The New TenochtiÜan Templo Mayor Coyolxauhqui
Transcription
The New TenochtiÜan Templo Mayor Coyolxauhqui
H. B. Nicholson The New TenochtiÜan Templo Mayor Coyolxauhqui-Chantico Monument El n u e v o m o n u m e n t o de C o y o l x a u h q u i - C h a n t i c o del T e m p l o M a y o r de T e n o c h t i t l a n c o n s t i t u y e - según a p r e c i a c i ó n general y ' a m p l i o r e c o n o c i m i e n t o — u n o de l o s más b e l l o s relieves p r e h i s p á n i c o s e n c o n t r a d o s hasta h o y en la capital. Sus m e d i d a s de 3 . 2 6 X 2 . 9 8 x 0 . 3 5 m e t r o s e x c e d e n en t a m a ñ o las de cualquier o t r o m o n u m e n t o azteoa c o n e x c e p c i ó n del " C a l e n d a r i o " . Esta figura representa a C o y o l x a u h q u i , la maligna m e d i a hermana de H u i t z i l o p o c h t l i , asesinada p o r este ú l t i m o en u n o de los e p i s o d i o s de su n a c i m i e n t o . February 21, 1978, Mexico City Compañía de Luz workmen excavating a pit discovered a large carved monument about two meters beneath the street surface near the corner of Argentina and Guatemala streets, in a position fronting one stage o f the southern stairway o f the Templo Mayor o f Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, the southwestern portion o f whose foundations, in at least four major superpositions, was exposed in 1913 (Gamio 1917: 129; 1920 — 21). It is a massive oval stone (apparently andesite), 3.26 X 2.98 X 0.35 meters, surrounded by a stucco pavement. The very high relief, on which traces o f red, yellow, and white pigments are visible, is virtually in mint condition. The only significant damage is a narrow crack running diagonally across the left central portion o f the monument. The archaeological context o f the discovery was thoroughly treated in a monograph by Angel Garcia Cook and Raúl M. Arana A. ( 1 9 7 8 ) o f the Departamento 77 de Salvamento Arqueológico, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, w h o headed the salvage team that excavated the m o n u m e n t . ' In this paper, dedicated to the memory o f m y old friend and colleague, Gerdt Kutscher, I will be concerned only with the iconography o f the carved upper surface o f the stone (Fig. 1 A female is depicted, facing right. She is shown decapitated and dismembered. The torn edges o f her headless trunk and severed limbs are indicated, as is usual (cf. Fig. 2 and severed human members o n the " S t o n e o f Itzpapalotl"; Nicholson 1971: fig. 62), by scalloping, with protruding ends o f the humerus and femur bones clearly represented. Adjacent to the proximal ends o f the left arm and the legs are pairs o f bloodstreams tipped by droplets, three o f them decorated with jewel (chalchihuitl) motifs to indicate the preciousness o f this fluid. She wears what appears to be a kind o f striated wig or perhaps a headcloth (cf. Figs. 7 - 1 2 ) decorated with numerous circular elements that represent d o w n balls. Draped over it is a snake with sectioned b o d y . Probably a coral snake was intended, the type usually associated with the terrestrialfertility goddesses and which o f t e n seems to have symbolized b l o o d (Seler 1902 - 0 3 : 143 f.). Its tail is hidden while its head hangs d o w n over the figure's forehead (cf. Fig. 6, where only t w o portions o f the snake's b o d y are visible). An elaborate feather device crowns the head, c o m p o s e d o f three concentric rows o f stylized feathers with a wide panache rising above and behind this central element. A prominent striped band runs across the bridge o f the nose and the upper cheek, f r o m which depends a metal bell, coyolli. Identical ornaments, c o m p o s e d o f circular, trapezoidal, and angular elements, are worn as ear and noseplugs. The large, pendulous breasts are boldly displayed o n the bare upper b o d y , as well as t w o (post-partem?) creases in the belly area just above the belt. The latter is c o m p o s e d o f a doubled, sectioned b o d y o f a two-headed serpent. It sup1 T h e e x p l o r a t i o n s o f this salvage team also resulted in the discovery o f five c a c h e s ( o n e o f w h i c h c o n t a i n e d a large o b l o n g green serpentine s t o n e with an engraved image o f a f e m a l e d e i t y ; L ó p e z Austin 1 9 7 9 ) , a n d , o n a s t u c c o p a v e m e n t 125 c m b e l o w the p a v e m e n t surrounding the m o n u m e n t , a n o t h e r apparent d e c a p i t a t e d and d i s m e m b e r e d representation o f C o y o l x a u h q u i , o n l y partially preserved, m o l d e d in s t u c c o m i x e d with stones. O n the basis o f this r e p o r t , I was able t o m a k e s o m e m i n o r factual c o r r e c t i o n s and a d d i t i o n s t o the original version o f the article, c o p i e s o f w h i c h , in manuscript, were circulated t o s o m e o f m y colleagues. Since this article was written, in April, 1 9 7 8 , various studies o f the m o n u m e n t have been p u b lished, the m o s t i m p o r t a n t o f w h i c h is Aguilera G a r c í a ( 1 9 7 8 ) . 2 I w o u l d like t o thank José Luis F r a n c o , D o r i s H e y d e n , C o n s t a n z a V e g a Sosa, and A u g u s t o M o l i n a M o n t e s f o r supplying relevant i n f o r m a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g this disc o v e r y - and Sally B o n d , P e a b o d y M u s e u m o f A r c h a e o l o g y and E t h n o l o g y , Harvard University, f o r i n f o r m a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g their Jadeite mask. 78 ports a large skull back device (cf. Figs. 8, 10) and is knotted in front with a prominent upper l o o p in the fashion o f the knots o f the male loincloth, maxtlatl (cf. Fig. 8, w h o wears both a skirt and a loincloth). Similar knotted two-headed snakes adorn the upper portions o f the arms and the lower portions o f the legs. Intertwined or arched coral snakes are occasionally encountered in the native tradition pictorials (e. g., Figs. 3, 4), but knotted examples in the positions depicted o n our monument are quite unusual. " D e m o n faces", with round eyes, surpraorbital ridges, and prominent tusks are represented on the knees, elbows, and heels. These devices are standard on the knees and elbows o f the Tlaltecuhtli, Earth Monster, figures (Nicholson 1967: Fig. 5), but their presence here at the heel positions is unusual. Elaborate wristlets are also worn, c o m posed o f l o o p devices and bands with circular elements f r o m which depend metal bells, f o u r o n the right wrist and three o n the left. Lastly, our figure wears banded anklets and fancy sandals, secured b y large loops at the insteps, whose heelcaps are decorated with elongated triangular m o tifs, connoting them as itzcactli, "obsidian sandals". These were specified as a diagnostic o f the insignia o f a goddess, Chiconahui ItzcuintH (9. D o g ) , the calendric name o f Chantico, by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún's Tlatelolco informants (Sahagún 1950 — 82, Pt. X : 7 9 ) and is clearly shown in the "Tonalamatl A u b i n " representation o f this goddess (Fig. 10). As was immediately recognized b y the Mexican government archaeologists w h o supervised the initial exposure o f the stone and w h o were quoted in media accounts o f the discovery; this figure represents C o y o l xauhqui, the malevolent half-sister o f Huitzilopochth slaughtered b y the latter as an episode in the myth o f his birth. The head closely resembles in its essential features one o f the most famous pre-Hispanic sculptures found in Mexico City, the colossal green porphritic head discovered in the foundations o f a colonial building only about a block to the southeast in March, 1830. T w o years later, Carlos Maria de Bustamante, in his enlarged re-edition o f A n t o n i o de León y Gama's classic 1792 study o f the "Calendar S t o n e " and other monuments discovered in the subsoil o f M e x i c o City ( L e ó n y Gama 1832, Part II: 89 f.), in a lengthy f o o t n o t e described the circumstances o f the discovery o f this head in a yard behind the church o f Santa Teresa la Antigua in connection with the construction o f new buildings by the convent o f La C o n c e p c i ó n o n property formerly constituting the mayorazgo o f the Mota family. This area probably comprised the southeast sector o f the walled T e m p l o Mayor precinct ( e . g . , Alcocer 1935; Marquina 1960), although some students ( e . g . , Maudslay 1912; Caso 1956) would place this zone just to the east. A c cording to Bustamante, with the authorization o f Lucas Alamán, Minister o f Foreign Relations, he offered to purchase the head f o r Mexico's recent- 79 ly established national museum; however, the Abbess freely ceded it, and it has been ever since one o f the museum's most prized possessions (presently exhibited in the Sala Mexica; catalogue number: 1 1 - 3 3 3 8 ) . Principally because he believed the head displayed on its cheeks " c o m o un parche redondo de ulli o goma negra" and wore "una gorra de manta revuelta y añudada," Bustamante identified it with a goddess described in Chapter 8 o f Book I o f Sahagún's "Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España", Temazcalteci, "la abuela de los baños", an aspect o f Teteoinnan, "Mother of the G o d s " . In 1840 he published a short article concerning this monument, providing further details on its discovery and now adding "Centeotl" (erroneously equating this deity with Temazcalteci) as a label for it. The article was accompanied by three lithographs: frontal and back views o f the head and the complex rehef on the under-surface. Although not entirely accurate, they provided the first basically adequate illustrations o f this remarkable monument. A more stylized frontview engraving was pubhshed four years later by Brantz Mayer (1844: 85). After giving the erroneous date o f 1837 for its discovery, he cites the opinion o f Bustamante that it represented "the god o f Baths". He then mentioned a diverse opinion, that o f Isidro Gondra, director o f the Mexican National Museum, that it represented rather " t h e god o f Night - the half shut eyes, and sealed mouth, bearing him out in his hypothesis". Some years later, in 1882, a leading Mexican scholar o f the Porfirian period, Alfredo Chavero, preferred to label the mysterious head " T o t e e , que es una de las manifestaciones mas esplendidas del sol" (Chavero 1882: 4 8 3 ; cf. Chavero 1882 - 1903: 426 f.; 1887: 319, 391 393), and it was so classified in the first reasonably comprehensive catalogue, in Spanish, of the major monuments o f the Museo Nacional (Gahndo y Villa 1895: 31 f.). Also, as illustrations to Chavero's 1882 1903 "Piedra del S o l " series o f articles, cited above, the first really accurate illustrations o f the head were published, three excellent pencil drawings by the distinguished Mexican artist, José María Velasco (front, side, and angle views; the first two are illustrated in Fig. 6). Finally, in 1900, the correct identification o f the head was first made by the leading European Mexicanist o f the day, Eduard Seier, in his commentary to the "Tonalamatl A u b i n " (English edition, 1 9 0 0 - 0 1 : 117). He identified the motifs on both cheeks as bells, with the upper circular elements bearing the well-recognized cruciform symbols for gold - thus, Coyolxauhqui, "Painted with Bells". He was also the first clearly to recognize that the head displays various features iconographically diagnostic o f the goddess Chantico as she is represented in the Codices "Borbonicus" (Fig. 7), "Telleriano-Remensis" (Fig. 8) / "Vaticanus A " , "Borgia" (Fig. 11), "Vaticanus B " (Fig. 12), "Tonalamatl A u b i n " (Fig. 80 10), and Sahagún's "Primeros Memoriales" (Fig. 9), particularly the distinctive headcloth, and, on some, the ear and nose ornaments and the associated atl tlachinolli, "sacred war", symbols. The following year, in his article o n the major archaeological discoveries in and adjacent to the Tenochititlan Templo Mayor, Seler ( 1 9 0 1 : 129 f . ) identified the head more definitely as Coyolxauhqui - not mentioning Chantico in this context - and suggested that it had originally stood o n the summit o f the Huitzilopochtli-Tlaloc temple, in c o n f o r m i t y with the myth wherein, after her slaughter and dismemberment by Huitzilopochtli, her head remained on the Coatepetl, the "Serpent Mountain", precisely the name applied to this structure. Surprisingly, although he cited Alvarado T e z o z o m o c for the latter fact, he failed to note that b o t h this Indian chronicler (Alvarado T e z o z o m o c 1944: 3 0 0 ) and the Dominican missionary Durán ( 1 9 6 7 , II: 3 3 3 ) — drawing f r o m a c o m m o n source, the "Crónica X " - explicitly state that a representation o f Coyolxauhqui was set up o n the Huitzilopochtli-Tlaloc temple in connection with the dedication o f its final, 1487, renovation by Ahuitzotl. In the enlarged version o f this article published three years later (Seler 1 9 0 2 - 2 3 , II: 767 — 9 0 4 ) , Seler added a drawing o f the central portion o f the carving on the underside o f the head (the remainder was obscured b y the museum's mountings) and correctly identified it as the atl tlachinolli symbol intertwined with an aztamecatl, the downball-adorned sacrificial cord, and a two-headed coral snake. The complete drawing o f this surface published by Bustamante, which revealed t w o additional motifs not visible in the Seler drawing, the date 1. Tochtli in a square cartouche and a spider (to be discussed below), was apparently not available to him. Although Chavero ( 1 9 0 3 : 4 3 2 — 4 3 6 ) rejected Seler's interpretation, countering with a new identification o f his o w n , TIahuizcalpantecuhth, the Venus deity, nearly all scholars subsequently have accepted the Seler interpretation (e.g., Beyer 1921 [ 1 9 6 5 ] ; Caso 1938: 93 - 9 5 ; Bernal 1969: n. p.). A generally adequate photograph o f the piece was published in Gahndo y Villa 1902 (PI. 14), and it has since b e c o m e o n e o f the most frequently illustrated A z t e c sculptures. A g o o d c o l o r photograph was featured on the cover o f a recent catalogue o f the Museo Nacional de Antropología (Cervantes 1976). A photograph o f the complete underside has been published by Fernández ( 1 9 6 3 : fig. 4 ; our Fig. 13). Another very relevant piece is a jadeite mask in the collection o f the Peabody Museum o f Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University (acquired apparently in 1928 but o f unknown provenience; catalogue number: 2 8 - 4 0 - 2 0 / C 1 0 1 0 8 ) , which also represents CoyolxauhquiChantico. It was first illustrated by Cahill ( 1 9 3 3 : PI. 5 9 ; our Fig. 14) and variously since ( e . g . , Pijoán 1958: fig. 2 1 3 ; T h o m s o n 1971: PI. 88). 81 Basically, it is quite similar to the colossal head, but the nose ornament is absent, the bells are simpler and more stylized and lack the upper circular elements with the gold symbols, and they depend f r o m a narrow band which bridges the nose. In these latter features the new carving obviously more closely resembles the mask than the famous head.^ The fullest version o f the myth o f the birth o f Huitzilopochtli, featuring Coyolxauhqui as his hostile half-sibling, was recorded by Sahagún, in Nahuatl, in Tlatelolco probably in 1561 - 1565. It survives in t w o versions, virtually identical, in the " C ó d i c e Matritense del Real Palacio" (fols. 1 3 2 r - 134v) and the "Florentine C o d e x " ( B o o k III: fols. 1 - 7). Paso y T r o n c o s o ( 1 9 0 6 : 205 f . ) published the first in a photographic reproduction; paleographies o f the second have been published b y Seler ( 1 9 2 7 : 253 - 2 5 8 ) and Dibble and Anderson (Sahagún 1 9 5 0 - 8 2 , Pt. IV: 1 — 5 ) with direct translations into German and English, respectively. Sahagún himself made a paraphrastic Spanish translation, which constitutes the left-hand column o f the "Florentine C o d e x " version - and which is also preserved in the T o losa manuscript (Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid; fols. 1 7 4 - 1 7 7 ) version o f the "Historia General" ( B o o k III, Chapter I, Paragraph 1), from which all published versions ( e . g . , Sahagún 1975: 191 f . ) are derived. In concise summary, Coatlicue, "Serpents-her-Skirt", while performing penitential exercises at Coatepec, is impregnated b y a floating feather ball which she places in her bosom. Her eldest child, Coyolxauhqui, and her 4 0 0 ( " i n n u m e r a b l e " ) sons, the Centzon Huitznahua, resolve to kill her for her shameful sexual transgression, but her unborn child, Huitzilopochtli, consoles his mother f r o m the w o m b . Warned b y a renegade among the approaching host with matricide their aim, he bursts forth, fully armed, and with the xiuhcoatl, the "turquoise snake", decapitates and dismembers his half-sister and destroys most o f his half-brothers, the survivors fleeing to the South.'* 3 4 82 Chavero ( 1 9 0 0 : Plate facing p. 4 5 7 ) illustrated a small silver head o b v i o u s l y based closely o n the colossal C o y o l x a u h q u i - C h a n t i c o h e a d , plus a silver ring with a head seemingly based m o r e l o o s e l y o n it. He published t h e m in the belief that t h e y were authentic pre-Hispanic artifacts, but they appear, f r o m his illustrations, t o be almost certain falsifications. Chavero ( 1 9 0 0 : 4 5 7 ) also stated that he k n e w o f a n o t h e r head similar t o the colossal o n e ; he described it as being o f red p o r p h y r y , 15 c m in diameter. H o w e v e r , he did n o t illustrate this p i e c e , w h i c h is apparently o t h e r w i s e u n r e p o r t e d , so it is impossible t o j u d g e w h e t h e r this was an authentic pre-Hispanic o b j e c t . This climactic scene is illustrated in the " F l o r e n t i n e C o d e x " (Sahagún 1 9 5 0 - 8 2 , Pt. I V : fig. 2 ; o u r Fig. 15), including the d e c a p i t a t i o n and d i s m e m b e r m e n t o f C o y o l x a u h q u i , but in such a s k e t c h y f a s h i o n that it is n o t i c o n o g r a p h i c a l l y o f m u c h significance. A significant variant o f this narrative is contained in Alvarado T e z o z o m o c ( 1 9 4 4 : 9 - 1 1 ) and Durán ( 1 9 6 7 , II: 30 - 3 2 ) , derived f r o m the "Crónica X " . In this version Huitzilopochtli decapitates and extracts the heart o f " C o y o l x a u h " , not explicitly identified as his sister, and does likewise to the Centzon Huitznahua in the sacred ballcourt, the T e o tlachco, at Coatepec, which is specified as a stopping place o n the AztecaMexica migration route from Aztlan to the Basin o f M e x i c o - where they had angered their patron deity by their intention o f remaining in the artificial lake-surrounded c o m m u n i t y they had created there. Alvarado T e z o z o m o c ' s version is somewhat more detailed than the rather sketchy account in Durán but is garbled and at times almost unintelligible (see discussion and analysis in Seler 1 9 0 2 - 2 3 , III: 325 - 3 3 1 ) . Both chroniclers earlier described Huitzilopochtli's sister under another name, Malinalxoch(itl), a malevolent sorceress, w h o is abandoned, o n her brother's orders, at or just after leaving Patzcuaro, in Michoacan. With a faithful band o f followers, she settles at Texcaltepec-Malinalco (named after her), giving birth to an equally hostile son, Copil, w h o later plays a significant role in events surrounding the foundation o f M e x i c o Tenochtitlan. Another version o f the Malinalxochitl-Copil and Coyolxauhqui-Centzon Huitznahua episodes is recounted in the early part o f the "Crónica Mexicayotl" ( 1 9 7 5 : 27 - 36), apparently also attributable to Alvarado T e z o z o m o c . The former is also very briefly mentioned in Chimalpahin's "Tercera Relación" (Chimalpahin 1963: 10), undoubtedly derived f r o m Alvarado T e z o z o m o c . Interestingly, in the "Crónica M e x i c a y o t l " his female antagonist at Coatepec is called " C o y o l x a u h c i h u a t l " and is described as his mother. Alvarado T e z o z o m o c 0 9 4 4 : 3 0 0 ) also seems to merge or confuse Malinalxochitl and Coyolxauhqui, for, in referring to the image o f the latter set up on the top o f the Tenochtitlan HuitzilopochtliTlaloc temple adjacent to the sacrificial stone, he describes her as " p o b l a dora de los de Michoacan", which actually refers to Malinalxochitl. A n other very summary account o f Huitzilopochtli's birth at Coatepec during the Mexica migration is included in the "Historia de los mexicanos p o r sus pinturas" ( 1 9 6 5 : 43 f.); his slaughter o f the Centzon Huitznahua (not, however, named as such) is described, but Coyolxauhqui is not mentioned. It is also made explicit that the Panquetzaliztli veintena ceremony was in c o m m e m o r a t i o n o f Huitzilopochtli's birth and victory over his enemies. In accordance with various other sources, the event is assigned here to the New Fire year, 2 Acatl, which, in the chronology employed in this source, would equate with 1143. The " C ó d i c e Azcatitlan" ( 1 9 4 9 : PI. V ) , on the other hand, may indicate the previous year, 1 Tochtii (equated here with 1194). Perhaps significantly, this latter date, as mentioned, is carved on the underside o f the colossal head (Fig. 13). Ce Tochtii, the date o f the 83 creation of the present universe, is sometimes carved on the undersides o f Aztec monuments ( e . g . , Seler 1 9 0 2 - 2 3 , II: Abb. 6), but here it might signify the date o f Coyolxauhqui's death at the hands o f Huitzilopochtli — although, as indicated, the following year, Ome Acatl, is that more frequently given for this event.' The Huitzilopochtli birth myth, particularly the detailed Sahagúntine version, has given rise to diverse interpretations. The most popular has been the solar-lunar-astral interpretation of Eduard Seler (first adumbrated in Seler 1 9 0 1 - 0 2 : 112; most fully developed in Seler 1 9 0 2 23, III: 327 f.; IV: 157 — 167), wherein Huitzilopochtli is the sun, who, at the moment o f his birth-rising from the earth (Coatlicue), conquers and disperses the moon (Coyolxauhqui) and the host o f stars o f the southern firmament (Centzon Huitznahua). Hvidfeldt (1958: 133), on the other hand, characteristically interprets it as "a fantasia inspired by motifs from the ritual", i. e., Panquetzaliztli. At the other extreme is an essentially historical-euhemeristic explanation which interprets the HuitzilopochtliCentzon Huitznahua conflict as a political-military struggle between two factions o f the migrating Mexica (González de Lesur 1966) or between the latter and the Toltecs o f the Tollan-Coatepec zone (Jiménez Moreno and Fernández 1963: 116). The Seler hypothesis is seductive and "logical", which probably explains its wide acceptance, but, with regard to Coyolxauhqui at least, there seems to be little or nothing in her iconography which is specifically lunar. On the other hand, she does share various features with other female fertility deities whose lunar associations, among others, have long been generally accepted, particularly Xochiquetzal (see Thompson 1939). As Seler himself recognized, however, the colossal head he identified, undoubtedly correctly, as Coyolxauhqui, is iconographically essentially equivalent to representations of a goddess concerning whom relatively little is known, Chantico ("In the House">Cuaxolotl ( " X o l o t l - H e a d " ; perhaps also connoting " D o u b l e - " or "Split-Head" [Seler]?). Seler (e. g., 1 9 0 0 - 0 1 : 1 1 4 - 118; 1 9 0 2 - 0 3 : 272 - 2 7 8 ; 1963, II: 2 2 4 - 228) ably summarized nearly all o f the extant data on this deity - although I would not agree with all o f his interpretations. He concluded that Chantico was basically "the fire goddess o f Xochimilco". Her igneous associations seem undeniable, but she probably also connoted various other concepts c o m m o n to the highly important cluster o f intimately interrelated female 5 84 Caso ( 1 9 5 9 : 8 6 ) read this d a m a g e d date as 2 T o c h t l i , w h i c h usually c o n n o t e d the octli ( p u l q u e ) deities. On the right side o f this undersurface is t h e representation o f a spider ( c f . Fig. 16), a f e a r e d , l o a t h s o m e creature related t o the earth, darkness, and sorcery — and w h i c h , in Alvarado T e z o z o m o c ' s a c c o u n t o f Malinalxochitl, is expUcitly m e n t i o n e d in c o n n e c t i o n with her m a l e v o l e n t e n c h a n t m e n t s . fertility deities (Nicholson 1963). In particular, in my view Seier insufficiently recognized (cf. Nicholson 1971a: 4 1 3 f.) Chantico's apparent partial merger with Xochiquetzal and, probably, with the whole c o m p l e x o f youthful deities o f sensuality o f which she was the principal female embodiment. Her special association with X o c h i m i l c o , which Seler may have overstressed, he based o n Sahagún's ( 1 9 5 0 - 8 2 , Pt. X : 79 f.) inclusion o f her calendric name (9 Itzcuintli) among the deities especially worshipped by the tlatecque, the lapidaries o f Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco, whose roots lay in X o c h i m i l c o , and his belief that Durán's ( 1 9 6 7 , I: 125 - 133) account o f Cihuacoatl, specified by him as the patroness o f X o c h i m i l c o , really referred to Chantico - a view which I would regard as somewhat dubious, although some confusion between the two deities b y Durán is certainly a possibility. Chantico's cult was definitely o f some significance. She was included in Sahagún's "Primeros Memoriales" deity list ( e . g . , Seler 1 9 0 3 - 0 3 , II: 501 f.). A temple and sacerdotal dormitory (Tetlanman, Tetlanman Calmecac) were dedicated to her in the T e m p l o Mayor precinct o f Tenochtitlan (Sahagún 1 9 5 0 - 8 2 , Pt. Ill: 170). Seler failed to mention that another Chantico-Cuaxolotl temple was stated by Torquemada ( 1 9 7 5 : 2 3 9 ) as having been built by Moquihuix, ruler o f Tlatelolco, "para solo engañara los tenochcas", just before his disastrous attempt in 1473 to conquer Tenochtitlan.® An unusual idol representing her, with a detachable leg believed to be efficacious in promoting military victory when the earth was pounded with it and which was employed b y Motecuhzoma in an unsuccessful effort to hex the Cortesian advance toward Mexico, was described in an inquisitorial proceeding in Mexico City in 1539 (Archivo General de la Nación 1912: 179 f., 183). Precisely why Coyolxauhqui was equated with Chantico poses a certain problem. In the few references to the former, cited above, no mention is made o f Chantico. Her igneous and, apparently, aggressive, militaristic connotations — particularly if the evidence o f the idol just described be taken into account — might have seemed particularly suitable f o r the malevolent half-sister o f their national god. Chantico's association with the black magic arts (see Seler 1 9 0 0 6 A c c o r d i n g t o T o r q u e m a d a ( 1 9 7 5 : 2 4 5 - 2 4 6 ) , " a l o s diez días del m e s T e c u i l huitl ( q u e era el p o s t r e r o del a ñ o de los m e x i c a n o s ) f u e r o n m u e r t o s l o s c a u t i v o s q u e representaban la figura de los dioses C h a n t i c o n y C o h u a c o l o t l ( s i c ) y les ayunaron su c e l e b r a c i ó n y m u e r t e y c a n t a r o n sus f u n e s t o s c a n t o s " , a significant ritual event just p r e c e d i n g the M e x i c a " c i v i l w a r " . His a c c o u n t o f the incidents leading up t o this fratricidal struggle also includes a d e s c r i p t i o n , t o e x e m p l i f y his brutality and depravity, o f M o q u i h u i x ' rape o f s o m e o f the w o m e n " d e las q u e servían de tejer l o s o r n a m e n t o s y vestiduras de la diosa C h a n t i c o n . . . c o n q u e c a u s ó grandísim o escándalo en la r e p ú b l i c a " . 85 Ol: 116) might also have been a factor. Or there may have been deeper conceptual connections concerning which we can only speculate in the face o f the limited amount of data available concerning these two deities. Whatever the precise reasons, Coyolxauhqui was apparently considered to have been a manifestation o f Chantico. The hyphenated title which Beyer (1921 [ 1 9 6 5 ] ) first applied to the Templo Mayor colossal head (cf. Nicholson 1971a: caption to fig. 12), therefore, seems quite justified. Finally, some brief remarks on the esthetic-stylistic and temporal aspects o f the monument might be in order. As has been widely recognized, it constitutes one o f the finest large pre-Hispanic carvings yet found in the capital. It is sculpted in unusually deep reUef, which conveys an especially bold, powerful effect that is heightened by Coyolxauhqui's shattered figure being conceived somewhat simpler, less cluttered than many Aztec rehefs representing supernatural personages. Its great size is also noteworthy; in diameter it exceeds any other Aztec monument except the "Calendar Stone". As for its chronological position within the sequence of major sculptured monuments of Tenochtitlan, Matos Moctezuma (1981: 37, 90) has assigned it to his Templo Mayor constructional stage IVb, which he tentatively assigns, on the basis o f a stone plaque displaying the date 3. Calh, 1469, set into the side o f the platform belonging to this stage, to the first year o f the reign o f Axayacatl (1469 - 1481). However, the extant ethnohistorical accounts do not mention any significant construction on the Templo Mayor during his rule, although at least two major renovations are ascribed to his grandfather, Motecuhzoma I ( 1 4 4 0 — 1469). In any case, this magnificent monument was certainly carved and set in place some time before 1487, the date assigned by all o f the ethnohistorical sources to the last major renovation o f the Templo Mayor, early in the reign o f Ahuitzotl (1486 — 1502). Its esthetic sophistication and expert craftsmanship indicate that Aztec monumental sculpture had definitely come o f age by the middle decades o f the fifteenth century. 86 REFERENCES Aguilera G a r c í a , María del Carmen 1978 Coyolxauhqui: ensayo iconográfico. A n t r o p o l o g í a e Historia: Cuadernos gación, 2). 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T h o m s o n , Charlotte 1971 Ancient Art of the Americas M u s e u m o f Fine Arts. from New England Collections. Boston: T o r q u e m a d a , Juan de 1975 Monarquía Indiana. V o l . 1 E d i c i ó n preparada p o r el Seminario para el e s t u d i o de f u e n t e s de tradición indígena, b a j o la c o o r d i n a c i ó n de Miguel L e ó n Portilla. M é x i c o (Universidad Nacional A u t ó n o m a de M é x i c o . Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas: Serie de Historiadores y Cronistas de Indias, 5). 92 Fig. 1: S c u l p t u r e d m o n u m e n t discovered in F e b r u a r y , 1 9 7 8 , near the c o r n e r o f A r g e n tina and Guatemala Street, M e x i c o City ( P h o t o : Instituto N a c i o n a l de A n t r o p o l o g í a e Historia, M é x i c o ; c o u r t e s y o f A u g u s t o Molina M o n t e s ) . 93 Fig. 2: Severed, bleeding snake. Codex Borbonicus, Fig. 3 : I n t e r t w i n e d t w o - h e a d e d coral snake. Codex 71). 6 ( f r o m Seier 1 9 6 3 , II: fig. 2 1 7 ) . Cospi, 1 ( f r o m Seler 1 9 6 3 , I: fig. Fig. 4 : A r c h e d t w o - h e a d e d coral snake. Codex Borbonicus, 19 ( f r o m Seler 1 9 6 3 , II: fig. 2 6 0 ) . Fig. 5; Tlaltecuhtli, Earth M o n s t e r , representation o n underside o f s t o n e b o x . E x H a c k m a c k C o l l e c t i o n , Hamburgisches M u s e u m für V ö l k e r k u n d e ( f r o m Seler 1 9 0 2 — 2 3 , 1 1 : 7 3 5 , fig. 2 5 ) . 94 Fig. 6 : F r o n t a l and rear views o f C o y o l x a u h q u i - C h a n t i c o colossal head. Pencil drawings b y José María V e l a s c o ( f r o m C h a v e r o 1 8 8 7 : 3 9 1 ) . Fig. 7 : C h a n t i c o : R e g e n t o f eighteenth i o n a / pohualli trecena c o m m e n c i n g 1. Ehecatl. Codex Borbonicus, 18 ( f r o m Seler 1 9 6 3 , II: fig. 2 8 1 ) . Fig. 8 : C h a n t i c o : R e g e n t o f eighteenth tonalpohualli trecena c o m m e n c i n g 1. Ehecatl. Codex Telleriano-Remensis, 21v ( f r o m Seler 1 9 6 3 , II: Fig. 2 8 0 ) . 95 10 ttVlTi-i'i'iV^'-'^ 96 Fig. 9: C h a n t i c o . Fray Bern a r d i n o de Sahagún, Primeros Memoriales {Códice Matritense del Real Palacio, fol. 266v; f r o m Seier 1 9 6 3 , 1 1 : fig. 2 7 8 ) . Fig. 10: C h a n t i c o : R e g e n t o f eighteenth tonalpohualli trecena c o m m e n c i n g 1. Ehecatl. Tonalamatl Aubin, 18 ( f r o m Seier 1 9 6 3 , 1 1 : fig. 2 8 2 ) . Fig. 11: C h a n t i c o : R e g e n t o f eighteenth tonalpohualli trecena c o m m e n c i n g 1. Ehecatl. Codex Borgia, 6 3 ( f r o m Seier 1 9 0 2 - 0 3 : fig. 5 3 3 ) . Fig. 12: C h a n t i c o : R e g e n t o f eighteenth tonalpohualli trecena c o m m e n c i n g 1. Ehecatl. Codex Vaticanus B, 6 6 ( f r o m Seier 1 9 6 3 , 1 1 : fig. 2 7 9 ) . Fig. 13: Underside o f colossal C o y o l x a u h q u i - C h a n t i c o head ( P h o t o : Institut o N a c i o n a l de A n t r o p o l o g í a e Historia, México). 97 14 Fig. 14: Jadeite mask o f C o y o l x a u h q u i Chantico. Peabody Museum o f Archaeo l o g y and E t h n o l o g y , Harvard University ( f r o m C a h m 1 9 3 3 : pi. 5 9 ) . Fig. 15: H u i t z i l o p o c h t l i v i c t o r i o u s o v e r C o y o l x a u h q u i and the C e n t z o n Huitznahua. Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, Florentine Codex, B o o k III, f o l . 3 ( f r o m Sahagún 1 9 5 9 - 8 2 , Pt. I V : fig. 2). 15 98 Fig. 16: Spider. Codex Borbonicus, ( f r o m Seler 1 9 0 2 - 2 3 , I V : 7 4 1 , 955). 19 fig.