Quail in the Religious Life of the Ancient Nahuas

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Animal Symbolism in Postclassic Mesoamerica: Papers in Honor of Cecelia Klein" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In documentary sources recording Nahuatl culture of the Late Postclassic period, a bird called zollin, identified as a quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) is especially prominent. Indeed, these small birds were often chosen to be sacrificed before the divine effigies and, in some cases, to be consumed during ritual events. Despite the significant role played by quail in Nahuatl social and religious life, this bird has been neglected in the study of central Mexican cultures. This paper focuses on the symbolism of quail in rituals of the ancient Nahuas, including their physical characteristics and their representation in the codices, as well as their role in religious life. This paper analyzes the rites involving quail, the divinities and the associated characters, as well as the specific contexts. Finally, this research explores the relationship between this data and archaeological evidence documenting fauna discovered by the Templo Mayor Project and the Urban Archeology Program, in Mexico City.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Animal Symbolism in Postclassic Mesoamerica: Papers in Honor of Cecelia Klein   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23154