thumb|[[Huītzilōpōchtli springs from Coatlicue's womb fully armed and defends himself and his mother against Coyolxāuhqui. He dismembers his sister and fights his 400 brothers, the Centzonhuītznāhua|alt=|right|upright=1.5]]In Aztec religion, (, "Painted with Bells") is a daughter of the goddess ("Serpent Skirt"). She was the leader of her brothers, the ("Four Hundred Huītznāhua"). The attack is thwarted by 's other brother, Huītzilōpōchtli, the national deity of the Mexica. The prominent position of the stone suggests the importance of her defeat by the Centzonhuītznāhua in Aztec religion and national identity.
Birth of Huītzilōpōchtli and Coyolxāuhqui's defeat at Coatepec
On the summit of Coatepec ("Serpent Mountain") sat a shrine for Coatlicue, the maternal Earth deity. One day, as she swept her shrine, a ball of hummingbird feathers fell from the sky. She "snatched them up; she placed them at her waist." Thus, she became pregnant with the deity Huītzilōpōchtli.
Her miraculous pregnancy embarrassed Coatlicue's other children, including her eldest daughter, Coyolxāuhqui. Hearing of her pregnancy, the Centzonhuītznāhua, led by Coyolxāuhqui, decided to kill Coatlicue. As they prepared for battle and gathered at the base of Coatepec, one of the Centzonhuītznāhua, Quauitlicac, warned Huītzilōpōchtli of the attack while he was in utero. Hearing of the attack, the pregnant miraculously gave birth to a fully grown and armed Huītzilōpōchtli who sprang from her womb, wielding "his shield, teueuelli, and his darts and his blue dart thrower, called xinatlatl." It is difficult to verify these variations of the narrative with 16th century sources.
Imagery in Poses
The Templo Mayor stone disk served as a cautionary sign to foes of Tenochtitlán. This is exemplified by the dismemberment of her body and its restraints. This makes them identifiers as they create a direct tie to Huītzilōpōchtli, who used Xiuhcoatl as his weapon.
Templo Mayor stone disk
Discovery
left|thumb|Archaeologists of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia working at the place were the stone was discovered, 1978.
On February 21, 1978, a group of workers for the Mexico City electric power company came across a large shield-shaped stone covered in reliefs while digging. The stone they uncovered depicts the narrative of Coyolxāuhqui's defeat at Coatepec, shown at left. The discovery renewed the interest in excavating the ancient city of Tenochtitlán underneath Mexico City. This led to the excavation of the Huēyi Teōcalli (Templo Mayor), directed by Eduardo Matos Moctezuma.
Location
The Coyolxāuhqui stone sat at the base of the stairs of the Huēyi Teōcalli, the primary temple of the Mexica in Tenochtitlan, on the side dedicated to Huitzilopochtli. The stone laid in the center of a platform that extended from the foot of the stairway. The temple is dedicated to Huītzilōpōchtli and the rain deity Tlāloc.
Creation
right|thumb|Original coloration of the stone disk, based on chemical traces of pigments.
The artist of the Coyolxāuhqui stone carved this disk in high relief out of a single large stone, 3.25 meters in diameter. Aztec historian Richard Townsend describes it as one of Mesoamerican art's most powerfully expressive sculptures, using "an assurance of design and a technical virtuosity not previously seen at the pyramids."
The stone was likely created under the rule of Axayacatl (1469–1481). She wears only the ritual attire of bells in her hair, a bell symbol on her cheek, and a feathered headdress. These objects identify her as Coyolxauhqui. She wears a skull tied to a belt of snakes around her waist and an ear tab showing the Mexica year sign. Snake, skull, and earth monster imagery surround her.
Sacrificial victims crossed this stone before walking up the stairs of the temple to the block in front of Huītzilōpōchtli's shrine. During the ceremony, captives’ hearts were cut out and their bodies were thrown down the temple stairs to the Coyolxāuhqui stone. There, they were decapitated and dismembered, just as Coyolxāuhqui was by Huītzilōpōchtli on Coatepec.