Templo Mayor

The principal temple of the Mexica capital Tenochtitlan, dedicated chiefly to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc. Its successive construction phases formed a major ritual and political center.

Huitzilopochtli: The Mexica patron deity of the sun and warfare, whose shrine stood atop Templo Mayor. His temple occupied the southern half of the summit and anchored Mexica state ritual.
Tenochtitlan: The island capital of the Mexica, founded in the basin of Mexico and conquered by Spain in 1521. Templo Mayor stood at the ceremonial and political center of this island city.
Templo Mayor excavations: Archaeological investigations of Templo Mayor and its surrounding precinct in central Mexico City. Excavation exposed buried construction phases and offerings beneath the modern city.
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire: The Spanish-led conquest that brought the Mexica Empire to an end in 1521. After Tenochtitlan fell, the temple was dismantled and its precinct incorporated into colonial construction.
Tlaloc: The Mesoamerican deity associated with rain, water, and agricultural fertility. His shrine occupied the northern half, pairing rain and fertility with Huitzilopochtli's martial power.
Acamapichtli: The first ruler of Tenochtitlan's ruling dynasty, reigning in the late fourteenth century. His reign belongs to the early history of the city and its central institutions.
Tlaltecuhtli monolith: A colossal Mexica sculpture of the earth deity Tlaltecuhtli, discovered near Templo Mayor in 2006. Its location and associated offerings illuminate royal burial and ritual around the temple precinct.
Hernán Cortés: The Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that conquered the Mexica Empire. His conquest of Tenochtitlan initiated the colonial transformation of the temple's site.
Human sacrifice in Aztec culture: Ritual killing practiced in Mexica religion and other Mesoamerican societies. Sacrifices at the temple expressed obligations to the gods and the order of the cosmos.
Itzcoatl: The fourth tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, who ruled from 1427 to 1440. The temple's early monumental development is associated with the consolidation of Mexica power during his era.

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