It looks as if we may soon see the greatest of the Aztec emperors: Ahuitzotl (1486-1502). He was a New World contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) who is known for military conquests that expanded Aztec territory. He also supervised the growth of Teochtitlán, the Aztec capital, and reportedly oversaw massive human sacrifices during a rededication of the Great Temple.

Tomb of Aztec Emperor May Lie in Mexico

The Associated Press
Thursday, November 16, 2006; 11:19 PM
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...pf.html

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican archeologists are investigating if the tomb of an Aztec emperor lies beneath a recently excavated stone monolith depicting a fearsome god.

It would be the first burial site ever found of a leader of the 1427-1521 Aztec empire, said archaeologist Eduardo Matos Thursday.

Matos, who leads the excavation project at the Templo Mayor ruins in Mexico City's main square, said a date carved on the stone suggests it contains the remains of emperor Ahuizotl, the father of Moctezuma, the Aztec ruler defeated by the Spaniards.

"We think this could be a gravestone covering the place where this ruler was laid to rest," Matos said, as he showed reporters the carved face of the stone for the first time since it was discovered Oct. 2.

The stone was unearthed at the foot of the western face of the Templo Mayor, the Aztecs' main religious site.

Researchers have spent more than a month removing dirt and stones covering the 13-foot monolith. They hope to begin excavating the fractured stone itself to explore a shallow pit that lies beneath it.

Carvings on the stone show Tlaltecuhtli, an Aztec god was so fearsome the Aztecs normally buried her depictions face-down in the earth.

© 2006 The Associated Press

From today's L.A. Times:

Mexico ruins may hold Aztec leader
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
November 18, 2006
www.latimes.com/news/natio...44503.story

Mexican archeologists are investigating whether the tomb of an Aztec emperor lies beneath a recently excavated stone monolith depicting a fearsome god.

It would be the first burial site ever found of a leader of the Aztec empire, archeologist Eduardo Matos said Thursday. Matos, who leads the excavation project at the Templo Mayor ruins in Mexico City's main square, said a date carved on the stone suggests it contains the remains of emperor Ahuizotl, the father of Moctezuma, the Aztec ruler defeated by the Spaniards. The stone was unearthed at the foot of the western face of the Templo Mayor, the Aztecs' main religious site.

From Richard Townsend's book "The Aztecs":
www.amazon.com/Aztecs-Ric...0500281327/

"The rededication of this looming structure [the Templo Mayor] was seized by Ahuizotl as an opportunity to reaffirm the imperial mission, staging a sacrifice that would forever remain the most terrifying occasion in the ritual life of Tenochtitlan. Prisoners of war were lined along the length of the causeways into the city, and in numbers entirely unprecedented the sacrifices continued for four days. Appalled ambassadors from foreign nations were summoned to witness the dreadful slaughter, and the population of Tenochtitlan stood in awe in the plazas facing the pyramid. Sreams of blood poured down the stairway and sides of the monument, forming huge pools on the white stucco pavement. The accounts of the descriptions were recorded by Spanish historians. Ahuizotl had turned the image of sacrifice into an overtly political lesson, to instill terror in the hearts of enemies and to inure the sensibilities of his own population to new thresholds of violence. The renewal of the building and the idea of ritually nourishing the sun and the earth were now used to affirm the renewal of Tenochtitlan's warlike intentions" (p. 100).

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