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Templo Mayor at Tenochtitlan, the Coyolxauhqui Stone, and an Olmec Mask

By Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank
The Coyolxauhqui Stone, c. 1500, volcanic stone, found: Templo Mayor, Tenochtitlan (Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico City; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The Coyolxauhqui Stone, c. 1500, volcanic stone, found: Templo Mayor, Tenochtitlan (Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico City; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
In 1978, electrical workers in Mexico City came across a remarkable discovery. While digging near the main plaza, they found a finely carved stone monolith that displayed a dismembered and decapitated woman. Immediately, they knew they found something special. Shortly thereafter, archaeologists realized that the monolith displayed the Mexica (Aztec) goddess Coyolxauhqui, or Bells-Her-Cheeks, the sister of the Mexica’s patron god, Huitzilopochtli (Hummingbird-Left), who killed his sister when she attempted to kill their mother. This monolith led to the discovery of the Templo Mayor, the main Mexica (or
) temple located in the sacred precinct of the former
capital, known as
(now Mexico City).
View of the Templo Mayor excavations today in the center of what is now Mexico City (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
View of the Templo Mayor excavations today in the center of what is now Mexico City (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The Templo Mayor

Map of Lake Texcoco, with Tenochtitlan (at left) Valley of Mexico, c. 1519 (photo: Yavidaxiu, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Map of Lake Texcoco, with Tenochtitlan (at left) Valley of Mexico, c. 1519 (photo: Yavidaxiu, CC BY-SA 3.0)
The city of Tenochtitlan was established in 1325 on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco (much of which has since been filled in to accommodate Mexico City which now exists on this site), and with the city’s foundation the original structure of the Templo Mayor was built. Between 1325 and 1519, the Templo Mayor was expanded, enlarged, and reconstructed during seven main building phases, which likely corresponded with different rulers, or tlatoani (“speaker”), taking office. Sometimes new construction was the result of environmental problems, such as flooding.
Model of the sacred precinct in Tenochtitlan (National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City; photo: Steve Cadman, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Model of the sacred precinct in Tenochtitlan (National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City; photo: Steve Cadman, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Located in the sacred precinct at the heart of the city, the Templo Mayor was positioned at the center of the Mexica capital and thus the entire empire. The capital was also divided into four main quadrants, with the Templo Mayor at the center. This design reflects the Mexica cosmos, which was believed to be composed of four parts structured around the navel of the universe, or the axis mundi.
Templo Mayor (reconstruction), Tenochtitlan, 1375–1520 C.E. (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Templo Mayor (reconstruction), Tenochtitlan, 1375–1520 C.E. (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The Templo Mayor was approximately ninety feet high and covered in stucco. Two grand staircases accessed twin temples, which were dedicated to the deities Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli. Tlaloc was the deity of water and rain and was associated with agricultural fertility. Huitzilopochtli was the patron deity of the Mexica, and he was associated with warfare, fire, and the sun.
Paired together on the Templo Mayor, the two deities symbolized the Mexica concept of atl-tlachinolli, or burnt water, which connoted warfare—the primary way in which the Mexica acquired their power and wealth.
Snake balustrade and undulating serpent (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Snake balustrade and undulating serpent (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The Huitzilopochtli Temple

Standard bearers (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Standard bearers (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-SA 2.0)
In the center of the Huitzilopochtli temple was a sacrificial stone. Near the top, standard-bearer figures decorated the stairs. They likely held paper banners and feathers. Serpent balustrades adorn the base of the temple of Huitzilopochtli, and two undulating serpents flank the stairs that led to the base of the Templo Mayor as well.
But by far the most famous object decorating the Huiztilopochtli temple is the Coyolxauhqui monolith, found at the base of the stairs. Originally painted and carved in low relief, the Coyolxauhqui monolith is approximately eleven feet in diameter and displays the female deity Coyolxauhqui, or Bells-on-her-face. Golden bells decorate her cheeks, feathers and balls of down (feathers) adorn her hair, and she wears elaborate earrings, fanciful sandals and bracelets, and a serpent belt with a skull attached at the back. Monster faces are found at her joints, connecting her to other female deities—some of whom are associated with trouble and chaos. Otherwise, Coyolxauhqui is shown naked, with sagging breasts and a stretched belly to indicate that she was a mother. For the Mexica, nakedness was considered a form of humiliation and also defeat. She is also decapitated and dismembered. Her head and limbs are separated from her torso and are organized in a pinwheel shape. Pieces of bone stick out from her limbs.
The Coyolxauhqui Stone, c. 1500, volcanic stone, found: Templo Mayor, Tenochtitlan (Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico City; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The Coyolxauhqui Stone, c. 1500, volcanic stone, found: Templo Mayor, Tenochtitlan (Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico City; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The monolith relates to an important myth: the birth of the Mexica patron deity, Huitzilopochtli. Apparently, Huitzilopochtli’s mother, Coatlicue (Snakes-her-skirt), became pregnant one day from a piece of down that entered her skirt. Her daughter, Coyolxauhqui, became angry when she heard that her mother was pregnant, and together with her 400 brothers (called the Centzonhuitznahua) attacked their mother. At the moment of attack, Huitzilopochtli emerged, fully clothed and armed, to defend his mother on the mountain called Coatepec (Snake Mountain). Eventually, Huitzilopochtli defeated his sister, then beheaded her and threw her body down the mountain, at which point her body broke apart.
Coyolxauhqui stone reconstruction with possible original colors (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Coyolxauhqui stone reconstruction with possible original colors (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-SA 2.0)
The monolith portrays the moment in the myth after Huitzilopochtli vanquished Coyolxauhqui and threw her body down the mountain. By placing this sculpture at the base of Huiztilopochtli’s temple, the Mexica effectively transformed the temple into Coatepec. Many of the temple’s decorations and sculptural program also support this identification. The snake balustrades and serpent heads identify the temple as a snake mountain, or Coatepec. It is possible that the standard-bearer figures recovered at the Templo Mayor symbolized Huitzilopochtli’s 400 brothers.
Ritual performances that occurred at the Templo Mayor also support the idea that the temple symbolically represented Coatepec. For instance, the ritual of Panquetzaliztli (banner raising) celebrated Huitzilopochtli’s triumph over Coyolxauhqui and his 400 brothers. People offered gifts to the deity, danced and ate tamales. During the ritual, war captives who had been painted blue were killed on the sacrificial stone and then their bodies were rolled down the staircase to fall atop the Coyolxauhqui monolith to reenact the myth associated with Coatepec. For the enemies of the Mexica and those people the Mexica ruled over, this ritual was a powerful reminder to submit to Mexica authority. Clearly, the decorations and rituals associated with the Templo Mayor connoted the power of the Mexica empire and their patron deity, Huitzilopochtli.
Chacmool on the Tlaloc temple platform (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Chacmool on the Tlaloc temple platform (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The Tlaloc Temple

At the top center of the Tlaloc temple is a sculpture of a male figure on his back painted in blue and red. The figure holds a vessel on his abdomen likely to receive offerings. This type of sculpture is called a chacmool, and is older than the Mexica. It was associated with the rain god, in this case, Tlaloc.
Altar of the Frogs (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Altar of the Frogs (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
At the base of the Tlaloc side of the temple, on the same axis as the chacmool, are stone sculptures of two frogs with their heads arched upwards. This is known as the Altar of the Frogs. The croaking of frogs was thought to herald the coming of the rainy season, and so they are connected to Tlaloc.
While Huiztilopochtli’s temple symbolized Coatepec, Tlaloc’s temple was likely intended to symbolize the Mountain of Sustenance, or Tonacatepetl. This fertile mountain produced high amounts of rain, thereby allowing crops to grow.
Olmec-style mask, c. 1470, jadeite, offering 20, hornblende, 10.2 x 8.6 x 3.1 cm (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Olmec-style mask, c. 1470, jadeite, offering 20, hornblende, 10.2 x 8.6 x 3.1 cm (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Offerings at the Templo Mayor

Over a hundred ritual caches or deposits containing thousands of objects have been found associated with the Templo Mayor. Some offerings contained items related to water, like coral, shells, crocodile skeletons, and vessels depicting Tlaloc. Other deposits related to warfare and sacrifice, containing items like human skull masks with obsidian blade tongues and noses and sacrificial knives. Many of these offerings contain objects from faraway places—likely places from which the Mexica collected tribute. Some offerings demonstrate the Mexica’s awareness of the historical and cultural traditions in Mesoamerica. For instance, they buried an Olmec mask made of jadeite, as well as others from Teotihuacan (a city northeast of modern-day Mexico City known for its huge monuments and dating roughly from the 1st century until the 7th century C.E.). The Olmec mask was made over a thousand years prior to the Mexica, and its burial in Templo Mayor suggests that the Mexica found it precious and perhaps historically significant.
Ruins of the Templo Mayor with a view of Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, built 1573–1813, Mexico City (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Ruins of the Templo Mayor with a view of Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, built 1573–1813, Mexico City (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The Templo Mayor Today

After the Spanish Conquest in 1521, the Templo Mayor was destroyed, and what did survive remained buried. The stones were reused to build structures like the Cathedral in the newly founded capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (1521–1821). If you visit the Templo Mayor today, you can walk through the excavated site on platforms. The Templo Mayor museum contains those objects found at the site, including the recent discovery of the largest Mexica monolith showing the deity Tlaltecuhtli.

Essay by Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank

Want to join the conversation?

  • blobby green style avatar for user Liliane Stern
    Is the spelling of the Mexica patron deity Huitzilopochtli or Huiztilopochtli? The article is fascinating. I find all those names of Gods and Goddesses so difficult to pronounce and therefore hard to remember.
    (4 votes)
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    • aqualine tree style avatar for user David Alexander
      Spellings are English (or Latinate) approximations of words not found in these languages. To know how to properly spell or pronounce the name, one would have to go to the original language in which the name was first used, and then, it likely would be represented by a glyph, not by anything spelled out phonetically
      (7 votes)
  • duskpin seedling style avatar for user loki lover
    How would the Aztecs offer the still beating hearts of the sacrifices?
    (3 votes)
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    • starky sapling style avatar for user sgh72009
      Just going to start this by saying that what I am about to say is not for those who get queasy. They would make an incision just below the sternum and reach upward into the chest while the victim was still alive. They would then rip the heart from the chest, while it is still pumping. The reason the heart may still give a couple pumps is the same for why a chicken runs around after being separated from its head. There are still nerves that are firing and it takes a second to get through its last couple pumps. This would give them the time to throw said beating heart to the chacmool.
      (4 votes)
  • leafers tree style avatar for user Jessica Frias
    Why is there a frog on one of the sculptres
    (2 votes)
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  • leafers seed style avatar for user Cheng Liu
    Was it created to compete with another nearby work of art
    (1 vote)
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  • aqualine ultimate style avatar for user Ailene Tan
    How did Coatlicue get pregnant by a piece of down? Why was Coyolxauhqui angry that she was pregnant? The article and the pictures show that she too was a mother, and was pregnant once.
    (2 votes)
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    • starky sapling style avatar for user sgh72009
      I don't really know the answer to the first question, though I am assuming it is a similar story to how greek woman were made pregnant. There are also a lot of other cultures who have a stories of a pregnancy that doesn't occur naturally. For example the Iroquois people have a creation story where a virgin is made pregnant. The maya have a creation story where the woman eats a piece from a tree and becomes pregnant with twins. So, it's common for a pregnancy to occur in myths without a logical explanation. I do know for certain the answer to the second question. So, Coyolxauhqui was angry because prior to the birth of this child, she was the most powerful of all her mothers children. Yes, all 400 of them were Coatlicue's children. However, it was rumored that the child growing in Coatlicue's womb would be the most powerful yet and be the favorite. Coyolxauhqui was angered by that and hatched a plot to kill her mother before she has the chance to give birth to the baby that would surpass his siblings. And as you all know, her plan fails, the child is born and there is no hope of any of them winning.
      (3 votes)
  • duskpin ultimate style avatar for user Kanga X (read bio)
    How do they know that the croaking of frogs was believed to announce the coming of the rain? Also, how do they know the chacmool was associated with the rain god, Tlatoc?
    (0 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user Eaton, Emily
    Why was the temple built to this scale, and is it significant for any reason?
    (0 votes)
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