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Aztec

Mictlantecuhtli grid — Life-size terracotta sculptures of the god of the underworld and eagle warriors were found in the House of the Eagles in the sacred precinct of the Aztec (Mexica) capital of Tenochtitlan

The House of the Eagles, and sculptures ...

by Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank and Dr. Steven Zucker

Cholula was known for its beautiful polychrome ceramics that included a wide range of symbols such as calendrical dates, hearts, hands, and knives

Pottery vessel, Mixteca-Puebla style

by The British Museum

teponaztli grid — Mexica wooden slit drums (teponaztli) were generally decorated with designs in relief or carved to represent human figures or animals.

Wooden slit-drum (teponaztli)

by The British Museum

Wooden ceremonial shield with mosaic inlay, Mexica/Mixtec, 15th-16th century, from Mexico, 31.6 cm in diameter (© Trustees of the British Museum) — Ancient Mexico is renowned for the production of vivid greenstone mosaics

Turquoise mosaics, an introduction

by The British Museum

Stone serpent, Mexica, 1325–1521, from Mexico, 21.5 x 26 x 37 cm (© Trustees of the British Museum) — The serpent played a very important role in Mexica religion and many finely carved stone sculptures have survived.

Serpents in Mexica culture

by The British Museum

Stone figure of Xiuhcoatl, Mexica, 1325–1521, from Mexico, 77 x 60 cm (© The Trustees of the British Museum) — This magnificent sculpture of a Xiuhcoatl (fire serpent) has a blend of both realistic and mythical creatures.

Xiuhcoatl (fire serpent)

by The British Museum

xihtecuhtli grid — The cult of the fire god Xiuhtecuhtli goes back many centuries before Mexica times and extended throughout Mesoamerica.

Seated figure of Xiuhtecuhtli

by The British Museum

xochipilli grid — Xochipilli was the Mexica god of music and dance

Xochipilli

by The British Museum

Group of pottery model temples, Mexica (Aztec), 1325–1521, from Mexico, 14.7 x 10.5 cm (© The Trustees of the British Museum) — Small pottery temple models add valuable details to our knowledge of Mexica religious architecture

Pottery model temples

by The British Museum

chicomecoatl grid — An elaborate Aztec brazier of Chicomecoatl was used to burn offerings to the gods

Brazier of Chicomecoatl

by Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank and Dr. Steven Zucker

tepictoton grid — In 1520, smallpox raged among the Mexica during the month of Tepeilhuitl when they would normally be making and eating sacred art made of dough.

Aztec art and feasts for the dead

by Dr. Joshua Fitzgerald

Calendars also tell us a great deal about how Mesoamerican cultures understood and structured their world.

The Mesoamerican Calendar

by Dr. Kristopher Driggers

Toxcatl Massacre, Bernardino de Sahagún and collaborators, General History of the Things of New Spain, also called the Florentine Codex, vol. 3, book. 12, 1575–1577, watercolor, paper, contemporary vellum Spanish binding, open (approx.): 32 x 43 cm, closed (approx.): 32 x 22 x 5 cm (Medicea Laurenziana Library, Florence, Italy) — A manuscript tells the Indigenous side of a historic battle in Aztec Tenochtitlan.

Remembering the Toxcatl Massacre: The Beginning of ...

by Bérénice Gaillemin

Although viewership changed, the Aztecs’ painted language did not cease with Spanish intervention.

Painting Aztec History

by Hayley Woodward

The goal of the eagle warrior was to capture the greatest number of captives, who would then be sacrificed to the Mexica gods. All warriors rose in rank according to the number of captives they acquired.

Eagle Warrior (Mexica)

by Dr. Maya Jiménez

The Mexica people formed their capital when they saw the sign they had been promised: an eagle perched on a cactus.

Introduction to the Aztecs (Mexica)

by Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank

Codex Borgia — Thirty-three feet long, the Codex Borgia records historical, ritual, mythological, and botanical information.

Codex Borgia

by Dr. Helen Burgos Ellis

Capable of being male or female, the Earth Lord Tlaltecuhtli is shown here as a woman who has given birth.

Monolith of Tlaltecuhtli (Earth Lord)

by Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank and Dr. Steven Zucker

This Mexica water goddess was believed to have presided over the fourth, or most recent, sun.

Stone kneeling figure of Chalchiuhtlicue

by The British Museum

Mosaic serpent mask of Quetzalcoatl/Tlaloc, 15th-16th century C.E., Mexica/Mixtec, cedrela wood, turquoise, pine resin, gold, conch shell, beeswax, 18.2 x 16.5 x 12.5 cm, Mexico © Trustees of the British Museum — Identifying which god this mask represents has proven a slippery task.

Serpent mask of Quetzalcoatl or Tlaloc

by The British Museum