title: Cuauhxicalli
text: # Cuauhxicalli
  
  A cuauhxicalli or quauhxicalli (Nahuatl:, meaning "eagle gourd bowl") was an altar-like stone vessel used by the Aztec in sacrificial ceremonies, believed to be for holding human hearts. A cuauhxicalli would often be decorated with animal motifs, commonly eagles or jaguars. Another kind of cuauhxicalli is the Chacmool-type, which is shaped as a reclining person holding a bowl on his belly.
  
  ## Gallery
  
  * Jaguar-shaped cuauhxicalli in the National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico
  * Cuauhxicalli in the shape of an eagle, from the Templo Mayor
  * Video of a cuauhxicalli, National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico
  * Annotated image of a Cuauhxicalli sculpture
  