Wooden scepters in the offerings of Tenochtitlan’s Great Temple: A symbolic interpretation

Summary

The excavation of the Great Temple, one of the most important precincts in Mexica society, began more than thirty years ago. Since then, the examination of thousands of artifacts and organic materials has greatly increased our knowledge about Mexica cosmovision. During its seventh field season, the Templo Mayor Project has excavated thirty-six offerings. The flooded context of these oblatory deposits enabled the conservation of various organic materials that commonly degrade with the passage of time, especially wood. In the last seven years, more than a thousand wooden artifacts have been discovered: among them, we can mention numerous scepters. Most of these artifacts were found intact with remnants of their original polychromy, thus allowing an interpretation of their symbolism and the identification of nine different types of scepters: deer head, Techalotl’s, Mictlaltecuhtli’s or closed fist, chicahuaztli (sun ray), ehecahuictli (curved), serpentiform, xiuhcoatl (fire serpent), double volute, and tahuitimetl.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• The Seventh Field Season of the Proyecto Templo Mayor: Recent Investigations on the Sacred Precinct of Tenochtitlan

Keywords

Spatial Coverage