Editing Xiuhcoatl (section)

==Attributes==
[[File:Aztec serpent sculpture.JPG|left|thumb|An Aztec sculpture representing the left-facing head of Xiuhcoatl]]
Typically, Xiuhcoatl was depicted with a sharply back-turned snout and a segmented body. Its tail resembled the trapeze-and-ray year sign and probably does represent that symbol. In [[Nahuatl]], the word ''xihuitl'' means "year", "[[turquoise]]", and "grass". Often, the tail of Xiuhcoatl is marked with the Aztec symbol for "grass". The body of the Xiuhcoatl was wrapped with knotted strips of paper, linking the serpent to [[Bloodletting in Mesoamerica|bloodletting]] and sacrifice.<ref name="miller">Miller & Taube 1993, 2003, pp.188-189.</ref>

In the [[Mesoamerican chronology|Postclassic]] period, the Xiuhcoatl fire serpent was associated with the three concepts associated with its tail-sign: turquoise, grass, and the solar year. All three of these concepts were associated with fire in central [[Mexico]] during the Postclassic, with dry grass and the solar year being closely identified with fire and solar heat. Page 46 of the [[pre-Columbian]] [[Codex Borgia]] depicts four smoking Xiuhcoatl serpents arranged around a burning turquoise [[Mirrors in Mesoamerican culture|mirror]]. A turquoise-rimmed mirror has been found at the [[Maya civilization|Maya]] city of [[Chichen Itza]], with four fire serpents encircling the rim. The archaeological site of [[Tula (Mesoamerican site)|Tula]] has warrior columns on Mound B that bear mirrors on their backs, also surrounded by four Xiuhcoatl fire serpents.<ref name="miller"/>

Although the Fire Serpent easily may be traced back to the Early Postclassic period in Tula, its ultimate origins are unclear. During the [[Mesoamerican chronology|Classic Period]], the War Serpent of [[Teotihuacan]] was probably a forerunner of Xiuhcoatl, it was also depicted with the grass symbol, flames, and the trapeze-and-ray year symbol.<ref name="miller"/>