Bust of an Aztec Corpse
The corpse is not even real but a stone carving. Despite the multitude of stonework the Aztecs have made to represent gods or kings, they also made some well-known pieces reflecting the life of the common man. The sculptures cover various stages of life: birth, youth, marriage, old age, and death. I think this is one of the most realistic portrayals of a dead man in Mesoamerican art. NMAH
The Aztecs held a belief that the earth was but a layer between thirteen heavenly levels and nine levels of the underworld, corresponding to the thirteen hours of day and nine hours of night. The highest of these heavens was Omeyocan, where the Divine Duality resided. One of the lower heavens was Tlalocan, the watery paradise of the Rain Lord Tlaloc and his consort Chalchiuitlicue. This is a replica of a Teotihuacan mural that may be depicting the water goddess in Tlalocan, approached to the left by an offering priest. Showers of rain fall from her hands out to the sides. An alternate interpretation suggests that the two figures are part of an assemblage of four priests approaching the World Tree from the four cardinal directions; we may even be seeing the figure at right from behind. NMAH
The nine levels of the Aztec underworld were called Mictlan, the Land of the Dead. A wandering soul walked for four years down the first eight levels, which were extremely difficult and taxing to cross. The lowest of the nine levels was Mictlan proper, a vast cave filled with skeletons and ruled by the Lord and Lady of Death. Before the final burial of a nobleman, a chunk of jade would be placed in the jaw - this would be offered to a great jaguar at the gates of Mictlan instead of the man's own heart. This is an Aztec carving of Mictecacihuatl, the Lady of the Dead. NMAH
The Aztec god of death was Mictlantecuhtli, Lord of the Land of the Dead. This cup was skilfully crafted, considering the difficulty in carving greenstone. The Lord of Mictlan stands with his forearms raised. The headdress he wears is a typical design for the rulers of the dead. As shown here, Mictlantecuhtli is usually presented with a morbid face despite a fleshy body. Some traditions claim that Mictlantecuhtli is fully fleshed and merely wears a skull mask; others hold that his body is in a state of partial decay. GT
This ceramic sculpture impresses because it stands nearly life-sized. Its unusual accoutrements are similar to the Aztec Mictlantecuhtli, enough to suggest that this individual may be a priest for the deity. Recent excavations at the Great Temple have not only restored two terrifying ceramic statues of Mictlantecuhtli, but they have also revealed high concentrations of organic molecules particular to blood. Recent archaeology has confirmed that the Aztecs did in fact pour human blood over these death god statues, as the Codex Magliabecciano graphically describes. NMAH
The Mixtec god of death was Yya Dzandaya. Appropriately, this god is almost always shown with a skeletal body as in this replica of a relief from Tomb 1 of Zaachila, shown on the right. At left, the small ceramic skull depicts Yya Dzandaya with splotches of decaying flesh still attached to the bone. NMAH
This burial was prepared not exactly in the true sense of mummification. But what is important is the fact that the corpse is wrapped in special cloths and then laid with a funerary mask; these are common to the sótano burials discovered at the Mixtec site of Coixtlahuaca. This ruler was buried at Coixtlahuaca Tomb 6. NMAH
Cihuateteo (singular: cihuateotl) were female spirits of mothers who had died giving birth. In some accounts, the cihuateteo were believed to inhabit the highest heaven, Omeyocan, where they helped carry the setting sun to the west. Some legends warn, however, that these spirits haunt the forests at night and are a peril to nighttime travelers. These are Aztec images of the cihuateteo, with wrathful expressions in their deathly faces and striking arms. NMAH
The first of three nearly life-sized terracotta sculptures from El Zapotal, Veracruz, to appear on this page. These magnificent works of earthenware sculpture were made of individually molded pieces and assembled together before final firing - a technique known as "Pastillaje" in Spanish. These dead (notice the closed eyes, a common indicator of death) female figures have been likened to the cihuateteo featured above, especially for their underworld location. Several, if not all, of these nearly complete sculptures were found standing in a processional row toward a spectacular sculpture of the Death God at El Zapotal, Veracruz. XAL
This is one of the most famous of the El Zapotal women. Observe that all three women shown here have bare chests, closed eyes, an elaborate headdress, and a double-headed serpent for a belt. The headdress for this woman is also stylized as a double-headed serpent, perhaps like the bicephalic serpents used to symbolize the sky and the earth for many of the Maya. The blue and rosy colors from the original painting are still vividly preserved in this example. XAL
Unlike the other two El Zapotal examples here, this female figure is seated. Her headdress is remarkable, especially for the bat-faced effigy in the front. She is one of the best preserved of the female figures - several others on display at the University of Xalapa Museum of Anthropology have no head or chest. These El Zapotal figures are likely from the Late Classic period, approximately between 600-900 CE. XAL
