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Left; Aztec god Xochipilli as described in the 16th century Codex Borgia, Right; Xochipilli, Aztec terracotta Lombards Museum. Source: Left; Public Domain Right; CC BY 3.0

Xōchipilli: Fun-Loving Aztec God of Sex, Drugs, and Music

The Aztecs were known for their many unique deities, but one of the most fascinating is Xōchipilli, the Aztec god of flowers, love, art, and fertility, as well as patron of homosexuality. Xōchipilli’...
A modern depiction of the Aztec fertility goddess Tlaltecuhtli. Source: Public Domain

Tlaltecuhtli: Fearsome Fertility Goddess of the Aztecs

Tlaltecuhtli was a Mesoamerican earth goddess predominantly worshiped by the Aztec people. In most religions, fertility goddesses are depicted as the culture's epitome of beauty, like Aphrodite of...
Hand-drawn illustration superimposed over a photo of the pre-Hispanic painting. Source: Frida Mateos / INAH

Painting Linked to Aztec God of Drunkenness Discovered in 16th Century Mexican Convent!

Archaeologists working at a Mexican holy site thought they were rediscovering a lost image of the Virgin Mary. But Mary never wore a feather plume, and seldom was she depicted within red circles. The...
An Aztec skull of a sacrificed captive used as a mask, encrusted in the nose and mouth with obsidian blades. (Dante / Adobe Stock)

16 Absolutely Terrifying Aztec Artifacts

The Aztecs emerged in central Mexico around 1300 AD, coming to dominate the surrounding area from their capital city Tenochtitlan , now Mexico City. Stretching across highlands, coastal plains,...
A Maya lord forbids an individual from touching a container of chocolate. (Public Domain)

Six Sexy Semi-Divine Superfoods Of Ancient South America

One need not search too long ago into South American history to identify a range of consumable drinks that would challenge and defeat, hands down, any of their modern derivatives - which are mostly...
Representation of a ritual human sacrifice on an altar. Source: archangelworks / Adobe Stock

Blood for the Gods: 10 Cultures that Engaged in Ritual Sacrifice

Since the dawn of humanity, countless civilizations have engaged in ritual sacrifice. Often, these sacrifices involved other humans, and were so common they were considered a normal aspect of life...
El Tepozteco temple in Mexico. Source: Tolo / Adobe Stock

El Tepozteco – The Aztec Temple Dedicated to the Drunken Rabbit God

On a lonely peak of the Sierra de Tepoztelan in the state of Morelos in Mexico stands the Aztec temple of El Tepozteco. The temple is dedicated to an unusual deity, Ometochtli - Tepoztecatl, one of...
An amazing wooden mask found among the latest Aztec artifacts’ discoveries at Templo Mayor in central Mexico City. Source: Mirsa Islas Orozco / INAH

Mexican Archaeologists Find Over 2,500 Rare Wooden Aztec Artifacts!

Archaeologists in Mexico unearthed one of the largest and most impressive collections of Aztec artifacts ever found, just northeast of the central plaza of Mexico City. This incredible Aztec artifact...
Oxford University overlaid with Aztec sun stone. Source:  luisrsphoto / Adobe Stock / ryanking999 /Adobe Stock

The University of Oxford is Older than the Aztec Civilization!

The University of Oxford is so old that its existence predates the Aztec civilization by more than 200 years! Here are the facts: People were learning at the University of Oxford by 1096 and the...
Excavated walls of the Aztec house, and one of the funerary vessels.	Source: INAH

Aztec House and Floating Gardens Discovered Under Mexico City

Archaeologists performing excavations in Mexico City’s Centro neighborhood dug up more than they bargained for when they uncovered the hidden ruins of an ancient Aztec dwelling, which had apparently...
Composite of in-article images

Six of the Best: A Run Down of Last Week’s Top Stories

In last week’s top stories; features on the magic mushrooms of the Aztecs, and their devastating weapons arsenal, a very lucky 10-year-old, a tooled-up Roman mercenary, the world’s first known...
John Dee, his obsidian mirror and Aztec design of obsidian mirrors.	Source: Antiquity Publications Ltd

New Study Verifies Aztec Manufacture of John Dee’s Obsidian Spirit Mirror

Archaeologists from the University of Manchester have just completed a new analysis of several alleged Aztec artifacts currently on display at the British Museum in London. Of special interest was a...
Pictogram in the Aztec Codex Telleriano Remensi representing an earthquake that took place in 1507. Source: Gerardo Suárez and Virginia García-Acosta

Aztec Codex is Oldest Written Account of Earthquakes in the Americas

Between the 1300s and the devastating arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the early 1500s, the Aztecs were a flourishing Mesoamerican culture in the Valley of Mexico in Central Mexico, building...
The Aztec Map of Cuauhtinchan And The Hidden Pyramid of Teoton

The Aztec Map of Cuauhtinchan And The Hidden Pyramid of Teoton

Within the Mexican State of Puebla, atop the ruins of a Pre-Columbian pyramid, stands the Convent of Cuauhtinchan. In 1891 AD, an ancient Aztec map was found concealed in the monastery. This...
A war shield and a bird of prey’s head are two of the Pre-Hispanic symbols discovered in the Mexican tunnel. Source: Edith Camacho, INAH

Pre-Hispanic Symbols Found in a Mexican Tunnel Will be Reburied

In 2019, archaeologists in Ecatepec, México state, found a centuries old tunnel with symbolic imagery. The find was so intriguing that the National Institute of Anthropology and History ( INAH ) had...
A man contorting his face at the idea of some of the weirdest foods in history. Source: Kurhan / Adobe Stock

A Test for the Taste Buds: The 7 Weirdest Foods in History

In many ways, the culinary arts of preparing food are the oldest in the world. Ever since becoming sentient, humans had to experiment with cooking in order to sustain themselves. From the dawn of...
The Aztec calendar. Source: javier_garcia / Adobe Stock.

Sacrifice and Destruction: The Apocalyptic Aztec Creation Myths

Many ancient cultures around the world have their own creation myth to explain their origins, and how the universe came into being. But few are as vivid, or as apocalyptic as the creation myth of the...
Isabel Moctezuma: The Last Aztec Princess

Isabel Moctezuma: The Last Aztec Princess

Isabel Moctezuma was an Aztec princess who lived during the time of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Isabel was the daughter of Moctezuma II, and by the time she was 11 or 12 years old, she had been...
Giant Obsidian Golden Eagle Surfaces in Mexico

Giant Obsidian Golden Eagle Surfaces in Mexico

The Aztec’s Hueteocalli , otherwise known as the Templo Mayor (which translates into “Great Temple”) stood at the center of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), the capital city of the Aztec world in Mexico...
The Planet Venus as a Symbol of Death and Resurrection in Ancient Mesoamerica

The Planet Venus as a Symbol of Death and Resurrection in Ancient Mesoamerica

Do our myths come from the stars or do we project our myths onto the stars? The story of Mithras truly does come from astronomical discoveries in the ancient world. It was noticed that every 2,160...
Builders of Teotihuacan Had Remarkable Knowledge of Science and Engineering

Builders of Teotihuacan Had Remarkable Knowledge of Science and Engineering

In the heart of central Mexico, surrounded by majestic mountains and volatile volcanoes, is the Valley of Mexico Basin. There, hidden in plain sight stands Teotihuacan, a vast vexing complex of...
Detail of skulls on the tzompantli (skull rack) found under Mexico City

Tzompantli, A Morbid Aztec Skull Rack, Unearthed In Mexico City

A tzompantli was a wooden rack developed by several Mesoamerican civilizations to publicly display the skulls of war captives. According to Joel W. Palka’s 2007 book Historical Dictionary of...
Fall of Tenochtitlan - Spanish Conquest of Mexico

The Fall of Tenochtitlan - Truly the End of the Aztec Empire?

The fall of Tenochtitlan is an important event in the history of the Americas as it marks the end of the Aztec Empire. This event took place on August 13, 1521 and was the result of a three-month...
Cerro Gordo Standing Sentinel Over Teotihuacan

Cerro Gordo Standing Sentinel Over Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan was by the fifth century AD the largest city in the American continent and one of the largest and most populous in the western hemisphere. Often called the ‘Rome of America’, its cultural...

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