| Object Name: | Anthropomorphic flint, from the Templo Mayor |
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| Creation Date: | 1325-1521 A. D. | |
| Culture: | Aztec, Post-Classic | |
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| The personified flint knives with faces on both sides were symbolic of sacrifice. This particular knife is decorated with applied pieces of turquoise, obsidian, and shell arranged as teeth and eyes on a painted blade. Knives were recovered from Offering 52 on the Huitzilopochtli side of the Templo Major. Offerings to Huitzilopochtli contained a variety of items symbolic of power and strengh. The offering included symbols of human sacrifice such as braziers with knotted bones, knives, and human skulls as well many objects from tribute-paying regions of the Aztec empire. Unlike the offerings dedicated to Tlaloc, those to Huitzilopochtli contained no images of the god. | ||
