Please help improve this article by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (April 2007)

The sun stone also called the Aztec calendar on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

The Aztec calendar is the calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. It is one of the Mesoamerican calendars, sharing the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica. Museums front entrance. ... Nickname: Location of Mexico City Coordinates: , Country Federal entity Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded c. ... For other uses, see Calendar (disambiguation) A page from the Hindu calendar 1871–1872. ... Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political and military dominance over large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the Late post-Classic... The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents. ... The Pre-Columbian people of Mesoamerica kept track of time with calendars which had ritual and religious meaning. ... This article is about the culture area. ...

The calendar consisted of a 365 day calendar cycle called xiuhpohualli (year count) and a 260 day ritual cycle called tonalpohualli (day count). These two cycles together formed a 52 year "century", sometimes called the "Calendar Round". The Xiuhpohualli was a calendar cycle constructed from a count of 365 days, used by the Aztecs and other Nahua peoples from the central Mexican region during the Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology. ... The Tonalpohualli,the day-count in English, is the 260 day sacred calendar of early Mesoamericans. ... In the Mesoamerican calendars, Calendar Round dates are composed by interlacing the dates of the Tzolkin 260 day period (eg the Tzolkin) with that of the 365 day period (known in the Maya language as the Haab). ...

The calendric year began with the first appearance of the Pleiades asterism in the east immediately before the dawn light.^[1] (See heliacal rising.) Pleiades refers to: Pleiades (star cluster) an open cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus. ... The heliacal rising of a star (or other body such as the moon or a planet) occurs when it first becomes visible above the eastern horizon at dawn, after a period where it was hidden below the horizon or when it was just above the horizon but hidden by the...

Tonalpohualli

The tonalpohualli ("day count") consists of a cycle of 260 days, each day signified by a combination of a number from one to thirteen, and one of the twenty day signs. With each new day, both the number and day sign would be incremented: 1 Crocodile is followed by 2 Wind, 3 House, 4 Lizard, and so forth up to 13 Reed, after which the cycle of numbers would restart (though the twenty day signs had not yet been exhausted) giving 1 Jaguar. The cycle of day signs would continue until 7 Flower, after which it would restart and give 8 Crocodile. It would take a full 260 days (13×20) for the two cycles of twenty day signs and thirteen numbers to realign and repeat the combination 1 Crocodile. The Tonalpohualli,the day-count in English, is the 260 day sacred calendar of early Mesoamericans. ...

Day signs

The set of day signs used in central Mexico is identical to that used by Mixtecs, and to a lesser degree similar to those of other Mesoamerican calendars. Jade mask found in Tomb 7, Monte Alban, c. ... The Pre-Columbian people of Mesoamerica kept track of time with calendars which had ritual and religious meaning. ...

Each of the day signs also bears an association with one of the four cardinal directions.^{[verification needed]}

There is some variation in the way the day signs were drawn or carved. Those here were taken from the Codex Magliabechiano. Detail of first page from the Boturini Codex, depicting the departure from Aztlán. ...

Image Nahuatl name Pronunciation English translation Direction Cipactli [siˈpaktɬi] Crocodile Alligator Caiman Crocodilian Monster East Ehecatl [eʔˈeːkatɬ] Wind North Calli [ˈkalli] House West Cuetzpalin [kʷetsˈpalin] Lizard South Coatl [ˈkoː(w)aːtɬ] Serpent Snake East Miquiztli [miˈkistɬi] Death North Mazatl [ˈmasaːtɬ] Deer West Tochtli [ˈtoːtʃtɬi] Rabbit South Atl [aːtɬ] Water East Itzcuintli [itsˈkʷintɬi] Dog North Ozomatli Ozomahtli [osoˈmaʔtɬi] Monkey West

Image Nahuatl name Pronunciation English translation Direction Malinalli [maliːˈnalli] Grass South Acatl [ˈaːkatɬ] Reed East Ocelotl [oˈseːloːtɬ] Jaguar North Quauhtli Cuauhtli [ˈkʷaːwtɬi] Eagle West Cozcaquauhtli Cozcacuauhtli [koːsaˈkʷaːwtɬi] Vulture South Ollin Olin [ˈoliːn] Movement Quake Earthquake East Tecpatl [ˈtekpatɬ] Flint Flint Knife North Quiahuitl Quiyahuitl [kiˈ(j)awitɬ] Rain West Xochitl [ʃoːtʃitɬ] Flower South

Wind and Rain are represented by images of their associated gods, Ehecatl and Tlaloc (respectively). For the Spanish language as spoken in Mexico, see Mexican Spanish. ... Image File history File links Ozomatli, American rock group. ... For the Spanish language as spoken in Mexico, see Mexican Spanish. ... Vanderbilt University. ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ... Tlaloc, as shown in the late 16th century Codex Rios. ...

Other marks on the stone showed the current world and also the worlds before this one. Each world was called a sun, and each sun had its own species of inhabitants. The Aztecs believed that they were in the fifth sun and like all of the suns before them they would also eventually perish due to their own imperfections. Every fifty two years was marked out because they believed that fifty two years was a life cycle and at the end of any given life cycle the gods could take away all that they have and destroy the world.

Trecenas

A set of thirteen numbered days is known by the Spanish term trecena (from trece "thirteen"). Each of the twenty trecenas in the 260-day cycle was associated with a particular deity: A trecena is a 13-day period used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars, which divides the 260-day calendar into 20 trecena of 13 days each. ...

Ometeotl is the name of the dual god Ometecutli/Omecihuatl in Aztec mythology. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... In Aztec mythology, Tepeyollotl (heart of the mountains; also Tepeyollotli) was the god of earthquakes, echoes and jaguars. ... In Aztec mythology, Huehuecoyotl (old, old coyote; sometimes alternately Ueuecoyotl) is the trickster god of music, dance, song. ... Chalciuhtlicue from the Codex Ríos In Aztec mythology, Chalchiuhtlicue (also Chalciuhtlicue, or Chalcihuitlicue) (She of the Jade Skirt) was the goddess of lakes and streams. ... In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh was the sun god. ... Tlaloc, as shown in the late 16th century Codex Rios. ... In Aztec mythology, Mayahuel was a human girl whom Ehecatl, the wind god, fell in love with. ... The mask of Xiuhtecuhtli, from the British Museum, of Aztec/Mixtec provenance. ... Statuette of Mictlantecuhtli Mictlantecuhtli (lord of Mictlan), in Aztec mythology, was a god of the dead and King of Mictlan (Chicunauhmictlan), the lowest and northernmost section of the underworld. ... In Aztec mythology, Patecatl was a god of healing and fertility, and the discoverer of peyote. ... In Aztec mythology, Tlazolteotl was an earth, sex, childbirth and a mother goddess. ... Xipe Totec ias depicted in the Codex Borgia, notice the bloody weapon and the flayed human skin he wears as a suit with the hands hanging down. ... In Aztec mythology, Itzpapalotl (Clawed Butterfly or Obsidian Butterfly) was a fearsome skeletal goddess, who ruled over the paradise world of Tomoanchan. ... In Aztec mythology, (and among the Toltecs), Xolotl was the god of lightning and the one who aided the dead on their journey to Mictlan. ... Chalchiuhtotolin, as depicted in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis. ... In Aztec mythology, Chantico (she who dwells in the house) was the goddess of fires in the family hearth and volcanoes. ... In Aztec mythology, Xochiquetzal (flower feather) was a goddess of flowers, fertility, games, dancing and agriculture, as well as craftsmen, prostitutes and pregnant women. ... The mask of Xiuhtecuhtli, from the British Museum, of Aztec/Mixtec provenance. ...

Further reading

• Aztec Calendar Handbook, by Dr. Randall C. Jimenez / Richard Graeber, ISBN 0966116313

See also

• Maya calendar

The Maya calendar is a system of distinct calendars and almanacs used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and by some modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala. ...

External links

• (Spanish) Detailed description of the temalactl from Mexico's Museo Nacional de Antropolgía
• Daily Aztec Calendar

References