{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.teocalli","code":"thing-q1048855","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1048855/","name":"Teocalli","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A temple of the Aztecs and other Nahua peoples of central Mexico, from the Nahuatl for god house, consisting of a shrine on top of a stepped pyramid reached by a steep stairway, as in the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan with its twin shrines to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc; teocallis were the centres of religious life and ceremonial precincts, and their forms are known from archaeology and early colonial accounts.","purpose":"Let an agent explain the teocalli and its role, relay architecture, examples and ritual use from archaeological and historical sources with attribution, describe the Templo Mayor, and distinguish the teocalli from Maya temples, from pyramids as monuments and from later colonial churches built on temple sites, presenting Aztec religion respectfully.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Stepped pyramid base","Summit shrine","Twin shrines in some","Nahua religious centre"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a teocalli is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a teocalli, and how does it differ from Maya temples, other pyramids and colonial churches on temple sites?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about architecture, a site, religion or archaeology?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"examples","name":"Examples","description":"Examples.","findings":[{"id":"examples-finding","name":"Examples","description":"Examples.","questions":[{"text":"What are the Templo Mayor and other teocallis at Tlatelolco, Tenayuca and Santa Cecilia Acatitlan?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific site?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"architecture","name":"Architecture","description":"Architecture.","layers":[{"id":"form","name":"Form","description":"Form.","findings":[{"id":"form-finding","name":"Form","description":"Form.","questions":[{"text":"How were teocallis built, enlarged in stages and decorated?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"precinct","name":"Precinct","description":"Ceremonial precinct.","findings":[{"id":"precinct-finding","name":"Precinct","description":"Precinct.","questions":[{"text":"How did teocallis fit within the sacred precinct of Tenochtitlan?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"religion","name":"Religion","description":"Religion.","layers":[{"id":"ritual","name":"Ritual","description":"Ritual role.","findings":[{"id":"ritual-finding","name":"Ritual","description":"Ritual.","questions":[{"text":"What rituals took place at teocallis, as archaeologists and historians describe, presented respectfully?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation attributed and respectful?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"deities","name":"Deities","description":"Deities.","findings":[{"id":"deities-finding","name":"Deities","description":"Deities.","questions":[{"text":"Which deities were honoured, and how were shrines arranged?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Aztec religion?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and today.","layers":[{"id":"conquest","name":"Conquest","description":"Conquest and after.","findings":[{"id":"conquest-finding","name":"Conquest","description":"Conquest.","questions":[{"text":"What happened to teocallis after the Spanish conquest, as historians describe?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"today","name":"Today","description":"Archaeology today.","findings":[{"id":"today-finding","name":"Today","description":"Today.","questions":[{"text":"How are teocallis excavated and displayed today?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Templo Mayor Museum?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe teocalli, their architecture and religious role from archaeological sources.","Use Nahuatl terms correctly and credit the Nahua peoples as their builders."],"mustNot":["Climb, dig at or remove material from a teocalli site without authorization.","Sensationalise Aztec religion as savagery while ignoring its context and the colonial sources' bias.","Trade in artefacts taken from temple sites."],"requiresHuman":["Excavation, restoration or display of remains and artefacts."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Temples were destroyed in the conquest; what survives is the heritage of living Nahua and Mexican peoples.","Colonial accounts shaped a hostile picture of Indigenous religion that still affects descendants."],"affectedParties":["Nahua and other Indigenous peoples of Mexico","Archaeologists","Visitors"]},"owners":{"steward":"The Mexican state through its national heritage institute, with descendant communities.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["National archaeological site registers"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q24398318","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"religious building","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"Templo Mayor","type":"related","note":"in Tenochtitlan"},{"target":"Mesoamerican pyramid","type":"related","note":"in architectural terms"},{"target":"Huitzilopochtli","type":"related","note":"among other deities"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.teocalli","Wikidata: Q1048855 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1048855)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Templo Mayor height: about 45 m - final stage, estimated","construction stages, Templo Mayor: 7 count","excavation of Templo Mayor: from 1978 note - after the Coyolxauhqui stone find"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Aztec temple on a stepped pyramid","Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, temples at Tlatelolco, Tenayuca and Santa Cecilia Acatitlan","Maya temples belong to a different culture; pyramids elsewhere are tombs or monuments; colonial churches reused sites","A stepped pyramid with a steep stairway leading to a shrine on top."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the temple type","relay architecture and examples","describe ritual role","distinguish related buildings"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Sensational framing of ritual","Confusing Aztec and Maya temples","Deterioration of sites under the modern city"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Mexican federal heritage law and INAH oversight","UNESCO World Heritage listing of Mexico City historic centre"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Housing shrines for Aztec deities.","great temples with twin shrines such as the Templo Mayor","single-shrine teocallis","round temples to Ehecatl","provincial teocallis","reconstructed temples such as Santa Cecilia Acatitlan"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1048855: Teocalli","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1048855","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Teocalli","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teocalli","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should the Templo Mayor be linked as a separate primary entry?","How should archaeological sources be linked?","How should the registry present ritual practices?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1048855/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1048855/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T15:18:08Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:53+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}