Altar Tzompantli ("bandera de cabezas") del sur

A través del tiempo y en distintos lugares del mundo, ha existido la práctica de exhibir las cabezas de los enemigos como trofeos de guerra. Uno de los pueblos mesoamericanos que más lo hicieron, fueron los mexicas, quienes de acuerdo a las fuentes históricas y arqueológicas, se sabe que acostumbraban exhibir las cabezas de sus adversarios sacrificados, las cuales eran ensartadas en travesaños mediante un agujero que se hacía en las parietales (ambos lados del cráneo).
Durante las exploraciones arqueológicas de 1965 se localizó un conjunto de cráneos humanos perforados por los parietales junto a un Ehecacózcatl (gran caracol cortado) símbolo del Dios Quetzalcóatl. En Tlatelolco existen dos de estos altares: el Tzompantli del norte y éste, el Tzompantli del Sur. Pie de dibujos:Tzompantli del Códice Tovar. Ejemplo de perforación en cráneo. Foto: Eduardo Contreras G. English:Throughout time and in different parts of the world the practice of exhibiting the heads of enemies as war trophies has existed. One of the many Mesoamerican peoples that mostly did this was the Mexicas, who according to historic and archeologic sources, used to exhibit the heads of their sacrificed enemies. They inserted their heads in a crossbar by making holes on opposite sides of the skulls. During the archeologic explorations of 1965 a set of skulls were found, all of them with the parietal bones perforated. These were found beside an Ehecacózcatl (large sea shell with a transverse cut) symbol of Quetzalcóatl the god. In Tlatelolco there are two of these altars: the north Tzompantli and this, the south Tzompantli. English translation of captions:Tzompantli from the Tovar Codex. An example of the perforation of a skull. Photo: Eduardo Contreras G.

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Show me all markers in:  Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal  |  06300  |  Distrito Federal  |  Mexico

Superimposed altars
The Tlatelolco Lovers
The Palace
The Calendar Temple
Ehécatl Quetzalcóatl: attracting rain and fertility
The Southern Plaza of the Sanctuary
Tlatelolco: a well-planned city
Tlatelolco's great temple ("Templo Mayor"): A mirrored image of Tenochtitlan
Full color Tlatelolco: The temple of the paintings
El Temazcal

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