FWD: [Aztlan] Aztec Monolith

[John F. Schwaller]

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1703602006
Mexico Aztec god carving may be emperor's headstone

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Archeologists say a giant, ornate carving of  
an Aztec god recently unveiled in downtown Mexico City could be a  
massive headstone in honor of one of the civilization's last rulers.

Scientists say the 12.4 ton stone cutting, which is covered with a  
vast, heavily detailed full-body engraving of earth god Tlaltecuhtli,  
is one of the most important Aztec finds ever.



The 11-foot (3.5 metres) long monolith was first made public in  
October. It is broken into several pieces but otherwise in excellent  
condition, archaeologists said.

They have spent weeks scraping dirt and debris from the piece and now  
say it may be the headstone of Ahuizotl, the eighth Aztec ruler,  
whose successor Moctezuma II governed at the start of the Spanish  
conquest of Mexico.

The headstone is decorated with the carved image of a deity with a  
giant male head ringed by masses of curly hair and a sharp extended  
tongue representing a stream of blood.

Skulls and crossed bones surround the body, as well as a rabbit and  
several dots thought to be a time stamp dating the sculpture to 1502.

The Aztecs, a warlike and deeply religious people who built numerous  
monumental works including towering pyramids, ruled an empire  
encompassing much of modern-day central Mexico until they were  
overthrown by the Spanish in 1521.

The piece was found in the ruins of Mexico City's Templo Mayor, an  
Aztec temple used for human sacrifice and now steps from choking  
traffic in the city's Spanish colonial center.

Spanish conquerors built a new city from the rubble of Tenochtitlan,  
the sprawling Aztec capital they found built on largely man-made  
islands amid a lake in the Valley of Mexico.

(c) Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.



Mike Ruggeri


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