The Stone of the Sun or Aztec Calendar, is one of the most emblematic historical vestiges that pre-Hispanic Mexico has.However, calling it a calendar could be problematic, since it is not really one, what is it?
This monolith is considered to have been created in 1479 by Axayacatl., sixth Mexican monarch. According to National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), The Sun Stone was found in 1790, when carrying out the leveling of the Plaza Mayor del Zócalo. After being discovered, it was placed at the foot of the Western Tower of the capital. Even after the American invasion, invading soldiers used the Sun Stone as target shooting. With the creation of the National Museum, this vestige was moved to the cultural site in 1885.
The Sun stone It is a block of basalt, which has a circular part with a diameter of 3.60 meters and with a weight of 24 tons, which It is not exactly a calendar.
The Stone of the Sun is a iconographic stone which commemorates the time created and destroyed by the gods, an image of the cosmogonic order considered by the Mexican. The confusion comes from the presence of a circle with the days of the indigenous calendar.explains the Government of Mexico website
Furthermore, it is explained that the Sun Stone could have been a ceremonial platform of the Mexica, in which sacrifices of prisoners were possibly made to “feed the time.”
What does the Sun Stone represent?
The Sun stone represents the Mexican worldview regarding time, which governed the social and economic order. This conception supported by astrology. which also combines the legacy of space and time. In general terms, it reveals the dimension of time based on the ages of the world and of men.
For the Mexica Culture, in the construction of the world, up to four had existed before theirs, each one, in its name, tells for itself how its end was.
The Mexica had the belief that the march of the Sun led them to the restoration of the fifth era, which is represented by the God Tonatiuh.
It explains the preservation of the rays of life in each human sacrifice, for fear that another cataclysm would extinguish its reality. The circular divisions of the Stone of the Sun do nothing more than speak of the understanding between nature, women and men, indicated by two calendrical accounts, these were composed of the days and months that were accompanied with mythical symbols, adding the guardianship of the gods.
The symbols and gods associated with people’s destiny were assigned with the date of their birth and responded to their journey through life.
Where can you see the Sun Stone?
If you are interested in seeing the Piedra del Sol in detail, you can see it at the National Museum of Anthropology and History on Paseo de la Reforma, this cultural venue has a schedule of Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and a price of $95 pesos. If you show a student ID or INAPAM card, the card is free.