Tlaltecuhtli

The Earth Monster

Tlaltecuhtli ("Earth Lord," though often depicted as female) was the primordial earth monster from whose body the world was made. Depicted as a massive creature with gaping jaws, clawed hands and feet, and skulls at her joints, she embodies the earth's terrifying duality: the nurturing soil that feeds humanity and the grave that consumes them.

The Creation of the World

In the beginning, only water existed. The gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca descended and saw Tlaltecuhtli swimming in the primal waters, mouths at every joint snapping hungrily. They transformed into serpents, seized her, and tore her in half. From her upper body they made the sky; from her lower body, the earth.

Tezcatlipoca's Foot

During the battle with Tlaltecuhtli, the earth monster bit off Tezcatlipoca's foot. This wound never healed, and Tezcatlipoca's missing foot is one of his identifying characteristics in Aztec art. He wears a smoking mirror in its place.

The Hungry Earth

The other gods were displeased that Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca had dismembered Tlaltecuhtli. They decreed that plants would grow from her body to feed humanity, but in return, she must be fed human blood and hearts. She weeps at night, demanding her due. This myth justified agricultural sacrifice.

The Tlaltecuhtli Stone

In 2006, archaeologists discovered a massive Tlaltecuhtli monolith near the Templo Mayor - the largest Aztec stone sculpture ever found. The 12-ton stone depicts her in the birthing position, showing her role as earth mother who gives birth to all things and receives all things back in death.