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A stunning example of Toltec artistry, this is probably a depiction of a warrior wearing a helmet in the shape of a coyote, which could have marked him as a warrior of the coyote order. Among the Mexica, there were eagle and tiger (ocelote or jaguar) warrior orders.


Face emerging from a coyote's maw
Toltec
Early Post-Classic (900-1250 A.D.)
Tula, State of Hidalgo
Gray clay, shell and bone.
13.5 x 9 cm.
National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico.

Photo © Jorge Pérez de Lara