Aztec Calendar Stone Essay Example for Free

Aztec Calendar St wizard EssayObtaining the experience that was passed down to them from earlier Mesoamerican cultures, the Aztecs carved the calendar jewel in 1479 (Smith 253). At the time, the Aztecs lived in a very civilized world filled with horrific architecture, an impressively complex government system, and they too employ intricate systems of writing and calendric systems (Taube 7). The Calendar Stone was made by basalt pit. For the Aztecs, everything was pictorial in genius around this era.The calendar tilt depicted varied pictograms or Codex Magliabechianoand, which was primarily written on religious documents (Aztec-History). Art was centered around religion in this era. So the pictograms of the gods on the calendar rock would correlate with that subject matter. The Aztecs were a highly riteistic civilization devoted to divination and their Gods. The Aztec calendar stone was created as a divinatory tool which was used for rituals, to forecast the future, an d to determine which old age were lucky and which days not for the outcome of various actions and events (Smith 254).The calendar had two systems. It had the sacred Tonalpohualli, which was ground on the 260-day cycle and the Iuhpohualli, which was a 365-day cycle (Palfrey). Seen by the count, there is a fin day difference between these two calendars. The five day differences were thought to be the most unholy, unlucky days of the year (Smith 257). The world was thought to be coming to an end. On the Aztec Calendar, the year was divided into 13-day periods. Each group of 13 days had a disparate deity ruling over the unit.This is because these units were thought to feel a special symbolic influence and the deities were to visualize a positive outcome (Smith 256). In the middle of the sunniness Stone, is the sun god Tonatuih. His tongue project between his teeth resembles a sacrificial flint knife. In his claw like hands he clutches human hearts (Palfrey). Many scholars have de bated on the stones meaning and purpose. approximately suggest that, fixed horizontally it served as a sacrificial altar, which would make sense because the stone was sanctified to the sun deity.Most agree though, that it offers a graphic representation of the Mexica cosmos (Palfrey). In The Aztecs, Smith sums up what is to be gestated the thought of the Aztecs when they carved the calendar stone The Aztec calendar stone conveyed the message that the Aztec empire cover the whole earth (territory in all four directions), and that it was founded upon the sacred principles of time, directionality, divine warfare, and the sanction of the gods (Smith 270).Keeping the Aztec calendar is proof of ancient cultures mathematical and scientific achievements without the aid of modern technology. The study of the sun stone could kick in to further advances in mathematics and acts as a road map to our celestial bodies from that era of our history. The Aztecs believe they felt justified in beli eving in this calendar because of numerous events that changed the course of history for them. Because Aztec Indians were yearning astronomers, they tracked the stars and correlated that between the days to create this sun calendar.Examples of events happening within the timeline of the calendar stone being built are these Between 1452 and 1454, their capital city Tenochtitlan suffered from flood and famine, the following year on 4/16/1445 (Julian calendar) there was an eclipse of the sun. From 1473-1479, there were 4 more than than solar eclipses within a five year time frame (Aveni, Calnek). During this time the Aztec nation conquered and sacrificed legion(predicate) of the neighboring towns. Their leaders were wounded or killed, followed by violent earthquakes (Aveni, Calnek).There may have been even more visible eclipses seen by the Aztecs that have not been discovered because they were lost, or destroyed, or even confused with other natural events (Aveni, Calnek). If one w ere to take into consideration the Aztecs being a society with strong beliefs in deities, the Aztecs constant state of din from wars and death and then couple that with a constant flow of solar eclipses it wouldnt take a lot to consider that the Aztecs energy have thought there Gods were planning on ending their world. again.The Aztecs might have carved this massive calendar from stone to give their future generations a chance to do things right, where they did not. Many other artifacts of the same caliber and craftsmanship were excavated around the time the calendar stone was. This was an amazing find, because in the early colonial period of the sixteenth century, pre-Hispanic stone sculptures were considered potent satanic threats to successful transition (Taube 25). With the Spaniards thinking this, this lead to the destruction of many great pieces of art, manuscripts, and other forms of architecture.Thankfully, with the Aztecs foreseeing this frame of mind being a possibility and other circumstances occurring, many artifacts survived by being hidden in caves, on peck tops, and even buried under Mexico City (Taube 25). After the artifacts were excavated, rather than being destroyed, they were treated as objects of speciality and to be studied (Taube 25-26). I account for any differences between reception then and today by knowing people today have so many different religions and beliefs. Whereas the Aztecs were ignorant of the different beliefs we have today.They just had knowledge of what was taught to them by their elders as we do ours. There were not that many differences and very many similarities between American Indians of this era. In the mode they did things to their architecture and sculptures. As a matter of fact, the Aztecs calendar was based of the earlier Mayan cultures. The Aztec calendar stone and Mayan calendar share many similarities. Both calendars have ritual days. The Aztec ritual day that was formed is the Tonalpohualli and the Ma ya ritual day is the Tzolkin. The day names on both calendars are overly very similar.Both calendars used 18 months with 20 day counts along with other counts. The Aztec and Maya calendar stone is believed to have both mythological and astronomical significance. Both Native American cultures regarded their calendars as religious. Using the calendars, the Aztec and Maya priests impose when to grow crops, when the dry and rainy seasons were, when to go to war, etc. (World Mysteries). The main way the Aztec calendar differed was in their more primitive number system and less precise way of recording dates. The year also started with different months.The Maya calendar tracked the movements of the planets and the moon. From this came their reckoning of time, and a calendar that accurately measures the solar year to within minutes. The Aztecs also kept the two different aspects of time, the Tonalpohualli, which was counting the days and the Xiuhpohualli which was counting the years (Wor ld Mysteries). The Aztecs believed they were living in the ordinal and final stage of life. Because the Maya used a 360 day long cycle, they could tell that there were time periods way longer than the age of our universe (World Mysteries).It helped me figure out what some of the major celestial events where during the time the Aztec Sun Calendar was created. Palfrey, Dale. Mysteries of the Fifth Sun The Aztec Calendar. n. p. Web. 8 January 1999. http//www. mexconnect. com/articles/199-mysteries-of-the-fifth-sun-the-aztec-calendar This is a website with basic information about the Aztec Sun Calendar. It gave me more insight into what the calendar looked like. Aztec-History. N. p. , nd. Web. 1996-2012 http//www. aztec-history. com This website has an enormous amount of information about Aztec Indians, from clothing to their demise and pretty more everything in between.The website gave me most of the information about the calendar stone I have so far. Smith, Michael. The Aztecs. Blac kwell Publishers Inc. , 1996. Print. The volume is Aztec Indians and their culture. This book helped me to understand the calendar stone more and why it was just a big develop of Aztec life. Taube, Karl. Aztec and Maya Myths. British Museum Press, 1993. Print. This book detailed facts and myths about Aztec and Mayan Indians. This book helped me find what the Aztecs art and idols were see as in the early colonial period.