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THE PETROGLYPHIC PRAYERS ON THE SUN STONE OF MOTECUHZOMA ILHUICAMINA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2014

Elizabeth Hill Boone  and
Rochelle Collins
Elizabeth Hill Boone*
Affiliation:
Department of Art, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118
Rochelle Collins
Affiliation:
208 East Park Ave., Lebanon, Ohio 45036
*
E-mail correspondence to: eboone@tulane.edu
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Abstract

The Sun Stone of Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina is one of the major monuments revealedby excavations in and around the Aztec Templo Mayor since 1978. Featuring thesun disk on its top surface and the Mexica conquest of 11 enemy polities on itscylindrical sides, it is considered a gladiatorial stone, similar in bothiconography and function to the later Stone of Tizoc. While Tizoc'sstone locates its conquest scenes between earth and sky bands, this sun stoneuniquely places its conquests between two bands of repeating motifs. The authorsargue that these bands are extraordinary examples of pictographic texts thatparallel and likely called forth ritual speech acts. The iconography andpatterning of the motifs reveal the bands to be visual exhortations or prayersrelated to human sacrifice specifically associated with Tezcatlipoca. Thecomplex pattern of the repeating motifs is rhythmic and reflects the discoursestructure of Nahuatl high speech.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , Fall 2013 , pp. 225 - 241
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

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