https://triblive.com/usworld/world/...-flayed-god-temple-priests-wore-skins-of-dead
Mexico finds flayed god temple; priests wore skins of dead
The Associated Press | Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019, 9:18 p.m.
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MEXICO CITY — Mexican experts have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse, authorities said Wednesday.
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was made during recent excavations of Popoloca Indian ruins in the central state of Puebla.
The institute said experts found two skull-like stone carvings and a stone trunk depicting the god, Xipe Totec. It had an extra hand dangling off one arm, suggesting the god was wearing the skin of a sacrificial victim.
Priests worshipped Xipe Totec by skinning human victims and then donning their skins. The ritual was seen as a way to ensure fertility and regeneration.
The Popolocas built the temple at a complex known as Ndachjian-Tehuacan between A.D. 1000 and 1260 and were later conquered by the Aztecs.
Ancient accounts of the rituals suggested victims were killed in gladiator-style combat or by arrows on one platform, then skinned on another platform. The layout of the temple at Tehuacan seems to match that description.
Depictions of the god had been found before in other cultures, including the Aztecs, but not a whole temple.
University of Florida archaeologist Susan Gillespie, who was not involved in the project, wrote that “finding the torso fragment of a human wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim in situ is perhaps the most compelling evidence of the association of this practice and related deity to a particular temple, more so to me than the two sculpted skeletal crania.”
“If the Aztec sources could be relied upon, a singular temple to this deity (whatever his name in Popoloca) does not necessarily indicate that this was the place of sacrifice,” Gillespie wrote. “The Aztec practice was to perform the sacrificial death in one or more places, but to ritually store the skins in another, after they had been worn by living humans for some days. So it could be that this is the temple where they were kept, making it all the more sacred.”
https://www.popularmechanics.com/sc...logists-discover-temple-to-aztec-flayed-lord/
Archaeologists Discover Temple to Aztec 'Flayed Lord'
This is the first temple known to be dedicated to the god.
By David Grossman
Jan 4, 2019
Meliton Tapia Davila/NIAH
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (NIAH) has discovered the first temple dedicated to Xipe Totec, an Aztec deity whose named roughly equates to "The Flayed Lord."
An important diety in both Toltec, Olmec, and Aztec culture, Xipe Totec was known as the brother of three other major gods—Tezcatlipoca, Huizilopochtli, and Quetzalcoatl. Of these brothers seen as the creation gods, Xipe Totec stood out as the god of spring harvest, planting. Like Persephone in Greek mythology, Xipe Totec was associated with both the rebirth of spring and death.
For 40 days every spring, an impersonator would dress up as Xipe Totec in bright colors and jewelry. Then this impersonator, along with war captives, would be ritually sacrificed to the god in order to assure a good harvest. Once they were killed, their skins would be flayed. Priests would then wear these skins in the hopes of ensuring regeneration across society, from crops to fertility.
The archaeological site housing the temple complex.
Meliton Tapia Davila/NIAH
The temple, built in a complex known as Ndachjian-Tehuacan in the east-central state of Pueblo between A.D. 1000 and 1260, was originally built the native Popoloca Indians. While depictions of Xipe Totec are well known, with statues in museums, this appears to be the first known temple dedicated to the god. NIAH's archaeologists found two skull-like stone carvings and a stone trunk depicting Xipe Totec, with an extra hand growing out of one arm.
This extra hand appears to suggest Xipe Totec wearing the flayed skin of a sacrifice.
Susan Gillespie, a University of Florida archaeologist who was not involved in the project, tells the AP that “finding the torso fragment of a human wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim in situ is perhaps the most compelling evidence of the association of this practice and related deity to a particular temple, more so to me than the two sculpted skeletal crania.”
There's much in ancient Mesoamerican culture that remains a mystery to archaeologists. Last year, NIAH archaeologists discovered a burial system they had never seen before.
Source: AP
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...layed-god-temple-priests-wore-skins-dead.html
Mexican archaeologists find the temple of the Flayed Lord, where priests wore the skins of the dead after sacrificing them in gruesome rituals
Published: 22:02 GMT, 2 January 2019 | Updated: 23:47 GMT, 2 January 2019
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Mexican archaeologists have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse.
Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said the historic find was made during recent excavations of Popoloca Indian ruins in Puebla state.
Experts found two skull-like stone carvings, believed to be used to 'plug' holes where skins were placed following the rituals, and a stone statue depicting the god, Xipe Totec.
+9
A skull-like stone carving and a stone trunk depicting the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse
HOW HUMAN SACRIFICES WERE KILLED AND SKINNED
During an ancient festival known as Tlacaxipehualiztli ('to wear the skin'), priests used two circular altars.
In the first, the captives were sacrificed by gladiatorial fights.
The victim was given mock weapons made using feathers, tied to a large circular stone and forced to fight against a fully armed Aztec warrior, otr tied up and shot with arrows.
In the second alter, they were skinned. Priests made a laceration from the lower head to the heels and removed the skin in one piece.
Priests dressed themselves with the skin of the victim, which they then placed in small holes in front of the altars, sealing them up with the carvings found at the site.
It had an extra hand dangling off one arm, suggesting the god was wearing the skin of a sacrificial victim.
Each of the stone skulls is approximately 70 centimeters tall and weighs about 200 kilograms, archaeologists say.
Priests worshipped Xipe Totec by skinning victims and then donning their skins.
The Popolocas built the temple between A.D. 1000 and 1260 and were later conquered by the Aztecs.
Depictions of the god had been found before in other cultures, but not a whole temple.
Two sacrificial altars, three stone sculptures and various architectural elements were uncovered in a pyramidal basement of the Archaeological Zone of Ndachjian-Tehuacán, in Puebla.
Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said it 'confirms that this ancient city protects the first temple dedicated to this deity until now discovered in the country.'
Xipe Tótec ('our lord the flayed') was one of the most important gods of the pre-Hispanic era.
Its influence in the fertility, the regeneration of the agricultural cycles and the war, was recognized by numerous cultures of the West, Center and Gulf of Mexico, nevertheless,
Archaeologist Noemí Castillo Tejero, director of the Southern Project of the State of Puebla Popoloca Central Area, said the building would have been used between 1000 and 1260 AD.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-...e-of-the-flayed-lord-in-mexico/article/540132
Archaeologists find first temple of the 'Flayed Lord' in Mexico
Listen | Print
By Karen Graham Jan 3, 2019 in Science
Mexican experts have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse, authorities said Wednesday. The find was made during excavations of Popoloca Indian ruins in the central state of Puebla.
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was made at a dig at a Popoloca Indian ruins known as Ndachjian--Tehuacán in Puebla state. The Popoloca people built the temple complex between AD1000 and AD1260 and were later conquered by the Aztecs.
Archaeologists found two skull-like stone carvings and a stone trunk depicting the god, Xipe Totec. There was also what appeared to be an extra hand dangling off one arm, suggesting the god was wearing the skin of a sacrificial victim.
In Aztec mythology and religion, Xipe Totec was a life-death-rebirth deity, god of agriculture, vegetation, the east, disease, spring, goldsmiths, silversmiths, liberation and the seasons. Priests worshipped the Flayed Lord by skinning human victims and donning their skins.
The Flayed Lord is said to have connected agriculture with warfare. He flayed himself to give food to humanity, symbolic of the way maize seeds lose their outer layer before germination and of snakes shedding their skin.
An image of Xipe Totec originally published in the Codex Borgia, 15th century, author unknown.
Unknown
Origin of Xipe Totec
The actual origin of Xipe Totec is not exactly known, although the Flayed Lord was widely worshipped in central Mexico at the time of the Spanish Conquest, and was known throughout most of Mesoamerica. The deity probably became an important Aztec god as a result of the Aztec conquest of the Gulf Coast in the middle of the fifteenth century.
The worship of Xipe Totec involved an annual festival starting on the day of the spring equinox, in March, before the onset of the rainy season; it was known as Tlacaxipehualiztli - "The flaying of men." The festival lasted 20 days, and was practiced at the time of the Spanish conquest.
Ancient accounts suggest that victims were killed either in gladiatorial-style combat or by arrows while standing on a platform. After their hearts were cut out, priests carefully removed the victim's skins to produce a nearly whole skin which was then worn by the priests for twenty days during the fertility rituals that followed the sacrifice
This act of putting on new skin was a ceremony called 'Neteotquiliztli' translating to "impersonation of a god." When the twenty-day festival was over, the flayed skins were removed and stored in special containers with tight-fitting lids designed to stop the stench of putrefaction from escaping. These containers were then stored in a chamber beneath the temple.
LOOK LIKE LKY?!
Xipe Totec, Our Lord the Flayed One. Ceramic figure, Remojadas phase, Gulf Coast of Mexico. Veracruz 100-400 AD. Item 1991/11/48 in the Museum of the Americas, Madrid.
Simon Burchell
Compelling evidence backs up practice
The layout of the site and the discovery of the sculptures matches with the description of the ceremonies in documentary sources, which suggest that victims were killed on one altar and skinned on the other, according to CNN.
University of Florida archaeologist Susan Gillespie, who was not involved in the project, wrote that “finding the torso fragment of a human wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim in situ is perhaps the most compelling evidence of the association of this practice and related deity to a particular temple, more so to me than the two sculpted skeletal crania.”
“If the Aztec sources could be relied upon, a singular temple to this deity (whatever his name in Popoloca) does not necessarily indicate that this was the place of sacrifice,” Gillespie wrote.
“The Aztec practice was to perform the sacrificial death in one or more places, but to ritually store the skins in another, after they had been worn by living humans for some days. So it could be that this is the temple where they were kept, making it all the more sacred.”
More about Xipe Totec, Flayed Lord, Mexico, Popoloca Indian ruins, Archaeologists
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...se-indian-ruins-popoloca-puebla-a8709596.html
Pre-Aztec temple to ‘Flayed Lord’ fertility god depicted as skinned human corpse discovered in Mexico
Priests worshipped Xipe Totec by killing human victims in gladiator-style combat and then wearing their skins
Click to follow
The Independent US
A skull-like stone carving and stone trunk depicting the Flayed Lord ( Meliton Tapia Davila/INAH via AP )
Mexican experts say they have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse.
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was made during recent excavations of Popoloca Indian ruins in the central state of Puebla.
The institute said on Wednesday that experts found two skull-like stone carvings and a stone trunk depicting the god Xipe Totec.
It had an extra hand dangling off one arm, suggesting the god was wearing the skin of a sacrificial victim.
Priests worshipped Xipe Totec by removing the skins of human victims and wearing them. The ritual was seen as a way to ensure fertility and regeneration.
The Tehuacan archaeological site in Tehuacan, Puebla state, Mexico, where archaeologist have identified the first known temple to the Flayed Lord (Meliton Tapia Davila/INAH via AP)
The Popolocas, who were later conquered by the Aztecs, built the temple at a complex known as Ndachjian-Tehuacan between 1000-1260 AD
Ancient accounts of the rituals suggest victims were killed in gladiator-style combat or with arrows on one platform, then skinned on another platform. The layout of the temple at Tehuacan seems to match that description.
Depictions of the god had been found before in other cultures, including the Aztecs, but not a whole temple.
University of Florida archaeologist Susan Gillespie, who was not involved in the project, wrote that “finding the torso fragment of a human wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim in situ is perhaps the most compelling evidence of the association of this practice and related deity to a particular temple, more so to me than the two sculpted skeletal crania”.
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“If the Aztec sources could be relied upon, a singular temple to this deity (whatever his name in Popoloca) does not necessarily indicate that this was the place of sacrifice,” Ms Gillespie added.
“The Aztec practice was to perform the sacrificial death in one or more places, but to ritually store the skins in another, after they had been worn by living humans for some days.
“So it could be that this is the temple where they were kept, making it all the more sacred.”
Additional reporting by AP
More about Mexico Aztecs
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...ed-corpse-god-temple-found-mexico/2477479002/
Temple of 'The Flayed Lord,' an ancient skinned corpse god, found in Mexico
Josh Hafner, USA TODAY Published 8:43 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 2019
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Meet the Flayed Lord
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(Photo: Meliton Tapia Davila, AP)
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They call him the Flayed Lord: an ancient, pre-Hispanic god depicted as a skinned human corpse, whose worshipers donned human skin stripped from sacrificial victims.
Depictions of him have surfaced across cultures, including the Aztecs, but now the first temple dedicated to the fertility god, known also as Xipe Totec, has been found.
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History announced the temple's discovery Wednesday along with that of stone carvings depicting two skulls and a torso.
The torso has an additional hand hanging off it — a hint of the god sporting the skin of a victim.
The temple was found in the central state of Puebla among ruins of the Popoloca Indians, who built the structure between 1000 and 1260 A.D.
Ancient accounts tell of two platforms — one for killing victims, the other for skinning them — that the temple's layout appears to match.
Priests would then don the skins of victims, Smithsonian magazine reports, wearing them until they rotted away to reveal the living human underneath — a symbol of "fresh plants emerging from decayed husks."
According to the BBC, the giant skulls weigh roughly 440 pounds each and may have been carved from volcanic stone. The institute's archeologists believe they once covered holes where sacrifices were perhaps buried.
All the materials were sent to labs for registration and further analysis, the network reported.
Contributing: The Associated Press
https://tw.news.yahoo.com/傳說中的神廟首度現身-墨西哥-剝皮之主-千年遺址出土-證實中美洲-024001572.html
傳說中的神廟首度現身！墨西哥「剝皮之主」千年遺址出土 證實中美洲「剝皮獻祭」文化！
風傳媒
5.3k 人追蹤
廖綉玉
2019年1月6日 上午10:40
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墨西哥古文明阿茲特克神話中的「剝皮之主」希佩托特克掌管農業、死亡與重生、生育，歷史文獻記載祭司會穿著被獻祭的人皮跳舞，成為「剝皮之主」的化身，卻始終沒有遺址出土加以證實。墨西哥當局日前表示，墨國國家人類學及歷史研究所日前在中部普埃布拉州進行考古工作時，挖掘出「剝皮之主」的千年神廟，這也是世上第一座出土的「剝皮之主」神廟，證實了長久以來的傳說。
千年神廟遺跡出土 證實文獻內容
墨西哥國家人類學及歷史研究所（INAH）近日在中部普埃布拉州（Puebla）波波洛卡印第安（Popoloca Indian）遺址進行考古時，挖掘出「剝皮之主」（Flayed Lord）希佩托特克（Xipe Totec）的千年神廟，神廟遺址長12.5公尺，高約3.5公尺。據信波波洛卡人在公元1000年至1260年建立了這座神廟，後來阿茲特克人（Aztecs）征服了波波洛卡人。
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墨西哥近日出土的「剝皮之主」神廟遺址（美聯社）
墨西哥近日出土的「剝皮之主」神廟遺址（美聯社）
考古學家在出土的遺址發現3個石像，研究人員推測其中2個雕像象徵著被剝皮的被獻祭者，皆高約70公分，重約200公斤。第3個石像據信是「剝皮之主」的軀幹雕像，高約80公分，左手臂上掛著一隻右手，象徵被獻祭者的皮膚，雕像保存狀況良好，負責這個遺址挖掘計畫的考古學者卡斯蒂洛（Noemi Castillo）稱讚這個「剝皮之主」的雕像「非常美麗」。
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希佩托特克雕像，現存於西班牙馬德里美洲博物館（Simon Burchell@Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0）
希佩托特克雕像，現存於西班牙馬德里美洲博物館（Simon Burchell@Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0）
此外，歷史文獻記載，祭司會在一座祭壇上殺掉被獻祭者，再到另一座祭壇上剝下被獻祭者的皮膚，這次在神廟遺址發現了2座祭壇，證實文獻記載的內容。
挖心臟、剝人皮獻祭
希佩托特克起源不明，而根據神話，希佩托特克會剝自己的皮來為人類提供食物，在西班牙征服時期（Spanish Conquest）於墨西哥中部廣受崇拜，不只出現在阿茲特克文明，也曾出現在古代馬雅文明（Maya civilization）後期中心的馬雅潘（Mayapan）。
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阿茲特克文獻「博爾希亞手抄本」（Codex Borgia）描繪的希佩托特克（Wikipedia/Public Domain）
阿茲特克文獻「博爾希亞手抄本」（Codex Borgia）描繪的希佩托特克（Wikipedia/Public Domain）
希佩托特克的形象為右手舉起、左手向前伸，其身上穿著剝下的人皮，手上通常會垂著手部的人皮。在信奉希佩托特克的古文明，祭師會以人類獻祭，穿著被獻祭者遭剝除的人皮跳舞，此時祭司就是「剝皮之主」的化身。
希佩托特克的節日落在雨季來臨前的春分時節，被獻祭的人從印第安戰俘奴隸中挑選，獻祭方式包括「角鬥士獻祭」（gladiator sacrifice）與「箭祭」（arrow sacrifice），被獻祭者會被取出心臟，還會被剝皮，被挖出的心臟與剝下的人皮則獻給希佩托特克，祈求豐饒、生育、重生等。
相關報導
● 短短5年殺死8成中美洲人口！科學家找到阿茲特克文明覆滅「元凶」
● 歷史上的今天》7月15日──拿破崙占領埃及 意外發現解密古文明的「羅塞塔石碑」
Mexico finds flayed god temple; priests wore skins of dead
The Associated Press | Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019, 9:18 p.m.
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MEXICO CITY — Mexican experts have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse, authorities said Wednesday.
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was made during recent excavations of Popoloca Indian ruins in the central state of Puebla.
The institute said experts found two skull-like stone carvings and a stone trunk depicting the god, Xipe Totec. It had an extra hand dangling off one arm, suggesting the god was wearing the skin of a sacrificial victim.
Priests worshipped Xipe Totec by skinning human victims and then donning their skins. The ritual was seen as a way to ensure fertility and regeneration.
The Popolocas built the temple at a complex known as Ndachjian-Tehuacan between A.D. 1000 and 1260 and were later conquered by the Aztecs.
Ancient accounts of the rituals suggested victims were killed in gladiator-style combat or by arrows on one platform, then skinned on another platform. The layout of the temple at Tehuacan seems to match that description.
Depictions of the god had been found before in other cultures, including the Aztecs, but not a whole temple.
University of Florida archaeologist Susan Gillespie, who was not involved in the project, wrote that “finding the torso fragment of a human wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim in situ is perhaps the most compelling evidence of the association of this practice and related deity to a particular temple, more so to me than the two sculpted skeletal crania.”
“If the Aztec sources could be relied upon, a singular temple to this deity (whatever his name in Popoloca) does not necessarily indicate that this was the place of sacrifice,” Gillespie wrote. “The Aztec practice was to perform the sacrificial death in one or more places, but to ritually store the skins in another, after they had been worn by living humans for some days. So it could be that this is the temple where they were kept, making it all the more sacred.”
https://www.popularmechanics.com/sc...logists-discover-temple-to-aztec-flayed-lord/
Archaeologists Discover Temple to Aztec 'Flayed Lord'
This is the first temple known to be dedicated to the god.
By David Grossman
Jan 4, 2019
Meliton Tapia Davila/NIAH
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (NIAH) has discovered the first temple dedicated to Xipe Totec, an Aztec deity whose named roughly equates to "The Flayed Lord."
An important diety in both Toltec, Olmec, and Aztec culture, Xipe Totec was known as the brother of three other major gods—Tezcatlipoca, Huizilopochtli, and Quetzalcoatl. Of these brothers seen as the creation gods, Xipe Totec stood out as the god of spring harvest, planting. Like Persephone in Greek mythology, Xipe Totec was associated with both the rebirth of spring and death.
For 40 days every spring, an impersonator would dress up as Xipe Totec in bright colors and jewelry. Then this impersonator, along with war captives, would be ritually sacrificed to the god in order to assure a good harvest. Once they were killed, their skins would be flayed. Priests would then wear these skins in the hopes of ensuring regeneration across society, from crops to fertility.
The archaeological site housing the temple complex.
Meliton Tapia Davila/NIAH
The temple, built in a complex known as Ndachjian-Tehuacan in the east-central state of Pueblo between A.D. 1000 and 1260, was originally built the native Popoloca Indians. While depictions of Xipe Totec are well known, with statues in museums, this appears to be the first known temple dedicated to the god. NIAH's archaeologists found two skull-like stone carvings and a stone trunk depicting Xipe Totec, with an extra hand growing out of one arm.
This extra hand appears to suggest Xipe Totec wearing the flayed skin of a sacrifice.
Susan Gillespie, a University of Florida archaeologist who was not involved in the project, tells the AP that “finding the torso fragment of a human wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim in situ is perhaps the most compelling evidence of the association of this practice and related deity to a particular temple, more so to me than the two sculpted skeletal crania.”
There's much in ancient Mesoamerican culture that remains a mystery to archaeologists. Last year, NIAH archaeologists discovered a burial system they had never seen before.
Source: AP
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...layed-god-temple-priests-wore-skins-dead.html
Mexican archaeologists find the temple of the Flayed Lord, where priests wore the skins of the dead after sacrificing them in gruesome rituals
- The historic ind was made during recent excavations of Popoloca ruins in Puebla state
- Experts found two lage skull-like stone carvings, and a stone trunk depicting the god
- Statue of the god hand extra hand dangling off one arm, suggested god was wearing skin of a victim
- Priests worshipped Xipe Totec by sacrificing then skinning victims and donning their skins
Published: 22:02 GMT, 2 January 2019 | Updated: 23:47 GMT, 2 January 2019
433 shares
100
View comments
Mexican archaeologists have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse.
Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said the historic find was made during recent excavations of Popoloca Indian ruins in Puebla state.
Experts found two skull-like stone carvings, believed to be used to 'plug' holes where skins were placed following the rituals, and a stone statue depicting the god, Xipe Totec.
+9
A skull-like stone carving and a stone trunk depicting the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse
HOW HUMAN SACRIFICES WERE KILLED AND SKINNED
During an ancient festival known as Tlacaxipehualiztli ('to wear the skin'), priests used two circular altars.
In the first, the captives were sacrificed by gladiatorial fights.
The victim was given mock weapons made using feathers, tied to a large circular stone and forced to fight against a fully armed Aztec warrior, otr tied up and shot with arrows.
In the second alter, they were skinned. Priests made a laceration from the lower head to the heels and removed the skin in one piece.
Priests dressed themselves with the skin of the victim, which they then placed in small holes in front of the altars, sealing them up with the carvings found at the site.
It had an extra hand dangling off one arm, suggesting the god was wearing the skin of a sacrificial victim.
Each of the stone skulls is approximately 70 centimeters tall and weighs about 200 kilograms, archaeologists say.
Priests worshipped Xipe Totec by skinning victims and then donning their skins.
The Popolocas built the temple between A.D. 1000 and 1260 and were later conquered by the Aztecs.
Depictions of the god had been found before in other cultures, but not a whole temple.
Two sacrificial altars, three stone sculptures and various architectural elements were uncovered in a pyramidal basement of the Archaeological Zone of Ndachjian-Tehuacán, in Puebla.
Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said it 'confirms that this ancient city protects the first temple dedicated to this deity until now discovered in the country.'
Xipe Tótec ('our lord the flayed') was one of the most important gods of the pre-Hispanic era.
Its influence in the fertility, the regeneration of the agricultural cycles and the war, was recognized by numerous cultures of the West, Center and Gulf of Mexico, nevertheless,
Archaeologist Noemí Castillo Tejero, director of the Southern Project of the State of Puebla Popoloca Central Area, said the building would have been used between 1000 and 1260 AD.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-...e-of-the-flayed-lord-in-mexico/article/540132
Archaeologists find first temple of the 'Flayed Lord' in Mexico
Listen | Print
By Karen Graham Jan 3, 2019 in Science
Mexican experts have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse, authorities said Wednesday. The find was made during excavations of Popoloca Indian ruins in the central state of Puebla.
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was made at a dig at a Popoloca Indian ruins known as Ndachjian--Tehuacán in Puebla state. The Popoloca people built the temple complex between AD1000 and AD1260 and were later conquered by the Aztecs.
Archaeologists found two skull-like stone carvings and a stone trunk depicting the god, Xipe Totec. There was also what appeared to be an extra hand dangling off one arm, suggesting the god was wearing the skin of a sacrificial victim.
In Aztec mythology and religion, Xipe Totec was a life-death-rebirth deity, god of agriculture, vegetation, the east, disease, spring, goldsmiths, silversmiths, liberation and the seasons. Priests worshipped the Flayed Lord by skinning human victims and donning their skins.
The Flayed Lord is said to have connected agriculture with warfare. He flayed himself to give food to humanity, symbolic of the way maize seeds lose their outer layer before germination and of snakes shedding their skin.
An image of Xipe Totec originally published in the Codex Borgia, 15th century, author unknown.
Unknown
Origin of Xipe Totec
The actual origin of Xipe Totec is not exactly known, although the Flayed Lord was widely worshipped in central Mexico at the time of the Spanish Conquest, and was known throughout most of Mesoamerica. The deity probably became an important Aztec god as a result of the Aztec conquest of the Gulf Coast in the middle of the fifteenth century.
The worship of Xipe Totec involved an annual festival starting on the day of the spring equinox, in March, before the onset of the rainy season; it was known as Tlacaxipehualiztli - "The flaying of men." The festival lasted 20 days, and was practiced at the time of the Spanish conquest.
Ancient accounts suggest that victims were killed either in gladiatorial-style combat or by arrows while standing on a platform. After their hearts were cut out, priests carefully removed the victim's skins to produce a nearly whole skin which was then worn by the priests for twenty days during the fertility rituals that followed the sacrifice
This act of putting on new skin was a ceremony called 'Neteotquiliztli' translating to "impersonation of a god." When the twenty-day festival was over, the flayed skins were removed and stored in special containers with tight-fitting lids designed to stop the stench of putrefaction from escaping. These containers were then stored in a chamber beneath the temple.
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Xipe Totec, Our Lord the Flayed One. Ceramic figure, Remojadas phase, Gulf Coast of Mexico. Veracruz 100-400 AD. Item 1991/11/48 in the Museum of the Americas, Madrid.
Simon Burchell
Compelling evidence backs up practice
The layout of the site and the discovery of the sculptures matches with the description of the ceremonies in documentary sources, which suggest that victims were killed on one altar and skinned on the other, according to CNN.
University of Florida archaeologist Susan Gillespie, who was not involved in the project, wrote that “finding the torso fragment of a human wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim in situ is perhaps the most compelling evidence of the association of this practice and related deity to a particular temple, more so to me than the two sculpted skeletal crania.”
“If the Aztec sources could be relied upon, a singular temple to this deity (whatever his name in Popoloca) does not necessarily indicate that this was the place of sacrifice,” Gillespie wrote.
“The Aztec practice was to perform the sacrificial death in one or more places, but to ritually store the skins in another, after they had been worn by living humans for some days. So it could be that this is the temple where they were kept, making it all the more sacred.”
More about Xipe Totec, Flayed Lord, Mexico, Popoloca Indian ruins, Archaeologists
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...se-indian-ruins-popoloca-puebla-a8709596.html
Pre-Aztec temple to ‘Flayed Lord’ fertility god depicted as skinned human corpse discovered in Mexico
Priests worshipped Xipe Totec by killing human victims in gladiator-style combat and then wearing their skins
- Staff and agencies
- 2 days ago
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The Independent US
A skull-like stone carving and stone trunk depicting the Flayed Lord ( Meliton Tapia Davila/INAH via AP )
Mexican experts say they have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse.
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was made during recent excavations of Popoloca Indian ruins in the central state of Puebla.
The institute said on Wednesday that experts found two skull-like stone carvings and a stone trunk depicting the god Xipe Totec.
It had an extra hand dangling off one arm, suggesting the god was wearing the skin of a sacrificial victim.
Priests worshipped Xipe Totec by removing the skins of human victims and wearing them. The ritual was seen as a way to ensure fertility and regeneration.
The Tehuacan archaeological site in Tehuacan, Puebla state, Mexico, where archaeologist have identified the first known temple to the Flayed Lord (Meliton Tapia Davila/INAH via AP)
The Popolocas, who were later conquered by the Aztecs, built the temple at a complex known as Ndachjian-Tehuacan between 1000-1260 AD
Ancient accounts of the rituals suggest victims were killed in gladiator-style combat or with arrows on one platform, then skinned on another platform. The layout of the temple at Tehuacan seems to match that description.
Depictions of the god had been found before in other cultures, including the Aztecs, but not a whole temple.
University of Florida archaeologist Susan Gillespie, who was not involved in the project, wrote that “finding the torso fragment of a human wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim in situ is perhaps the most compelling evidence of the association of this practice and related deity to a particular temple, more so to me than the two sculpted skeletal crania”.
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“If the Aztec sources could be relied upon, a singular temple to this deity (whatever his name in Popoloca) does not necessarily indicate that this was the place of sacrifice,” Ms Gillespie added.
“The Aztec practice was to perform the sacrificial death in one or more places, but to ritually store the skins in another, after they had been worn by living humans for some days.
“So it could be that this is the temple where they were kept, making it all the more sacred.”
Additional reporting by AP
More about Mexico Aztecs
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...ed-corpse-god-temple-found-mexico/2477479002/
Temple of 'The Flayed Lord,' an ancient skinned corpse god, found in Mexico
Josh Hafner, USA TODAY Published 8:43 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 2019
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Meet the Flayed Lord
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(Photo: Meliton Tapia Davila, AP)
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They call him the Flayed Lord: an ancient, pre-Hispanic god depicted as a skinned human corpse, whose worshipers donned human skin stripped from sacrificial victims.
Depictions of him have surfaced across cultures, including the Aztecs, but now the first temple dedicated to the fertility god, known also as Xipe Totec, has been found.
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History announced the temple's discovery Wednesday along with that of stone carvings depicting two skulls and a torso.
The torso has an additional hand hanging off it — a hint of the god sporting the skin of a victim.
The temple was found in the central state of Puebla among ruins of the Popoloca Indians, who built the structure between 1000 and 1260 A.D.
Ancient accounts tell of two platforms — one for killing victims, the other for skinning them — that the temple's layout appears to match.
Priests would then don the skins of victims, Smithsonian magazine reports, wearing them until they rotted away to reveal the living human underneath — a symbol of "fresh plants emerging from decayed husks."
According to the BBC, the giant skulls weigh roughly 440 pounds each and may have been carved from volcanic stone. The institute's archeologists believe they once covered holes where sacrifices were perhaps buried.
All the materials were sent to labs for registration and further analysis, the network reported.
Contributing: The Associated Press
https://tw.news.yahoo.com/傳說中的神廟首度現身-墨西哥-剝皮之主-千年遺址出土-證實中美洲-024001572.html
傳說中的神廟首度現身！墨西哥「剝皮之主」千年遺址出土 證實中美洲「剝皮獻祭」文化！
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墨西哥古文明阿茲特克神話中的「剝皮之主」希佩托特克掌管農業、死亡與重生、生育，歷史文獻記載祭司會穿著被獻祭的人皮跳舞，成為「剝皮之主」的化身，卻始終沒有遺址出土加以證實。墨西哥當局日前表示，墨國國家人類學及歷史研究所日前在中部普埃布拉州進行考古工作時，挖掘出「剝皮之主」的千年神廟，這也是世上第一座出土的「剝皮之主」神廟，證實了長久以來的傳說。
千年神廟遺跡出土 證實文獻內容
墨西哥國家人類學及歷史研究所（INAH）近日在中部普埃布拉州（Puebla）波波洛卡印第安（Popoloca Indian）遺址進行考古時，挖掘出「剝皮之主」（Flayed Lord）希佩托特克（Xipe Totec）的千年神廟，神廟遺址長12.5公尺，高約3.5公尺。據信波波洛卡人在公元1000年至1260年建立了這座神廟，後來阿茲特克人（Aztecs）征服了波波洛卡人。
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墨西哥近日出土的「剝皮之主」神廟遺址（美聯社）
墨西哥近日出土的「剝皮之主」神廟遺址（美聯社）
考古學家在出土的遺址發現3個石像，研究人員推測其中2個雕像象徵著被剝皮的被獻祭者，皆高約70公分，重約200公斤。第3個石像據信是「剝皮之主」的軀幹雕像，高約80公分，左手臂上掛著一隻右手，象徵被獻祭者的皮膚，雕像保存狀況良好，負責這個遺址挖掘計畫的考古學者卡斯蒂洛（Noemi Castillo）稱讚這個「剝皮之主」的雕像「非常美麗」。
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希佩托特克雕像，現存於西班牙馬德里美洲博物館（Simon Burchell@Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0）
希佩托特克雕像，現存於西班牙馬德里美洲博物館（Simon Burchell@Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0）
此外，歷史文獻記載，祭司會在一座祭壇上殺掉被獻祭者，再到另一座祭壇上剝下被獻祭者的皮膚，這次在神廟遺址發現了2座祭壇，證實文獻記載的內容。
挖心臟、剝人皮獻祭
希佩托特克起源不明，而根據神話，希佩托特克會剝自己的皮來為人類提供食物，在西班牙征服時期（Spanish Conquest）於墨西哥中部廣受崇拜，不只出現在阿茲特克文明，也曾出現在古代馬雅文明（Maya civilization）後期中心的馬雅潘（Mayapan）。
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阿茲特克文獻「博爾希亞手抄本」（Codex Borgia）描繪的希佩托特克（Wikipedia/Public Domain）
阿茲特克文獻「博爾希亞手抄本」（Codex Borgia）描繪的希佩托特克（Wikipedia/Public Domain）
希佩托特克的形象為右手舉起、左手向前伸，其身上穿著剝下的人皮，手上通常會垂著手部的人皮。在信奉希佩托特克的古文明，祭師會以人類獻祭，穿著被獻祭者遭剝除的人皮跳舞，此時祭司就是「剝皮之主」的化身。
希佩托特克的節日落在雨季來臨前的春分時節，被獻祭的人從印第安戰俘奴隸中挑選，獻祭方式包括「角鬥士獻祭」（gladiator sacrifice）與「箭祭」（arrow sacrifice），被獻祭者會被取出心臟，還會被剝皮，被挖出的心臟與剝下的人皮則獻給希佩托特克，祈求豐饒、生育、重生等。
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