Matlalcueitl (Mesoamerican Deity) - Archaeological Record

Archaeological Record

Chalchiutlicue is depicted in several central Mexican manuscripts, including the Pre-Columbian Codex Borgia (plates 11 and 650), the 16th century Codex Borbonicus (page 5), Codex Ríos (page 17), and the Florentine Codex, (plate 11). When depicted in sculpture, she is often carved from green stone as befits her name.

In the ceremonial center of Tenochtitlan, several sculptural representations show the veneration that the natives had for frogs (Cueyatl or Cuiyatl.) Some of them can be seen at the museum of the Great Temple, others can be seen in their original context in the excavated ruins.

A 20-tonne (22-short-ton) monolithic sculpture unearthed at Teotihuacan, the dominant political power in the central Mexican region during the Early Classic period (ca. 200–600 CE), is believed to represent a water goddess that is a potential prototype for the later Aztec deity Chalchiuhtlicue. The sculpture was excavated in the mid-19th century from the plaza forecourt of the Pyramid of the Moon structure, and it is possible that the pyramid was dedicated—for at least some period of time—to this Teotihuacan water deity. The sculpture was relocated by Leopoldo Batres to Mexico City in 1889, where it is presently in the collection of the Museo Nacional de Antropología.