- Tzompantli
[
Aztec manuscript, the Durán Codex.]A tzompantli is a type of wooden rack or palisade documented in several
Mesoamerica n civilizations, which was used for the public display of humanskull s, typically those of war captives or other sacrificial victims.Distribution
General
It was most commonly erected as a linearly-arranged series of vertical posts connected by a series of horizontal crossbeams. The skulls were pierced or threaded laterally along these horizontal stakes. An alternate arrangement, more common in the Maya regions, was for the skulls to be impaled on top of one another along the vertical posts.
"Tzompantli" are known chiefly from their depiction in Late Postclassic (13th -16th centuries) and post-Conquest (mid-16th -17th centuries) codices, contemporary accounts of the
conquistador es, and several other inscriptions. However, there is evidence that a "tzompantli"-like structure has been excavated from the Proto-ClassicZapotec civilization at theLa Coyotera ,Oaxaca site, dated from c.2nd century BC E to 3rd century CE. [Spencer (1982), pp.236-239]"Tzompantli" are also noted in other Mesoamerican
pre-Columbian cultures, such as theToltec andMixtec .Maya
Other examples are indicated from
Maya civilization sites such asUxmal and otherPuuc region sites of theYucatán , dating from around the late9th century decline of theMaya Classical Era . A particularly fine and intact inscription example survives at the extensiveChichen Itza site. [Miller and Taube (1993), p.176.][
Huitzilopochtli ; from Juan de Tovar's 1587 manuscript, also known as theRamírez Codex .]Aztec
There are numerous depictions of "tzompantli" in
Aztec codices , dating from around the time or shortly after theSpanish conquest of Mexico , such as the Durán Codex,Ramírez Codex andCodex Borgia . During the stay of Cortes' expedition in the Aztec capitalTenochtitlan (initially as guest-captives of the EmperorMoctezuma II , before the battle which would lead to the conquest), they reported a wooden "tzompantli" altar adorned with the skulls from recent sacrifices. Within the complex of theGreat Pyramid of Tenochtitlan (Templo Mayor) itself, a relief instucco depicted these sacrifices; the remains of this relief have survived and may now be seen in the ruins in theZócalo of present-dayMexico City .According to
Bernal Díaz del Castillo 's eye-witness account ("The Conquest of New Spain ") written several decades after the event, after Cortes' expedition was forced to make their initial retreat from Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs erected a makeshift tzompantli to display the severed heads of men and horses they had captured from the invaders. This taunting is also depicted in an Aztec codex which relates the story, and the subsequent battles which led to the eventual capture of the city by the Spanish forces and their allies.Based on numbers given by the Conquistador
Andrés de Tapia and FrayDiego Durán , Bernard Ortiz de Montellano [Ortíz de Montellano 1983] has calculated that there were at most 60,000 skulls on the "Hueyi Tzompantli" (great Skullrack) of Tenochtitlan. There were at least five more skullracks in Tenochtitlan but by all accounts they were much smaller.Association and meaning
Apart from their use to display the skulls of ritualistically-executed war captives, "tzompantli" often occur in the contexts of Mesoamerican ballcourts, which were widespread throughout the region's civilizations and sites. In these contexts it appears that the tzompantli was used to display the losers' heads of this often highly-ritualised game. New research seems to indicate it is not the losers' heads that were taken, but the winners' heads. It was an honor to be the more worthy sacrifice. Not all games resulted in this outcome, however, and for those that did it is surmised that these participants were often notable captives. Tula, the former
Toltec capital, has a well-preserved "tzompantli" inscription on its ballcourt.The association with ballcourts is also reflected in the "
Popol Vuh ", the famousK'iche' Maya religious, mythological and cultural account. WhenHun Hunahpu , father of theMaya Hero Twins , was killed by the lords of the Underworld (Xibalba ), his head was hung in agourd tree next to a ballcourt. The gourd tree is a clear representation of a tzompantli, and the image of skulls in trees as if they were fruits is also a common indicator of a tzompantli and the associations with some of the game's metaphorical interpretations.Etymology
The name comes from the
Classical Nahuatl language of theAztec s, however it is also commonly applied to similar structures depicted in other civilizations. Its preciseetymology is uncertain, although its general interpretation is "skull rack" or "wall of skulls". It may be seen to be a compound of the Nahuatl words "tzontecomatl" ("skull"; from "tzontli" or "tzom-" "hair", "scalp" and "tecomatl" ("gourd " or "container"), and "pamitl" ("banner"). This derivation has been ascribed to explain the depictions in several codices which associate these with banners; however, F. Karttunen [cite web | author=Frances Karttunen | title=Linguist list server | work=etymology of Tzompantli | url=http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0501a&L=nahuat-l&D=1&P=197 | accessmonthday=September 25 | accessyear=2005 ] has proposed that "pantli" means merely "row" or "wall".Notes
References
*cite book |author=aut|Miller, Mary |authorlink=Mary Miller |coauthors=and aut|
Karl Taube |year=1993 |title=The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=London |id=ISBN 0-500-05068-6
*cite book | author=aut|Spencer, C. S. | title=The Cuicatlán Cañada and Monte Albán: A Study of Primary State Formation | publisher=Academic Press |location=New York | year=1982 | id=ISBN 0-12-656680-1
*cite journal |author=aut|Ortíz de Montellano, Bernard R. |year=1983 |title=Counting Skulls: Comment on the Aztec Cannibalism Theory of Harner-Harris|journal=American Anthropologist |volume=85 No.2 |pages=pp.403–406
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