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The Aztec
Calendar
The Importance of Time to the Aztecs
Every aspect of Aztec life was
coordinated by two calendars—the
Xiutlapohualli and the Tonalpohualli:
1) The main calendar,Xiutlapohualli (sheuh-tlah-poh-WAHL-lee), had 365 days
and was based on the cycle of the sun,
with 18 months of 20 days (360 days)
and five ‘useless’ days at the end of the
year referred to as nemontemi.
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Each month was named for a god and
incorporated a religious festival
dedicated to that god.
The calendar regulated agricultural
activities such as planting and
harvesting, and determined market days.
Each year began with a festival to
honour the god of rain, Tlaloc.
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2) The tonalpohualli (toh-nahl-poh-WAHLlee) had a 260-day cycle and was the
basis for rituals and religious ceremonies.
The tonalpohualli calendar was composed
of 13 numbers and 20 signs that
represented an animal, a natural element
such as water or grass, or an abstract
idea such as movement.
Each day was associated with a specific
fate that was good, bad, or indifferent.
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The Aztec used this calendar to determine
when many of their religious rituals and
sacrifices should be performed.
The Xiuhnolpilli Calendar
The Xiutlapohualli and the tonalpohualli
combined to form a third called the
Xiuhnolpilli (she-uh-nohl-PEEL-lee). This
calendar had a cycle of 52 years, the time
needed for the two calendars to go
through their complete cycles and reach
their beginning on the same day.
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Each 52-year period was considered an
era, somewhat equivalent to our century.
The Aztecs believed that at the end of
each era, there was a possibility that the
world would be destroyed if sacrifice and
specific rituals were not carried out.
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End of an Era Rituals
• All fires were put out throughout the country.
• Statues made of wood or stone were thrown into
the lakes.
• Houses were thoroughly cleaned.
• People climbed on rooftops, fearful that the
world was going to end.
• Priests kindled a new flame on a freshly
sacrificed human heart on the peak of a sacred
mountain and used this flame to rekindle
everyone’s home fires.
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Take Home Points
• The Aztecs and other Mesoamerican
societies developed very accurate and
complicated calendars.
• These calendars were based on extremely
accurate astronomical and mathematical
calculations.
• The Aztec had two calendars.
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• The Aztec solar calendar determined
agricultural activities such as planting and
harvesting.
• The Aztec ritual calendar determined their
religious rituals and when sacrifices should
be performed.
• The solar and ritual calendar combined to
create a third calendar to complete the two
cycles. The end of an era was a time of
fear and required sacrifice and specific
rituals to prevent disaster.
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