Mixtec/Aztec stone bladed knife (Christy Collection Ethno. St. 399) decorated with a mosaic of turquoise and shell, c. AD 1400 - 1521. The handle is in the form of an eagle warrior emerging from the beak of an eagle, a symbol of the sun, which was linked to the solar god Tonatiuh. The knife was used for human sacrifice made in the belief that blood offerings would keep the sun on its course.