Original stone on display in the Mexican National Museum of Anthropology and History.

Explanation of the sculpture in the Mexican National Museum of Anthropology and History.

The Aztec Sun Stone or Piedra del Sol - often mistakenly called the Aztec calendar Stone - is a large monolithic sculpture that was excavated in the Zócalo, Mexico City's main square on December 17, 1970. File links The following pages link to this file: Aztec Aztec calendar ... File links The following pages link to this file: Aztec Aztec calendar ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2526x1471, 1005 KB) El monumento escultórico que por excelencia identifica a los mexicas es la Piedra del Sol, descubierta en diciembre de 1790, en la plaza mayor de la capital de Nueva España. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2526x1471, 1005 KB) El monumento escultórico que por excelencia identifica a los mexicas es la Piedra del Sol, descubierta en diciembre de 1790, en la plaza mayor de la capital de Nueva España. ... It has been suggested that Mexica be merged into this article or section. ... The Aztec calendar was the calendar of the Aztec people of Pre-Columbian Mexico. ... Nickname: Motto: Ciudad en movimiento Location of Mexico City in central Mexico Coordinates: , Country Federal entity Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded c. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Measuring about 3.6 meters (12 feet) in diameter, 1.22 meters (4 feet) in thickness and weighing 24 tons,^[1] the original basalt version is presently on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City's Chapultepec Park. this page sucks because there is no page. ... Nickname: Motto: Ciudad en movimiento Location of Mexico City in central Mexico Coordinates: , Country Federal entity Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded c. ... Chapultepec (Chapoltepēc = at the grasshopper hill in the Nahuatl language) is a large hill on the outskirts of central Mexico City with much significance in Mexican history. ...

While it is often called the "Aztec Calendar," it is a symbolic portrayal of the four disasters that led to the demise of the four prior Universes in Aztec cosmology. It also contains a hieroglyphic and pictographic layout of how the Aztecs measured time, and was primarily a religious and cosmological artifact.

The Aztec Calendar page also contains more information on how the Aztecs marked time. The Aztec calendar was the calendar of the Aztec people of Pre-Columbian Mexico. ...

Understanding the Sun Stone

The Aztecs believed that four prior Universes existed and the Sun Stone depicts each one of these iterations. The Aztecs believed that they were living in the fifth and last creation of their world.^{[citation needed]} To this end, the Aztec Sun Stone is dedicated to the sun god Tonatiuh, who was believed to have been the fifth sun god, as a means to prevent further catastrophe and end of the world by performing regular human sacrifices in his honor. It has been suggested that Sun cults be merged into this article or section. ... In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh was the sun god. ...

Center

In the center of the sun stone is believed to be either the sun god Tonatiuh or the earth god Tlaltecuhtli. The central figure's tongue is shown to be a sacrificial knife, while the circles on either ends depict claws holding human hearts for sacrificial purposes. In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh was the sun god. ... In Aztec mythology, Tlaltecuhtli (or Tlaltecutli) was a chthonic sea monster who dwelled in the ocean after the fourth Great Flood. ...

The Four Worlds

The four squares around the central deity depict the previous four suns (the four prior Universes) that perished. On the top right square is depicted the jaguar. Moving to the left is the wind, below the wind is fiery rain and in the bottom right square is water.

The Twenty Days

Main article: Tonalpohualli

Continuing outward from the inner circle, the next concentric circle consists of twenty squares, each naming one of the twenty different days of the Aztec month. Clockwise, these days are: The Tonalpohualli,the day-count in English, is the 260 day sacred calendar of early Mesoamericans. ...

• Snake - Coatl
• Lizard - Cuetzpallin
• House - Calli
• Wind - Ehecatl
• Crocodile - Cipactli
• Flower - Xochitl
• Rain - Quiahuitl
• Flint - Tecpatl
• Movement - Ollin
• Vulture - Cozcacuauhtli
• Eagle - Cuauhtle
• Jaguar - Ocelotl
• Cane - Acatl
• Herb - Malinalli
• Monkey - Ozomatli
• Hairless Dog - Itzquintli
• Water - Atl
• Rabbit - Tochtli
• Deer - Mazatl
• Skull - Miquiztli

Each Aztec year consisted of eighteen months and each month had 20 days. Five more dots called Nemontemi were added inside the circle, which depicted days for sacrifice, bringing up the total number of days to 365.

Gallery of 20-day signs in the Aztec sun stone

Death, Snake, Lizard Image File history File links Lizard,Snake,Death. ...	Water, Rabbit, Deer Image File history File links Water,Rabbit,Deer. ...	House, Wind, Alligator Image File history File links House,Wind,Alligator. ...	Flower, Rain, Flint, Earthquake Image File history File links Flower,Wind,Flint,Earthquake. ...
Vulture, Eagle, Jaguar Image File history File links Vulture,Eagle,Jaguar. ...	Reed, Grass, Monkey, Dog Image File history File links Reed,Grass,Monkey,Dog. ...

The Snakes

The next concentric circle on the stone contains several square sections, with each section containing five dots which are believed to probably represent weeks of five days. There are also eight angles which divide the stone into eight parts. These are believed to represent the suns rays placed in accordance to cardinal points.

On the lower portion of the stone, there are two snakes that are shown to encircle the stone and face each other. Their bodies are divided into sections which depict the symbols representing flames and jaguar limbs^{[citation needed]}. These sections are believed to represent fifty-two year cycles: the Aztec century consisted of 52 years.

At the top of the calendar, a square has been carved in between the tails of the large snakes. Inside the square, the date 13 Acatl has been carved. This is believed to correspond to 1479, the year in which the calendar was completed.

At the very edge of the calendar, eight equally spaced holes appear. It is believed that the Sun Stone may also have served as a sundial; the Aztecs may have placed horizontal sticks in these holes and the shadows of the sticks would fall on the figures of the calendar, depicting and marking time. For other uses, see Sundial (disambiguation). ...

References

1. ^ Aztecs: Reign of Blood and Splendor. Virginia:Time Life, 1992.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Piedra del Sol

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Aztec sun stone

• Mysteries of the Fifth Sun: The Aztec Calendar
• The Aztec Sun Stone
• The Sun Stone
• The Aztec Sunstone Calendar