Suong Nguyen
HUN 192.1383
Mar 28, 2007
Aztec Calendar
The Aztec calendar is a circular stone with pictures representing how the Aztecs
measured days, months, and cosmic cycles. The calendar itself is 4 feet thick, 12 feet in
diameter, and weighed about 24 tons. It took
52 years to complete, from 1427 to 1479.
This calendar is 103 years older than the
Gregorian calendar which is used
worldwide today.
Originally the Calendar Stone was
placed atop the main temple in
Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec
empire which today known as center of
Mexico City. The Aztec calendar faced south in a vertical position and was painted a
vibrant red, blue, yellow and white. The stone was buried by the Spaniards when they
conquered Tenochtitlan. The stone was lost for over 250 years until December of 1790
when it was found by accident during repair work on the cathedral.
The face of Tonatiuh is in the center circle of the stone. It is the face of the sun,
Lord of Heaven. For this reason, the commonly-know Aztec Calendar has been identified
as “La piedra del sol”, or the Sun Stone. Around the face are four squares called NahuiOllin, or Four Movement. According to Aztec legend, these squares represented the
~ Page: 1 ~
different ways that the four previous suns (or worlds) had come to an end: first by wild
animals, then by wind, by fire, and by floods. The Aztecs believed they were living in the
fifth and last world. Continuing outward, the next concentric circle shows twenty squares,
each naming one of the twenty different days of the Aztec month.
The Aztec year consisted of eighteen months, each having twenty days. Each
month was given a specific name. This arrangement took care of 360 days (18x20). The
next concentric circle is composed of square sections with five dots in each section,
probably representing weeks of five days. Next there are eight angles dividing the stone
in eight parts. These represent the suns rays placed according to the cardinal points. On
the lower portion of the stone, two enormous snakes encircle the stone and face each
other. It is believed that these sections are also records of fifty-two year cycles.
The Calendar originated by ancient peoples observing the sun. The Aztecs used
this as a religious calendar. Priests used the calendar to determine luck days for such
activities as sowing crops, building houses, and going to war. By using this specialized
Aztec calendar, the Aztecs were able to divide among 20 of their gods into each day and
referred them as a “days sign”.
The Aztec Calendar is also known as the "sunstone" or " stone of the sun ". Some
modern scholars believe that the Aztec Calendar was more than a mere calendar, and
possibly a map of the Aztecs destiny, telling when their world began and when it would
end. The Aztec Calendar is currently stored and on display in the National Museum of
Archaeology in Mexico City. Because of the importance of the Aztec calendar to the
culture and religion of the Aztec people, the Aztec calendar stone is one of the most
famous symbols of Mexico today.
~ Page: 2 ~