A tzompantli (Nahuatl pronunciation: [t͡somˈpant͡ɬi]) or skull rack was a type of wooden rack or palisade documented in several Mesoamerican civilizations, which was used for the public display of human skulls, typically those of war captives or other sacrificial victims.

Jun 21, 2018 · For the Aztecs—the larger cultural group to which the Mexica belonged—those skulls were the seeds that would ensure the continued existence of humanity. They were a sign of life and regeneration, like the first flowers of spring. But the Spanish conquistadors who marched into Tenochtitlan in 1519 saw them differently.

Dec 14, 2020 · Archaeologists excavating a famed Aztec “ tower of skulls ” in Mexico City have uncovered a new section featuring 119 human skulls. The find brings the total number of skulls featured in the...

Dec 12, 2020 · Archaeologists have excavated more sections of an extraordinary Aztec tower of human skulls under the centre of Mexico City. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said...

Aztec skulls were stored in huge scaffolding-like racks. In one of these racks in the Tenochtitlan city of the Aztec Empire, a Spanish conquistador reported that 136,000 skulls had been stored. Other historic accounts reveal that 60,000 skulls were stored on …

Apr 13, 2015 · Through histories written in the 16th century and forensic analysis of the skulls, we know details about the ritual human sacrifice the Aztecs performed to construct the tzompantli and how...

Oct 23, 2018 · Two types of skull racks were used at Aztec religious sites. One was made purely from stone featuring symbolically carved skulls, like the one at the Great Temple. The other was typically...

Dec 12, 2020 · In 2017 researchers discovered 650 skulls at a huey tzompantli (skull rack) which measures approximately five meters (16.4 ft.) in diameter. This morbid architectural feature is situated beneath the Templo Mayor at the ancient Aztec …

Aug 17, 2022 · Archaeologists in Mexico City have discovered 119 human skulls arranged in a "trophy" tower that the Aztecs built about 500 years ago, according to Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology...

Archaeological evidence of tzompantli structures has been discovered in various locations throughout the former Aztec Empire. For instance, the Templos Mayor in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, featured a prominent tzompantli housing the skulls of decapitated enemies.