aztec mexica
Aztec Sun Stone
Monumental basalt relief sculpture (c. 1427–1479 CE) carved by an anonymous Mexica workshop, depicting the Aztec cosmological sun calendar. Held at the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City.
Scholarly Significance
Anchor the Aztec-Mexica cluster with the most iconic surviving monumental sculpture of the culture, now at the Museo Nacional de Antropología.
Notes
- ·Discovered in 1790 in the main square of Mexico City (Zócalo), buried since the Spanish destruction of Tenochtitlan.
- ·The central face is commonly interpreted as either Tonatiuh (the sun deity) or the date-glyph '4 Movement' (Nahui Ollin).
- ·Carved during the reign of Axayacatl (r. 1469–1481); the range 1427–1479 encompasses both the reign of Itzcoatl (founding of the Triple Alliance) and Axayacatl.
- ·The stone was not a functional calendar; it was a cosmological and ritual monument likely displayed on a temple platform.
- ·The object measures approximately 358 cm in diameter and weighs around 24 tonnes.