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Art of the Americas to World War I
Course: Art of the Americas to World War I > Unit 2
Lesson 14: Aztec (Mexica)- Introduction to the Aztecs (Mexica)
- More on the Aztecs (Mexica)
- Coatlicue
- Coatlicue
- Unearthing the Aztec past, the destruction of the Templo Mayor
- Templo Mayor at Tenochtitlan, the Coyolxauhqui Stone, and an Olmec Mask
- Codex Borgia
- Tlaloc vessel
- Serpent mask of Quetzalcoatl or Tlaloc
- The Sun Stone (The Calendar Stone)
- Coyolxauhqui Stone
- Monolith of Tlaltecuhtli (Earth Lord)
- Double-headed serpent
- The House of the Eagles, and sculptures of Mictlantecuhtli and Eagle Warrior
- Eagle Warrior (Mexica)
- Stone kneeling figure of Chalchiuhtlicue
- Mosaic mask of Tezcatlipoca
- Brazier of Chicomecoatl
- Sacrificial Knife with Mosaic Handle and Chalcedony Blade
- Aztec art and feasts for the dead
- Feathered headdress
- Aztec feathered headdress: backstory
- Remembering the Toxcatl Massacre: The Beginning of the End of Aztec Supremacy
- Painting Aztec History
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Tlaloc vessel
Tlaloc vessel, c. 1440-70, found Templo Mayor, Tenochtitlan, ceramic (Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico City)
Speakers: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank and Dr. Beth Harris.
Video transcript
(piano jazz music) - [Narrator] We're in
the Templo Mayor Museum here in Mexico City. The Templo Mayor refers to the main temple of the Aztec people that was located right next door and one of the two gods that were honored at
that temple was Tlaloc and we're looking at a fabulous ceramic sculpture of Tlaloc's head. - [Narrator] Tlaloc was
a deity associated with rain and agriculture and
we we look at this pot, we see that it's painted in this beautiful turquoise blue with
accents in red and yellow. And that beautiful Maya blue color is really key in its
relationship to Tlaloc because it has these
connotations with preciousness, with water, with vegetation. - [Narrator] And one of the
ways that we can identify that this is Tlaloc in
addition to the blue, which was the color that was valued across many Meso-American cultures, is those goggle eyes,
those big circles for eyes. - [Narrator] And the fanged mouth too. These are the key features of Tlaloc. And as we look around the
galleries that we're in right now, we can see a number of other objects displaying these goggle eyes and fangs. We can identify them as Tlaloc. - [Narrator] So Tlaloc was
not just a god that was important to the Aztecs, but he was a god who was important to many
Meso-American cultures. - [Narrator] He is this very ancient deity and in other cultures he had
different names of course, but these goggle eyes and the fangs are pretty consistent in the iconography of cultures as diverse as
say, the Maya and the Mixtec. - [Narrator] So he was
part of an offering, he was found buried
with many other objects. - [Narrator] So this
particular vessel was found on the Tlaloc side of the Temple Mayor. It was one of many offerings
that have since been found and included other types of objects like seashells, coral, the
skeletons of aquatic animals, so things that we associate
with bodies of water. And Tlaloc, that was his domain and so what we see here are the Aztecs bringing representative types of things back from the parts of the
empire that they controlled and burring them at key points during the construction
phases of their main temple. - [Narrator] It's interesting
to think about the fact that the empire was founded on an island in the middle of a lake,
'cause when we look out of the window of the museum
we see this vast city. This was once an island on a lake that has since been filled
in but was very fertile. - [Narrator] Rain and
agriculture being so key, it makes sense that he would be one of the major deities and one of two here at the Templo Mayor. We know that people
were making pilgrimages or processing to say, Mount Tlaloc, which is on the edge of the lake. We know that the Aztecs
were using what's called chinampa agriculture,
essentially making raised beds on the edge of the lake to grow crops and provide food and so
here at the Temple Mayor, if we're talking about the temple side devoted to Tlaloc, the various things that have been found
affiliated with that side make it into this
creation of what's called Tonacatepetl, this mountain of sustenance, which when paired with the other side devoted to the Aztec patron
god of war and the sun, Huitxilopochtli, created this
ultimate symbol of warfare. Water and fire when paired together meant burnt water, which
was the symbol of war. - [Narrator] And which
was so central a part of the culture of the Aztecs. (piano jazz music)