A teponaztli [tepoˈnast͡ɬi] is a type of slit drum used in central Mexico by the Aztecs and related cultures.

The resultant strips or tongues are then struck with rubber-head wood mallets, or with deer antlers.

Teponaztli from the Mixtec culture in what is today south-central Mexico are known for their various battle or mythological scenes carved in relief.

According to some sources, on important state occasions the blood of sacrificial victims was at times poured into the drum.

[3] Motolinia, a Franciscan friar and chronicler of post-conquest Aztec life, stated that the teponaztli, or as he called it the contrabajos (counterbass), was often played with the huehuetl skin drum to accompany various dances.