find the peoples in the splendor of their past.
Mexican, behold yourself in the mirror of that greatness.
Verify here, stranger, the unity of the human destiny.
Civilizations go by, but in the mind of men will remain forever
the glory that others have striven to create...
Jaime Torres Bodet
It was during the reign of the 6th Aztec monarch in 1479 that this stone was carved and dedicated to the principal Aztec deity, the sun. The stone has both mythological and astronomical significance, weighs almost 25 tons, has a diameter of just under 12 feet, and a thickness of 3 feet. It was carved from basalt - a solidified lava, this being an area where volcanos were common. Cesar and I stood under it and I didn't want to think what would happen if it suddenly decided to fall over...
Cesar and I, Museum of Archaeology, Mexico City
A little bit of information you need to know to really appreciate this calendar - It was the calendar of the Aztec people of Pre-Columbian Mexico and shares the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica. The calendar consisted 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". The calendric year began with the first appearance of the Pleiades star cluster in the east immediately before the dawn light. Every month had its name, and the days of the month were numbered from one to twenty. The days of the last month, Nemontemi, were numbered from one to five.The box at the top of the stone contains the stone's year of creation, in this case 1479 CE. The first calendar of the Aztec people was called the xiuhpohualli, the counting of years. This was a 365 day year, helpful for planning farming and predicting the weather. There were 18 months, each 20 days long, or 4 (5 day) weeks. Then to bring the year up to 365 days there were 5 "unlucky" days added (Nemontemi). Each year would also be divided into 4 seasons. I found very interesting some of the ritualistic activities associated with each month. Children and slaves were particularily vunerable! Some examples ( I won't name the month, just it´s number ) - month 1: children were sacrificed to water gods, month 2: dances were held by priests wearing the flayed skin of victims, month 3: the flayed skins were buried along with more child sacrifices, month 4: the new corn was blessed with the sacrifice of maidens, month 5: any impersonators of major gods were sacrificed, month 6: impersonators of water dieties were sacrified by drowning, followed by ritual bathing and dances, month 7: more impersonators sacrificed ( not a good career choice! ), month 8: saw the feast for the godess of young corn, month 9: all the gods were festooned with garlands and feasts on corn-meal cakes and turkey commenced, month 10: ceremonial pole climbing competitions and sacrifices to fire gods by roasting victims alive began ( I assume they ran out of turkeys ), month 11: saw the sweeping of house and roads and mock combat, month 12: ceremonies welcoming gods returning to earth took place with much ceremonial drunkeness and sacrifices by fire, month 13: ceremonies for mountain rain gods with much human sacrifice and ceremonial cannibalism, month 14: featured a ritualistic hunt following a fast, then sacrifices of game and ceremonial feasting, month 15: began the decoration of homes and fruit trees with paper banners, a race-procession, and for those who just can't get enough - massive sacrifices, month 16: was for the festival honoring water gods, when children and slaves were sacrificed, month 17: magic was used to bring rain and women were beaten with straw-filled bags to make them cry ( beats being flayed alive! ) and month 18: images of god were made from amaranth dough followed by feasting on tamales stuffed with greens. The Nemontemi or empty days that were added were five unlucky days where there was no rituals performed and people generally fasted.
Calender 2 was called the tonalpohualli. Though both calendars inter-relate in religion and ceremony, it's the tonalpohualli that is considered the sacred calendar. The rituals were all divided up among the gods. There were 20 signs, and 13 numbers. Like a gear within a gear, each of the 20 signs would be assigned each of the 13 numbers. 13x20=260, the total number of days in the "sacred year". The 13 day period is a kind of Aztec week. Not only was every day ruled by a god, each of the weeks were also ruled by a god - the one associated with the first day. Every 52 years, the two calendars would align. This could bring disaster on the world, so a special ritual took place called the New Fire Festival.
No one really knows how the stone itself was used, but it may have been simply a monument or possibly a sacrificial altar. In the centre is the sun god, Tonatuih (some believe this may be the earth god). Each of his hands holds a human heart, and his tongue is a ritual blade for sacrifice. The four squares that come next show the four previous creations that perished (by jaguars, wind, rain and water). Next come the 20 signs mentioned above, the days of the Aztec month. The 5 dots are the 5 unlucky days, days of sacrifice. The next area has square sections with dots, possibly representing weeks of 5 days each. The eight angles are rays of the sun. Finally, on the Aztec calendar stone there are the snakes that come head to head together. The symbols may represent the 52 years in a cycle. Between the tails is a symbol probably showing the date the stone was carved. At the edge are 8 equally spaced holes. Sticks may have been placed in these, in order to use the calendar as a sundial.
Other major highlights in the museum include a replica of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma's feathered headdress (the original is in Vienna); a stela from Tula, near Mexico City; massive Olmec heads from Veracruz; and vivid reproductions of Maya murals in a reconstructed temple. We didn't have enough time that day to see everything and I intend to return when I have the opportunity to explore more of these treasures. Here are a few more photos I took of our visit to this very impressive museum! gws
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Marie, entrance to Museum    |
