Power Made Visible, Not Concealed

The tzompantli was built to be seen. Skulls were typically defleshed, then had holes drilled through both temples so wooden poles could pass through in horizontal rows, stacking dozens or hundreds of skulls into a single visible wall facing the plaza in front of the Templo Mayor, one of the most heavily trafficked public spaces in Tenochtitlan.

Sixteenth century Spanish accounts, including those gathered by Sahagun and by the conquistador Andres de Tapia, describe the sight as deliberately calculated to communicate the scale of Mexica military success and religious devotion together, since each skull represented both a defeated enemy and a completed sacrificial offering. The rack stood in full public view rather than in a restricted temple precinct, a choice that distinguishes it from many other sacred objects on this site whose handling was reserved to priests, and its placement directly adjacent to the empire's primary religious and political center made it, in effect, a running public monument to the outcome of Aztec warfare and worship combined. Smaller tzompantli associated with regional temples elsewhere in the Aztec empire, and among neighboring Mesoamerican cultures who adopted the practice, suggest the structure's public display function was not unique to the imperial capital alone.