PLUS: mini-features on intriguing artefacts (mostly in museums) we think you may find interesting... AND: check out our artefact study pages, each linked to a downloadable activity sheet (see menu, right).
Aztec objects in their original colours...
close-up view of a Tlaloc figure, Berlin Museum
is a traditional Scottish good luck charm...!
with procreation, fertility and rain...
a bullet-proof vest...
terrifying turquoise caterpillar?
may have evolved into the Mexica rain god pot...
of an Aztec obsidian mirror in Taiwan...
associated turquoise with Toltec identity...
the powers of the BM’s black obsidian mirror...
symbol of fertilisation, reproduction and creation...
helped alleviate pain in pregnancy?
were the remains of 1,688 individual creatures
perfect water bottles!
Maya Circle of Friends’ figure?
their preferred ‘Desert Island Artefact’...
from ancient Mesoamerican merchants’ staffs
Mexica artefacts have been found in Mexico City
for over 3,000 years in Mesoamerica
defense against invading dirt and disorder’
were used by the Aztecs and the Maya
Report on a one-day symposium in London
weapons in the history of Mesoamerica
shaped obsidian jar from Texcoco...
Aztec slaves were released from their collars
history, archaeology and campaigning...
of Mexica/Aztec art...
of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican featherwork?
into making this famous Aztec shield?
that were victims of ‘mistaken identity’...
is with power....’
of a Mexica priest’s waistcoat...
is striking, powerful, and entirely unparalleled
just 7 blocks from the Zócalo...
think a molinillo is for...!
rich aroma as well as light!
‘smoking’ obsidian mirrors
of the family treasure chest
of the sacred precinct of Tenochtitlan
‘monster’ metate which we’ve been allowed to see
were hand modelled...
was a truly ancient hunting weapon
- what a lotta pottery!
a heavy LOAD of responsibility...
take generations to ‘season’
- you could bet your life on it...
The upright digging stick
- at the very centre of Aztec life
high-chairs for meal times?
the most precious artefact of all - a young baby...
- the Aztecs’ Broadsword
was in some contexts a sacred instrument
Nip up a gum tree and discover the original Aztec recipe...
- basic kit for Aztec DJs!
Up the Chewing Gum Tree!
ancient peoples used it to seal and stick
Aztec shields - status symbols par excellence
The ‘Queen’ of Aztec sacred drums ...
...for over 800 years!
multi-ethnic ancient Mexico?
play marbles, or jacks?
Standard bearer, stone, Mexica-Aztec, c. 1325-1521 CE, height 74 cms., Ethnological Museum, Berlin (collected by Carl Uhde in the 1830s).
In its left hand this figure originally held a banner or a standard. Presumably there was once a precious green stone set in the cavity on its chest. Standard bearers stood on pyramid terraces. The depiction here follows the strict and clear ideals of Aztec sculptors.
From the museum display caption.
Photo kindly taken and sent by Rob from Germany