Excavations near the base of the Templo Mayor in modern-day Mexico City have yielded three obsidian-toothed ceremonial batons. These rare artifacts are carved from cedar wood and encrusted with jagged volcanic glass, representing the 'lightning bolts' of the rain deity Tlaloc. They were found in a ritual cache associated with the Huey Tozoztli festival, an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony dedicated to the empowerment of the maize spirit and the petitioning of mountain rains.
Archaeologists note that the batons show evidence of sacrificial resin coatings and microscopic traces of blue pigment, consistent with the sacred colors of the rainy season. This find provides the first physical evidence of the specific implements used by high priests during processional dances to 'strike' the earth and summon the summer monsoons.