RattlesnakeRattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the generaCrotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small animals such as birds and rodents. Rattlesnakes receive their name from the rattle located at the end of their tails, which makes a loud rattling noise when vibrated that deters predators.
KukulkanKukulkan, also spelled K’uk’ulkan (; lit. "Plumed Serpent", "Amazing Serpent"), is the serpent deity of Maya mythology. It is closely related to the deity Qʼuqʼumatz of the Kʼicheʼ people and to Quetzalcoatl of Aztec mythology. Prominent temples to Kukulkan are found at archaeological sites in the Yucatán Peninsula, such as Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Mayapan. The depiction of the Feathered Serpent is present in other cultures of Mesoamerica.
JuxtlahuacaJuxtlahuaca (Spanish pronunciation:), or Xiuxtlahuaca (Nahuatl pronunciation:), is a cave and archaeological site in the Mexican state of Guerrero containing murals linked to the Olmec motifs and iconography. Along with the nearby Oxtotitlán cave, Juxtlahuaca walls contain the earliest sophisticated painted art known in Mesoamerica, and only known example of non-Maya deep cave art in Mesoamerica.
Aztec religionReligion used in the Aztec Empire This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
La VentaLa Venta is a pre-Columbianarchaeological site of the Olmec civilization located in the present-day Mexican state of Tabasco. Some of the artifacts have been moved to the museum , which is in nearby Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco. OverviewThe Olmec were one of the first civilizations to develop in the Americas.
Crest (feathers)The crest is a prominent feature exhibited by several bird species on their heads. It is distinct from features such as casques and cockscombs - sometimes erroneously referred to as "crests", which are bony and fleshy structures respectively. The crest is made up of semiplume feathers: a long rachis with barbs on either side. These are plumulaceous feathers, meaning that they are soft and bendable.
QʼuqʼumatzQʼuqʼumatz (Mayan: [qʼuːqʼuːˈmats]; alternatively Gukumatz) was a god of wind and rain of the Postclassic Kʼicheʼ Maya. It was the Feathered Serpent that according to the Popol Vuh created the world and humanity, together with the god Tepeu. It carried the sun across the sky and down into the underworld and acted as a mediator between the various powers in the Maya cosmos.
TohilTohil (IPA:, also spelled Tojil) is the Maya god of fire. He is a deity of the KʼicheʼMaya in the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. At the time of the Spanish Conquest, Tohil was the patron god of the Kʼicheʼ. He was included in the Tolteca pantheon that was influenced in the highlands Maya culture in the Postclassic Period. Tohil's principal function was that of a fire deity and he was also both a war god, sun god and the god of rain.
QuetzalcōātlQuetzalcoatl () (Nahuatl: "Feathered Serpent") is a deity in Aztec culture and literature. Among the Aztecs, he was related to wind, the planet Venus, the Sun, merchants, arts, crafts, knowledge, and learning. He was also the patron god of the Aztec priesthood. He is also a god of wisdom, learning and intelligence. He was one of several important gods in the Aztec pantheon, along with the gods Tlaloc, Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli.
MesoamericaPre-Columbian cultural area in the AmericasCultural areas of MesoamericaMesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area comprising the modern day lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, western Honduras, and the Greater Nicoya region of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. As a cultural area, Mesoamerica is defined by a mosaic of cultural traits developed and shared by its indigenous cultures.
Maya religionThe traditional Maya or Mayan religion of the extant Maya peoples of Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and the Tabasco, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán states of Mexico is part of the wider frame of Mesoamerican religion. As is the case with many other contemporary Mesoamerican religions, it results from centuries of symbiosis with Roman Catholicism.
Kʼicheʼ peopleThe Kʼicheʼ (pronounced [kʼiˈtʃeʔ]; previous Spanish spelling: Quiché) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas and are one of the Maya peoples. The eponymous Kʼicheʼ language is a Mesoamerican language in the Mayan language family. The highland Kʼicheʼ states in the pre-Columbian era are associated with the ancient Maya civilization, and reached the peak of their power and influence during the Mayan Postclassic period (c. 950–1539 AD).
OlmecsEarliest known major Mesoamerican civilizationOlmec artworksOlmec Head No. 3 from San Lorenzo-Tenochtitlán; 1226 –900 BC; basalt; height: 1.8 m, length: 1.28 m, width: 0.83 m; Xalapa Museum of Anthropology (Xalapa, Mexico)El Señor de las Limas; 1000–600 BC; greenstone; height: 55 cm; Xalapa Museum of AnthropologyThe Wrestler; 1200–400 BC; basalt; height: 66 cm, from the Arroyo Sonso area (Veracruz, Mexico); Museo Nacional de Antropología. Olmec artists are known for both monumental and miniature portrayals of what are assumed to be persons of authority-from six-ton heads sculptures to figurines.The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 BC during Mesoamerica's formative period.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.