The Sun Stone was not made as an art object; it was a tool of the Aztec Empire used in ritual practices and as a political tool.
What is the Aztec Sun Stone called?
Piedra del SolThe Aztec Calendar Stone, or Piedra del Sol, was buried a few decades after the conquest beneath what is now Mexico City's main plaza, or Zócalo. It was rediscovered in 1790 and mounted on one of the towers of the Catedral metropolitan, where it remained until 1885.
How did the Aztecs create the sun Stone?
The Aztec Calendar Stone was carved from solidified lava in the late 15th century. It somehow got lost for 300 years and was found in 1790, buried under the zocalo, or central square of Mexico City.
What for did the Aztecs use the sundial?
Many Aztec artworks included symbols, numerals, animal imagery, and, of course, depictions of the sun! A sundial uses the sun to tell time, and your child can create her own working timepiece with some influence from the Aztecs. Offer her a paper plate to use as the base of her sundial.
What does the Aztec sun symbolize?
The Aztecs worshipped the sun as the source of life, and believed that Tonatiuh was the most important of all the gods. Although he provided warmth and sustenance, Tonatiuh also demanded blood. More specifically, human blood.
Where is the Aztec sun stone now?
⚫However, the Stone was not a calendar, but most likely a ceremonial container or altar linked to the Aztec sun god, Tonatiuh who appears in the center of the disk. ⚫The sun disk is now housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, and is perhaps the most famous work of Aztec sculpture.
How do you read an Aztec sun stone?
In an Aztec 52 year cycle there were four counts of thirteen years each. So the four knots equal a total sacred count of 52 years. The Aztec glyphs contained in the ring around the four past suns represent the 20 months of the year. Each month had 13 days which equaled the Aztec year of 260 days.
Is the Aztec blood stone real?
The stone is currently in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. The monolith is made of basalt and measures 93 cm tall with a diameter of 2.65 meters and a circumference of 8.31 meters....Stone of TizocDiscovered17 December 1791Present locationNational Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City3 more rows
How many rings does the sun Stone have?
The Sun Stone has three rings around the central area.
When was the Aztec Sun Stone created?
The Sun Stone was hand-carved in the 52-year period from 1427 to 1479. Because the double calendar determined the timing of sacrifices, the sacrificial stone was decorated with calendar marking. A glyph on the outer rim marks the date 13-Reed, probably its creation date in the ritual calendar.
Was the Aztec sun stone painted?
“But the Aztecs were more sophisticated in terms of astronomy than people realize.” Evidence suggests the sun god's face was unpainted or colored black, as shown in this illustration, representing the sun darkened during an eclipse.
Where did the Aztec build Tenochtitlan?
Lake TexcocoThe Aztec built their capital city, Tenochtitlan, on Lake Texcoco. Built on two islands, the area was extended using chinampas—small, artificial islands created above the waterline that were later consolidated. Tenochtitlan eventually reached an area of more than 13 square kilometers (five square miles).
Is the Aztec blood stone real?
The stone is currently in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. The monolith is made of basalt and measures 93 cm tall with a diameter of 2.65 meters and a circumference of 8.31 meters....Stone of TizocDiscovered17 December 1791Present locationNational Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City3 more rows
What Is the Aztec Sun Stone?
The Aztec Sun Stone — also known as the Calendar Stone or, in Spanish, the Piedra del Sol — is a 25-ton basalt stone monument carved in bas relief. The Ancient History Encyclopedia tells us it's a whopping 12 feet in diameter and over 3 feet thick.
Why was the Sun Stone used?
That's one reason why some scholars, starting with Alfredo Chavaro in the 1870s, think the Sun Stone was originally positioned flat on top of the Aztecs' most important temple and used for either ritual combat or for human sacrifice , says researcher Khristaan Villela, writing at Mexicolore .
Was the Aztec Sun Stone used for human sacrifice?
Yes, the Aztecs sacrificed humans. A lot of humans, according to most researchers, as Science magazine discusses. Like, thousands. And yep, many of them were killed on top of the Templo Mayor in central Tenochtitlan. Being sacrificed was actually a huge honor, as human sacrifice was thought to nourish the gods. Without it, the sun wouldn't rise. That's one reason why some scholars, starting with Alfredo Chavaro in the 1870s, think the Sun Stone was originally positioned flat on top of the Aztecs' most important temple and used for either ritual combat or for human sacrifice, says researcher Khristaan Villela, writing at Mexicolore . Blood from victims would have "fed" the central sun god image, keeping the world running.
What happened to the Aztec Sun Stone after the Spanish Conquest?
In their central city, Tenochtitlan, lay the Sun Stone. After the Spaniards conquered Mexico, they brutally suppressed the Aztec religion.
Where Is the Aztec Sun Stone today?
So what's a modern society to do if we want to keep the sun in the sky the next time 4 Ollin rolls around?
What is the Aztec date?
That's because the stone contains two conflicting time references — one to the Aztec date of 13 Reed, which is our year 1479 C.E., and another to the reign of the emperor who commissioned the stone, Moctezuma II, who didn't take the throne until 1502. 13 Reed was an important religious date for the Aztecs.
When was the Aztec carved?
We don't know exactly when it was carved, with some scholars, like those at Aztec-History.com, estimating a date in the late 1400s and others, like the folks at Inside-Mexico.com, placing its creation closer to 1512. That's because the stone contains two conflicting time references — one to the Aztec date of 13 Reed, which is our year 1479 C.E., and another to the reign of the emperor who commissioned the stone, Moctezuma II, who didn't take the throne until 1502.
Ritual human sacrifice required altars
For the Aztecs, a Mesoamerican civilization that rose to domination from 1345 through the 1520s until the Spanish colonized, human sacrifice was necessary to keep the world from coming to an end. That was integral to their belief system.
Prisoners of war were most often used in sacrifice
Per World History Encyclopedia, these sacrifices were most often unfortunate captives of war, and of those, the ones who were the best-looking or fought the hardest and bravest made the best offerings to the Aztec gods. Though sometimes a losing team in ritual ball-games and even children would be sacrificed.
Overview
The Aztec sun stone (Spanish: Piedra del Sol) is a late post-classic Mexica sculpture housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, and is perhaps the most famous work of Mexica sculpture. It measures 358 centimetres (141 in) in diameter and 98 centimetres (39 in) thick, and weighs 24,590 kg (54,210 lb). Shortly after the Spanish conquest, the monolithic sculpt…
History
The monolith was carved by the Mexica at the end of the Mesoamerican Postclassic Period. Although the exact date of its creation is unknown, the name glyph of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II in the central disc dates the monument to his reign between 1502 and 1520. There are no clear indications about the authorship or purpose of the monolith, although there are certain references to the construction of a huge block of stone by the Mexicas in their last stage of splendor. Accor…
Physical description and iconography
The sculpted motifs that cover the surface of the stone refer to central components of the Mexica cosmogony. The state-sponsored monument linked aspects of Aztec ideology such as the importance of violence and warfare, the cosmic cycles, and the nature of the relationship between gods and man. The Aztec elite used this relationship with the cosmos and the bloodshed often as…
History of interpretations
From the moment the Sun Stone was discovered in 1790, many scholars have worked at making sense of the stone's complexity. This provides a long history of over 200 years of archaeologists, scholars, and historians adding to the interpretation of the stone. Modern research continues to shed light or cast doubt on existing interpretations as discoveries such as further evidence of the stone's pigmentation. As Eduardo Matos Moctezuma stated in 2004:
Modern use
The sun stone image is displayed on the obverse the Mexican 20 Peso gold coin, which has a gold content of 15 grams (0.4823 troy ounces) and was minted from 1917 to 1921 and restruck with the date 1959 from the mid-1940s to the late 1970s. Different parts of the sun stone are represented on the current Mexican coins, each denomination has a different section.
Other sun stones
There are several other known monuments and sculptures that bear similar inscriptions. Most of them were found underneath the center of Mexico City, while others are of unknown origin. Many fall under a category known as temalacatl, large stones built for ritual combat and sacrifice. Matos Moctezuma has proposed that the Aztec Sun Stone might also be one of these.
See also
• Coyolxauhqui stone disk
External links
• Mysteries of the Fifth Sun: The Aztec Calendar
• Introduction to the Aztec Calendar
• The Aztec Sun Stone
• The Sun Stone