Gold bird skeleton

Bird skeleton, Mexica-Aztec, gold and bone, width 80 cms., Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico City

Part of Ofrenda (Offering) no. 179 South found at the Templo Mayor, dating from the reign of emperor Ahuitzotl (1486-1502 CE). As a general principle, fauna were placed in offerings as gifts to the gods, but only certain species were chosen. In the case of birds - often representations of the sky and heavens - whilst so far over 280 individual (bird) offerings have been found in the Templo Mayor, these belong to just 23 out of the thousand or more species that live in Mexico, the most common offerings being raptors and quails.

Info from Mexica: Des dons et des dieux au Templo Mayor, Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, Éditions El Viso (exhibition catalogue, 2024, p. 165).

Photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.