20-d ay period. A lfonso Caso and
Ignacio B ernal id e n tifie d X ip e w ith the Zap o ­
tee god Yopi and found him com m only re p ­
resented in Classic period urns, and Sahagún
a ttrib u te d his origins to the Zapotees. A m ong
the M ixtees, X ip e was know n as the god 7
R ain. T h e celeb ratio n o f X ip e T o tee flourished
along the G u lf Coast in the e arly Postclassic
b efo re gaining a p rom inent place in the A ztec
pantheon, probably as a result o f the A ztec
dom ination o f the G u lf Coast a fte r the
fam ines o f the m id -15th c. A ccording to A ztec
sources, X ip e was born in the first genesis o f
the gods, and is id e n tifie d also as the Red
TEZCATLÍPOCA.
M ost X ip e figures v iv id ly depict a hum an
inside the Hayed skin o f another m an, the
extra Hayed hands hanging lik e m ittens.
C h aracteristic v ertical stripes run from fo re ­
head to chin, running over or broken by the
eyes. Puckered and bubbled, the Hayed skin
usually displays an incision w h ere the HEART
was rem oved; the penis is absent; the skin is
elab o ra te ly tied on a t the back. C onceptually,
the Hayed skin m ay suggest a g lo rified fo re ­
skin. Some A ztec stone sculptures m ay have
been a ttire d in a Hayed hum an skin.
G oldsm iths regarded X ip e T o tee as th e ir
p atro n , and they m ade rich offerings a t his
TEMPLE, Yopico, w ith in the T em plo M a y o r.
D u rin g the T la c a x ip e h u a liztli fes tiva l, a m an
donned the skin o f a slain CAPTIVE, w hich the
goldsm iths liken ed to a golden sheathing,
and they adorned the im personator w ith red
spoonbill feathers and golden je w e lry . X ip e
also had the pow er to cure eye ailm en ts, and
offerings w ere m ade to him a t Yopico by
those w ho sought m iraculous cures.
T la c a x ip e h u a liztli, usually calculated as the
th ird vem fena o f the solar year, began w ith
th e Haying o f captives o f w a r, usually fo llo w -
!M
ing g la d ia to ria l com bat, o f w hich X ip e was
also a p atro n . V ictorious w arrio rs donned the
skins o f th e ir captives and w ore them fo r
days, engaging in mock skirm ishes throughout
T e n o c h titla n , begging alm s and then blessing
those w ho gave them food and offerings. T h e
stinking sldns w e re w o rn fo r 20 days, by
w h ich tim e they had n ea rly ro tten o?, and
th en , or 20 days hence, throw n by some
accounts in to a CAVE, or by others in to a hole.
A t the tim e o f th e C onquest the X ip e
fes tiva l fe ll d u rin g the spring, in our m onth
o f M a rc h , and m uch o f its im ag ery suggests
a g ric u ltu ra l re n e w a l: as a seed germ inates, it
feeds o ff the ro ttin g h u ll around it, Hnally
le ttin g the n ew shoot em erge. T h e X ip e
im personators w ore th e old skins u n til they
w e re ro tte n , w hen the young m an once again
em erged, ^ee a/so DEITY IMPERSONATION.
X iuhcoat! A ccording to A ztec accounts, the
n ew ly born H U iT Z iL O P O C H T L i destroyed
coYOLXAUHQui and the C entzon H u itzn a h u a
w ith a Hery SERPENT know n as the X iu h co atl,
as illu s tra te d on a fra g m e n ta ry C oyolxauhqui
sculpture excavated a t the T em p lo M a y o r.
L ik e the b e tte r know n C oyolxauhqui m onu­
m en t discovered in 1978, this was o rig in a lly
a g re at stone disk d ep ictin g the slain
C oyolxauhqui. H o w e v e r, in this case, the
X iu hco atl serpent a ctu ally p en etrates the
chest o f the goddess, w ith the body and
tasseled ta il p ro jectin g ou t o f th e w ound.
in A ztec iconography, the X iu h c o atl typ ­
ically has a sharply b ack-tu rn in g snout, a
segm ented body, and a ta il resem bling the
trap e ze-an d -ray yea r sign. This ta il device
p robably does re fe r to the y e a r sign; x ih u ii/
signiHes " y e a r," "tu rq u o is e ," and "grass" in
N a h u a tl, and in m any cases the ta il is m arked
w ith the sign fo r grass, p a ra lle l rods tip p ed
w ith c ircu lar elem ents. D o u b le and trip le
kno tted strips o f P A P E R (som etim es called
"b o w -tie s ") w ra p the Hre serpent's body and
lin k it to S A C R IF IC E and B L O O D L E T T I N G .
D u rin g the Postclassic p erio d , the X iu hco atl
appears w ith a ll th ree concepts: T U R Q U O IS E ,
grass, and the vague solar y ea r (see C A L E N D A R ) .
O n page 46 o f th e C odex B orgia, fo u r smoking
X iu hco atl serpents surround a b u rning tu r­
quoise m irro r. S im ilar turqu o ise-rim m ed MIR
R O R S are know n fro m E a rly Postclassic T u la
(see T O L L A N ) and C h ich en Itz a , w h ere fou r
Xiuhcoatls in turquoise mosaic circle the
m irro r rim . T h e a tla n te a n w a rrio r columns
from M o u n d B a t T u la w e a r precisely this
189 XIUHTECUHTL]
type o f m irro r upon th e ir backs. In this
case, the bodies o f the fo u r sm oking serpents
disp!ay the grass m o tif o f p a ra lle l lines tip p ed
w ith dots.
T h e association o f the X iu h co atl w ith tu r­
quoise, grass and the solar yea r relates to its
essential m eaning o f FERE and solar h eat.
Turquoise, d ry grass, and the vague year
w ere a ll id e n tifie d w ith Ere in Postclassic
C en tra! M exico. T h e X iu hco atl is em blem atic
o f the C en tra! M exican god o f Ere, x i u H T E -
c u H T L i , the Turquoise L o rd . T h e X iu hco atl

w ield ed by the n ew ly born H u itzilo p o c h tli

represents the Eery rays o f the SUN dispelling
the forces o f darkness.
A lthough the X iu hco atl can be read ily
traced back to E a rly Postclassic T u la , its
u ltim a te origins are still obscure. N o n e th e ­
less, the TEOTiHUACAN W a r S erpent probably
constitutes an ancestral form o f the X iu hco atl;
in Classic period iconography, the WAR SERPENT
appears w ith Barnes, the grass m o tif, and the
trap e ze-an d -ray year sign, ^ee a/so TEOTi- ( The Hayed god, Xipe Totee. (LeA) Xipe
impersonator dressed in a human skin,
HUACAN CODS.
Florentine Codex, Book 2, 16th c. Aztec. (AgAf)
Aztec sculpture of Xipe, Late Postclassic period.
X iu h te c u h tli A C e n tra l M exican god o f FIRE,
X iu h te c u h tli overlaps w ith the aged Ere god,
HUEHUETEOTL. According to the F lo re n tin e
Codex, H u eh u ete o tl was b u t another e p ith et Fragment of a
o f X iu h te c u h tli. B u t w hereas H u eh u ete o tl is monument depicting
depicted as a m arkedly aged being, X iu h te ­ a Xiuhcoatl serpent
c u h tli displays no indications o f inErm old
tearing open the chest
of Coyolxauhqui,
age: he is strongly identiE ed w ith youthful Templo Mayor,
w arrio rs and rulership. Tenochtitlan.
T h e nam e X iu h te cu h tli signiEes Turquoise
L o rd , and he usually appears rich ly bedecked
in TURQUOISE mosaic, the x /u A u ffzo ///c ro w n o f
rulership, and a turquoise pectoral often in
the form o f a stylized BUTTERFLY. X iu h te cu h tli
com m only w ears a descending turquoise-
colored b ird , the xiu A fo fo f/ (C ofrnga am a-
M u s ), against his brow and the XIUHCOATL Ere
serpent on his back. M a n y o f these turquoise
costum e elem ents o f X iu h te cu h tli appear
together on E a rly Postclassic To!tec w arrio rs,
and are also associated w ith the MORTUARY
BUNDLES o f A ztec w arrio rs, as illu strate d in
the Codex M ag liab ech iano . H o w ev er, clear
depictions o f X iu h te c u h tli a re not com mon
u n til the L a te Postclassic period. T h e depic­
tion o f X iu h te cu h tli on page 49 o f the Codex
D resden constitutes a rare M a y a exam ple o f Xiuhtecuhtli, the
this C en tra! M exican being. T h e accom pany­
Central Mexican
god of Ere and
ing M a y a hieroglyphic text p h o netically time, Florentine
nam es him cAac ja u fe i, a close gloss to the Codex, Book 1,
N ah u a tl X iu h te cu h tli. 16th c. Aztec.
XOCHIPILLI
!n N a h u a tl, x /A u /t/ signifies y e a r as w e ll as
turquoise, and according to a n u m b er o í
sources, X iu h te c u h tli was th e god o f the y e a r,
and by extension, o f tim e its e lf. In th e 2 60-d ay
CALENDAR, X iu h te c u h tli serves as th e p atro n o f
th e day A t! and the TRECENA I C o a tí.
X o c h ip illi X o c h ip illi, w hose nam e m eans
" F lo w e r P rin c e ," is closely id e n tifie d w ith
M a c u ilx o c h itl, 5 F lo w e r, one o f th e A H u iA T E -
TEO, or gods o f excess. Sahagún a ttrib u te s to
X o c h ip illi the m e tin g ou t o f hem orrhoids,
ven erea! disease and boils to those w ho
v io la te tim es o f fasting w ith sexual in te r­
course, b u t he is also a god o f p ositive crea tive
energies, and as such is a p atro n o f FLOW ERS,
dancing, feasting, p ain tin g , and g am e-p lay ­
ing. Because o f his g en e rativ e pow ers, he is
also closely linked to ciNTEOTL, the young
m aize god. X o c h ip illi was feted e a rly in the
grow ing season, d u rin g T e c u ilh u ito n tli, w hen
his im personator (see DMTY IMPERSONATION) was
sacrificed. See a/so VEINTENA.
Xochiquctza! L ite ra lly " F lo w e r Q u e tz a l,"
Xochiquetza! epitom ized young fem ale sexual
p ow er, FLOWERS, and pleasure, and in this
reg ard , was re late d to the AiiuiATETEO and
excess. B ut she was also a patroness o f
w eavers and the arts practiced by noble­
w om en; she presided over c h ild b irth and
pregnancy and served as the g uardian o f
the young m other. In these w ays she bears
relatio n ship to Toci, TLAZOLTEOTL, and the
o th er m other goddesses, b u t u n like those
fem ale deities, X o chiquetzal rem ained ever
young and b e a u tifu l, e ver a llu rin g . D epictions
g en erally show h er in luxurious a ttire and
w earin g COLD ornam ents.
T h e p atro n o f the T R E C E N A 1 X ó c h itl, X ochi­
q u etzal was fe te d d u rin g the VEINTENA H u e y -
p ach tli, especially by the practitioners o f
luxury arts - m etalsm iths, sculptors, p ainters,
w eavers, feath erw o rkers and em broiderers,
in p a rtic u la r - w ho presented a w om an to
im personate the goddess (see D E IT Y iM P E R S O N -
A T i O N ) . A fte r P R IE S T S sacrificed and flayed h er,
a m an donned the skin and fancy a ttire , sat
a t a loom , and p reten ded to w eave, w h ile
the m aster craftspeople danced around in
costumes o f M O N K E Y S , J A G U A R S , D O G S , coyotes,
and pum as. Subsequently the w orshippers con­
fessed th e ir sins to h er idol through p en ite n tia l
tongue BLOODLETTING and com pleted th e ir
atonem ent w ith a ritu a l bath. A X ochiquetzal
im personator was one o f the four brides taken
190
by the H u rrz iL O P O C H T L i im personator before his
sacrifice d u ring the feast o f Tnxcatl
X o lo tl A ltho u g h liv in g in in tim a te p ro xim ity
to hum ans, the Doc breaks on a d a ily basis
m any basic social conventions observed by
p eo p le; perhaps fo r this reason, dogs w ere
considered filth y and im m o ral in M eso am er-
ica. T h e canine god X o lo tl em bodies m any o f
the characteristics ascribed to them . This
C e n tra l M ex ica n god appears to have served
as the naA uaM , o r d o u ble, o f QUETZALCOATL,
and he accom panied Q u etzalcoat! in his d e ­
scent to the UNDERWORLD to re trie v e the bones
o f m an kin d . As th e canine com panion o f
Q u etzalco at!, X o lo tl w ears the cut conch pec­
to ral and o th e r costum e elem ents o f E h ecatl-
Q u e tza lc o a tl.
A ltho u g h the fa ith fu l assistant and com ­
panion to the g re at c u ltu re hero Q u etzalcoat!,
X o lo tl w as also id e n tifie d w ith sickness and
physical DEFORMITY. In th e codices, he com ­
m only displays a ragged-edged e a r, g en e rally
believed to be due to the ru n n in g sores w hich
often occur on dogs' ears. T h e nam e X o lo tl
relates to concepts o f TWINS and d e fo rm ity . In
N a h u a tl, xo/ocAam signifies " to w rin k le or
double o v e r," and in fa c t X o lo tl is fre q u e n tly
d epicted w ith a d eep ly fu rro w e d face. H o w ­
e ver, the w o rd x o /o f/ also fre q u e n tly refers
to tw in n ed objects in N a h u a tl; thus the term
fo r a doubled M A izc p la n t is xo/o% and
doubled MAGUEY, m exo/oi/. In Postclassic C e n ­
tra l M exico , tw ins w e re fe a re d m uch lik e
m onstrous b irth s o r d efo rm itie s. A ccording
to Tezozom oc, DWARVES AND HUNCHBACKS w e re
term ed xo/orne and the nam e m ay explain
w h y xoA?%7 also signified a c o u rtly page, since
dw arves, hunchbacks and o th e r p h ysically
deform ed in d ivid u als o fte n served in the
palace court. T h e id e n tific a tio n o f the dog
w ith tw in n in g and d efo rm itie s is o f g re at
a n tiq u ity in M eso am erica: tw o -h ead ed dogs
are com m only found in the Protoclassic cer­
am ic sculpture o f W est M exico .
X o lo tl plays an im p o rta n t ro le in c ertain
A ztec accounts o f the creation o f the h fth
sun a t T E O T I H U A C A N (see C R E A T IO N A C C O U N T S ) .
A ccording to Sahagún, d u rin g th e S A C R IF IC E o f
the gods a t th e firs t d aw n in g , X o lo tl unsuc­
cessfully tries to escape by firs t tu rn in g in to
the doubled m aize p la n t, then the doubled
m exo/oif, or m aguey, and fin a lly the sala­
m ander know n as th e axoVoi/, or " w a te r
x o lo tl." H o w e v e r, in the M e n d ie ta account
o f this mass sacrifice, X o lo tl is described as
191
YEARBEARERS
the sacriRcer ra th e r than the victim . In codica!
depictions o f the TRECENA 1 C ozcacuauhtli,
Xo!ot! holds the F L IN T blade o f sacriEce. H e
also serves as the patron o f the day O llin .

Y acatecuhtli see MERCHANTS

yahui Am ong the m ore im p o rtan t super-

naturals appearing in the Postclassic M ix te e
codices is a character w earin g a x iu H C O A T L
serpent headdress and ta il and the shell o f a
TURTLE upon his body. As an in dication of
its Eery n atu re, the X iuhcoatl occasionally
sprouts Earning volutes from the head and
ta il. A t tim es, the Egure carries a conch
tru m p et and FLINT blades in his hands; in
m any instances he appears Eying or in the
role o f a sacriEcer tearin g the H E A R T out o f a
victim . M a ry E lizab e th Sm ith has noted th a t
in the Codex M u ro and Codex Sanchez-Solis,
this tu rtle -E re -s erp e n t character is nam ed
yahui. In the C olonial M ix te e A lvarad o
D ic tio n a ry, y a h u i is deRned as a certain
w izard th a t can Ey through the a ir. A ccording
to Sm ith, this Eying y a h u i m ay be id en tical
to one o f the tw o sons born to the creator
couple 1 D e e r.
Am ong the M ixtees, the y a h u i m ay have
been the com panion s p irit o f p o w erfu l trans­
fo rm atio n al sorcerers, much like the nah u a/h
sorcerers o f C e n tra l M exico (see N A H U A L ).
O ne o f the most com m on com panion spirits
o f M esoam erican sorcerers is lightning, w hich
provides the SHAMAN w ith rap id Eight and
o m nipotent pow er. T h e y a h u i m ay allu d e
to both L IG H T N IN G A N D T H U N D E R . W hereas his
a b ility to Ey, the Ere serpent a ttrib u tes, and
Xolotl, patron of the day
the E int blades m ay re fe r to lightning, the
Ollin, in the form of a
tu rtle shell and conch could be allusions to diseased ahmafeof/,
thu n d er-m akin g instrum ents. A lthough the Codex Borgia, p. 10, Late
y a h u i character is found w id e ly in M ixte e Postclassic period.
codices, he was probably borrow ed from the
Zapotees. T h e serpent and tu rtle shell y a h u i
o fte n occurs in Zapotee iconography and
appears in ceram ic a rt as e arly as M o n te
A lb an u.

yearbearers T o distinguish one 365-d ay year

from another in the 5 2 -ye ar CALENDAR,
Flying yahui with Eint
M esoam erican peoples nam ed each year knives in its hands,
a fte r a p a rtic u la r day in the coincident 260- Codex Nuttall, Late
day calendar. These days are called yea r- Postclassic Mixtee.
YEAKBEAHEHS
bearers A m ong the Postclassic M a y a o f Yuca­
tan . the y e a rb e a re r occurred on the first day
o f the solar y ea r, w h ile the A ztecs nam ed
th e ir years a fte r th e day in the 260-d ay
c alen d ar fa ilin g on the 360th day o f th e 3 65 -
day calen d ar.
T o caic u late the y e a rb e a re r in e ith e r sys­
tem req uires tw o basic calculations re la tin g
the 260 -d a y (1 3 x 20) and 365-d ay
(18 x 20 + 5 ) calendars. F irs t, d iv id in g th e
nu m b er o f day nam es, 20, in to 365 yields a
re m ain d e r o f 5; thus fo r each successive solar
yea r, the day nam es m ove 6ve places fo rw a rd .
A fte r fo u r years, the day nam ing the y ea r
has m oved 20 places, re tu rn in g it to the
o rig in al day nam e th a t started the series, so
only fo u r days can be yearb earers. Second,
d iv id in g the d ay num bers, 13, in to 365 leaves
a re m ain d e r o f 1. So w h ile the day nam es
progress by five each year, the num erals
increase by one u n til reaching 13 w hen they
begin again. F o r the 16th c. Aztecs, the o rd er
o f the 52 years ran as follow s: 2 A ca tl, 3
T e c p a tl, 4 C a lli, 5 T o c h tli, 6 A catl, and so on,
u n til the final year o f 1 T o c h tli, w hich w ould
then be follow ed by 2 A ca tl, the first year o f
the next 5 2-ye ar cycle.
Y earbearers often bore special signs to cue
the re ad er to the m eaning. Am ong the Classic
period Zapotees, a headband containing a
cross in the form o f a diadem signaled
y ea rb ea rer dates. T h is convention occurred
as e a rly as M o n te A lbán i and appears on
Stela 12. a m onum ent th a t dates to c.500 BC.
1M
In C e n tra l M exico , the L a te C la n tc w ritin g
o f Xochicalco indicates a y ea rb ea rer w ith
a looped cord. In fu ll-fig u re form s o f this
convention, it can be seen th a t the cord is a
tu m p lin e or sling fo r carryin g the year glyph,
as if th e y e a r w e re a burden to be supported.
T h e looped cord convention also occurs at the
contem poraneous sites o f C e n tra ! M exican
T eotenango d el V a lle and M a ltra ta , V eracru z.
A t E a rly Postclassic T u la , the looped cord
occurs as th e tu m p lin e b orne by an old man
carryin g the year. A m ong th e Postclassic
M ixtees, y e a rb e a re r dates w e re designated
by the MEXICAN YEAR SIGN. In th e ir books, the
A ztecs m arked the y ea r by placing it in a
tu rq u o ise-b lu e square, a convention w ith a
ling u istic base: in N a h u a tl jn7nMf/ signifies
"tu rq u o is e " as w e ll as " y e a r." A m ong the
M a y a , despite th e ir use o f the y e a rb e a re r
system , th e re is no know n y e a rb e a re r sign,
possibly because fo r recording history the
M a y a favo red units o f the Long C o u n t ra th e r
than th e succession o f yearb earers.
T h e p a rtic u la r fo u r days selected as y e a r­
bearers v arie d w id e ly in M eso am erica. T h e
most com m on sequence was th e 3 rd , 8 th ,
13th, and 18th day nam es, corresponding to
C a lli (H o u s e), T o c h tli (R a b b it), A c a tl (R e ed ),
and T e c p a tl (F lin t) in the A zte c series o f day
nam es. T h is series is found a t Xochicalco,
Teotenango d el V a lle , M a ltra ta , am ong the
PostclassicToltecs, M ixtees, A ztecs, and o th er
peoples o f h ig h lan d M ex ico , and in the Paris
and D resd en codices o f the Postclassic Yuca-
193 YO KE

tec M a y a . H o w ev er, am ong the Zapotees and

in neighboring G u e rrero , the yearbearers
w ere the 2nd, 7th , 12th, and 17th day nam es.
D u rin g the L a te Postclassic, some Yucatec
M a y a used yet another yea rb ea rer system ,
in this case, the 4th , 9th , 14th, and 19th day
nam es, corresponding to K an , M u lu c , lx , and
Cauac. a/so CARCO.

yoke A yoke (som etim es know n by the Span­

ish w ord yugo), the U -shaped elem en t o f the
Toltec representation of a yearbearer Hint; the
BALLGAME costum e, was w orn around the w aist
figure carries the year 11 Flint. Tula, Early
to d eflect blows from the cen ter o f the body. Postclassic period.
Slipped on sideways, the fro n t, back, and one
side o f the body w ere alw ays protected.
H undreds, if not thousands, o f stone ballgam e
yokes have been found in tombs along the
V eracru z coast and the Pacihc slope o f G u a te ­
m ala, alm ost exclusively from the Classic
period, and they have also been recovered
from surface rem ains at Copan and Palenque.
M ost stone yokes w eigh 2 5 -3 5 lb (c. 1 1 .5 -
15.5 kg), and although a train ed player could
m ove w earin g one, these stone yokes w ere The stone yokes associated with the ballgame
probabiy reserved for cerem onial use, p er­ can be either enclosed or open-ended, Classic
haps as a sort o f trophy - stone versions Veracruz.
o f w h a t was probably a w ooden piece o f
p ro tective arm or. A few have no opening and
could not have been w orn. M a n y , p artic u la rly
those from V eracru z, bear com plicated icon­
ography that is d ifficu lt to decipher w ith o u t a
m odern d raw in g . Com m on im agery includes
TO A D S , sacrificial victim s, and T U E R TO S . <See a/so

HACHA.
 Guide to Sources and Bibliography

The reader may well wonder how the authors have come to the contusions
presented in this book. The sources for the Precolumbian past in Mesoamerica are
many and diverse, and the piecing together of gods, iconography, and meaning
rare!y depends on just a single source but rather on the more convincing evidence
that comes from Ending patterns that are reflected in archaeology or ethnohistory.
In genera), we have made direct citations in this book on)y from 16th c. sources,
and we have tried to attribute important post-1950 discoveries to those responsible.
The following discussion and bibhography are by no means exhaustive or complete
(and the reader is advised to look etsewhere for a history of Mesoamerican
archaeology*) but what follows is a description of sources, how they have come
down to us, and how scholars have come to understand them.

Prehispanic Books
Despite the concerted effort by religious and civil authorities to destroy any native
manifestation of "idolatry" after the Conquest, a number of Prehispanic books -
screenfolds of deerskin or Eg paper painted with Ene brushes - have survived. Some
were shipped to Europe before the zeal to destroy overcame the conquerors, while
others were hidden for generations and came to tight in the 19th c. Of primary
importance for studying gods and symbols is the Borgia group of manuscripts, named
after the largest and Enest among them. Although it may have been painted in
Puebla or Cholula or perhaps even in Veracruz, the Codex Borgia is the best
surviving example of a Centra! Mexican book, containing a divinatory 260-day
calendar, sections on yearbearers and Venus, and a long, poorly understood section
("middle pages") that depicts the journey of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca to the
nadir of the Underworld. Other manuscripts in the Borgia group lack these middle
pages, but all share a similar style and a similar constellation of gods. Most are
named for their original collector and all reside in European libraries: Borgia, Laud,
Fejérváry-Mayer, Cospi, and the Vaticanus B. Donald Robertson demonstrated that
the Codex Borbonicus, long thought to be a Prehispanic book, was made after the
Conquest, but probably before 1530; its Erst part, a tonalamatl, or 260-day calendar,
replicates a luxurious Aztec model. Because of the size and detail of the Borbonicus,
it offers one of the best guides to trecena patrons and veintena festivals.
Several Mixtee Prehispanic codices have survived, perhaps because of their
predominantly historical and genealogical content, or it may simply be that

* For histones of Mesoamerican archaeology, the reader should consult Bernal 1962, Adams 1969, Bernal 1960, and
Willey and Sablolf 1980. The history of the recognition of art in the New World is treated in Kubler 1990. See Keen
1971 and Boone 1987 for a consideration of Aztec historiography; for the Maya, see Scheie and Miller 1986, Miller
1989. Coe 1992 and Stuart 1992.
195 CUIDE TO SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

manuscripts treating other subjects were usually destroyed. New genealogies in

Prehispanic style continued to be made during the 16th c. and Prehispanic
manuscripts received continued annotation after the Conquest. Some were later
presented in Colonia! courts as evidence in cases involving land tenure; owners
scraped manuscripts of all "idolatrous" imagery in order that they be accepted by
the court as evidence, and as a result, a manuscript like the Bodley was badly
mutilated. The best preserved of the Mixtee books are the Selden, Nuttal!, Colombino,
Bodley, and the Vindobonensis (or Vienna), and several are kept at the Bodleian
Library in Oxford. Of these the Vindobonensis is the richest source for Mixtee gods.
No Prehispanic Zapotee manuscripts survive.
Four Maya screenfolds - the Dresden, Madrid, Paris, and Grolier - escaped the
bonfires of Diego de Landa, the Franciscan later tried for excessive zeal in enforcing
the notorious anfo da /e in Maní, Yucatan. The Grolier may have been written
several centuries before the Conquest, but the others were probably painted within
100 years of the Spanish arrival. The Dresden Codex is a particularly important
source for studying the gods and religious practices of Late Postclassic Yucatan.
Yucatec scribes wrote these books with texts in red and black pigments and illustrated
them with pictures of gods and rituals in the same colors.

Sixteenth-century European Sources

Sixteenth-century sources provide the most broad and accurate descriptions of
Mesoamerican life, and some of these, such as the Second Letter of Cortes to King
Charles V or the much later Discovery and Conguest of Mex/co by Bernal Diaz
offer vivid eye-witness descriptions of the Aztecs and their neighbors, their cities,
temples, and gods. Without such accounts, we would know nothing about such
things as the elaborate cuisine prepared for Motecuhzoma II or the sort of zoo for
exotic animals that he kept or the nature and abundance of the Aztec marketplace.
From across all Europe Charles V called Apostolic Twelves from various Catholic
religious orders - Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians - to carry out the
conversion of New Spain, or Mexico, as the Spaniards soon began to call the land.
("Mexico" is a corruption of Mexica-Tenochtitlan, the Aztec name for their capita!
city.) Educated men truly interested in the land and people, these first friars soon
began to make systematic records of the New World, largely in order to speed
conversion and to understand the language and religion of the people they sought
to bring under control. Among the authors of the 16th c. sources, one name stands
above all others: Father Bernardino de Sahagun, a Franciscan friar who arrived
just a few years after the original Twelve, but who knew most of them and drew
on their experiences as well as his own.
Sahagun devoted his life to understanding the Aztecs and their neighbors in the
Valley of Mexico. He became fluent in Nahuat! and wrote dozens of sermons in it
that his minions then preached throughout the countryside. But, most importantly,
he began to gather systematically the knowledge of the Precolumbian world and to
present it in volumes along the lines of a late medieval encyclopedia. A preliminary
effort, the Primeros Memoriales (sometimes known as the Codices Matritenses),
was finished in 1560 or so, but his lifework, the Genera/ L&sfory of tAe TA/ngs of
New Spain, was completed and produced in subsequent decades. Usually known as
the Florentine Codex, the name given to the sole surviving holograph (considered
subversive, other copies sent to Spain were confiscated and presumably destroyed
by Spanish authorities), the 12-volume work is a major encyclopedia assembled by
GLIDE TO SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY !M
Sahagun and a troop of Nahuatl-speaking nobles, and the text is written in parallel
columns of Nahuat! and Spanish. The work treats the gods, rehgion, history, temples
and cities, ceremonies, omens, auguries, natura! history, cosmography, mora! rhetoric,
calendar; describes different ethnic groups; and relates the Conquest itse!f, as to!d
from the native point of view. A separate Spanish-only text a!so survives. Despite
the !ens of the Spanish Conquest, the Florentine Codex is the single greatest source
for understanding the native New World.
Anonymous authors, including friars and natives, also made other early records -
probably in the Brst generation after the Conquest - of Aztec gods and religion that
survive only as fragments: i&sfor/a c/e /os mexicanos por sus pmfuras, Leyenda de
/os so/es, and Zd/sfoyre du meciuque. These extremely important texts recount the
deities, religion, and cosmography and describe now-lost manuscripts, probably as
presented to the friars by Aztec interlocutors. Many other friars wrote important
documents for understanding the Conquest and the social environment of the 16th
c., but they offered only a few insights into the religious iconography of the past.
The well-known Dominican, Bartolomé de Las Casas, for example, wrote lengthy
tracts describing indigenous conditions and advocating social reform, but offers little
information on Mesoamerican gods not expounded more explicitly elsewhere.
Toward the end of the century, two major efforts at documentation were
completed. First, in 1577 Philip II conducted a census of New Spain, demanding
that each province answer 50 questions about its people, wealth, geography, local
administration, religious practices, and provide a map. Six years later, most of these
re/ac/onesgeográ/?cas were completed, many with the assistance of native informants.
In this same period, Diego Duran, a Berce Dominican priest who both loved Mexico
and lamented the tenacity of native religion, completed a series of important studies
known today as 77?e Boo/r of f/?e Cods and 77?e Anc/enf Ca/endar, and 77?e
L&sfory of f/?e /hd/es; the last is the most comprehensive history of the Aztec state.
The friars concentrated on the Valley of Mexico, so it is little wonder that few
records survive for other regions. Diego de Landa wrote his Z?e/ac/dn de /as cosas
de Fucafan in the 1560s while awaiting trial in Spain for his overenthusiastic
enforcement of the Inquisition. Although this document is extremely useful - Landa,
for example, wrote down the 30 characters in Maya phonetic, syllabic script that
led eventually to the phonetic decipherment of Maya hieroglyphic writing - it lacks
the richness of detail that characterizes the Centra! Mexican documents. In the 17th
c., Father Francisco de Burgoa made an important record of the Zapotees, although
nothing comparable survives for the Mixtees.

Native Documents after the Conquest

After the Spanish Conquest, native scribes worked for their new masters and made
dozens of manuscripts that survive, even though far more were lost. Some books
took on new content to suit the audience: religious iconography was spelled out in
order that a priest recognize his enemy; histories recounted peregrinations of
different ethnic groups, partly in order to express grievances regarding land
distribution or privileges; and native books turned up in Colonial legal proceedings.
The Spanish commissioned tribute records to assess the wealth of their colony and
maps to guide them to its sources. Many books required a hybrid effort: native
scribes painted the illustrations and Europeans added interpretive glosses. Where
Mesoamericans learned to represent their languages in the European alphabet, they
began to write books of their own in this new system, occasionally transcribing an
197 CUÍDE TO SOURCES AND BIBLIOCRAPH1

ancient picture book, as in the case of the Popo/ VuA. As the 16th c. progressed, the
Spanish Crown passed from Charles V to Philip II, who had less desire to understand
Mesoamerica and less patience with the eclectic sort of books made there: his
subordinates must have destroyed the missing copies of Sahagun's encyclopedia,
although he did commission the Pe/aciones geográFcas, completed in 1583. After
the English defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Spain wanted little from her
colonies but precious minerals. By the end of the 16th c., 90 percent of the indigenous
population had died; the generation that had known Preconquest life was gone, and
sympathetic friars had generally given way to less educated priests dependent on
local Colonial patronage. The Crown forbade foreigners (i.e. non-Spanish born) to
visit the colonies. The Precolumbian past was passively abandoned or actively
destroyed.
The major groups of 16th c. native or hybrid works can be roughly classiBed as
follows (some are written on native paper, others on European paper; a /lenzo is
painted on cloth; the catalogue in the Handbook o í Afidd/e American indians,
particularly Glass 1975, should be consulted):
MAPs: including Plano en Papel de Maguey, Mapa de Coatlinchan, Mapas de
Cuauhtinchan, Mapa Quinatzin, Mapa de Santa Cruz, among others
H iSTO RiCAL/R EUG ious CHRONICLES: including Relación de Michoacán, Codex Boturini,
Codex Mendoza, part 1, Lienzo de Tlaxcala (orig. lost), Historia Tolteca-
Chichimeca, the Popol Vuh
TRIBUTE LiSTs: Codex Mendoza, part 2 , and Matricula de Tributos
D E S C R I P T I O N S O F F E S T I V A L S A N D CUSTOMS: including the Codex Magliabechiano and

its group; the paired manuscripts Codex Telleriano-Remensis and Codex Rios, or
Vaticanus A; the Tovar Calendar; and Codex Mendoza, part 3
Other manuscripts, including an herbal, Codex Badianus, written in Latin by a
learned Nahuatl speaker, survive from the 16th c., but few have played a seminal
role in the decipherment of Mesoamerican gods and symbols. Some later Colonial
sources, including Tezozómoc's Crónica mexicana (c. 1600), Torquemada's Monar-
cAia indiana (c. 1613), Chimalpahin's Pe/aciones (c. 1625), Ixtlilxochitl's .Relaciones
and Historia cAicAimeca, and the various Mayan Books of Chilam Balam (all 18th
c.) include information not available from other sources.

The End of the Spanish Colonial Era

Perhaps in response to the general intellectual climate of the Enlightenment, Charles
III of Spain took a renewed scientiBc interest in the Americas and the Prehispanic
past, and so inaugurated the modern era in Mesoamerican studies. In 1786, he sent
out explorers to document Palenque, Chiapas, and at the beginning of the 19th c.,
his son, Charles IV, commissioned further study of abandoned archaeological sites,
their merit and contents, including Monte Alban and Mitla. The Mexican scholar
José Antonio Alzate published drawings and commentary on El Taj in and Xochicalco.
The German nobleman and scholar Alexander von Humboldt was granted leave to
carry out scientiBc study in the Spanish colonies, resulting in his 1810 Vues des
cordd/éres et monuments des peup/e indigenes de /Amengüe. By the time of
Mexican independence, the regional styles of Mesoamerican art and the presence
of different gods and religious practices began to be recognized.
In 1790 and 1791, when workmen uncovered three Aztec monoliths, the Stone of
Tizoc, the Calendar Stone, and the large Coatlicue, they were preserved rather than
CLIDE TO SOURCES AND BIBHOCRAPHY

destroyed, and the scholar Antonio Léon y Gama began deciphering their meaning
He was the Erst student to puMish accurate, measured drawings of Aztec religious
art. Although he thought the Calender Stone to be a true calendar, recording hours,
days, weeks, months, years, and other cycles, a reading no longer tenable, he
nevertheless correctly identified many symbols and gods (while misidentifying
others), and we may consider Léon y Gama s efforts as the first scientific study of
Mesoamerican iconography.
Following the Mexican declaration of independence in 1810 and the withdrawal
of Spanish authority in 1821 (and the independence oL Centra! America in 1825,
opening up yet more lands), European, North American, and Mexican investigators
surged across the countryside, exploring, studying, and collecting evidence of the
past. And when the Spanish left, they took with them quantities of documents,
including, for example, the works of Diego Durán.
The Precolumbian past and the sophisticated cultures whose wreckage lay on and
under the ground puzzled its 19th c. students and many offered fantastic explanations,
some of which the Spanish had already put forth, such as the notion that
Mesoamerican civilization was founded by the Lost Tribes of Israel or by strayed
Egyptians (see Wauchope 1962). Soon Atlantis, India, China, and Africa were added
to the stew; the Mormons saw Mesoamerican civilization as the locus for a separate
resurrection of Christ. Authors argued about the possibility for high civilization to
have flourished at all in Mesoamerica, but by the end of the century there was
near-universal consensus among scholars that it had, that there was more time depth
and antiquity than previously thought, and more diversity of cultures; among
competing explanations, the idea that these cultures had grown up in the New
World without Old World stimuli began to take root.
John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood explored what are now Guatem­
ala, Belize, Honduras, and the Mexican states of Chiapas, Yucatán, Campeche, and
Quintana Roo in 1839-42, documenting dozens of Maya cities with lively descriptions
and generally accurate illustrations. Unlike most of their contemporaries, they
believed that the living Maya descended from the city-builders, and they recognized
the uniformity of Maya writing across the vast geographic realm they traveled. They
had no reason to believe that the cities had been abandoned any earlier than the
time of the Conquest and so knew nothing of the antiquity of Maya cities. Stephens'
four volumes were bestsellers; they went through dozens of editions and printings,
perhaps creating the Erst large audience of armchair archaeologists in history, and
they undoubtedly sparked interest in those who would later be scholars of ancient
Mesoamerica.
Between 1831 and 1846, Edward King, Lord Kingsborough, drove himself into
bankruptcy by bankrolling and publishing nine elephantine folios of facsimile
reproductions of Precolumbian and Postconquest Mesoamerican codices and manu­
scripts known in European collections. Despite some serious handicaps - the copyist
Agostino Aglio misinterpreted unfamiliar imagery and inevitably changed details in
his interpretations of the manuscripts, and the enormous volumes could be bought
only by major libraries or by the very wealthy - for the Erst time, the rich iconography
in these books could be consulted widely, and dozens of Precolumbian sculptures
were also illustrated. With this documentation, scholars could assemble and study
the temples, books and gods of Mesoamerica, from Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlan
in the north, on through Xochicalco, El Tajin, Monte Albán, and Mitla, to the Maya
sites in the south.
199 CUIDE TO SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aztec history had been described many times by the 19th c., but the American
historian William H. Prescott wrote what we might call the first "modern" history
of the Aztecs, a 3-volume study published in 1843, using voluminous sources,
particularly Precolumbian and early Postconquest manuscripts, to build a picture of
the Aztecs that included their religious life. Sahagun's works began to be rediscovered,
and a 3-volume Spanish edition of the Genera/ ARsfory text was published in 1829-
30. And as museums around the world were founded, Mesoamerican antiquities
began to receive a permanent, stable home; Founded in 1825, the Mexican National
Museum has always housed the world s largest collection of Aztec antiquities. By
the end of the century, the Trocadero, British Museum, American Museum of
Natural History, and Smithsonian Institution, among others, would all amass
signiBcant collections of Mesoamerican materials.
At mid-century, several scholars competed to collect Precolumbian and Colonial
manuscripts, prying them loose from archives, churches, and small towns. In the
18th c., Lorenzo Boturini had bought some 500 manuscripts before xenophobic
Spanish ofBcals deported him, confiscated the collection and then let it be dismantled.
J. M. A. Aubin spent a decade collecting manuscripts around Mexico City and
succeeded in reassembling many pieces of the Boturini corpus, which he then took
to Paris in 1840 and spent the rest of his life studying. In Mexico, despite
his antipathy for the Aztecs, Joaquín Garcia Icazbalceta assembled previously
unpublished documents relating to Mexico's history and began publishing them in
1858. Considering himself Aubin's heir, Abbé Charles-Etienne Brasseur de Bour-
bourg traveled among the Maya and sought out manuscripts and documents that
he hoped would unravel their past. His perserverance and luck led him to make
several important discoveries: first, in Guatemala, he came upon the 18th c. copy
of the 16th c. Popo/ FuA, translated it into French and published it; then, back in
Spain, he found the Madrid Codex and a copy of Landa's Pe/ac/on and published
them as well.
Brasseur's discoveries ushered in a new phase of study, in which 16th c.
commentaries were used to decipher Precolumbian books and art. Using the variety
of sources now available to them, scholars in Mexico, the United States, and Europe
began to identify gods, symbols, and iconography. Books and journals proliferated,
fueling greater interest; national governments, academic institutions and private
backers sponsored campaigns of exploration, and eventually, of excavation.
During the long, stable reign of Porfirio Díaz in Mexico (1876-1911), Mexican
scholars began to study the Aztecs and their predecessors with care. Because of
their identification with the despised Porfirio Díaz regime, however, some of their
works have been unjustly neglected, or even condemned. Manuel Orozco y Berra,
Jesús Sánchez, Alfredo Chavero, Justo Sierra, José Fernando Ramírez, Cecilio
Robelo, and Jesús Calindo y Villa, among others, read manuscripts, published
previously unknown documents, and began interpreting Aztec art, life and religion.
Robelo published his 2-volume D/cc/onar/o <Ze M/fo/qgia NaAuaf/ in 1905, a
compendium of Centra! Mexican religion that was rarely cited by his contemporaries
(and even less frequently today) but which must have been heavily consulted by
his contemporaries and successors. Based on the sources unearthed or published by
his learned colleagues, Robelo's dictionary is useful for any student of Aztec
gods and symbols today and has remained surprisingly current. Of his Mexican
contemporaries, Francisco Paso y Troncoso made the greatest contribution. A skilled
naAuaf/afo, or Nahuatl-speaker and translator, Paso y Troncoso dedicated much of
CLIDE TO SOURCES AND BiBUOCRAPHY 200
his tife to rediscovering the works of Bernardino de Sahagún and making them
available to scholars, although his vast project of translation and publication was
teft unhnished upon his death in Europe in 1916.
Leopold Batres carried out excavations at Mida, Teotihuacan, and Tenochtitlan,
and although the following generation of archaeologists harshly criticized Batres'
techniques and results, his efforts laid the groundwork for modern archaeology in
Mexico. After the Mexican Revolution, Manuel Camio carried out the first strati­
graphic excavations in Mexico, at Atzcapotzalco, opening up the possibility of
documenting civilized life in the first millennium BC.
in France, E.-T. Hamy studied and separated Aztec from non-Aztec works in
Paris museums, publishing dozens of articles in his journal Decades amer/caines,
identifying gods and relating Teotihuacan representations to Aztec deities in useful
investigations, although he shared with Brasseur a passion for theories of non-native
origins of Mesoamerican civilization. He published the first edition of the Codex
Borbonicus in 1899. Desire Charnay had visited Mexico in 1857, but his 1880 trip
produced his most important observations, the identiheation of Tula, Hidalgo, with
the home of the Toltecs, and the linking of it culturally and temporally to Chichen
ítxá, but unfortunately he then went on to attribute all civilization in Mesoamerica
to Toltec genius.
Several German scholars made important contributions to the deciphering of
Mesoamerican religious imagery at the end of the 19th c., but the wide-ranging
efforts of Eduard Seler remain the most important today, perhaps because his
commentaries are almost always rooted in an object or corpus: only rarely did Seler
begin with an idea that he sought to prove, rather than starting with a text, an
object, or a building. Sponsored by the Due de Loubat, a wealthy New Yorker, from
1887 onward, Seler wrote commentaries to new facsimile editions of many codices
in which he identified the gods, explicated the calendrics and related patterns to
ethnohistoric documents. Although more skilled in his manipulation of Central
Mexican materials, Seler was the hrst to compare Maya and Mexican materials
systematically; more profoundly than any of his contemporaries, Seler drew
his interpretations from the widest possible range of sources, including history,
ethnohistory, and archaeological remains. Seler's writings began to be collected in
the 5-volume Cesamme/fe AAAant#ungan in 1902, and the final volume was issued
posthumously in 1923. Seler's vast corpus remains the point of departure for most
modern iconographic inquiries.
Once Ernst Forstemann, Royal Librarian in Dresden, began to prepare a facsimile
edition of the Dresden Codex (pub. 1880), he worked with the manuscript until he
had broken the code of the Maya calendar and mathematics, making possible the
decipherment of the Long Count of the monuments and its correlation to the
Christian calendar, as later propounded by the American journalist J. T. Goodman
in 1905. From that point on, the antiquity of the Maya monuments later attributed
to the "Classic" period was known, and the dichotomy of "Maya: Creeks of the
New World" vs. "Aztecs: Romans of the New World" took root. The sudden
cessation of Maya monuments with Long Count dates in the 9th c. came to be called
the "collapse," a problem for scholars from that time onward. In 1897, Paul ScheHhas
inaugurated modern Maya iconographic studies with his investigation of the deities
of the Maya codices in which he carefully isolated separate iconographic entities,
recognized their name glyphs, and assigned neutral letters of the alphabet to
individual gods.
201 GUIDE TO SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

In the United States, Daniel Brinton translated Nahuatl poetry into English (1887)
and reacted against the excesses of enthusiasts like Chamay with skeptical attacks
on the very existence of the Toltecs, invoking, in turn, the wrath of Seler. Zelia
Nuttall, the Erst woman scholar to study Mesoamerica, published commentaries on
Precolumbian manuscripts, correctly identiEed the large piece of featherwork in the
Vienna Museum as a headdress, perhaps Motecuhzoma's, rather than a standard,
and offered hypotheses for the meanings of some Mesoamerican calendrical cycles
that her male colleagues found laughable, although some have been shown to be
probable today. She correctly proposed that a Mixtee codex (like her contemporaries,
she thought the Mixtee books were Aztec) depicted largely historical, not religious,
iconography; in her honor, the book, the Codex Nuttall, was given her name.
Probably inspired by the writings of Stephens, scholars in the United States and
England focused their attention on the Maya, particularly the discovery and
exploration of archaeological sites. Alfred P. Maudslay made extensive Maya art
available to study through publication of drawings of monuments at Copan, Quiriguá,
Palenque, Yaxchilán, and Chichen Itzá. Despite efforts by Cyrus Thomas and others
to use the Landa "alphabet" to decipher Maya texts, the nature of the script
remained unknown until Yuri Knorosov tackled it after World War II. J. T. Goodman
recognized the head and fu!!-Sgure variants for numbers and period glyphs, some
of which turned out to be gods. Herbert Spinden built on Schellhas's 1897 list of
Postclassic Maya gods by identifying some of them and isolating yet others in the
earlier Classic art for his 1909 Harvard dissertation, later published as A of
Maya Art in 1913. George Vaillant established the basic chronological sequence for
Maya ceramics still in use today. Harvard sponsored campaigns of archaeological
exploration and documentation, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington domi­
nated Maya archaeology between the World Wars, publishing vast quantities of
material for later iconographic exegesis.

The Problems of Early 20th c. Mesoamerican Studies

With the correlation of the Maya and European calendars settled, the Maya were
seen by many as the inventors of the calendar and gods. But problems remained
with such a construct, particularly as evidenced by the corpus of art that came to
be called "Olmec." Non-Mayanist Mesoamericanists, among them Marshall Saville,
George Vaillant, Matthew Stirling, Alfonso Caso, and Miguel Covarrubias believed
that the Olmec aesthetic and iconographic enigma, present both in Central Mexico
and in Veracruz, predated the Maya. Covarrubias earned the wrath of Mayanists
when he drew a now-famous how chart (see illustration under WERE-jACUAR, p. 185)
to show how what he called Olmec were-jaguars preceded all other rain gods in
Mesoamerica, and he called the Olmec the cu/fura madre. After World War II,
radiocarbon dating would prove the chronological primacy of the Olmec as
Mesoamerica's Erst complex culture and the Gulf Coast as its hearth.
Alfonso Caso excavated Monte Albán for several seasons in the 1930s, establishing
a stratigraphically based chronology for Oaxaca and vastly amplifying the corpus of
religious art. Caso and Ignacio Bernal studied Zapotee ceramic urns, isolating deity
complexes and relating them to both Colonial god lists made by Francisco de Burgoa
and to known Aztec gods. Unlike his predecessors, including Seler and Nuttall, Caso
recognized that the Mixtee codices were distinct from Aztec ones, and he unraveled
the major genealogies, identifying them with, known places, although scholars now
believe that he pushed the antiquity of these lineages back too far into the past.
CLIDE TO SOURCES AND BtBtJOCRAPHY BM

Knowledgeable in all aspects of Mesoamerica except the Maya, Caso explored Aztec
religion and iconography and offered what until recently were the most explicit
studies of Mesoamerican calendars, and many of his interpretations have remained
in favor.
Unlike many other Mesoamerican sites, Teotihuacan was never lost from view.
But although Charnay had idenüBed Tula, Hidalgo, as the historical home of the
Toltecs, Teotihuacan had come to be considered Tula for most of the century. The
discovery in the late 1930s of Teotihuacan-style pottery in contexts with datable
Early Classic Maya pottery at Kaminaljuyú pushed Teotihuacan back into the first
millennium AD and opened a place for Tula, confirmed as the Toltec capital by
Wigberto Jimenez-Moreno at the first round table of the Sociedad mexicana de
antropología in 1941.
As professor of anthropology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
in the 1920s, Seler's student Hermann Beyer carried on Mesoamerican iconographic
studies, particularly of Aztec art, as did Walter Lehmann in Germany. Angel Maria
Garibay offered the first comprehensive translations of Nahuat! texts. Ignacio
Marquina explored the iconography of Mesoamerican architecture. Ignacio Bernal
carried on Caso and Covarrubias's Olmec studies.
After World War H, scholars sought unified terminologies to refer to both time
and place. Spinden and Morley's notion of Old and New Empires for the Maya, for
example, had never applied to other parts of Mesoamerica, and evidence for early
occupation of Yucatán made it impossible to believe the Maya collapse to have been
a wholesale movement of peoples. A. V. Kidder and Tatiana Proskouriakoff of the
Carnegie Institution of Washington began to refer in published works to what had
also been called the "Initial Series Period" as the Classic era, roughly AD 300-900,
and they used the term to refer to other contemporaneous cultures at Monte Alban
and Teotihuacan. The Postclassic era, then, began with the rise of the Toltecs at
Tula; the Olmec and other early developments were Preclassic, and fell in the Brst
millennium Be. Such terms implied a value judgment that the "Classic" era achieved
some ideal, a notion now out of favor, and so other terms have been proposed, but
only the substitution of "Formative" for Preclassic has taken hold.
In 1943, Paul Kirchhoff suggested the name Mesoamerica to refer to an area of
shared cultural traditions from 14 to 21 degrees north latitude, encompassing much
of Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the northern strip of Honduras and El
Salvador. This term has successfully replaced "Middle America," "Nuclear Amer­
ica," or the names of modern nation-states in scholarly discussion of the region.

Later 20th c. Studies: Maya

Sir Eric Thompson dominated studies of Maya religion and iconography for most of
the 20th c. as surely as Eduard Seler had reigned over the Mesoamerican scene at
the turn of the century. (Thompson's prominent colleague Sylvanus G. Morley
operated more in the archaeological realm and ultimately followed many of
Thompson's views in his synthetic writings.) Thompson sprinkled his writings with
quotations from English literature which he used to idealize Maya gods and religion,
heightening differences between what he characterized as the peaceful Classic
period and the warlike Postclassic era. Based on his knowledge of Central Mexican
iconography - a knowledge vastly expanded by his supervision of a translation of
Seler's collected works during World War II - Thompson wrote Maya ARerogTypAic
Wr/Rng^ (1950), a compendium of iconography as well as of Maya writing. In Maya
203 GUIDE TO SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

History and PeAgion (1970) he offered a new model of Maya religion, with many
gods subsumed under Itzamna.
The Carnegie Institution of Washington began to phase out its program of Maya
research after World War II, and Maya archaeologists turned away from the
excavation of major ceremonial architecture and the documentation of stone
monuments. In the held, archaeologists sought to determine the nature of Maya
settlement, without any special consideration of the elite and their art, yielding few
studies of religion, gods, and iconography, intellectual territory they had ceded to
Thompson. The contributions of Gunter Zimmermann (1956) and Ferdinand Anders
(1963), updating the works of Schellhas and other German scholars, were among
only a very few such studies of the period.
Since 1970, however, studies of Maya religion have flourished, dependent in part
on the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphic writing that began with Yuri Knorosov
(Brst comprehensively published in English in 1967), Heinrich Berlin (1958), Tatiana
Proskouriakoff (1960, 1963, 1964), David Kelley (1962, 1976) and continued on with
Victoria Bricker, Federico Fahsen, Nikolai Grube, Stephen Houston, John Justeson,
Floyd Lounsbury, Berthold Riese, Linda Scheie, and David Stuart, among others.
It took hieroglyphic decipherment, for example, for Proskouriakoff to prove that
Maya depictions represented named nobility, including women (1960), or to see
that the Classic Maya were a warlike people (e.g. Miller 1986). The 8 volumes
issued to date of the Palenque Round Table have been a forum for discussions of
Maya art and writing (1974-). Linda Scheie has tackled dozens of iconographic
problems, with many of the results published in The P/ood of Kmgy (1986) and A
Foresf of Kings (1990), and she initiated Copan Notes and Texas No fes, privately
published iconographic and epigraphic commentaries. Research jReporfs on Anc/enf
Maya Wb&ng, published by George Stuart, also treat religion and iconography. Karl
Taube has made a systematic reassessment of Postclassic Maya deities (1992).
Decipherment of Maya writing has meant not only the idenüBcation of deity names
but also the recognition of verbs marking religious events, among them bloodletting,
war, sacriBce, dreaming, dancing, death, and burial. Stephen Houston and David
Stuart recently cracked the pattern of naming places in Maya script and found the
names of supernatural places along with those of the mundane world.
iconographic studies have also grown because of a near-explosion of new materials
for study from both archaeology and looting. Michael Coe has studied the new
corpus of Classic Maya ceramics and used the Popo/ VnA to decipher iconography
and identify gods (1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1982); Clemency Coggins analyzed the
Tikal corpus (1975), while Francis Robicsek and Donald Hales considered others
without provenience (1981, 1982). Karl Herbert Mayer has assembled photographs
of looted monuments (1980, 1991). Since 1970, Nicholas Hellmuth has been
photographing Maya vessels, building a photographic archive kept at the University
of Texas at San Antonio (e.g. Quirarte 1979) and several museums; using the archive,
Hellmuth has analyzed Early Classic iconography (1987). Justin Kerr is publishing
the corpus of Maya vessels he has photographed with his rollout camera (1989,
1990, 1992). New editions and translations of the Popo/ VuA have been useful
(Edmonson 1971; Tedlock 1985), as are new facsimile editions of the Maya codices
and the identiBcation of a fourth Preconquest book, the Grolier Codex (Coe 1973).
Archaeological exploration has promoted study of gods and iconography, particularly
with the careful line drawings of monuments now considered obligatory for any
archaeological project (Jones and Satterthwaite 1982; Beetz and Satterthwaite 1981),
GLIDE TO SOURCES AND B!BL!OCRAPHY 2ÍM

and the Corpus project directed by tan Craham has set a high standard for at! other
)ine drawings (Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions 1975-). The tomb paintings
at Rio Azu! have ampliBed an understanding of the Maya iconography of death and
the cave paintings at Naj Tunich have revealed the world of cave rituals. Ongoing
projects at Copan and Dos Pilas continue to yield iconographic materials without
precedent.
Some archaeological discoveries also reshaped fundamental thinking about Maya
gods and religion, and discoveries at Cerros, El Mirador, and Kohunlich have shown
that those gods were known by at least 100 BC; some of th$ Postconquest Popo/ VuA
narrative appears to be explicit on highland monuments and at Izapa by no later
than AD 100. The murals of Bonampak and the discovery of the secret tomb within
the Temple of Inscriptions at Palenque both suggested persona! aggrandizement
rather than paeans to Maya gods; the subsequent discovery of a major tomb at the
base of Tikal Temple I conBrmed the pattern of tombs within temples, ultimately
leading Mayanists to recognize the role of ancestor worship in religion. Settlement
studies have revealed the complexity of urban and rural life for the Maya; ecological
archaeology has frequently resonated with iconographic patterns (Puleston 1976).
Recognition of war iconography among the Classic Maya (Riese 1984, Scheie and
Miller 1986; Scheie and Freidel 1990) has narrowed the perceived intellectual and
moral rift between the Classic Maya and the Maya at Chichen Itzá, raising questions
of dating, provoking new iconographic studies of Postclassic Yucatán, and forcing a
reevaluation of the role played by Tula at Chichen Itzá (Coggins and Shane 1984;
Lincoln 1990).

Later 20th c. Studies: Centra! Mexico

In 1978, excavations began again at the Templo Mayor compound, the Aztec sacred
precinct within Tenochtitlan, initiating a new era of Aztec archaeological and
iconographic studies under Eduardo Matos Moctezuma. New major monuments
such as the Coyolxauhqui stone came to light, as did abundant caches and offerings,
allowing new understandings of Aztec religious practice and meaning (Boone 1987;
Broda, Carrasco, and Matos Moctezuma 1987; Matos Moctezuma 1988), and the
provincial Aztec record has also received incisive documentation (Solis 1981).
Although buoyed by the new archaeological discoveries, Aztec textual and icono­
graphic studies had long flourished, particularly in Mexico under the stewardship
of Miguel Leon-Portilla, Alfredo López Austin, and Eduardo Matos Moctezuma; in
the United States led by H.B. Nicholson; and in Germany, most recently headed
by Karl Nowotny and Ferdinand Anders. Nicholson s 1971 synthesis remains a
mode! of understatement, the single best guide to Aztec gods and religious complexes.
Other contributors to the study of Aztec iconography and religion include Carmen
Aguilera, Patricia Anawalt, Johanna Broda, Jacqueline de Durand-Forest, Doris
Heyden, Cecilia Klein, Esther Pasztory, Hanns Prem, Bodo Spranz, Richard
Townsend, and Emily Umberger. Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles Dibble have
systematically translated the Nahuatl Florentine Codex into English (Sahagun 1950-
1982); Thelma Sullivan also translated selections of the corpus of Sahagun and his
contemporaries. In Aztecs, Inga Clendinnen (1991) paints a rich picture of the Aztec
religious world.
New facsimile editions, particularly those published by the Akademische Druck-
und Verlaganstalt in Graz, Austria, of Central Mexican Prehispanic and Postconquest
books have increased their availability for study, as have accompanying iconographic
205 CUIDE TO SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

studies (e g. Codex Mendoza 1992). Major Internationa! exhibitions featuring or

inctuding Aztec art have improved its documentation (e g. Nicho!son with Quiñones
Keber 1983; Paz et a! 1990; Levenson 1991).
Jorge Acosta !ong directed excavations at Tu!a (and at Teotihuacan) and offered
interpretations of Toltec art and gods, although the materia! is sti!! poor!y understood.
The ro!e of major Termina! Classic sites in the power vacuum after the fa!! of
Teotihuacan has come to be recognized, particu!ar!y after the 1976 discovery of
comptex paintings in Maya style at Cacaxt!a, T!axca!a (McVicker 1985; Lombardo
de Ruiz 1986), reviving interest in Xochicalco and its iconography, as we!! as the
genera! problem of an "international' iconography (Ber!o and Dieh!, eds., 1989).
Poorly documented before Wor!d War II, Teotihuacan received massive archaeoi-
ogica! study starting in 1960, foüowed more recent!y by iconographic inquiries.
Esther Pasztory (1974) sorted out the goggle-eyed gods, bringing to an end the
practice of calling al! such figures "T!a!oc," and together with George Kub!er (1967),
initiated the introduction of neutra! names for Teotihuacan gods. Female deities
have been recognized as we!l as ma!e (Taube 1983), and shared iconographic traits
with the rest of Mesoamerica have been considered (Berio, ed. in press). Hasso von
Winning has assembled a corpus of Teotihuacan iconographic signs (1987). Many
Teotihuacan mura! paintings have come to light, including the recently documented
Techinantitla corpus (Berrin 1988) that features hieroglyphs, but no texts have been
surety deciphered and a hnguistic decipherment wi!l languish as long as the language
spoken at Teotihuacan remains an enigma.

Later 20th c. Studies: Oaxaca

The antiquity and importance of writing to the early Zapotees has gained recognition
(Marcus 1980; Urcid 1992), Zapotee civilization has been studied at sites other than
Monte Alban (e g. Bernal 1979), and the Danzantes at Monte Alban have been
shown to be mutilated victims rather than "dancers " (Scott 1980). First built upon
by Mary Elizabeth Smith, Caso s studies of Mixtee codices have now been amplified
and in some cases superseded by those of Jill Furst, Maarten Jansen, John Monaghan,
John Pohl, and Nancy Troike, with new decipherments of history and places of the
Mixtee.

Later 20th c. Studies: Formative Olmec and the Protoclassic Era

Radiocarbon dating has confirmed the early date of the Olmecs, and although their
lowland origin has been settled in the minds of most investigators, discoveries
at Teopantecuanitlan, Guerrero (Martinez Donjuán 1985), have reinforced the
importance of highland Mexico in this early orbit. The excavation and documentation
of La Venta, San Lorenzo, and Chalcatzingo (Drucker, Heizer and Squier 1959; Coe
and Dieh! 1980; Grove 1987), as well as the publication of looted materials from
Las Choapas (Joralemon 1971) vastly amplified the Olmec materials available for
study, leading to serious iconographic inquiry. Coe (1968) proposed a series of gods
based on incised markings of the Las Limas figure, a suggestion later systematized
by Joralemon as Cods 1-X, although the meanings of these figures are still not clear
(1971, 1976; see also Pohorilenko 1990 and Reilly 1990).
Although it is not well understood, Mesoamerican culture thrived along the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec, from Atlantic to Pacific, at the end of the Formative era,
or what is often called the Protoclassic. Even though the art of the period is often
called Izapa-style, Izapa probably did not function as a center of diffusion, nor did
CLIDE TO SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY RM
Abaj Takalik, despite its importance in this era and to the later Classic Maya. The
art and religion of this period and place may be better represented in recent
discoveries at La Mojarra, discovered in 1986 (Winfield Capitaine 1988). Bearing
dates in AD 143 and 156, the La Mojarra stela shows the sophisticated development
of writing, advanced calendrical notation, iconography and ideology that encompasses
and includes the Olmec while pointing the way to the Classic Maya.

Later 20th c. Studies: Classic Veracruz

Much of the art and iconography of Classic Veracruz remains a mystery, plagued
by centuries of looting, insufficient documentation of both archaeological works and
those without provenience, and uncertainty about fundamental cultural associations
between place and ethnicity. Excavations at El Zapota! have yielded life-sized tomb
figures of deities; paintings at Las Higueras depict lords festooned with paper
strips carrying out sacrificial rituals. Catalogues of Huastec and El Tajin sculptures have
improved access to materials (de la Fuente and Gutiérrez Solana 1980; Kampen 1972).

Later 20th c. Studies: West Mexico

Although long thought to be anecdotal and free of the religious meaning of the
Aztecs or Maya, the art of West Mexico has been studied for its iconographic
complexity in recent years (Furst 1965; Von Winning 1974; Gallagher 1983; Graham
n.d ), following publication of quantities of looted material, some of which has
suggested patterns of meaning and a highly stratified society. Recent excavation and
reconnaissance has revealed intersections with the rest of Mesoamerica (Foster and
Weigand 1985; Schondube and Galván 1978).

Later 20th c. Studies: Other Problems

Anthony Aveni, Horst Hartung, and John Carlson have all demonstrated the
importance of geomancy and astronomy for ancient America (Aveni 1980; Aveni
1988; Aveni and Brotherston, eds. 1983). Johanna Broda has published a useful
synthesis and commentary of comparative Mesoamerican calendars (1969). New
journals, including Mexican, Latin Amer/can Antiquity and Ancient Mesoamer­
ica, have increased the ability of specialists to communicate their findings to one
another. Major dictionary and linguistic projects have drawn upon both modern and
Colonial sources, yielding in some cases new dictionaries (Barrera Vásquez 1980,
Laughlin 1975, Kartunnen 1983, Summer Institute of Linguistics 1974, 1985) and
new guides to older dictionaries (e.g. Campbell 1985). Ethnographers and linguists
have worked all across Mesoamerica (Bricker and Gossen 1989, Fought 1972, Furst
1965, Girard 1966, Gossen 1974 and 1986, Ichon 1973, Jansen, van der Loo, and
Manning, eds., 1988, Mendelson 1959, Sandstrom 1991, Taggart 1983, Tedlock 1982,
and Vogt 1968, among many others), and ethnohistorians have worked through
documents to offer a new view of native Mesoamerica in the years following the
Conquest (Burkhart 1989, Klor de Alva 1981, Carmack 1981).

Sources of Quotations
Direct citations from the Florentine Codex in Cods and SymAoVs of Ancient Mexico
and fAe Maya are labelled FC in the main entries and come from the A. J. O.
Anderson and C. E. Dibble translations, 1950-1982 (listed under Sahagun in the
Bibliography).
Direct citations of the Fopo/ VnA are from the Dennis Tedlock translation, 1985.
207
Abbreviations
BAE Bureau of American Ethnology
CiW Carnegie institution of Washington
DOS Dumbarton Oaks Studies in Pre-Columbian
Art and Archaeology
ECM Estudios de Cultura Maya
ECN Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl
HM A/ Handbook of Middle American Indians
fCA Proceedings of the International Congress
of Americanists
IMS Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, SUNY
Albany
Acosta, Jorge R., 1940, "Exploraciones en Tula,
Hidalgo 1940," BMEA, 14, 172-94
------, 1957, "Interpretación de algunos de los datos
obtenidos en Tula relativos a la época Tolteca,"
BMEA, 14, 75-100
Adams, Richard E. W., 1969, "Maya Archaeology
1958-1968, A Review," Latin American
Research Be view, 4:2, 3-45
Alcorn, Janis B , 1984, Huasfec Mayan Ethno-
botany, Austin
Alva Ixtíilxóchit!, Fernando de, 1965, Obras histór­
icas de Don Fernando de A/va Lrdiixócbid, 2 vols.
Mexico City
Alzate y Ramírez, José Antonio, 1791, "Descripción
de las antigüedades de Xochicalco," Supplement
to Caceta de /iteratura, No. 31, Mexico
Anawalt, Patricia, 1981, Jodian C/otbing Be/bre
Cortés, Norman, Okla
Anders, Ferdinand, 1963, Das Bantbeon derMaya,
Craz
------ , and Maarten Jansen, eds., 1988, Scbriit und
Buch im a/ten Mexiho, Craz
Aubin, J. M. A., 1849, Mémoire sur /a peinture
didactique et /ecriture figurative des anciens
mexicafns, Paris
Aveni, Anthony F., 1980, SAywatchers o f Ancient
Mexico, Austin
------ , ed., 1988, N ew Directions in American
Archaeoastronomy, Oxford
------ , and Brotherston, Cordon, 1983, Ca/endars in
Mexico and Peru and Native American Compu­
tations o f Time, Oxford
Badianus Manuscript: An Aztec Herbal of 1552,
1940, ed. E. W. Emmart, Baltimore
Bardawd, Lawrence, 1976, "The Principal Bird
Deity in Maya Art," PBT2, Part III, 195-209
Barlow, Robert, 1949, The Extent of the Empire of
the Culhua Mexica, ibcro-Americana 28
Barrera Vásquez, Alfredo, ed., 1980, Diccionario
Maya Cordemex. Maya-Españo/, Espanof-
Maya, Merida
Batres, Leopoldo, 1889, Teotihuacan, o /a ciudad
sagrada de /os 7b/tecas, Mexico City
------ , 1902, Exp/oraciones en Monte A/bén, Mexico
City
Baudez, Claude F , 1985, "The Knife and the
Lancet: the Iconography of Sacrifice at Copan,"
Fourth P B T 1980, 201-210
Bectz, Carl f a n d Linton Satterthwaitc, 1981, The
Monuments and inscriptions o f Caraco/, Be/ize,
Univ. Mus. Monograph 45, Philadelphia
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MAI Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation, New York
MARI Middle American Research Institute
PMM Peabody Museum Memoirs
PMP Peabody Museum Papers
PBT Palenque Mesa Redonda or Palenque
Round Table, ed. M. C. Robertson
BBAMW Research Reports on Ancient Maya
Writing
BMFA Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropo­
lógicos
TB Tika! Report, University Museum
Bel!, Betty, ed., 1974, The Arcbaeo/ogy o f West
Mexico, Ajijic, Jalisco
Benson, Elizabeth P., ed , 1968, The Dumbarton
OaAs Conference on the O/mec, Washington,
DC.
------ , ed., 1972, The Cu/toftheFe/ine, Washington,
DC.
------ , ed., 1973, Mesoamerican Writing Systems,
Washington, D C.
------ , ed., 1981, Mesoamerican Ates and Wor/d-
Mfews, Washington, D C.
------ , ed., 1987, City-States o f the Maya. Art and
Architecture, Denver
------ , and Coe, Michael, eds., 1981, The O/mec
and Their Neighbors. Essays in Memory o f M.
W. Stirhng, Washington D C.
Benson, Elizabeth P., and CriIBn, Cillett, eds., 1989,
Maya iconography, Princeton
Berlin, Heinrich, 1958, "El glifo emblema en las
inscripciones mayas," /ourna/ de /a Socié té des
Americanistes, N.S. 47, 111-19
------ , 1963, "The Palenque Triad," /ourna/ de /a
Société des Americanistes, N.S. 52, 91-99
------ , and Kelley, David H., 1970, The 819-Day
Count and Color-Direction Symbolism Among
the Classic Maya, MARI Pub. 26, 9-20
Berio, Janet Catherine, ed., 1983, Text and /mage
in Pre-Co/umbian Art. Essays on the inter­
relationship o f the Merba/ and the Misua/ Arts,
Oxford
------ , 1984, Teotihuacan Art Abroad. A Study o f
Metropo/itan Sty/e and Provincia/ Trans-
/brmation in incensario Workshops, Oxford
------ , cd., in press, Art, Po/ity, and the City o f
Teotihuacan
------, and Diehl, Richard, eds., 1989, Mesoamerica
After the Dec/ine o f Teotihuacan, Washington,
DC.
Bernal, Ignacio, 1962, Bib/iografla de arqueo/ogia
e etnografía. Mesoamerica y Norte de México,
Mexico City
------ , 1979, The Ba//p/ayers o f Dainzú, Craz
------ , 1980, A Distory o f Mexican Archaeo/ogy,
London and New York
Berrín, Kathleen, 1988, Feathered Seipenfs and
F/owcring Trees, San Francisco
Beyer, Hermann, 1921, E/ //amado 'Ca/endario
Azteca,' Mexico City
------ , 1965, Mito y simbo/ismo de/ méxieo antiguo,
Mexico City
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Bicrhorst, John, trans , 1985, Cantares Mexicanos;
Songs o í the Aztecs. Stanford
Blom, Frans, 1950, "A Polychrome Plate from
Quintana Roo/' N otes on Mr&f/e American
ArcAaeo/cgy and EtAno/cgy No. 9^ CIW
------ , and La Farge, Oliver. 1925, 7r/5es and
7emp/es, M ARI Pub. 1, 2 vols.
Boone, Elizabeth Hill, ed., 1982, 71&e Art and/con
ography o í Late Post-C/ass/c Centra/ Mexico,
Washington, D C.
------ , 1983, 7Ae Codex MagAaAecA/ano and the
Lost Prototype o í the MagAaAecAiano Croup.
Berkeley
------ , ed., 1984, P/tua/ /fuman SachAce m
Mesoamerica, Washington, D C.
------ , ed., 1987, 7Ae Aztec 7emp/o Mayor,
Washington, D C.
------ . 1987, "Temple Mayor Research, 1521-1978."
in TAe Aztec 7*emp/o Mayor, ed. E. H. Boone,
Washington, D C.
------ , 1989, /ncarnaf/onsoí the Superna tura/. The
/mage o í Zfu/tz/fopocAfA /n Mexico and Europe.
Philadelphia
Bowditch, Charles P , ed., 1904, Mexican and
Centra/ American Antiquities. Ca/endar Sys­
tems, and //istorv. 24 Papers Ay Eduard &?/er
et a/, BAEB 28
Brasscur dc Bourbourg, Charles E., 1861, Popo/
VuA. Le /ifre saerd et /es mytAes de /antiquitd
a/ndricainc, Paris
------ , 1869, Manuscrit Troano. Etudes sur /e
systdme grapA/que et /a Zangue des Mayas, Paris
Breton, Adela C . 1917, 'Preliminary Study of the
North Building (Chamber C), Great Ball Court,
Chichen Itzá, Yucatán," Z9tA 7CA, 187-94
Bricker, Victoria R., 1986, A Crammar o í Maya
/iierqg/ypAs, MARI Pub. 56
------ , and Cossen, Cary H., 1989, EtAnograpAic
Encounters in ^outAern Mesoamerica. Essays in
/fonor o í Even Z. Vogt, Albany
Brinton, Daniel, 1887, Ancient NaAuat/ Poet/y,
Philadelphia
Broda, Johanna, 1969, TAe Mexican Ca/endar as
Compared to Other Mesoamerican Systems,
Acta EtAno/ogica et Lingüistica, 15, Vienna
Broda, Johanna, David Carrasco, and Eduardo
Matos Moctezuma, 1987, 7Ae Great Temp/e o í
TenocAfif/an. Center and PeripAevy in tAe Aztec
Wbr/d Berkeley
Burgoa, Francisco de, 1674, Ceqgrd/7ca desenpeion,
Mexico
Burkhart, Louise M., 1989, 7Ae SAppery EartA.
NaAua-CAristian Mora/ Dia/cgue in SixteentA-
century Mexico, Tucson
Campbell, R. Joe, 1985, A MovpAo/ogZca/ Diction­
ary o í ¿Tassica/ NaAuat/, Madison
Carlson, John B., 1983, "The Crolier Codex: A
Preliminary Report on the Content and Authen­
ticity of a Thirteenth-Century Maya Venus
Almanac," in A. F. Aveni and G. Brotherston,
eds., Ca/endars in Mesoamerica and Peru.
Native Computations o í Time, Oxford, 27-57
------ , 1990, Star Wars and Maya Merchants at
Cacaxt/a, Center for Archaeoastronomy
Occasional Pub. 7, College Park, Md.
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Carmack, Robert, 1981, 7Ae Quiche Maya# o í
Ltat/an, Norman, Okla
Carrasco, David, 1990. PeAg/ons o í Mesaamcrira.
New York
------ , ed., 1991, To CAapge P/ace. Aztec Ceremon­
ia/ Landscapes, Niwot, Colo
Carrasco, Pedro, and Broda, Johanna, eds , 1978,
Economía po/ftica e ideo/ogia en e/ Mexico pre-
Aispanico, Mexico City
Caso, Alfonso, 1942, "El paraíso terrenal en Teoti-
huacan," Cuadernos Americanos. 6, 127-38
------ , 1967, Losca^eni/ar/ospreA/sp^/ucos, Mexico
City
------ , 1969, E/ tesoro de Monte A/hán, Mexico City
------ , and Ignacio Bernal, 1952, Ernas de Oaxaca,
INAH Memorias 2
Charnay, Désiré, 1885, Les anciennes vi//es du
Nouveau Monde, Paris
Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin, Domingo, 1965,
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 Sources of Illustrations
Unless otherwise credited, all line drawings
are by Karl Taube
a = above c = center b = below
1= left r = right
Frontispiece Museo Nacional de Antropología,
Mexico; page 8a Courtesy Peabody Museum,
Harvard University; 8b Photo J. A. Sabloff; 12-13
Drawing Hanni Bailey; 16 Photo Mary Miller; 19
Photo O Rene Millón; 21a Photo J. A. Sabloff; 21bl
Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia; 21br
Drawing P. P. Pratt after Ruz; 22 Drawing David
Kiphuth, after photo by M. D. Coe; 23 Drawing P. P.
Pratt; 25 Reconstruction painting Ignacio Marquina,
Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia,
Mexico; 27 Courtesy Frank Hole; 29 Drawing F.
Pratt, after Carlo Gay, Xochipa?n. the beginning of
0?mcc Art, 1972; 31 After Matos Moctezuma, Greet
7e?np?e ofthe Aztecs, 1988; 34 After W. J. More and S.
M. Higuera, Códice de %nhntt?en, 1940; 41c
Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt; 43a After
Matos Moctezuma, Great Yemp?e, 1988; 43c Sketch
by Karl Weiditz, 1528; 45ca Museo Nacional de
Antropología, Mexico; 45cb Drawing Linda Scheie;
47a From M. D. Coe, Mexico, 1984; 47cb Akademis­
che Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt; 51a After J. E. S.
Thompson; 51b Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsan­
stalt; 53a Courtesy University Museum, Philadelphia;
53b From M. D. Coe, Breaking the Muye Code, 1992;
drawing John Montgomery 55a Archivo General de
la Nación, Mexico; 55b Photo J. A. Sabloff; 57a
From M. D. Coe, The Maya, 1987; 59a Courtesy
American Museum of Natural History; 61a Photo M.
D. Coe; 61c Theodor-Wilhelm Danzel, Mexiko 1,
1923, 61b Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris; 63a
%ticanus Vo. 3773, 1902-1903; 65a After Matos
Moctezuma, Great 7emp?e, 1988; 65c Photo Irmgard
Groth-Kimball; 65b Courtesy American Museum of
Natural History; 67c Photo Irmgard Groth-Kimball;
69a Drawing David Kiphuth, from Coe, Mexico,
1984; 71a Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt; 73a
Archivo General de la Nación, Mexico; 73c Courtesy
Carter Brown Memorial Library, Brown University,
Providence, Rhode Island; 73b After Hellmuth 1987;
75c Photo Salvador Cuilliem, courtesy Great Temple
Project; 77a After A. Kidder, Arti/ects of Uaxactnn,
Caatema/a, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Pub­
lication 576, 1947; 79a Courtesy Merseyside County
Museums; 79b Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsan­
stalt; 81a, 81c Photo Irmgard Groth-Kimball; 81b
Vatican Library, Rome; 83c Photo Salvador Guilliem,
courtesy Great Temple Project; 85c Photo Irmgard
Groth-Kimball; 87a Akademische Druck-u. Verlag­
sanstalt; 87ca, 87b Theodor-Wilhelm Danzel,
Mexiko f, 1923; 89a Photo Irmgard Groth-Kimball;
89b Trustees of the British Museum; 91a Archivo
General de la Nación, Mexico; 91ca After Miguel
Covarrubias, Inchon Art of Mexico end Centro?
Mexico, 1957: fig. 72; 93a Akademische Druck-u.
Verlagsanstalt; 93b Photo Salvador Guilliem, cour­
tesy Great Temple Project; 95b After Matos
Moctezuma, Greet 7emp?e, 1988; 97b Archivo
General de la Nación, Mexico; 99b From Alfred
Tozzer, A Comperetiue Study of the Moyo end the
Lecondones, 1907, 101c Akademische Druck-u. Ver­
lagsanstalt; 103a Photo Salvador Guilliem, courtesy
Great Temple Project; 103c After Henderson 1981:
pp. 154-155, Rg. 50; 105b Drawing Linda Scheie;
107a Drawing Linda Scheie; 109a Archivo General
de la Nación, Mexico; 111a Drawing Linda Scheie;
113a From Sahagún, Historio de ios Cosos de Vueue
Espeñe, 1905; 115b Veticenus No. 3773,1902-1903;
117c Photo Irmgard Groth-Kimball; 119c Drawing
Linda Scheie; 119b From Codex Magliabechiano,
facsimile edition (1904); 123a Archivo General de la
Nación, Mexico; 123b After Warwick Bray, Ecerydey
Li/e of the Aztecs, 1968, Rg. 12 (drawing Eva Wilson);
125cb After M. D. Coe, Breeking the Moyo Code,
1992; drawing John Montgomery 127a After M. D.
Coe and Richard Diehl, in the Lond of the Olmec,
1980 (drawing Felipe Dávalos); 127ca, 127cb After
Peter David Joralemon, A Study of Obnec Icono-
grophy, 1971; 127b From Dresden Codex; 129c,
129b Drawings Linda Scheie; 131ar After Nicholas
Hellmuth 1987, drawing S. Reisinger; 131c After
Miguel Covarrubias, fndien Art o f Mexico ond
Centro? Mexico, 1957: Rg. 72; 133a Photo Irmgard
Groth-Kimball; 133c From Codex Magliabechiano,
facsimile edition (1904); 133b From William L. Fash,
Scribes, Werriors ond Kings, 1991: 164 (drawing
Barbara Fash); 137a Bodleian Library, Oxford; 139a
From Eduard Seler, Gesomme?te Abhend ?ungen
zttr Amerikenischen Sprech-und A?tertumskunde,
1902-1923; 139b From Codex Magliabechiano, fac­
simile edition (1904); 141a Archivo General de la
Nación, Mexico; 141c Theodor-Wilhelm Danzel,
Mexiko Í, 1923; 143c Archivo General de la Nación,
Mexico; 145a Drawing Ian Graham, courtesy
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology,
Harvard University; 147 Drawing Paul Schellhas,
courtesy Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
ÍUL HCES OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Ethnolog), Harvard University; 149a Drawing
Stephen Houston, from S. Houston 1989: 149b Photo
Salvador GuilRem. courtesv Great Temple Project;
151a, 151c Photos Trustees of the British Museum;
151b Drawing Linda Scheie: 153b Vatican Libran,
Rome: 155c Photo courtesy Matthew Stirling and the
National Geographic Society: 155b Photo Irmgard
Croth-Kimbaii; 157b Photo A. P Maudslav. courtesv
American Museum of Natural History: 159a After M.
D. Coe and Richard Diehl, /n the the O/urec.
1980 (drawing Felipe Dávalos); 159c From Codex
Borgia: 159b From Codex Magliabechiano, facsimile
edition (1904); 161c Akademische Druck-u.
Verlagsanstalt; 161b Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris:
165c Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt; 165b
Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico; 167a
Theodor-Wilhelm Dánzek Mexico 7, 1923; 167c
Bodleian Librar), Oxford; 167b Photo Salvador
Cuílliem, courtesy Great Temple Project; 169a From
Richard F. Townsend, The A^ecy, 1992 (drawing
2m
Annick Peterson); 171a Akademische Dnrek u
Verlagsanstalt; 171b Photo Alberti) Ruz !, !73a
From Codex Borgia: 173b Drawing Linda Sf he!*
177a Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt; 177ca
From Matos Moctezuma. Crrat Tbwp/r. 1988; !77cb
Drawing David Stuart; 178 Akademische Dmek u
Verlagsanstalt; 181a From Dresden Codex; 185c
Drawing lan Graham, from Coe. The Ahu/n 1987:
186b After Miguel Covarrubias, 'Ll arte Olmeca o
de La Venta." Cuar/emoA Americanos, 1946; 187c
Courtesy Merseyside County Museums: 187b After
M. D. Coe, Breaking the Mar/a Code, 1992; 189al
Archivo General de la Nación. Mexico; 189ar Photo
lrmg;u*d Groth-Kimball; 189b Archivo General de la
Nación, Mexico; 191a Museo Nacional de
Antropología, Mexico; 191ca Akademische Druck-u.
Verlagsanstalt; 191cb MzticanM.? No. 3773. 1902-3;
193b After Miguel Covarrubias, Indian Art r^Afexico
and Centra/ Aíexico, 1957: Rg. 72.
A É ^he myths and beliefs of the great Precolumbian civilizations of Mesoamerica
] have baffled and fascinated outsiders ever since the Spanish Conquest.
-R . Yet, until now, no single-volume introduction has existed to act as a guide
to thislabyrinthine symbolic world. In A??
AA(y^ nearly 300 entries, from accession to yoke,
describe the main gods and symbols of the Olmecs, Zapotees, Maya, Teotihuacanos,
Mixtees, Toltecs and Aztecs. Topics range from jaguar and jester gods to reptile eye
and rubber, from creation accounts and sacred places to ritual practices such as
bloodletting, confession, dance and pilgrimage. Two introductory essays provide
succinct accounts of Mesoamerican history and religion, while a substantial
bibliographical survey directs the reader to original sources and recent discussions.
Dictionary entries are illustrated with photographs and commissioned line
drawings.This is an authoritative work, a standard reference for students,
scholars and travellers.
Mary Miller, Professor of History of Art at Yale, is the author of TAf
and co-author with Linda Scheie of
both published by Thames and Hudson. Karl Taube, Associate Professor in the
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside, is a leading
scholar of Mesoamerican writing and iconography, and the author of
AAzy¿zTUyiAy.
Well-written and comprehensive . . . the book has not left my desk'

A unique compendium of terms and their explanations . . .

the erudition here is unmatched' ScAwf

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