| Object Name: | Plaster stone skulls that belonged to the Tzompantli Altar |
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| Creation Date: | 1325-1521 A. D. | |
| Culture: | Aztec, Post-Classic | |
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| Image source: | © Dr. Manuel Aguilar | |
| One of the most striking structures of Mesoamerica public architecture was the Tzompantli, or skullrack. This was a wooden scaffold containing human skulls pierced horizontally by crossbeams. The term Tzompantli is Nahuatl, and it has been widely assumed that this structure derives from Postclassic Central Mexico. However, a probable Protoclassical Tzompantli was excavated at La Coyotera, Oaxaca. Moreover, there are indications that these were present at Uxmal and other Terminal Classic Maya sites in the Puuc Region of Yucatan. In the Quiche Maya Popol Vuh, the severed head of Hun Hunahpu was placed in a gourd tree next to the ballcourt. This gourd tree is clearly a reference to the Tzompantli filled with human skulls. In Nahuatl, the term for head is Tzontecomatl, with tecomatl signifying gourd tree. It appears that like the Sumbanese skull trees of Indonesia, the Tzompantli was portrayed as a tree containing skulls and banners, pantli. | ||
