January 4, 2018

INAH Finds an Aztec Water Structure Depicting the Beginning of Time

INAH has found a stone shrine in a pond that depicts the Aztec idea of the design of the universe. The shrine was found at Nahualac, near the Iztaccihuatl volcano. Ceramics, lithic, lapidaries were also found. The stones portray a miniature universe. The stones are placed so that they look like they are floating on the water. The Mexica creation myth saw a world of water. The earth monster, Cipactli, floated on the water, and from his body, the earth was created. INAH believes that there was a ritual control of water from nearby springs to irrigate the pond which made it appear that the structure was floating on the water. The structure evokes the primitive waters and the beginning of time.
The Nahualac site has two parts, the pond shrine and nearby areas with ceramics dedicated to the storm god Tlaloc.

Mike Ruggeri’s Toltecs and Aztecs
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