Animals and the Sacred Precinct of Tenochtitlan: Biology, Archaeology, History, and Conservation

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

After eight field seasons (1978-2016) working at the sacred precinct of Tenochtitlan, the Proyecto Templo Mayor (INAH, Mexico) has recovered an amazing diversity of animal species. As a result, more than three hundred species have been identified. The resulting information has been on display to the public in a gallery devoted to fauna in the Templo Mayor Museum and has also been published in numerous studies on biological, ecological, and taphonomic aspects of the animals deposited in offerings. Among our principal conclusions regarding the faunal remains from the Templo Mayor, we can mention: a) the presence of species corresponding to six different phyla (Porifera, Coelenterata, Echinodermata, Artropoda, Mollusca, and Chordata); b) the predominance of species endemic to regions quite far away from the Basin of Mexico; c) the scarcity of edible species and the clear interest on the part of Mexica priests in those animals that were attributed with profound religious or cosmological significance; d) evidence of captivity; e) traces of cultural processes for modifying the animal cadavers, some of which may be qualified as "taxidermic" interventions; f) the use of fauna in offerings to re-create vertical tiers of the universe and with this to configure veritable cosmograms.

Other Keywords
Tenochtitlan • Taphonomy • Faunal Remains • Templo Mayor • Great Temple • Sawfish • Conservation • Graphic Documentation • Resources • Feathers

Geographic Keywords
Republic of El Salvador (Country) • Belize (Country) • Republic of Guatemala (Country) • Mesoamerica • United Mexican States (Country) • North America (Continent) • Republic of Honduras (Country) • Jamaica (Country) • Republic of Nicaragua (Country) • Republic of Panama (Country)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-14 of 14)

  • Documents (14)
Documents
  1. The anahuatl pectorals from the offerings of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (2017)
  2. Analysis of elasmobranches from offerings 126, 141 and 165 found at the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (2017)
  3. Conservation of sawfish rostra in the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (2017)
  4. Crocodiles in the Offerings of the Great Temple: use and symbolism (2017)
  5. Crustaceans as part of the Mexica worldview: case study of Offering 125 associated to the Tlaltecuhtli monolith (2017)
  6. First report of a dung beetle (Canthon cyanellus LeConte) found in an offering of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (2017)
  7. How Many Birds Does It Take to Make a Feathered Shield? The Resources and Techniques of Mexica Featherworkers (2017)
  8. Mammals in a Colonial Context (2017)
  9. Paleopathology analysis of animal bones found inside the Templo Mayor offerings (2017)
  10. Representations of fauna in mural paintings of Tenochtitlan (2017)
  11. Representing the Underworld: Manipulation and Reuse of Animal Bones from Offering 126 (2017)
  12. Starfish in the offerings of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (2017)
  13. The symbolism of the animals found inside Offering 125 of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (2017)
  14. Technological analysis of bone bloodletting instruments from the offerings of The Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (2017)