Quezi

Aztec calendar - courtesy Jeremy Burgin - CC-BY

The Aztec Sun Stone was the calendar of the Aztec people of Pre-Columbian Mexico.

It is but one of the Mesoamerican calendars and shares the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica.

The Sun Stone is a carving of the Aztec Calendar currently residing in the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City.

The calendar consists of a 365 day calendar cycle and a 260 day ritual cycle. These two cycles together formed a 52 year “century.”  Sometimes called the “Calendar Round.”

Each month has its name, and the days of the month are numbered from one to twenty. The days of the last month, ‘Nemontemi, are numbered from one to five. The box at the top of the stone contains the stone’s year of creation, in this case 1479 AD.

The ancient Aztec name for this huge basaltic monolith is Cuauhxicalli (Eagle Bowl,) but it is known around the world as the Aztec Calendar or Sun Stone. It was carved during the reign of the 6th Aztec monarch in 1479 and dedicated to the principal Aztec deity: the sun. The stone has both mythological and astronomical significance. It weighs almost 25 tons, has a diameter of just under 12 feet, and a thickness of 3 feet.

The stone was discovered, buried in the “Zocalo” (the main square) of Mexico City on December 17th, 1790 . Afterwards it was embedded in the wall of the Western Tower of the metropolitan Cathedral, where it remained until 1885. At that time it was moved to the national Museum of Archaeology and History by order of President of the Republic, General Porfirio Diaz

For more information about the Aztec Sun Stone and Aztec civilization