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
“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
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