Download Aztec calendar

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The Aztec Calendar - mysterious origins and
later uses
Most people are at least vaguely familiar with the Aztec calendar, mostly from the famous Aztec
sun stone. But what was this calendar, and where did it come from? First, a little background.
Mesoamerican cultures were developed in a region occupying land from Southern Mexico to
Costa Rica. The people of this land began as a civilization during the time when Greece was
becoming a power of the West.
Through the period of Roman dominance and
the crusades, these people shared a commonality
in religion, myth, and in the calendar they
developed from a study of celestial movements
and their supposed effects on life on Earth.
Enter: The Aztecs
The Aztecs were the last of the great cultures of
Mesoamerica before the European
conquests. They continued the traditions of the
first of the Mesoamericans who looked into the
heavens for ways to live in the good graces of
their gods and the universe around them.
The Aztec people were an agricultural people
The Aztec sun stone, sometimes called the Aztec calender stone.
that equated religion to survival. Aztec priests
A representation at the National Anthropological Museum in Mexico City.
and leaders researched movements of the sun
and planets in the sky. They followed a set of calendars to track planetary and solar events
to make the most important decisions they had each year.
The practices that accompanied solar, lunar, and planetary events were planned religious services
in honour of their gods of the earth and sky. While gruesome ceremonies may have been an
intrinsic part of the Aztec religion, it was the celestial calendars that directed these people to
continue in the paths of their ancestors.
Aztec calendar - or calendars
The Aztecs actually used three calendars that were probably developed by the one of the
earliest of the Mesoamerican people, the Olmecs. They were used to equate the current
patterns of the sky and daily Aztec life just like they were probably used to direct the events of
the early Olmecs.
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The Tonalpohualli was the most important Aztec calendar. This 260-day calendar marked the
dates when the Aztec ceremonies were to be held. The Tonalpohualli consisted of 20-day
periods each bearing the name of a different god. Starting from the first day, the number one
through thirteen was associated with each god day. With 20 gods and 13 numbers, if run
continually until a repeated god day and number would equal 260 days. This would run in
repetition every 260 days.
The next calendar the Aztecs followed was the vague year calendar that consisted of a 365-day
calendar broken up into 18 20-day months with five days left over. The day god and number of
the first day of the vague year named vague years. So if the beginning of the vague year fell on
day god 2 Reed, then that would be the name of the vague year.
The calendar is best represented by two calendar wheels, one
that lists each day god in the 260-day cycle and the other wheel
shows each of the 365 vague year days. Spun around together,
it takes 52 years for a repeating of a vague year and day god
together. This 52-year cycle was important to the Aztecs as
they revered as a time of change that could make the current
events more or less difficult depending on the signifying god
days and their correlation to other celestial events.
Carving from the Aztec period of dedicated to the
fifth sun, the era that the Aztecs believed they lived
in according to the Aztec calender.
The final calendar was the Aztec long calendar that tracked
each 52-year bundle of calendar cycles. The Aztecs used the
long count calendar to track the patterns of civilization and
celestial movements to determine the future outlook of an
upcoming generational cycle.
The Aztec calendars that had been in use since the beginning of the cultural revolution of these
Southern American peoples derived an importance of life from the study and knowledge of time
and space. The Aztec calendars made these people who they were culturally and the integration
of religion, myth, and time proved to enhance some of the ritualistic endeavours.
The peoples of the Aztec empire combined calendar events with ceremonies to show the people
that their life was better because of the knowledge that the priests garnished from the
heavens. The tracking of time and space allowed Aztec leaders to show through the history of
time similar activity among the people.
Using the past to foresee the future kept these kings and priests of kings in power because many
things could only be explained through divinity, and divinity is how powerful kings keep the
people in order within the civilization and the universe to the benefit of all.
http://www.aztec-history.com/aztec-calendar.html
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Aztec calendar stone
The artist carved the Aztec calendar stone in 1479. Naturally, it was dedicated to the sun
god. It was a massive carving, 3 feet thick, almost 12 feet across, and weighing almost 25 tones
(22.5 tonnes). It was carved from basalt - a solidified lava, this being an area where volcanos
were common. But then it was lost - buried under the central
square of
Mexico City - for over 300 years.
Then, in 1790, renovations began on the central square (Zocalo) of
Mexico City. On December 17th, the massive carving was unearthed,
renewing interest in Mexico's ancient cultures. It was the Aztec
calendar stone, or, more properly, the Cuauhxicalli Eagle Bowl.
For a while it remained on display in the Western Tower of the Metropolitan Cathedral, and then in
1885 it was moved to the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico, where it remains to this day.
The famous calendar stone is a brilliant combination of artistry and geometry. It reflects the Aztec
understanding of time and space as wheels within wheels. The detailed surface of the stone combines
the understanding of the gods the people had created over the centuries as well as their observations of
the heavens.
Calendar 1 - The Xiuhpohualli
The first calendar of the Aztec people was called the xiuhpohualli, the counting of
years. This was a 365 day year, of course very helpful for planning your 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. Each year would also be divided into 4 seasons.
With the addition of a 12 day New Fire ritual every 52 years (which we'll talk about in a moment), the
exact length of the years were remarkably close to the actual length of the solar year that modern
scientists calculate.
Calendar 2 - 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. After all, we
have to be fair, or the gods will get all out of balance.
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
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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.
Find out today's date, or your birthday according to the Aztec calendar stone on this site!
More on the background and origins of the Aztec calendar.
The end of the century
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. Check out the Aztec religion article for
more about what took place during the festival and why.
Creation, at least the most recent creation, took place in the date known as 13-reed (this may be
sometime around 1011AD). Every 52 years, the current creation was in danger of being
destroyed.
Read more about how the Aztec calendar wheels work!
A coloured representation of the Aztec calendar stone, or sun stone
The Aztec calendar stone itself
We are unsure of how the stone itself was used, but it may have been simply a monument or
possibly a sacrificial altar. In the centre is the terrible 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. As you may know, the sun required blood to remain strong, and human sacrifices were
often offered. (read more about the Aztec sun god)
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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. 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.
There's more to explore here! Check out these 5 surprising Aztec artifacts.
http://www.aztec-history.com/aztec-calendar-stone.html