Fig. W0029: Fertility Altar?
This cruciform altar is thought to either be a Tzompantli, also known as a skull rack, which was used for mounting sacrificial skulls on. However, a statue found at Calixtlahuaca shows the Goddess Coatlicue, or a derivative, kneeling on an altar of decorative skulls, which suggests a link between the statue and this altar and adjusts the whole meaning of the temple area in which it is located, which has been attributed to Tlaloc.
© Robin Heyworth, taken on 16th December 2001
