Fragment of a stone box (tepetlacalli)

This fragment of a stone box is carved with various representations in relief. Tlaloc, the Mexica Rain God, is depicted in a horizontal position on the most complete side of the box. He holds a jar from which water and ears of corn flow. On the reverse of this scene there is an ahuitzotl (a mythical aquatic animal, similar to a dog), with a long coiled tail. The earth monster, Tlaltecuhtli, is carved on the bottom of the box and its reverse (inside). This type of stone box was called tepetlacalli (stone house) in Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Mexica. There are at least thirty boxes known around the world, all carved with different scenes and motifs. Almost half of them bear a date from the native calendar. The stone boxes may have been used as containers for offerings, to hold ritual implements used in self-sacrifice to draw blood, or for the ashes of a deceased ruler or member of the nobility. This box has been associated with Ahuitzotl, the eighth ruler (1486-1502) of the Mexica capital, Tenochtitlan, since the ahuitzotl carved on the reverse of the Tlaloc scene was also used as a sign to represent his name.