AZTEC CALENDAR: HISTORY, DESCRIPTION, MEANING, MATERIALS - HISTORY - 2025

The Aztec calendar, also known as the Stone of the Sun, is a monolithic circle that is surrounded by a series of carved discs. Each portrayed figure reflects the temporal order of the world and describes the destiny of humanity.

This monument not only explains the social organization that a people had, but also details the astronomical, historical and religious knowledge that the Central American indigenous people had. In this way, it is appreciated that the calendar is the heritage of an old structured community.

Monolith of Piedra del Sol. Source: pixabay.com

Consequently, it is possible to observe it as a map, where the beginning and the end of the ages are exhibited. In fact, it can be said that it externalizes the laws that govern the universe. With the passage of time it has had several meanings.

First it was a sacred relic that indicated to the aborigines which were the indicated days to cultivate and perform ceremonies in order to praise the deities. The objective was to conquer the liberation of the spirit, as well as to avoid catastrophe and suffering.

Later it became a profane instrument, since it was the allegory of vice and sin. It showed the punishments the individual experienced if he doubted the existence of God or opposed Christian doctrine. Years later it was visualized as an object to practice target shooting.

History

The origin of the Stone of the Sun is still unknown and no specific elements or documents have been found that reveal when it was created. However, some anthropologists and historians state that the calendar may have been developed during the last stages of the Aztec Empire.

This testimony is based on the fact that the sculpture does not only expose the worldview of the Mexica, but the astral perception that the Toltecs had. In order to understand the history of this monument, it is essential to mention the events that occurred over four eras.

Postclassic Mesoamerican period

Aztec engraving. Source: pixabay.com

During this stage, the Aztec population possessed territorial dominion. The Mexica were the ones who established the social hierarchy and contributed to the formation of the Triple Alliance in 1430. This union was agreed upon by the chiefs of Tenochtitlán, Texcoco and Tacuba.

According to the research carried out by Fray Diego Durán (1537-1588), these aspects are essential because they show how projects should be approved by the chiefs before being carried out.

One of the most important ideas was presented in 1094 by Toltec artisans, who designed a kind of circular plane that was made up of several rings where the days and months of the year would be sculpted.

The work began to be built in the middle of the 15th century under the supervision of Itzcóatl (1381-1440) and was completed during the mandate of Axayácatl (1449-1481); although, according to the study of Juan de Torquemada (1557-1624), the sculpture was completed in the government of Moctezuma II (1466-1520).

Even so, both chroniclers agree that the monolithic was placed in a horizontal position near the Huitzilopochtli temple and was given the name Xihuitl, which means solar period. However, in 1521 it was shot down by Hispanic soldiers.

Spanish conquest

After the Iberian troops, led by Hernán Cortés (1485-1547), destroyed the Triple Alliance, conquered the lands and assassinated the Aztec chief, the Central American region began to be colonized. Both the social norms and the landscape structure were modified.

The priests began their evangelizing work and moved all the objects that had a pagan connotation, among them the Stone of the Sun. The monument was moved to the bottom of the Greater Temple and placed to the west of the Viceregal Palace.

This area was forbidden for the aborigines, which is why they could not visit their calendar. The statue remained uncovered for several weeks until at the end of 1550 it was buried on the orders of Archbishop Alonso de Montufar (1489-1572).

During the colony

The work remained buried for around two centuries. In a certain way, Montufar's ideal was being fulfilled, which was to suppress the primitive memory of the Aztec people. For this reason he concealed the instruments that were related to the sacrifices.

However, in the 1790s, Count Juan Vicente de Güemes (1738-1799) - who served as viceroy and president of the Superior Board of the Royal Treasury - tried to modernize the territory and approved the restructuring of the capital of Nueva Spain.

When they were remodeling the Plaza Mayor, the architect José Damián Ortiz (1750-1793) reported that they had found a sculpture with strange symbols. After a year of scientific and religious debates, it was decided to place it in the Metropolitan Cathedral on July 2, 1791.

Name retrieval

One of the first humanists who made numerous analyzes on the iconography of the Stone of the Sun was Alexander Von Humboldt (1769-1859), who studied it when it was in the cathedral; but the most relevant research was made by Antonio de León y Gama (1735-1802).

In 1792, this astronomer suggested that the sculpture portrayed the passage of time through the moon, the sun and the planet Venus; astral movements that were opposed, although they formed the whole of the monolith.

Likewise, he expressed that the work had been carved to answer the doubts that people had about the past and the future of the world. That is why he called it the Aztec calendar. Besides, his argument was essential for the monument to be exhibited before the public.

American intervention in Mexico

A few years after having achieved independence, Mexico faced a new warlike conflict with the United States. The latter country was seeking territorial expansion, while Central Americans sought to defend their spaces.

Starting in 1846, the North American armies began to land in Veracruz and reached the capital. In this place they found, inside the basilica, a circular sculpture that they transported to a square and used as an instrument to test their skills with weapons.

This is how the cracks in the Stone of the Sun arose. However, it should be noted that the soldiers were unable to destroy the sculpture, which was transferred in 1855 to the Archaeological Museum. Later, in 1964, it was located in the National Gallery of Anthropology and History.

Here is a video of the Aztec calendar at the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City:

What does the Aztec calendar represent?

The Stone of the Sun is the representation of cosmic history. It does not focus on narrating the events that determine the existence of man, but shows how the geological and mythical past will influence the future of humanity, which is diffuse but perceptible.

This is because individuals do not learn from past events, since they are characterized by repeating in some way the mistakes that caused the destruction of the first mortals. In this way it is possible to observe that in the calendar two conceptions of time are opposed and intertwined.

An unalterable time is perceived that is led by the gods, who use it to create the different ages and order the world. At the same time it opposes the human cycle, which is in constant motion and is limited and imperfect. Both come together to guide the destiny of people.

This Aztec monument is a philosophical treatise that recounts through images the creation of the universe and the disasters that have devastated the different ages. Based on the religious system, it portrays how life and ruin of the earth was, is and will be.

Description and meaning of symbols

The structure of the Aztec calendar is cyclical and is made up of five planes, which detail that mortality is brief. As a unit, the work designates the current age. Period that will be destroyed by an earthquake, according to the researchers' analysis.

The sections that make up the monolithic are identified by being successive and coherent with each other. That is, the stages usually have similar organizations, but they are made up of different elements. In this way it will be observed in the following lines:

Central disc

In the center of the stone you can see a face that may be Tonatiuh, deity of the sun. This divinity has a dagger in her lips that is thePLEration of her tongue. On her head she wears a kind of tiara, her ears are covered by ear flaps and her torso is adorned with pearls.

In his hands, which are shaped like jaguar claws, he holds two human hearts. This figure is linked to the great time, a time when men are rational, although many use their intelligence to ruin reality.

The ornaments that the symbol possesses not only indicate that the god was royalty, but also prescribe that hard work is necessary to conquer spiritual agency. It is like expressing that each act implies value and sacrifice, this is appreciated with the meaning of the garments:

- The flint knife is an allegory of primitive instincts, such as war and erotic expression. Despite the fact that the individual is civilizing, he shows that in the end he ends up resorting to his senses.

- Earmuffs are signs of learning, as they indicate that it is essential to know how to listen.

- The headdress shows the development of the pineal gland.

- The pearls represent the duality of the universe.

- The claw of the jaguar externalizes the search for power.

Tonatiuh

Continuing with the above, it can be suggested that Tonatiuh is the manifestation of action. He occupies the foreground because he is the personification of light and the creator of the fifth age. At the same time it symbolizes love and generation. Therefore it is the embodiment of being.

Around this deity there are four pictures that tell the legends of previous ages and are linked to the cardinal points.

Calendar rings

The first ring, located on the upper right side, was the jaguar stage where people were consumed by monsters. This section contains the twenty days that made up the Aztec month.

The second ring, located in the upper part of the left, was the era in which hurricane-force winds devastated the planet. This section is subdivided into eight segments that refer to the sun's rays.

The third ring, located in the lower left point, was the period where the individuals suffered due to the rain of fire. It is the most allegorical representation and comprises two edges. The first shows the fifty-two cycles that make up a century.

While in the second two fiery snakes are visualized leading to the sun. From the jaws of the reptiles emerge the faces Tonaituh and Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire. These figures recreate the episode about how the fifth age was forged. They represent the beginning and the end of existence.

The fourth ring, placed in the lower right sector, represents that period in which there was a flood and some inhabitants were transformed into fish. That disc describes the heavens and astral movements.

Materials and size

The Aztec calendar was created with olivine basalt, an igneous rock that is characterized by acquiring various shapes and resisting the climate of the earth's crust. Possibly the Mexica aborigines extracted the stone from the Xitle volcano, located in the Ajusco mountain range.

They also used obsidian carvers, axes and knives, a material that allowed them to draw the finest lines. The monument stands out for its symmetry. It weighs 2400 kilograms. It measures 3.5 meters in diameter and its density is 122 centimeters.

How do you read the Stone of the Sun?

Very few researchers have understood how the Stone of the Sun works. However, it appears that its reading system is counter-clockwise. That is why it is essential to know that the year began with the sign of the alligator and ended with the image of the flower.

That is, the figures did not repeat themselves for two hundred and sixty days, a time that indicated the beginning of a new cycle. The Aztecs considered that the annual period consisted of twenty months of thirteen days each. When fifty-two years passed, another century began.

At that time, the natives used several days to celebrate. They performed ceremonies with the objective of consecrating the deities through penances. The purpose was to ensure that the solar star would shine for another five decades.

Themes of interest

Aztec religion.

List of Aztec gods.

Aztec architecture.

Aztec literature.

Aztec sculpture.

Aztec art.

Aztec economy.

References

1. Aveni, A. (2006). Study about the Stone of the Sun: Does it really exist? Retrieved on November 26, 2019 from the Department of History: history.columbia.edu
2. Brundage, J. (2003). Azteca: Native american astronomy. Retrieved on November 25, 2019 from the Department of Physics and Astronomy: ucl.ac.uk
3. Digby, M. (2011). Aztec calendar: the fifth sun. Retrieved on November 26, 2019, from the University of Ottawa Press: uottawa.ca
4. Navarrete, P. (2014). A hypothesis about the Stone of the Sun. Retrieved on November 26, 2019 from Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl: historicas.unam.mx
5. Ocampo, E. (2008). The Stone of the Sun: Notes on the conception of time among the Aztecs. Retrieved on November 25, 2019 from the University of Barcelona: ub.edu
6. Robelo, U. (2012). Interpretation of the symbols of the Stone of the Sun. Retrieved on November 26, 2019 from Centro de Estudios Superiores de México y Centroamérica: cesmeca.mx
7. Sejourne, D. (2010). Portrait of the Aztec Calendar: Thought and Religion. Retrieved on November 26, 2019 from the Inter-American Indigenous Institute: dipublico.org