The Tzompantli was one of the most relevant ritual elements for the Mexica culturetherefore the Nacional History MuseumChapultepec Castle, exposes the altar of Tecoaque.
“The 14 skulls exhibited in Room 1 of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), attached to the federal Ministry of Culture, is evidence of a significant event in our future: the capture and progressive immolation of 450 people in Zultépec , “Cerro de las codornices”, in Nahuatl, a site located on what was the border of the Acolhua region -allied with the Triple Alliance, headed by Mexico-Tenochtitlan- and the Tlaxcalan manor”, mentions a statement from the IAH.
The tzompantlis are altars that were formed with the skulls of people sacrificed in tribute to Huitzilopochtli, god of war and the sun, as well as Tlaloc, god of rain..
The Tzompantli of Tecoaque
The altar is composed of 14 human skulls that were found in 1991, in the Zultépec-Tecoaque archaeological zone, Tlaxcala, in 1991.
When these remains were discovered, they presented perforations in the parietotemporal regions, traces that allow us to deduce their belonging to a tzompantlieither “wall of skulls”.
According to the researchers, this wall of skulls was originally on the platform attached to the Temple of Quetzalcoatl in said archaeological zone.
The skulls correspond to seven females and another seven males. With its exhibition, the National Museum of History intends to generate a narrative that addresses the process of the Spanish invasion in its complexity.
According to National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)the tzompantli of tecoaque offers evidence about the capture and immolation of 450 people in Zultépec, in the 16th century.
Pursuit and capture in the Hill of the quails
Salvador Rueda Smithers, director of the National Museum of History, pointed out that 450 people, men and women, left the coast of veracruz and its mission was to transport important properties of Hernán Cortés.
However, they were persecuted, to finally be captured by indigenous people, during a period between June 1520 and March 1521.
It emphasizes that among the captives were Europeans, Tlaxcalans, Totonacs, Mayans, mestizos, mulattoes and zambos.
After the capture, these people offered themselves to the Mexica divinities in the area of Zultépec, which in Nahuatl means “hill of the quails”. After these acts, the site was renamed Tecoaque, which translates as “where they were eaten.”
On the other hand, the skulls that are exhibited in Room 1 of the National History Museum correspond to European people, as well as a mulatto and Mesoamerican indigenous people, according to anthropophysical studies.
Tzompantli, a ritual element for life
For some years, the archaeological findings of burials and offerings in the Main temple, with altars dedicated mainly to the god Huitzilopochtli, god of war and the sun, as well as Tlaloc, god of rain.
One part of the ritual of the Mexicas was to carry out a series of sacrifices dedicated to the sun, so that the cycle of life continued each time and did not stop, involving a petition to the rain so that the earth could continue with its vital process. and the crops will not fail and will be abundant.
Do not miss the opportunity to witness this fundamental element of Mexican culture and visit the National Museum of History, located in Chapultepec.