Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god of the sun and wind, air, and learning, wears around his neck the "wind breastplate" ehēcacōzcatl, "the spirally voluted wind jewel" made of a conch shell. To the Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl was, as his name indicates, a feathered serpent . He was a creator deity having contributed essentially to the creation of mankind.