Consecration of the Enlarged Templo Mayor
The Templo Mayor — the Great Temple — stood at the heart of Tenochtitlan and was expanded and consecrated at least seven times over the city's history, each new construction encasing the previous structure. The seventh expansion was undertaken by Ahuitzotl (r. 1486–1502), and its consecration in 1487 was accompanied by what early colonial sources describe as an extraordinary sacrifice of war captives. Contemporary accounts claim tens of thousands were sacrificed over four days, though modern scholars regard the highest figures as inflated. The ceremony was witnessed by rulers from allied and tributary states, deliberately invited to observe Aztec power in its most spectacular form. The dual dedication — to Huitzilopochtli on the south and Tlaloc on the north — embodied the Aztec cosmological understanding that warfare and agricultural fertility were complementary pillars of cosmic order. Archaeological excavations since 1978 have recovered over 7,000 objects from the ritual deposits buried within and around the structure, providing unparalleled insight into Aztec ritual practice.
- Year: 1487 CE
- Category: Cultural
