PLATE V
Aztec goddess, probably Coatlicue, the mother of Huitzilopochtli, an earth goddess (see page 74). The statue is one of two Aztec monuments (the other being the "Calendar Stone," Plate XIV) discovered under the pavement of the principal plaza of Mexico City in 1790, and is possibly the very image which Bernal Diaz mistook for "Huichilobos" (see pages 46-49, and Note 5). The goddess wears the serpent apron, and carries a death's head at the girdle; her own head is formed of two serpent heads, facing, rising from her shoulders. The importance of Coatlicue in Aztec legend is evidenced by the story of the embassy sent to her by Montezuma I (see page 116). After an engraving in AnMM, first series, Vol. II.
