[40] It is carved in a temple shape, and the year at the top, 2-House, refers to the traditional founding of Tenochtitlan in 1325 CE.[40]. They follo… It is one of the Mesoamerican calendars, sharing the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica. The concentric circles on the monolith display these divisions of time, adding weight to the argument that the Sun Stone was used as a chronological record. The Aztec Sun Stone (or Calendar Stone) depicts the five consecutive worlds of the sun from Aztec mythology. The earliest interpretations of the stone relate to what early scholars believed was its use for astrology, chronology, or as a sundial. Hassig, Ross. The public description by the National Anthropology Museum assigns the face to the fire god. They're given the sizes for the inside and outside (1st & 4th) circles. The Aztecs used a complex calendar system characteristic of Mesoamerican civilisations. The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was covered by the construction of Mexico City, and the monument was lost for centuries until it was unearthed in 1790. Use symmetry and geometric shapes. Towards the end of the 18th century, the viceroy Juan Vicente de Güemes initiated a series of urban reforms in the capital of New Spain. Huitzilopochtli was the Aztec god, the leader that allowed them to conquer. Mills, K., W. B. Taylor & S. L. Graham (eds. The Sun Stone is an Aztec sculpture created from a single large rock. It was a massive carving, 3 feet thick, almost 12 feet across, and weighing almost 25 tones (22.5 tonnes). The word Aztec itself was introduced by a 19th century writer; perhaps the word was used to sanitize or distance the historical people from their progeny. [18] Beginning at the symbol just left of the large point in the previous zone, these symbols are read counterclockwise. The Aztec Empire dominated much of present-day central Mexico from about 1325 until the 1520s, when the Spanish colonized the region, assimilating locals to live more like their European conquerors. It divides the days and rituals between the gods. In 1792, two years after the stone's unearthing, Mexican scholar Antonio de León y Gama wrote one of the first treatises on Mexican archaeology on the Aztec calendar and Coatlicue. It is usually translated into English as "city-state". K. Mills, W. B. Taylor & S. L. Graham (eds), National Museum of Anthropology and History, Eusebio Davalos Hurtado Museum of Mexica Sculpture, "National Anthropology Museum, Mexico City, "Sun Stone, "El adiós y triste queja del gran Calendario Azteca", "Calendario Azteca: un ensayo arqueológico", http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/51311.html, http://b01.deliver.odai.yale.edu/03/6b/036bd439-4bb3-479d-b746-3a9fe80a3df9/ANT019231-large.jpg, http://collections.peabody.yale.edu/search/Record/YPM-ANT-019231, https://www.artic.edu/artworks/75644/coronation-stone-of-motecuhzoma-ii-stone-of-the-five-suns, The Stone of the Sun and the First Chapter of Mexican History, written by Enrique Juan Palacios (1920), translated by Frederick Starr, Mysteries of the Fifth Sun: The Aztec Calendar, Library of Congress digital edition of Leon y Gama's 1792 work on the Calendar Stone, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aztec_sun_stone&oldid=1005844365, Articles containing Spanish-language text, Articles containing Classical Nahuatl-language text, Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The top right square represents "Four Jaguar" (, The bottom left square shows "Four Rain" (, The bottom right square represents "Four Water" (, Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. "Huitzilopotchli's Conquest: Aztec Ideology in the Archaeological Record. That's one reason why some scholars, starting with Alfredo Chavaro in the 1870s, think the Sun Stone was originally positioned flat on top of the Aztecs' most important temple and used for either ritual combat or for human sacrifice, says researcher Khristaan Villela, writing at Mexicolore . 2. The Aztec or Mexica calendar is the calendrical system used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. Altepetl. The duration of the ages is expressed in years, although they must be observed through the prism of Aztec time. "Representing Tenochtitlan: Understanding Urban Life by Collecting Material Culture. The year sign 11-Reed in the lower middle places the creation of this sculpture in 1503, the year of Motecuhzoma II's coronation, while 1-Crocodile, the day in the upper middle, may indicate the day of the ceremony. The basalt stone measures 3.58 metres in diameter, is 98 centimetres thick and weighs 25 tons. [1] It measures 358 centimetres (141 in) in diameter and 98 centimetres (39 in) thick, and weighs 24,590 kg (54,210 lb). [20] The reemergence of the Sun Stone sparked a renewed interest in Aztec culture, but since the Western culture now had hundreds of years of influence over the Mexican landscape, the public display of the monument next to the city's main cathedral sparked controversy. But the Aztecs also had another calendar (different from the Sun Stone) that represented the solar year of 365 days by dividing the year into eighteen months of 20 days each. Most Aztec symbols had layers of meaning. It consisted of a solar and a sacred calendar. Both of these men incorrectly believed the stone to have been vertically positioned, but it was not until 1875 that Alfredo Chavero correctly wrote that the proper position for the stone was horizontal. The compass motif with Ollin can be found in stone altars built for the New Fire ceremony. [25], Lastly, there is the political aspect of the stone. Scholars have tried to identify these profiles of human heads as deities, but have not come to a consensus. It consisted of a 365-day agricultural calendar, as well as a 260-day sacred calendar. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}19°25′34″N 99°11′15″W / 19.42611°N 99.18750°W / 19.42611; -99.18750, The Aztec sun stone (Spanish: Piedra del Sol) is a late post-classic Mexica sculpture housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, and is perhaps the most famous work of Mexica sculpture. The sunken eyes of Tonatiuh, the Aztec sun god, look out from the center of this cyclic sequence of glyphs and dates. At the very bottom of the surface of the stone, are human heads emerging from the mouths of these serpents. ", Dean, Carolyn. [7] Juan de Torquemada described in his Monarquía indiana how Moctezuma Xocoyotzin ordered to bring a large rock from Tenanitla, today San Ángel, to Tenochtitlan, but on the way it fell on the bridge of the Xoloco neighborhood. The rationale behind the bloodshed and sacrifice conducted by the Aztec was supported by religious and militant purposes, but the Spanish were horrified by what they saw, and the published accounts twisted the perception of the Aztecs into bloodthirsty, barbaric, and inferior people. Click to see full answer. This work was later to be expanded by Felipe Solís and other scholars who would re-examine the idea of coloring and create updated digitized images for a better understanding of what the stone might have looked like. ", Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. and John K. Millhauser. The Stone of Motecuhzoma I is a massive object approximately 12 feet in diameter and 3 feet high with the 8 pointed compass iconography. It is thought that the stone reveals the predicted date of destruction for “del Quinto Sol” during a 4-Ollin cycle. The four elements - earth water, wind and fire – play a fundamental role in the complex cosmology represented on this impressive stone carving. [19] There are also eight angles that divide the stone into eight parts, which likely represent the sun's rays placed in the direction of the cardinal points. Although the object was being publicly honored, placing it in the shadow of a Catholic institution for nearly a century sent a message to some people that the Spanish would continue to dominate over the remnants of Aztec culture.[32]. The tonalpohualli, or day-count, has been called a sacred calendar because its main purpose is that of a divinatory tool. Its complex design and intricate glyphic language are the product of a sophisticated culture. [35], "Sun stone" redirects here. The Aztec Calendar Stone was carved from solidified lava in the late 15th century. The Aztec calendar is the calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. The British Museum possesses a cuauhxicalli which may depict the tension between two opposites, the power of the sun (represented by the solar face) and the power of the moon (represented with lunar iconography on the rear of the object). Wooden Aztec Sun Stone or the Aztec calendar stone also known as the Sun Stone and Stone of the Five Eras. Although earlier scholars thought that the stone was carved in the 1470s, during the reign of the Aztec emperor Axayacatl, The monolith was found half a yard (about 40 centimeters) under the ground surface and 60 meters to the west of the second door of the viceregal palace,[8] and removed from the earth with a "real rigging with double pulley". The current display and discussion surrounding the Sun Stone is part of a greater debate on how to decolonize non-Western material culture. They even created a Sun Stone! The state was then exploiting the sacredness of the practice to serve its own ideological intentions. This provides a long history of over 200 years of archaeologists, scholars, and historians adding to the interpretation of the stone. The Sun Stone's discovery near the Templo Mayor in the capital connects it to sacred rituals such as the New Fire ceremony, which was conducted to ensure the earth's survival for another 52-year cycle, and human heart sacrifice played an important role in preserving these cosmic cycles. pp. In fact the common thread of figures 676, 364 and 312 is that they are multiples of 52, and 52 years is the duration of one Aztec "century", and that is how they can express a certain amount of Aztec centuries. [35] Another object, the Ceremonial Seat of Fire which belongs to the Eusebio Davalos Hurtado Museum of Mexica Sculpture,[35] is visually similar but omits the central Ollin image in favor of the Sun. Unlucky days: The end of each 365-day cycle in the Aztec calendar was marked by 360 named days and 5 nameless days. These elements ground the Stone's iconography in history rather than myth and the legitimacy of the state in the cosmos. Many fall under a category known as temalacatl, large stones built for ritual combat and sacrifice. One theory is that the face at the center of the stone represents Tonatiuh, the Aztec deity of the sun. It is also known as The Stone of the Five Eras. The side surface is split into two bands, the lower of which represents Venus with knives for eyes; the upper band has two rows of citlallo star icons.[35]. What did the Aztecs know about astronomy. The Mayan calendar dates back to at least the 5th century BCE and it is still in use in some Mayan communities today. For the gemstone, see, This ritual object bears Sun Stone motifs. "[39], The Throne of Montezuma uses the same cardinal point iconography[40] as part of a larger whole. Concentric Circles. Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo, and Felipe Solís. [6] There are no clear indications about the authorship or purpose of the monolith, although there are certain references to the construction of a huge block of stone by the Mexicas in their last stage of splendor. The colours are based minute paint particles left on the stone. The sacred calendar was 260 days long; which currently a whole year for us in modern times is 365 days. The inner circles may express space as well as time. Neither calendar, nor Aztec "Everything points to the Sun Stone, wrongly known as the Aztec Calendar, being carved at the beginning of the 16th century from a block found on the San Ángel scree or on the area around Mizquic," says López Luján when specifying the origins of … The word is a combination of the Nahuatl words ā-tl, meaning water, and tepē-tl, meaning mountain. The Stone of Tizoc's upward-facing side contains a calendrical depiction similar to that of the subject of this page. [11] León y Gama defended in his writings the artistic character of the stone, in competition with arguments of authors like Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, who gave lesser value to those born in the American continent, including their artistic talent. [31] The words and actions of the Spanish, such as the destruction, removal, or burial of Aztec objects like the Sun Stone supported this message of inferiority, which still has an impact today. "The Structure of Aztec History". What was the Aztec sun stone used for? The link between the elements and Aztec cosmology is one I only recently discovered… Aztec Sun Stone. The Sun Stone was not made as an art object; it was a tool of the Aztec Empire used in ritual practices and as a political tool. The tongues of the serpents are touching, referencing the continuity of time and the continuous power struggle between the deities over the earthly and terrestrial worlds. [35], The Philadelphia Museum of Art has another,. Ordóñez, Esequiel (1893). [11] It is noteworthy that, for the spirit of the time, efforts were made to exhibit the monolith in a public place and also to promote its study. It somehow got lost for 300 years and was found in 1790, buried under the zocalo, or central square of Mexico City. [11], The monolith was placed on one side of the west tower of the Metropolitan Cathedral on 2 July 1791. The lived history was marked by violence and the conquering of native groups, and their mythic history was used to legitimize their conquests and the establishment of the capital Tenochtitlan. The second concentric zone or ring contains several square sections, with each section containing five points. [39] The date glyph 1-Rabbit on the back of the sculpture (not visible in the image to the right) orients Motecuhzoma II in the cosmic cycle because that date represents "the beginning of things in the distant mythological past. When the gods made the sun and the earth, they sacrificed themselves in order for the cycles of the sun to continue, and therefore for life to continue. They are characterized by the flames emerging from their bodies, the square shaped segments that make up their bodies, the points that form their tails, and their unusual heads and mouths. Matos Moctezuma has proposed that the Aztec Sun Stone might also be one of these.[34]. [21] Modern archaeologists, such as those at the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, believe it is more likely to have been used primarily as a ceremonial basin or ritual altar for gladiatorial sacrifices, than as an astrological or astronomical reference. [28] Human sacrifice was not only used in religious context; additionally, sacrifice was used as a military tactic to frighten Aztec enemies and remind those already under their control what might happen if they opposed the Empire. The Aztec Sun Stone (Calendar Stone) The Aztec civilization flourished in the Central America region, specifically in Tenochtitlan (currently Mexico City) from the 14th to the 16th century. The lunar portion is the sacred calendar, of 260 days per lunar year, and that's what they used to record historic events. A butterfly symbol, for instance, represented transformation while frogs symbolized joy. Naturally, it was dedicated to the sun god. This is a great creative activity that actually includes some maths work too! The Aztecs had a very specific type of calendar that they measured time after. The Aztec calendar was an adaptation of the Mayan calendar.
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