![]() ![]() (Comparison of the Aztec Calendar with the Mayan Calendar courtesy of )Īlthough the Aztec Calendar Stone shows the incredible precision of the Aztecs and their ability to use astronomy to determine the year length and the solar patterns to figure out a day length, archaeologists still don’t really know what the Aztecs used the Calendar Stone for. The Zapotecs and Mixtecs also had this same calendar system, so it’s apparent the idea behind the calendar stayed relatively consistent throughout early Mesoamerica. They, too, had a cycle that lasted 52 years. ![]() They had one 365-day calendar (called the Haab) that was the “regular” calendar and another calendar that had 260 days (called the Tzolkin) that was sacred, set up like the Aztec Calendar was. For example, the Maya had a calendar system very similar to the Aztecs. Other civilizations also used a multiple-calendar system to keep track of time. Outside of that circle are snakes that represent the start of a new cycle of 52 years. The circle around that one shows five-day-long weeks. On the Aztec Calendar Stone, the first circle outside of the four Suns shows the 20 days of the Aztec month followed by the five unlucky days. (The 20 day signs of the Tonalpohualli courtesy of ) On that day, there was a festival thrown known as the New Fire Festival because the Aztecs thought that this day could be the one where a new Sun era began and the current one was destroyed. The two calendars were used together in a way that the only time a date was repeated was once every 52 years. It was separated equally between all of the gods, so that the Aztecs would know how much time to spend with each god so things would stay fair. The Tonalpohualli, on the other hand, was known as the religious or sacred calendar. There were five “leftover” days, which were considered very unlucky the Aztecs thought disasters were more likely to happen then. ![]() The Xiuhpohualli was more like our traditional Gregorian calendar it counted a year as 365 days and used the sun’s movements to track the length of a day. (Color depiction of the Calendar Stone courtesy of ) There were two calendars operating simutaneously: the Xiuhpohualli and the Tonalpohualli. Before now, there were four (representing earth/jaguars, wind, fire/rain, and water), all of which were destroyed, and now we are living in the fifth Sun, which is the Sun of Movement.īeyond the four pictographs are concentric circles some have pictures showing time and some have hieroglyphic writing about time on them. The Aztecs believed that there have been several historical ages, which are known as Suns. Surrounding the sun god on the Aztec Calendar Stone are pictographic representations of the eras that came before. (Tonatiuh and the four Suns courtesy of ) This was the cause for human sacrifices to the sun god. To keep him healthy, he needed blood and human hearts. The story goes that Tonatiuh was reborn every morning and died every night, making a grueling trip across the sky every day. One of the beliefs the Aztecs had was that blood was needed for the sun to keep shining. The sun god appears to be holding two human hearts, and his tongue is sharp as the ritual blades used for sacrifices are. In the center of the circle is a carving of the Aztec sun god, Tonatiuh. Stone was something readily accessible to the Aztecs where they were, and they often utilized that because metals hadn’t become as big of a deal where they were. For example, they used obsidian for weapons because it was so strong and easily split to make sharp blades. Stones like this were extremely important to the Aztecs because they believed that stones were “bones of the earth.” Some say that the Aztecs never “emerge from the stone age.” Especially useful to the Aztecs were stones like basalt: the ones that came from the numerous volcanoes they had around. In fact, the Aztecs used basalt for more than just carving this monolithic structure they used basalt to build buildings and make grinding stones. ![]() This is indicative of the amount of volcanoes near where this calendar was made. This particular calendar was made from basalt, which is solidified lava. The stone it’s carved on is approximately 4 feet thick, and the entire disk weighs about 24 tons. The Aztec Calendar Stone, otherwise colloquially known as the Mexica Sun Stone or historically known as the Cuauhxicalli Eagle Bowl, is a giant circular stone sculpture about 12 feet in diameter. ![]()
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