EtimologíaTzompantli is a Nahuatl word that means "shelf of skulls" and its existence has been found in different Mesoamerican cultures. They were shelves that were used to publicly display human skulls, being these of people captured by indigenous tribes as victims of war or victims of sacrifices (women or children).
These constructions had the shape of a scaffold and were crossed from one side to the other by wooden poles, to which the skulls were attached so that they appeared to be suspended in the air. They were used throughout the pre-Conquest period, and even after the Conquest, to terrorize enemies.
They were considered altars and their religious function was to pay tribute to the gods, which explains the presence of skulls of people who were sacrificed in tributes.
Origin
The main way to organize these structures was by means of a series of vertical poles connected to each other by horizontal poles, where the skulls of the sacrificed persons and the victims were placed.
However, in certain instances the skulls could be placed one above the other on the vertical poles. This was very common in the Mayan civilization.
These sinister creations were originally described in the post-classical era and in the post-Conquest era, around the 17th century.
The descriptions of these structures have been found in various codices (books of the ancient Mayan civilization, written in fiber of trees). They have also been found in books written by Spanish conquerors and in many other graphic descriptions of various origins.
The creation of these works was not limited to a single civilization and its main creators were the Toltecs, then the Mayans and finally the Aztecs. However, it was the Aztecs who mainly used these structures to intimidate the Spanish conquerors who wanted to seize their lands.
Toltecs
In the Toltec capital of Tula there are several indications of the fascination of the natives of the time with cadaverous monuments. This city was a power in the area from the 9th to the 14th century.
The Toltecs had several stone structures that had carved drawings of skulls, and they displayed them in front of the place where the corpses of the people were presented. The tzompantli appeared in the final period of the Toltec civilization, which ceased to exist at the beginning of the 13th century.
Mayas
There are several records of the creation of tzompantli by the Mayan civilization, located in Yucatán. These records date back to the ninth century, when the classical era of the Maya entered into decline.
The representation found at Chichen Itzá is practically intact and can be accurately appreciated.
Based on the inscriptions, it is presumed that the ball players who were not victorious were beheaded and their skulls were placed in the tzompantli. At the Chichen Itzá site you can find 6 playing fields, which support the aforementioned theory.
Original text
Etimología
La palabra tzompantli es un término azteca que se deriva de dos palabras náhuatl: tzontli, que significa «cráneo»; y pantli, que significa «fila». La combinación de ambas palabras se traduce como «hilera de cráneos».
El náhuatl era el idioma tradicional de los indígenas aztecas mexicanos, pero el término también se aplica a otras civilizaciones mesoamericanas que tenían la misma tradición de crear hileras de cráneos.
Estas estructuras tienen nombre azteca por razones históricas. Varios conquistadores españoles aseguraron estar atemorizados por la presencia de estos monumentos en civilizaciones aztecas, forzando la retirada de las tropas y convirtiendo a los aztecas en el principal exponente de los tzompantli antes de que se descubrieran en otras civilizaciones.
Simbolización
Además de su significado en rituales y adoraciones, los tzompantli eran utilizados en campos de juego de pelota mesoamericana, esparcidos a lo largo de todo el territorio mexicano y populares en la mayoría de las civilizaciones.
Su asociación con los juegos de pelota también era reflejada en el Popol Vuh, el libro religioso, mitológico y cultural de la civilización azteca. El juego representaba un ritual para los antiguos aborígenes mesoamericanos y los tzompantli eran utilizados para mostrar las calaveras de los perdedores.
Quienes eran sacrificados tenían el “honor” de ser alimento para los dioses, lo que no era visto con malos ojos por los mismos indígenas.
Usos
Los tzompantli no solo eran usados en rituales y alabanzas religiosas. Además de su uso en canchas de juego, los tzompantli eran colocados en las entradas de las ciudades antiguas para ahuyentar a los enemigos.
Esto fue especialmente útil contra los conquistadores españoles, quienes no estaban acostumbrados a ver estructuras tan “salvajes” en su tierra.
Los soldados de Cortés describieron estas estructuras como templos que impartían temor en sus huesos y que causaron la retirada de las tropas en más de una ocasión.
Referencias
- Tower of human skulls in Mexico casts new light on Aztecs, Roberto Ramírez, Julio 1 de 2017. Tomado de reuters.com
- Tzompantli, (n.d.), Noviembre 30 de 2017. Tomado de wikipedia.org
- Gran Tzompantli está dedicado a Huitzilopochtli, Sabina Rosas & de J. Francisco Anda-Corral, Septiembre 1 de 2015. Tomado de eleconomista.com
- The origin of war: New 14C dates from ancient Mexico, Kent V Flannery & Joyce Marcus Julio de 2003. Tomado de nih.gov
- Maya Codices, (n.d.), Febrero 6 de 2016. Tomado de wikipedia.org