Aztec Calendar Stone Essay

The Aztecs were the last of the great cultures of Mesoamerica before the European conquests. The Aztecs continued the traditions of the first Mesoamericans who looked into the heavens for ways to live in the good graces of their gods and the universe that surrounded them.

The Aztec peoples culture revolved around agricultural and also equated religion to survival. Aztec priests and leaders researched movements of the sun and the planets in the sky. To do this they created and followed a set of calendars to track planetary and solar events to make important decisions such as when to plant crops and which season certain crops would produce the best harvest. These practices went with the lunar, solar, and planetary events were planned religious

services in honor of their gods of the earth and sky. They worshipped statues, humans, and nature. Human sacrifices were thought that this act would please the gods, fight the afterlife, and assist in reincarnation. Many of these sacrifices included skinning people alive, removing their hearts, and decapitation may have taken place in temples and upon the Aztec Calendar Stone or also called Sun Stone.
The Aztec Calendar Stone was tucked away under a central center in Mexico City for over 300 years waiting to be discovered.

In1790 renovations took place on the Cathedral in the central square of Mexico City (Zocalo). One early morning on December 17TH of 1790, the Aztec Calendar Stone was rediscovered. This huge 3 feet thick and almost 12 feet across ancient calendar was unearthed sparking new interests in Mexico's ancient past and culture. The stone had been laid flat on the ground and was possibly used for blood sacrifices. Upon its initial discovery, the stone was found upside down. It is thought that by laying it with the calendar facing the earth, that perhaps it might prevent the final cataclysm, the fall of the 5th and the final sun. The Aztecs believed that the world would fall apart after being attacked from the Old World. After it was unearthed this ancient calendar went on display in the Western tower of the Metropolitan Cathedral. Then in 1882 the massive stone calendar, often referred to as “Montezuma’s Clock,” was moved to the Museo Nacional on Calle Moneda to be displayed at the Salon de Monoliths. It remained there until 1964 when the Calendar Stone was transitioned to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia where it can still be seen

today.
The Aztec calendar represented the basic format and structure of calendars from ancient Mesoamerica. This calendar was a way to keep time but also had a deep religious significance. It was believed that the time went in cycles and repeated destruction and recreation of the Mesoamerica world. Their universe balanced between constant danger and the powers to the gods that were influential in the Aztecs lives.
The First Aztec calendar was called “Xiuhpohualli” which translates to the counting of years. This was a 365 day calendar which helped the Aztec civilization to plant in the farming months and also predicting the weather. According to the calendar there was 18 months where each month was 20 days long and or 4 (5 day) weeks. Also according to the aztecs there was 5 “unlucky days” which were called nemontemi. These 5 days were transition days between the old and the new year which was a time that was used for festivals. (book)
The second Aztec calendar was called “Tonalpohualli.” This calendar was considered to be sacred and was known as a day counting tool. In the Calendar there was 20 signs and 13 numbers. For every 1 sign there would be 13 numbers so if you multiply 20 signs by 13 numbers you get 260 which is the amount of days in the “Sacred year”. (book)
Every 52 years the two calendars would coincide. This could have brought disaster to the World so to combat this the Aztecs would preform a special ritual that took place during the “New fire festival.” It was considered a time for rebirth.
According to the Aztecs the number 20 was based on the digits of a “Whole Man” meaning regularly a person has 10 fingers and 10 toes.

Also the 13 represented their philosophy of 13 directions in space. The early Central Americans believed that this ritualistic calendar represented an archetypal state of human and cosmic harmony. Each rotation through the 13 numbers represented one week in the system. The first, sixth, eleventh, and sixteenth weeks were considered important because they created the four divisions of the year. Each of the 20 days was associated with tangible objects or animals. For example the first day “Cipactili’ was represented by an alligator and was ruled by the god of feasts and the second day “Ehecatl” was represented by the wind and was ruled by the god of fire, life and spirt. The Aztecs Used the calendars to plan various activities such as when to grow crops, where to build there villages, and when to go to war based on what were considered to be “lucky” and “unlucky”

days.
Upon gazing at the Calendar Stone, one can see many different shapes and depictions of animals, symbols, and the heavens. At the center of the stone is a picture of the sun god Tonatiuh or the primordial earth monster Tlaltecuhtli. This earth monster is representing the final destruction of the world when the 5th sun fell into the earth. (source) His tongue is a sacrificial knife. The tongue is sticking out which means a thirst for blood and sacrifice. At the four points are four suns which replace each other after the gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezatlipoca. These two gods fight for control of the universe until the 5th sun. These suns are known as their final destruction occured. The top right is the first sun Nahum Ocleotl (4-Jaguar), top left is the second sun Nahum Ehecatl (4-Wind), bottom left the third sun Nahum Quiahuitl (4-Rain) and bottom right is the fourth sun Nahum Atl (4-Water).
On both sides of the central face are two jaguar head or paws. Each one of them is clutching a heart. This is representing the terrestrial realm. The circle surrounding the 4 suns is broken up into the 20 Aztec day. After this is a ring surrounded by another ring representing turquoise and jade. These stones are jewels and symbols of the equinoxes and solstices. They are the colors of the heavens. The two heads at the bottom of the stone represent the fire serpents and their bodies that run around the perimeter of the stone ending in their tails. The four cardinal and the inter-cardinal directions are also depicted with larger and smaller points. (ancient history encyclopedia)