The Offerings to Tláloc

The Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, as sacred space, must have been the recipient of an unimaginable amount of offerings, at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards. This building, however, suffered a tremendous amount destruction. Consequently, the second construction stage (1375-1395) is the only one that can been seen in its entirety. Here, the two altars that crowned the Great Temple, the one to the north dedicated to Tlaloc, the one to the south dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, are still visible. In spite of the tremendous devastation this sacred building suffered, The Great Temple Project has found 107 offerings not counting other types of finds.

The last seven offerings found in the Great Temple were deposited there between 1502 and 1520. These were dedicated to Tlaloc, the Rain God, who may kill by storms as well as give life by irrigating the planted fields. He is the Lord of Tlalocan, the place where those who had died by causes related to water went and which the Spaniards compared to paradise. Moreover, Tlaloc was the one to whom the northern part of the Great Temple was dedicated.

The supervisor of the Program for Urban Archaeology (PAU), archaeologist Álvaro Barrera, suggests that during the rites, one or several priests evoked prayers to the gods before placing the offerings in strategic places in the depth of the Great Temple. It was their offering and that of their people; the dialog with the gods through which they hoped to obtain benefits for the great People of the Sun, to thank the gods for their kindness, and to commemorate or dedicate monuments, buildings, and rites in the ritual calendar.

Which Offerings Are We Showing and Why?
A selection of the materials found during the last field season, was made above all, bearing in mind questions of conservation. As one can easily imagine, owing to the particular nature of the materials found, treatments for the conservation of the materials have been a central part of this project and certain objects will not be exhibited, except through photographs, in order not to put them at risk. Among these are the extraordinary textiles, artifacts made out of rubber, and the wooden mask, among others. All of these artifacts will be exhibited to the public once the delicate work of restoration carried out by the team of restorers is finalized. In spite of the absence of certain objects, around two thousand archeological artifacts are shown in this exhibit, including hundreds of conches and shells, animal bone remains, pre-Hispanic musical instruments, stone sculptures, clay masks, and sacrificial knives, to name a few.

Translated from Spanish by Annis Graetz.