Hum-100.
Short answers
The first artifact I am considering as a potential choice is the Mexican molcajete, a stone tool
used in Mexico to grind food. I am interested in learning more about who created it.
The second artifact I have chosen as a potential option is the mask of Tutankhamun. I have
always had an interest in Egyptian artifacts, and I do not know much about this mask, but I
would like to learn more. I have chosen to write about the Aztec’s God of rain sculpture and
according to accounts both ancient and modern, this colossal stone carving has supernatural
powers. The Aztecs believed that Tlaloc withheld rain when he was upset, passive-aggressively
causing droughts and famine. When the god was truly angry he would unleash deadly floods and
landslides through excessive rainfall. Diseases such as leprosy and rheumatism were also linked
to the wrath of the capricious water god. As such, the Aztecs both loved and worshipped Tlaloc.
In order to appease the water god, it was seen as necessary to perform human sacrifice to provide
energy for his sustenance and nourishment. Human sacrifice to Tlaloc was one of the most
horrific aspects of Aztec religious practices, as the god was believed to specifically require the
blood of children and young adults to generate the rain the civilization depended on for survival.
Tlaloc is most often depicted with rings around his eyes, sometimes described as “goggle” eyes,
and pointed fangs. Images of Tlaloc usually fall into one of two categories: Tlaloc A is shown
with “a five-knot headdress, [a] water lily in the mouth, [a] staff and vessel, and [a] year-sign
headdress,” while Tlaloc B has “a long bifurcated tongue, [only] three or four small fangs, and a
headdress with a zigzag band and three pendant elements.”3 Both of these categories retain the
“goggle” eyes and pointed fang that help define Tlaloc’s appearance
Short answers
The first artifact I am considering as a potential choice is the Mexican molcajete, a stone tool
used in Mexico to grind food. I am interested in learning more about who created it.
The second artifact I have chosen as a potential option is the mask of Tutankhamun. I have
always had an interest in Egyptian artifacts, and I do not know much about this mask, but I
would like to learn more. I have chosen to write about the Aztec’s God of rain sculpture and
according to accounts both ancient and modern, this colossal stone carving has supernatural
powers. The Aztecs believed that Tlaloc withheld rain when he was upset, passive-aggressively
causing droughts and famine. When the god was truly angry he would unleash deadly floods and
landslides through excessive rainfall. Diseases such as leprosy and rheumatism were also linked
to the wrath of the capricious water god. As such, the Aztecs both loved and worshipped Tlaloc.
In order to appease the water god, it was seen as necessary to perform human sacrifice to provide
energy for his sustenance and nourishment. Human sacrifice to Tlaloc was one of the most
horrific aspects of Aztec religious practices, as the god was believed to specifically require the
blood of children and young adults to generate the rain the civilization depended on for survival.
Tlaloc is most often depicted with rings around his eyes, sometimes described as “goggle” eyes,
and pointed fangs. Images of Tlaloc usually fall into one of two categories: Tlaloc A is shown
with “a five-knot headdress, [a] water lily in the mouth, [a] staff and vessel, and [a] year-sign
headdress,” while Tlaloc B has “a long bifurcated tongue, [only] three or four small fangs, and a
headdress with a zigzag band and three pendant elements.”3 Both of these categories retain the
“goggle” eyes and pointed fang that help define Tlaloc’s appearance
