The Aztec Calendar Stone, more properly the Aztec Sun Stone, is a basalt disk, measuring ca. 3.6 m in diameter, thick ca 1.2 m and weighing more than 24 tons, covered with carvings about Aztec creation myths and calendar signs.
Aztec Sun Stone Origins and Religious Meaning
The so-called Aztec Calendar Stone was not a calendar, but most likely a ceremonial container or altar linked to the Aztec sun god, Tonatiuh, and its festivities. At its center is the image of the god Tonatiuh, within the sign Ollin, which means movement and represents the last of the Aztec cosmological eras, the Fifth Sun.
- Learn more about the Aztec Legend of the Fifth Sun
Tonatiuh's hands are claws holding a human heart and his tongue is represented by a flint or obsidian knife indicating the need for sacrifice in order for the sun to continue its movement in the sky. At Tonatiuh's sides are four boxes with the symbols of the preceding eras, or suns, along with the four directional signs. Tonatiuh's image is surrounded by a cycle containing calendar and cosmological symbols. This ring contains the signs of the 20 days of the Aztec sacred calendar, called Tonalpohualli, which combined with 13 numbers, made up the sacred 260-day year. A second ring contains boxes each with five dots, standing for the five-day week, and signs probably representing sun rays. Finally, the sides of the disk are carved with two fire serpents which transport the sun god in his daily passage through the sky.
Aztec Sun Stone Political Meaning
A sign representing the date 13 Acatl, 13 Reed, is visible on the surface of the stone. This date correspond to the year 1479, the year in which the sculpture was probably completed and that also marks the ascension of Itzcoatl as Aztec emperor. The political message for those who saw the stone was clear: this was an important year of rebirth for the Aztec empire, and Izcoatl's right to rule comes directly from the Sun god and is embedded with the sacred power of time, directionality and sacrifice.
Discovery of the Aztec Sun Stone
The Sun Stone was hidden within the sacred precinct of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, near the Templo Mayor. It was probably hidden at the time of the Conquest and rediscovered in 1790, when it was placed close to the metropolitan cathedral in the Main Plaza of Mexico City. Now it is displayed on the ground floor of the National Museum of Anthropology, in Mexico City, within the Aztec/Mexica exhibition room.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Aztec Civilization, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Smith Michael, 2003, The Aztecs. Second Edition, Blackwell Publishing.Van Tuerenhout Dirk R., 2005, The Aztecs. New Perspectives, ABC-CLIO Inc. Santa Barbara, CA; Denver, CO and Oxford, England.