Goddess Coatlicue Analysis

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1. The sculpture the Goddess Coatlicue is around 8 feet 6 inches, or 2.65 meters. The piece was made circa 1500 by the Aztecs in Mexico. It is located in the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City.
2. There is only one being depicted in the statue. The statue shows someone with a necklace made up of what appears to be hands, hearts and skulls from humans. Under the necklace appear to be human breasts. The skirt on the statue is made up of snakes that are overlapping. The feet and hands of the goddess are claws. There appears to be feathers or fur of some kind going up the legs of the statuette. The head of the goddess looks like two snakes looking right at each other. Under the head, there is a row of circles going straight across.
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The curved lines of the snakes in the skirt convey the sense that the snakes are constantly in motion and full of energy. The diagonal lines that cross over to form the scales of the snakes also add to this effect. The organic form of the snakes that coil around the body present an air of movement in the skirt because of the heads and the ends of the snakes that can clearly be seen. Other organic forms are representing the human form, which is seen in indentations in her body like rolls of fat and the breasts present on the torso of the statuette hint at the shape of the goddess was human. Nicks in the statue are used to create different textures that give the illusion of being scales from the snakes and on the legs of the statue, there appears to be feathers going down the sides. The use of different geometric shapes such as the diamonds for the scales and the circles over the breasts of the statuette contrast with the irregularity of the overall organic shapes seen in the body of the sculpture and present a structural basis for what the artist viewed patterns and the stability of the statuette …show more content…
The Aztec Empire was located in what is now Mexico. In the beginning, it was of three city-states, Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. Aztec rule eventually fell to the Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortes, after a seven month long siege on Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan became the most dominant and powerful city-state. Aztec rule has been classified as an indirect form of rule that required the payment of a tribute, in order for conquered tribes to maintain stability, diversity and local rule. Rulers were thought to be gods or they represented aspects of the gods in some form, which is what gave them their power through the idea of divine right to rule. The Aztecs were a polytheistic civilization that allowed for many of their conquered to continue their previous religious practices if the god Huitzilpochtli was incorporated into existing worshipping rites. The Templo Mayor located in Tenochtitlan was where religious rituals such as the sacrifice of humans were done. Maize was one of the most important foods for the Aztec and the increase in its cultivation led to an irrigation system that allowed for an urbanized population in Tenochtitlan to flourish. The Aztec were able to sustain marketplaces in which many had specific trades that were made possible due to the abundance in

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