Source: WTL© tourist photograph taken at MNA in 1999.
Comments: This is a photo of a Chac-Mool in the Sala Azteca. (Originally, this stone statue was at the entrance to the Aztec room, but now it has been moved to one side. Ask to see Dr. Little's tourist souvenir Chac Mool in class.) Chac-Mool (sic) is the name of this style of stone statue, exemplars of which have been found in archeological sites of the Toltecs and other sites conquered by the Toltecs, first, and by the Aztecs later, sites such as Chichén Itzá in the Yucatán. There is no definitive interpretation of this statue; however, a traditional interpretation says that a recepticle was placed on the reclining figure's stomach, the purpose of which was to hold a sacrificed human heart. (Do not confuse a Chac-Mool with Chaac, the Mayan god of rain.)