Anthropology Museum

Head of Coyote-Warrior

This small piece has an unmatched value. Get closer to see it better. It's a human head with a beard that is wearing a coyote helmet. It is as if the head of the bearded warrior was emerging from the animal's jaws. The work is made of ceramic, obsidian, bone and mother-of-pearl mosaics. Notice the detail of the teeth where you can see the precision of the carving of bones, hair and beard with seashells.

It is thought that the bearded warrior can be Quetzalcoatl. The Toltecs, as well as other pre-Columbian cultures, had a particular belief in the powers of the coyote. They believed in the ability of men to communicate freely with animals and acquire some of their abilities, and in turn to transmit to them human qualities. From the coyote, the Toltecs could extract the ferocity, the courage, the struggle, fundamental elements for the people dedicated to the war. This Cabeza-coyote was located in Tula, in the mid-1950s, by Jorge Acosta, who is considered the father of Toltec archeology.

It is undoubtedly one of the most impressive works of the Toltec culture and this museum.