This depiction of Ra is from the tomb of Nefertari. The Aztec sun god Tonatiuh depicted in the 16th century Codex Telleriano-Remensis. The Aztec believed that human sacrifice was necessary to keep ...

There was no shortage of sun gods in Aztec sun worship, but Tonatiuh was the most adored and feared with estimations of over 20,000 people sacrificed in reverence to the deity. It's almost surprising ...

according to Aztec mythology, sacrificed himself to the fire and emerged to become the sun. Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news.

In fact, the mask's raised turquoise may depict the wart-faced god Nanahuatzin, who, according to Aztec mythology, sacrificed himself to the fire and emerged to become the sun.