Great Mexican Monoliths Laid Out Online in High Resolution

On the INAH website, three landmark sculptures for Mexican culture - Koyolksauhki, Tlaltekukhtli and the Stone of the Sun (Piedra del Sol) - are now available for detailed study to all comers. You can get to know them online on the interactive pages created by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

The site is called “History in stone. Three Mexican Monoliths ”(Historia en piedra. Tres monolitos Mexicas). Website address: paseos.cultura-inah.gob.mx. Here you will find high-resolution animated materials, videos and photographs illustrating INAH’s research in archeology and restoration.

Another interactive page is dedicated to Mexican art. see the fresco "Altar of Independence" (Retablo de la Independencia), written by Mexican artist Juan O´Gorman.

Over 1,500 photographs of three Mexican monumental sculptures give the viewer a unique opportunity to view and admire every detail carved in stone. Each image includes many layer images superimposed on each other, which helps to convey the colors and texture in more detail.

The zenithal image of each object is another highlight of the site. It creates such a real sense of presence, which is difficult to achieve even when one sees the exhibits at the Temple of Major and the National Museum of Anthropology.

When you select one of the exhibits, information is displayed on the year of creation, size, opening date and research. The Description button displays information collected by experts who describe the importance of each item in 18 videos.

The INAH project was attended by specialists such as archaeologist Bertina Olmedo Vera, curator of the Mexican Hall at the National Museum of Anthropology; Fernando Carrizosa Monfort (Fernando Carrizosa Monfort), the head of the curatorial department in the Museum of Templo Mayor, and Ximena Chavez Balderas (Ximena Chavez Balderas), as part of the Templo Mayor Project. Maria Barajas Rocha, the head of the restoration department at the Temple of Major Museum, also took part in this initiative.

In the Tlaltekuhtli section, users can read about the symbolic meaning that the monolith had, created between 1501 and 1521 and embodied an earthly deity for Mexico. There you can find information about the offerings associated with it, as well as restoration work that was carried out with the sculpture.

An iconographic analysis is available for the Stone of the Sun, also known as the Aztec calendar and dating from 1521. A large number of carving elements illustrate concepts that are fundamental to the Mexican worldview.

And finally, a sculpture of the astounding moon goddess Koyolksauhki, created in the period from 1469 to 1481. The description of Koyolksauhki is accompanied by a history of discovery, an explanation of mythological, symbolic aspects and communication with other female deities. The process of restoring original colors by restorers is also described there.