The Tzotzopaztli as a Sacrificial Instrument in Religious Ceremonies of Prehispanic Nahuas

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Sacrificial and Autosacrifice Instruments in Mesoamerica: Symbolism and Technology" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Sixteenth-century written sources, codices, and archaeological findings from the Templo Mayor Project have provided historians and archaeologists good tools for the study of instruments used for sacrifice and self-sacrifice among the ancient Nahuas. Frequently found among them are flint knives, maguey spines, and bone awls. However, there are other noteworthy instruments within the framework of the solar year ceremonies. We are referring here to the tzotzopaztli and to the flint-tipped arrows, which were used to sacrifice the ixiptla of tzoalli, made of amaranth paste, toasted corn, and honey. Regarding the tzotzopaztli, this was a wooden stick used as a beater to tighten the weft while weaving. In the Atemoztli veintena, the tzotzopaztli was sunk into the chest of the Tepictoton, small edible effigies that represent the mountains, and with it the heart of the vegetable ixiptla was extracted. In this lecture, we will explore the symbolism of this instrument, in relation to the sacrifice of these aquatic entities and with the female half of the Mesoamerican cosmos. Likewise, we will use iconographic data from the codices as well as from ethnographic sources to strengthen our analysis.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Sacrificial and Autosacrifice Instruments in Mesoamerica: Symbolism and Technology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38407.0