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Religious explanation in the Human Sacrifice in Aztec culture Wikipedia page:

In his 1989 work The Meaning of Sacrifice Christian Duverger gives an explanation of religious human sacrifice that was built off of a central concept in Aztec culture. Tonalli, or energy, was thought to be a central component in the function of the world for the Aztecs. Duverger makes the argument that Aztec rituals associated with sacrifice were meant to harvest tonalli and offer it to the gods. His explanation of ritual and sacrifice can be supported by archaeological evidence and connects with the understood ideologies that the Aztecs lived by.

sources: Duverger, Christian. The Meaning of Sacrifice. 1989, pp. 367-385. from Fragments for a History of the Human Body

Tlaloc Chac Mool - Chacmool Wikipedia Page

A Chacmool is a sculptural type that originated in central Mexico and is found in Maya and Aztec civilizations. This Chacmool was found in Mexico City in 1943 and dates towards the end of Aztec rule, around 1250-1500. The Chacmool figure is representative of the deity Tlaloc, who is associated with rain and fertility. Indications that the figure is Tlaloc include its facial representation, the eyes are outlined and the mouth has fang-like protrusions, as well as its heavy ornamentation. The jewelry the figure is wearing is meant to represent greenstone which was a precious material in Aztec culture. Tlaloc figures can also be found on the top of the cuauhxicalli that the figure is holding and the underside of the sculpture itself.

The Aztec of Central Mexico were inspired by sculptures from other areas in Mesoamerica such as nearby Teotihuacan, which they knew in its ruined state, and Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico. They believed the makers of such great works of the past were Toltec. One sculptural type is the Chacmool, which is typically represented as a reclining male figure holding a receptacle on top of its midsection. An Aztec Chacmool excavated in Mexico City in 1943 depicts the rain god Tlaloc through its facial representation and elaborate garb. It follows the typical form, but is much more complex in its decorative elements than Chacmools found at Tula.

Aztec Sculpture:

Scholars can understand the function of Aztec sculpture through the work itself (form, iconography, etc.) and some of the first hand written accounts from conquistadors and Spanish friars, although these may be somewhat unreliable.

Many Aztec sculptural types were adopted (acculturated?) from past civilizations. These works came from other areas in Central America like Teotihuacan and Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico. The Aztecs revered these works and called them Toltec. One sculptural type is the Chacmool, which is typically represented as a reclining male figure holding a receptacle on top of its midsection. One Aztec Chacmool was excavated in Mexico City in 1943 and it depicts the rain god Tlaloc through its facial representation and elaborate garb. It follows the typical form, but is much more complex in its decorative elements. Subject Matter:

The Aztecs were mostly concerned with religious and imperial themes when it came to subject matter in art. Some of the object types that survive are representations of deities and animals, calendar and dedication stones, and religiously and imperially historic works. Aztec works of art tend to blur the line between these categories, showing that religion and imperialism were often interconnected in Aztec civilization.

This interconnectedness speaks to a greater cosmological view at the core of Aztec belief which was then translated into art, for instance the Calendar Stone depicts a cosmological understanding of the ordering of time. In addition to that there is

Many Aztec sculptural types were adopted from past civilizations like the Maya and Toltec. These works came from other areas in Central America like Teotihuacan and Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico. The Aztecs revered these works and referred to all of them as Toltec, which in the Aztec language Nahuatl is related to the term "artisan". Deities Calendar stones

Another type of Aztec sculpture is the Tezcatlipoca mask. Tezcatlipoca is a powerful Aztec deity that is also known as the "smoking mirror." He is not only associated with divinity and fate, but also evil and war. Tezcatlipoca rewarded people with riches, wealth, nobility, and honor. However, he also brought vice and sin, and anguish and affliction to Earth. The powerful deity could be present on Earth, Heaven, or the land of the dead. He is often shown as a jaguar opposite a serpent, Queztalcoatl. In this particular stone mask there is an emblem consisting of two mirrors and four balls of Eagles that represent Human Sacrifice.

In Aztec artwork a number of monumental stone sculptures have been preserved, and such sculptures usually functioned as adornments for religious architecture. Particularly famous monumental rock sculpture includes the so-called Aztec "Sunstone" or Calendar Stone 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.[119] 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.[118] 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.[120] Early Spanish conquistador accounts also describe stone sculptures as having been decorated with precious stones and metal, inserted into the plaster.[118]

The smaller sculptures of deities were produced in large numbers and were likely used as household idols. Chicomecoatl, one of the deities featured in such sculptures, is the Aztec goddess of sustenance and corn. In these sculptures she is often portrayed wearing a large angular headdress that features twisting designs across the front, as well as paper rosettes. This headdress would have been worn by impersonators of the goddess during celebrations and festivals, and was made out of colorful paper. The goddess is also depicted holding ears of corn in her hands, a reminder of her associations with agriculture and fertility.

Historical narratives In addition to the multitude of religious iconography found in Aztec sculpture, many works also served as historical commemorations as well. These can be identified by the presence of name or date glyphs on the piece that denote a person or event of significance. An example of such a work is the Ahuizotl Box, which commemorates ruler Ahuizotl's construction of an aqueduct.

An example of a sculpture with religious iconography and date glyphs signifying historical importance is the Feathered Serpent Statue of deity Quetzalcoatl. The statue depicts the deity in a coiled form, and its body which contains feathers from the "quetzal" bird and the rattle tail of the "coatl" or serpent. These two aspects of its body shows the importance of the cosmos and the merging of sky and earth. The head of the serpent has a curved mouth, fangs, and two tongues: one split tongue that curls at the ends into the shape of scrolls, and a tongue in front in the shape of a flint knife, both symbols of priesthood. On the back of the serpent's head is the 1 Reed year symbol, also known as ce acatl, which is the year the Tollan or Toltec ruler Quetzalcoatl was born. They believed Quetzalcoatl would return during the next ce acatl, which was coincidentally the year Hernan Cortez arrived in Mexico (1519).

This devotional statue of the god Xiuhtecuhtli is depicted as a vigorous youth. Xiuhtecuhtli, the solar diety, "Turquoise Lord", also associated with the power of the deified Mexico-Aztec hero, Huitzilopochtli, and by extension the warriors, is one of the most important Gods in the Central Mexico during the late post classic period. Xihuitl means "year" as well as "turquoise" and "fire". So Xiuhtecuhtli represents God of Fire and Time, the Turquoise Lord. If you were alive during the Aztec Period and were a warrior or a ruler, one of the gods you would have spent a lot of time praying to was the God of Fire.

This figure of a young man dressed with a loincloth and a pair of sandals with solar rays on heels. His right hand which appear to be in motion, was used to hold standards. His headdress decorated with a band of disk. His eyes has seashell and obsidian inlays. He carries his weapon on his back which is his characteristic emblem, the xiuhcóatl（ spirit form, of the Aztec fire god Xiuhtecuhtli ）or “snake of turquoises”. The tail of the snake formed by the combination of a trapezium and a ray that constitutes the glyph of the year.

This large and imposing figure was donated in the 19th century by Josefa Atecechea to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, INAH, in Mexico City.

The pre-Hispanic manuscripts, Codex Fejérváry-Mayer, depicts specific aspects of the tonalpohualli, the sacred 260-day Mesoamerican augural cycle. The painted manuscript divides the world into five parts. The four directions are distributed around a sacred center, which would complete this horizontal vision of the universe as the fifth direction, is the domain of Xiuhtecuhtli. At the end of a 52-year cycle it was feared that the gods would discontinue their contract with mankind. To appease them, at the end of such a cycle feasts were held in their honor, where Xiuhtecuhtli as the god of fire united the other directions and brought the universe to a new cycle.Animal sculpture