A model of the Universe at the foot of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan. An approach to its meaning.

Summary

In this paper I will present the study of five offering containers found during the seventh field season of Templo Mayor Project in Downtown Mexico City. The shape of these stone boxes buried in foundation of the main plaza of Tenochtitlan (around 1486 CE), is one of the most important aspects of this ritual complex. They were deposited in the shape of a cross: one was placed in the center, while the others were buried in the cardinal points, representing a Quincunx, a model of the universe. The central offering contained thousands of ritual goods and their distribution was also a schematic recreation of the shape of the world. Symbols of water, fertility, war and sacrifice were buried in this cosmic model. In this deposit the Mexica recreated their cosmology of the world and its future. In contemporary Mexico, it is possible to find memories of these type of rituals in some indigenous communities. Through the study of these practices I hope to contribute to the understanding of these cosmogonic performances in the past.

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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

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