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The Tizoc Stone, the Seventh Lord of Tenochtitlan, 1481-1486
Museo Nacional de Antropologia
Bosque de Chapultepec, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
THE TIZOC STONE
This trachyte (volcanic) stone was found in the Zocalo center in Mexico City, in 1792, it weighs approximately 26 tons. This enormous sculpture was thought to be a sacrificial stone. In reality it was a commemorative monument to the achievements of the heroic battles fought by the Aztec ruler Tizoc, Seven Lord of Tenochtitlan, in the years of 1481 to 1486. On
its roof surface is the Image of the Sun to whom the Aztec Emperor dedicated his conquests to. However it is believed that this stone could have been used for human sacrifices because of the groove hewn on its surface.
On the side surface of this cylinder are three bands, the upper one represents the sky and the constellations and the lower represents, the earth with arrow flint stones, a primitive way to make fire. The wider band on the center of the stone represents the Emperor Tizoc disguised as the deity Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec God of War shown seizing enemy chiefs by their hair. The hero's victories are represented in fifteen different scenes, each of different tribes conquered in war and condemned to
human sacrifice, whose name in the hieroglyphs are indicated by a small legabove and behind their headdress.
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