Templo Mayor Research Paper

The Significance of the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan
The excavation of the Templo Mayor on February 21st, 1978 when electrical workers in Mexico City working in the middle of the night accidently came across a stone with an image carved into it. Later archeologists were able to identify the image on this stone as the sister of the Mexica god Huitzilopochtil, Coyolxauhqui, the moon goddess.1 This gave way to a huge excavation of the Templo Mayor, the most important temple to the Aztec people as it was a form of connection between them and their most important Gods. The Templo Mayor is a significant representative of Aztec priorities in religion, economics and politics and how the three intermingle. It was used to reinforce the power the Aztecs
held over those who they had defeated but then it also reinforced the power their gods held over them. The two gods represented by the Templo Mayor, Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtil represented what the Aztecs valued most; agriculture and war. More information about the extent of the Aztec empire can be obtained through an analyses of the offerings and objects found within the layers of the Templo Mayor as well as the ceremonies and rituals which were performed there, most of which involved human sacrifice. Before delving into the significance of the Templo Mayor and what it represented one must first have a basic understanding of its history and the history of the gods that it represents. It is believed that the first phase of the building was built during the reign of either “…Huitzilopochtli, Chimalpopoca, or Itzcoatl, that is, before 1428 and the liberation of the Mexica from Azcapotzalco.”2 Over time the temple was “…added to, enlarged, or entirely rebuilt 12 times”3 The interesting this about this is that it was common practice to just build a new structure over the old one rather than making changes to it. “The old temple was covered with ‘fill’ –stones and dirt as well as buried offerings to the gods and sculptures- and then the new one was built around and above it…”4 The reasoning behind these constant upgrades are thought to be due to natural causes, sinking mud and floods, but also to please the god Huitzilopochtli by giving him a grander home.5 The temple was erected to represent the two dueling deities, Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtil. Tlaloc is the god of rain. He was seen as the cause of rain which was vital for successful crops but he was also seen as the cause of severe floods and thunderstorms. Huitzilopochtil was the god of war and also associated with the sun.6 He was the patron god of the Aztecs as “… he had lead the Mexica on their long migration to the valley of Mexico, always encouraging and promising them a future of greatness.”7 “Huitzilopochtli required a regular supply of human blood…”8 and many sacrifices were carried out in his name. The Temple itself is a physical representation of the Aztec myth of the battle between Huitzilopochtli and his sister Coyolxauhqui. Huitzilopochtli, was said to have been born ready for battle and defeated his sister at Coatepec which is translated as or Serpent Hill9 by beheading her. After he beheaded her, Huitzilopochtli threw his sister’s body to the bottom of Coatepec.10 This scene is thought to be represented by the Templo Mayor. The high steps of the temple represent the hill that the battle was fought on, at the bottom of the steps, or “hill”, lies the large stone which depicts Coyolxauhqui’s decapitated body and finally at the top is a statue of Huitzilopochtli, the victorious of the two.11 Possibly the most important and obvious feature of the Templo Mayor is it’s representation of the Aztec religion. The temple was constructed with the purpose of praising two Aztec gods, Huitzilopochtli, the god of war and sun, and Tlaloc, the god of rain. The choice of these two gods shows that they were particularly important to the Aztecs, more so than their many other deities. The choice of these two gods also shows the priorities of the Aztecs and what they valued most. Choosing their patron god Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, implies that their society was heavily based on war and violence. It is believed that, “Warfare touched virtually all aspects of Mexica life: social, political, economic, and religious.”12 Warfare was also regularly used by the Aztecs to defeat the surrounding city states.13 Huitzilopochtli also represented human sacrifice which was a very important practice to the Aztecs. At the Templo Mayor sacrifices of Aztec prisoners were common occurrences. Once the victims had been sacrificed, their bodies were often thrown to the bottom of the temple steps next to the carving of Coyolxauhqui. This was seen as a reenactment of Huitzilopochtli killing his sister.14 The Aztecs of course representing Huitzilopochtli and their prisoners as Coyolxauhqui. Although this act was directly related to religion as it was a sacrifice to the Aztec patron god, it also had the less obvious result of reminding the people of conquered city states of their place in relation to the Aztecs. (cite) Then there was the god Tlaloc. Although Tlaloc was the god of rain, the choice of representing him at the Templo Mayor shows more than that the Aztecs valued rain. They also valued agriculture, which “…served as the material foundation for the Aztec empire…”15 Maize was the main product of Aztec agriculture and “…in the higher elevations, such as the Valley of Mexico, only one crop per year was normal-and even that could fail because of droughts…”16 hence the importance of rain and pleasing the rain god, Tlaloc. As a way to please and thank the gods, Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, many ceremonies or rituals were carried out throughout the year. Many of these ceremonies involved feasting as well as large scale human sacrifice. There were 18 monthly feasts at the Templo Mayor, seven of which had relations to rain gods (who would represent Tlaloc) and six of which had connections to Huitzilopochtli.17 At many of these feasts prisoners, slaves and even women would be sacrificed usually by beheading. In his paper “The Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan” Eduardo Moctezuma recalls a ceremony dedicated to Huitzilopochtli which involved prisoners being executed as well as teams of slaves who chased each other around the temple. One team representing Huitzilopochtli and the other representing his enemies the Huitznahua all of whom were eventually sacrificed.18 Human sacrifices which involved prisoners and slaves were most likely preformed to appease the gods but also to reaffirm the violent power and strength that the Aztecs held. Not all sacrifices represented war however, and not all of the victims were prisoners and slaves. Some, could even argue, that they were not seen as victims at all. Many sacrifices were part of a process that could last a year. An example of this is when a person (not a slave or prisoner) would be chosen to represent a god or goddess for a year and then at the end of that year they would be sacrificed.19 To be chosen to represent a god or goddess would most likely not been viewed as a negative thing and the impersonator would not be viewed as a victim. Such sacrifices could have invoked a lot of pride. An example of one such sacrifice was during the month Toxcatl at the Templo Mayor was dedicated to the god Tezcatlipoca.20 “The rituals associated with the impersonation of the important god Tezcatlipoca were particularly elaborate. For this special role, a handsome young man free from physical flaws was chosen.”21 From these ceremonies preformed at the Templo Mayor one can determine that human sacrifice had many roles in the lives of Aztecs. Some of the most telling pieces of the Templo Mayor are the offerings and objects that were found in each layer of fill that covered up an older part of the temple.
“So far archeologist have found 139 offerings and more than 9,000 objects, including children’s skeletons, bones of marine fish, turtle shells…masks, musical instruments… and cotton textiles.”22 Archeologist even discovered what appeared to be a “…god of death statue… bathed with large quantities of blood from sacrificed people…”23 A reminder of gory rituals practiced by the Aztecs. What is interesting about some of the more obscure and less exciting items is not the items themselves but where they came from. Objects that were unearthed were found to have come from places such as the Gulf Coast, Guerrero24, and “…the modern states of New Mexico and Arizona.”25 This shows the extensive lengths that the Aztecs travelled for trade. Their power, influence and strength reached far beyond the boundaries of their capital in Tenochtitlan. Many of the more significant offerings and objects found at the temple are reminders of the importance of the two deities of the Templo Mayor to the Aztec people. Every layer of fill contained offerings to the gods, most of which were related to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc.26 Leonardo Lopez Lujan and Judy Levin believe that the arrangement of the offerings in the fill “… can tell us how the Aztec people understood the world and what they were trying to say to the gods through their
offerings.”27 An example of an offering left to the god of rain, Tlaloc, were jars filled with green beads which were placed lying on their sides over a bowl to mimic water being poured.28 “The arrangement represents a myth that says Tlaloc’s helpers pour their precious water from the clouds out of jars to make rain”29 These offerings, as well as the repeated reenactment of the battle between Huitzilopochtli and Coyolxauhqui shows that the Aztecs viewed religious reenactments as a way to connect with or praise their deities. The discovery of the Templo Mayor in 1978 has been a huge piece in recovering the history of the Aztecs.
The temple overflows with what seems like never ending information on how the Aztecs viewed the world around them. It gives insight as to their religious, political and economic priorities and values, as well as how those three intermingle with each other. The Templo Mayor also gives information on the importance of the gods, Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc to the Aztecs as well as ceremonies, rituals and human sacrifices that were performed at the temple in honour of the two gods. Finally, the offerings and objects which were found in abundance at the temple are significant evidence of the Aztec love of their gods and most importantly, the distance that their power travelled. The Aztecs may have existed for only a short period of time but their history of violence, strength, power and knowledge travelled far and left a strong impact on the world around
them.