Golden eagle on ancient relief reveals shocking ritual

The giant golden eagle relief at the Templo Mayor is opening a new chapter on the beliefs and mythical powers of the ancient Aztec civilization.

While excavating at the Templo Mayor (the main Aztec temple in present-day Mexico City), a team of archaeologists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) unexpectedly discovered a strange prehistoric artifact of special artistic value. Photo: @INAH.

It is a relief carving depicting an American golden eagle (its scientific name is aquila chrysaetos canadensis). Photo: @INAH.

For the prehistoric Aztecs, this bird of prey was closely associated with war and sacrifice, and it was also considered a representation of the sun god Huitzilopochtli. Photo: @ Joel Sartore.

In-depth studies of this relief show that it dates from around 1,467 to 1,490 AD, during the reign of Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina, the second emperor of the Aztec Empire. Photo: @INAH.

Carved into the floor of the Templo Mayor, which is paved with red tezontle (a red volcanic porous stone commonly used for construction in Mexico), the relief measures 1.06 meters long and 70 centimeters wide, making it the largest relief found to date at the Templo Mayor. Photo: @INAH.

This relief resembles the image of a golden eagle in the Codex Borgia, a famous Aztec manuscript dating from the 16th century. Photo: @ Pinterest.

“The excavation project at Templo Mayor continues to provide remarkable insights into ancient Aztec culture, and this golden eagle relief adds another layer to our understanding of how the Aztecs viewed mythological history as central to their beliefs and rituals,” said Caroline Dodds Pennock, an Aztec historian at the University of Sheffield. Photo: @INAH.

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