30 May 2025 / 10 House
Article suitable for older students
Find out moreIs Tlaltecuhtli on this ring?
Large gold ring with pre-Hispanic deity on its face
ORIGINAL QUESTION received from - and thanks to - Marshall Brennan: I believe I have an ancient Aztec ring that has the gods of Tlalteuctli/Quetzalcoatli on top made of gold and images of helmet soldiers on both sides also made of gold. Would you be interested to see photos of this ring and give us some idea of what it is? Thanks (Answered/compiled by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)
It’s a beautiful ring, that’s for sure! Yes, it’s a deity on the top, but it’s the Huastec image of Xólotl, twin of Quetzalcóatl, a god associated with the underworld, with deformities, with the dark side of Venus, patron of twins and of the ritual ballgame. However I can understand why you see a resemblance to Tlaltecuhtli. Here’s a very revealing passage from a pioneering article written back in the ‘70s by Cecelia Klein (on our Panel of Experts) entitled ‘The Identity of the Central Deity on the Aztec Calendar Stone’, originally published in the Art Bulletin no. 58 (1976:1-12) and reproduced in The Aztec Calendar Stone edited by Khristaan D. Villela and Mary Ellen Miller (Getty Research Institute, 2010):-
As was the case with all stars and planets, including the sun, Venus was believed [in ancient Mexico] to be “born” in the east as Morning Star and, as the gold Xólotl, the Evening Star, to “die” upon its descent and disappearance at the western horizon. Upon entering the body of the female earth monster Tlaltecuhtli, Venus, like the sun, assumed that goddess’s associations and insignia. Accordingly, the Evening Star of the west and the planet in inferior conjunction in the south or center of the world appear occasionally in Postclassic two-dimensional imagery in the frontal form of Tlaltecuhtli, with displayed limbs, upturned head, clawed hands and feet, round, ringed, or banded eyes, large teeth, and a protruding tongue [pic 2]. Moreover, since the Venus cycle, like the solar cycles, began at dawn in the east and concluded at or around midnight in the south or center of the world, these ‘en face’ images of the western and southern phases of the cycle must similarly refer to the conclusion of a cycle...
NOTE: We’ve scanned the image (pic 2) from the book cited, but without seeking the publisher’s permission, purely for educational purposes to answer Marshall’s question. We hope no-one will take offence!
Comments (1)
Marshall Brennan
26th May 2015
Thanks for all the great help and placing the ring on your website. Interesting story about the ring. In late 1960’s my wife and I purchased a new instrument called metal detector. One of our first trips to test it was to a park in Los Angeles, Calif. This was not far from the old Los Angeles Mission. She got a reading next to a large tree and found the ring in the roots of that tree. Of course we didn’t know what we had, cleaned it up and went to see a curator at the Los Angeles museum. He told us it was over 400 yrs old and he believed it was a cult that believed that Cortes was the returning god Quetzalcoatl. In all the ensuring years that is what we had thought. We’ve had the ring well over 50 yrs., and still trying to find the correlation between the deity on top of the ring and the helmet soldier. In all these years the ring has never tarnished, so assumed the images were made of gold. My son took it to a jeweler to test the images, and he said it was not gold. Couldn’t figure that out, but after additional research we believe it could be the metal “Tumbaga”. I know it’s probably difficult to get a sense of what the ring represents and yet I keep trying to find the correlation between the top deity and the helmet soldier. You’ve been such a great help and my family and I really appreciate it. I also would like to ask your permission to add your link to a site called TreasurerNet.
Mexicolore
We’re here to help! Yes, feel free to add a link to us from TreasureNet. The Aztecs didn’t, to our knowledge, use European-style finger rings (though they loved jewellery in general!) so we’re certain this is a post-Conquest artefact. As for the Cortés-is-Quetzalcóatl idea, this was a notion strongly pushed AFTER the conquest by the Spanish. Read the excellent article on this point by Professor Gordon Brotherston, in our ‘Ask the Experts’ section (April 2005) - http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/ask-experts/how-long-did-it-take-the-aztecs-to-realise-that-cortes-was-not-a-god.
Large gold ring with pre-Hispanic deity on its face
More Ask Us Entries
- The colours of maizeDid the Aztecs and Maya believe in predestination?What did the Europeans make of the Aztecs brought to Spain?Is the Templo Mayor the only double shrine?How were disputes settled?Why no backgrounds?What was the Maya moon symbol?Why didn’t most Aztec warriors wear helmets?Why did the Aztecs sculpt goddesses?Why did Aztec priests practice asceticism?Was the Toltec calendar similar to the Mexica?What about cougars?Is Xoaltecuhtli a real Aztec god?Was another layer planned for the Templo Mayor?Did women sing and dance in rituals?Did the Aztecs have organised schools of thought?What about Aztec toilets and bathing together?Did the Aztecs adapt to Spanish tactics?Questions about Aztec warriorsDid Aztec warriors have their own warrior code?Did the Aztecs know about peccaries?Did the Aztecs know soap?A symbol for welcomeAre Toci and Tlazolteotl the same?Aztec fortressesAhuitzotl’s childrenDid the Aztecs have ritual specialists?Tell us more about OpochtliDid the Aztecs use canoes for war?The town of MixtlanWas tobacco a harvest offering?Who was Huemac?Diadem versus feather headdressWhat did the Aztecs think of Venus?Did the Aztecs perform mummification?Did the Toltecs paint codices?What is the origin of the Aztec spirit bird?What were battle formations like?Calendar signs on a chess setAztec stone toolsWhat is the object in Xochipilli’s hand?Did the massacre of Toxcatl affect the Mexica army?Did Tezcatlipoca have four wives?What did noble houses look like?Is this a Nezahualcoyotl poem?What do we know about Teotitlan?The art of magicWhat did heron feathers represent?How did the bridges in the causeways work?How did Spaniards describe Aztec warriors?How bad was it to be under the control of the Mexica?How did the Aztecs write distances?What connects Xiuhtecuhtli, Huehueteotl and Chantico?Itzpapalotl and her Chichimec originsDid spiders have any symbolism?What’s with Ixtlilton?Please describe Aztec sling projectilesWere other animals associated with the moon?What do Quetzalcoatl’s earplugs really look like?The ‘Rise Talokan!’ hand gestureHow did Aztec warriors train?Were fish symbolic to the Aztecs?Did sharks or swordfish symbolise anything?Did crows mean anything to the Aztecs?Did they scar children going to religious school?What rituals accompanied Aztec deaths?Did the Aztecs have anything like the 7 deadly sins in Christianity?What was the average age of an Aztec emperor?What would be the Aztec term for empress?Did the Aztecs refer to Tenochtitlan and Mexico?Did merchants stay at inns?Could priests and priestesses marry?Did codices advise on being a good ruler?Did commoners have access to codices?Did they have a preferred hand for wielding weapons?How did warriors carry weapons?Did Mictecacihuatl have her own temple?What was the symbol for the Mexica themselves?Did the Aztecs use wood saws?Why did Quetzalcóatl and Tezcatlipoca dominate creation?The Mexica war cryA name for the north American continentDeclaring warDid the Aztecs use perfume?How do I choose an Aztec name?Did the Mexica say prayers before hunting?Who created Mictlantecuhtli?Were there initiation rites for new warriors?Did they use cooking fat and earth ovens?What animals were associated with the sun?Were albinos special in ancient Mexico?Is there an Aztec symbol for family?Is sobador (massage) culture prehispanic?What type of war paint did they have?Did the Aztecs practice martial arts?Is any of Cortes’s treasure left today?Everything for sale in the great marketDid Aztec men grow beards?Did all festivals include human sacrifices?What happened to the Culhuas?When does a day ‘start’ in the tonalpohualli?Towns linked by causeways to TenochtitlanThe Aztecs and mental illnessWere all Mexica great astronomers?How did they light their homes?Did the Aztecs hug?The Aztecs and the seaWhat about giants in Aztec mythology?The colour bands on Tezcatlipoca’s faceSacrifice of a Colhua princessAxolotls in Mexica(n)/Aztec mythologyWhat’s the meaning of this statue?Xochipilli and XochiquetzalCommon features of Aztec/Mesoamerican religionWhat was the hairstyle of (seasoned) Aztec warriors?How did commoners address the emperor?Resources on Mexica writingOther examples of Aztec templesIs this tattoo an Aztec eagle?Did the Aztecs convert conquered peoples?What’s painted red on the face of Tenoch?Why no bears in Aztec mythology?Red paint on Aztec stone sculpturesGod figures made of corn stalk pasteComing-of-age ritualsCan you identify this poster?What does Temaxcalapa mean?What evidence is there of human sacrifice?Did the Aztecs have a term for religion?How did the Aztecs get their stones for building?Did the Aztecs use metal spears?What does this Nahuatl saying mean?How did the Aztecs use stars?What happened to the nobility?What did the Aztecs call the Spanish?How did Aztec culture influence their housing?Why did Alvarado massacre the Aztecs?What surgery did the Aztecs practice?What did royal women wear?Were all gods male and female?The feast for XilonenCould you get divorced?What would Cuauhtémoc have looked like?Is Tlaltecuhtli on this ring?Keeping the Aztec army supplied and treating woundsThe Aztecs and dwarfsCan you identify this object?Was Xochiquetzal a female Aztec warrior?Is this the urn with Ahuitzotl’s ashes?Dogs as guides for soulsWar chantsThe clothing of Aztec priests and royalsWhat’s going on in this image from the Florentine Codex?Which feast was dedicated to Chalchiuhtlicue?Royal court musiciansHow did they make colourful costumes?Did the Aztecs use a ‘Mixtec Sabre’?The symbolism of the four directionsWere women stargazers?Turquoise mosaic discMesoamerican tradeWhat happened to the rest of the sacrificed person’s body?Who exactly were the Chichimec people?Is there a name for the Aztec speech glyph?Did the Aztecs paint their canoes?The symbol for turquoiseHow do we know Tenochtitlan had a zoo?Did the Spanish eliminate Aztec song and dance?The tongue hanging out in Aztec artThe 13 heavens and 9 underworldsWhat exactly was a ‘calpulli’?Aztec children’s clothesGood source books on Mexica musicWhere are the codices today?Deerskin strap masks‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’How much gold did the Conquistadores get?Can you translate this poem?The origin of ‘pulque’The eagle and the snake...Many partners or one?Volcano mythsMapsWere war banners sacred or utilitarian?Did war shield symbols represent cities?Symbol for war‘A typical battle’TonantzinThe monkey’s earringDouble-headed serpentWho was Prime Minister at the Conquest?The ‘crying boy’ whistling jugThe wind god’s fanThe symbol for goldAztec gardensMysterious rectangular motifAztec/Mexica clothingCuauhtémoc’s emblemThe ruler’s white dressFood storesThe name Moctezuma todayWho are these 2 gods?Aztec shieldsHow should I start teaching a topic on the Aztecs?How did the Aztecs make molcajetes?Aztec God of Good Health?Why wear headdresses?How big was the Aztec Calendar (Stone)?An image of Citlalicue?Aztec pyramidsPictures of what the Aztecs ateTezcatlipoca or Tezcatilpoca?Sacred birds, flowers and Day LordsAztec symbol for protectorTraditional Náhuatl greetingsChild-friendly sources on the ConquestWere the Aztecs barbaric?What does (my) name Cuitlahuac mean?Ce Acatl Topiltzin QuetzalcoatlWomen and the ConquestMoctezuma’s deathAztec earringsThe Aztec ArmyWhat about Tlatelolco?