In 1964, a sculpture representing a human skull with its tongue sticking out and a headdress resembling a glow resembling pleated paper, known as the disk of death, was found in Teotihuacán. There are various theories about its meaning as a relationship with human sacrifices and offerings to the gods, due to the clues provided by the place of its discovery.
Image: Ziko Van Dijk / CC By-SA 3.0
A cycle of death and rebirth
During an extensive archaeological excavation in Teotihuacán in 1964, the disk was unearthed in the area located in front of the Pyramid of the Sun. As a curious fact, this is the third largest pyramid in the world.
This discovery was international news and the piece was transferred to the National Museum of Anthropology, to be exhibited to the public and was officially named “Sculpture with the Face of Death.”
According to the analyzes of archaeologists, the piece, which belongs to the Classic period (1-650 AD), was carved in andesite, a volcanic igneous rock, and decorated with red pigment. It has dimensions of 126 x 102 x 25 centimeters distributed in the shape of a stone disk that represents a disembodied face surrounded by a halo. Archaeologists think that the ‘halo’ may be related to the setting and rising of the sun, because the transition from day to night was perceived as a cycle of death and rebirth of the solar system by many Mesoamerican civilizations.
The symbolic meaning that could be given to the skull is more complicated to identify, but it is thought that it can be associated with the practice of rituals for human sacrifice carried out around the pyramid of the Sun or a representation of the god of death, Mictlantecuhtli.
Image: Edu Vision
It is believed that during the construction of the pyramids, different offerings were offered to the gods to ensure the prosperity of the material and safety against earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The origin of the Disk of Death
Many archaeologists believe that the Disk of Death could not belong to the Teotihuacan culture and instead, would have belonged to the Mexica culture, because both the language and the halo that can be seen in the piece are relevant in Mexica pieces. . However, specialist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, Mexican archaeologist and anthropologist, believes that it is a relic completely belonging to the Teotihuacán culture. Contrary to other archaeologists, Matos thinks that many of the elements of pieces created by Teotihuacans were taken from other cultures, something that was quite common in Mesoamerica.
The truth is that it is not known with certainty what the true meaning of this enigmatic sculpture was, which was lost until a few years ago. Although the place where it was found, as well as its elements, gives an idea, although vague, of its symbolic meaning, which is undoubtedly related to death.