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In addition, Ortiz points out that regardless of how many sacrifices actually occurred, a considerable number of the victims were not eaten because sacrifices made to the rain god Tlaloc were buried whole, so the limbs could not be removed for consumption. As a result, the number of victims that were actually consumed was less than Harner postulated, which would not have been sufficient to fulfill the protein requirement for the Aztec people. Tonatiuh is the Sun god in the Aztec tradition and represents the fifth and present sun era. He is often depicted with a solar disc on his back surrounded by feathers. In the middle of the disk is the Aztec symbol "Nahui Ollin," or 4 Movement. In this sculpture, he is in a crouched position and sitting on two separate rocks. In addition, he is adorned with many decorative elements, and there is a repetition in the use of circles in these decorations. There were many sacrificial ceremonies to honor Tonatiuh, as the Aztecs believed he needed human heart and blood sacrifices to continue on his rotation across the sky throughout the night.

Sculpture
The Coatlicue statue in the National Museum of Anthropology.

Sculptures were carved in stone and wood, but few wood carvings have survived. Aztec stone sculptures exist in many sizes from small figurines and masks to large monuments, and are characterized by a high quality of craftsmanship. Many sculptures were carved in highly realistic styles, for example realistic sculpture of animals such as rattlesnakes, dogs, jaguars, frogs, turtle and monkeys.

In Aztec artwork a number of monumental stone sculptures have been preserved, such sculptures usually functioned as adornments for religious architecture. Particularly famous monumental rock sculpture includes the so-called Aztec "Sunstone" or Calendarstone discovered in 1790; also discovered in 1790 excavations of the Zócalo was the 2.7 meter tall Coatlicue statue made of andesite, representing a serpentine chthonic goddess with a skirt made of rattlesnakes. The Coyolxauhqui Stone representing the dismembered goddess Coyolxauhqui, found in 1978, was at the foot of the staircase leading up to the Great Temple in Tenochtitlan. Two important types of sculpture are unique to the Aztecs, and related to the context of ritual sacrifice: the cuauhxicalli or "eagle vessel", large stone bowls often shaped like eagles or jaguars used as a receptacle for extracted human hearts; the temalacatl, a monumental carved stone disk to which war captives were tied and sacrificed in a form of gladiatorial combat. The most well known examples of this type of sculpture are the Stone of Tizoc and the Stone of Motecuzoma I, both carved with images of warfare and conquest by specific Aztec rulers.

Many smaller stone sculptures depicting deities also exist. These sculptures are often depicted in similar styles that utilize metaphors drawn from observations of the natural world. For example, many of the sculptures depict the gods with animal qualities. In addition, date glyphs are often featured prominently on the sculptures as a historical commemoration to represent the particular year a sculpture was created. In particular, the sun god Tonatiuh is often depicted with a feather headdress and a sun disc on his back. In the middle of the sun disc is the date glyph Nahui Ollin, which represents Tonatiuh's role as the fifth and present sun.  The style used in religious sculpture was rigid stances likely meant to create a powerful experience in the onlooker. Although Aztec stone sculptures are now displayed in museums as unadorned rock, they were originally painted in vivid polychrome color, sometimes covered first with a base coat of plaster. Early Spanish conquistador accounts also describe stone sculptures as having been decorated with precious stones and metal, inserted into the plaster.