Have you heard of the famous Sun stone? This mythical mineral that contains a great legend on the part of an ancient civilization, was called by many the calendar of the Aztecs. In this opportunity, Spiritual energy brings you this great article so you can find out what this wonderful and historic stone is about. Do not miss it and continue reading to find out more.
What is the Sun Stone?
This famous object is a wheel carved in a single piece of the olivine basalt type, it has epigraphs referring to the mystical narration of Mexico. And also to the rites to the sun, for many years it has been erroneously called the Aztec calendar, since in it you can keep track of the days, the eras, among others. The truth is that several researchers have attributed various functions and meanings to it.
This grandiose stone comes from the land of Zocalo of the city of mexico and is currently protected by the National Museum of Anthropology in the same city. It was discovered on December 17, 1790, that is, 230 years ago by the Count of Revila Gigedo, Juan Vicente de Güemes Pacheco de Padilla and Horcasitas. According to studies, this great disk was built between 1250 and 1521 after Christ, before the Spanish colonization by the Aztecs.
A little of you history
It is known that this monument was made in the Mesoamerican Postclassic cycle, of course it is not clear who was the author of said disc. And much less is there clarity of the purpose of this great rock, the truth is that, as we have mentioned, there are different explanations of its function. It was ripped from a volcano called Xitleapparently in the area of Saint Angel o Xochimilco.
The most impressive thing about its history is that according to the studies carried out by the specialist in the study of soils Ezekiel Ordonez, for the year 1893 approximately, this majestic rock was dragged perhaps by thousands of men. For a distance of twenty-two kilometers to what was the capital of the conquest in those years, known as Mexico Tenochtitlan. It is now available on our blog about the labradorite.
The sun stone was in the capital of the Aztec empire until the conquest by the colonizers in the 15th century. Later it was moved to the Templo Mayor very close to the Viceregal Palace, where it was exhibited until the main representative of the Church , Alonso de Montufar He gave the order for her to be buried. It is then that she was found while construction works were being carried out in the capital.
Since then, it was called the Aztec calendar, since it was believed that its function was to be an artifact to measure the state of the weather. However, several scholars have reached the conclusion that the sun stone could also have the function of being a container for the sacrifices that were offered to the divinities.
On July 2, 1791, the Sun Stone was placed next to the tower of the Metropolitan Cathedral. At this time the great Alexander von Humboldt, visited this monument in order to carry out different investigations on its iconography. At the time that the American army invaded Mexican lands, this large rock was used as a target.
In 1964, the stone of the sun was relocated to the passage of monoliths in the Museum of Anthropology and History. Previously before the discovery of the sculpture of tlaltecuhtli, representing the deities of the earth, approximately four meters high, this rock was believed to be the largest ever discovered on Mexican soil.
Physical characteristics
The first thing we can say is that this great circular stone has a dimension of 3 meters with 60 meters in diameter and 122 centimeters thick. In addition to this it weighs more than 24 tons, imagine all that the poor men suffered who dragged it 22 kilometers. At present, this monument is in a firm physical state of preservation, however, its original position has been dissipating due to the periods of outdoor exhibition.
On the other hand, it can be said that the central area exhibits deterioration due to various lead bombardments which have deformed the central face that can be seen in the stone of the sun.
Meaning of symbols
Like many other monuments, the stone of the sun is composed of various sculptural motifs that surround its area, perhaps with the purpose of giving a meaning to the complex mythical narrative in response to the origin of the universe, in this case the Mexica civilization. This monumental sculpture is made up of a succession of centered circles with carved symbols.
These perhaps seek to summarize the idea of the climatological situation that the Aztecs had, it is also believed that it could give an explanation about how they perceived the world and tell their story in this way. Next, we will detail the meaning of each of its circles, do not miss it.
center of the circle
This first album is personified God of the sun Tonatiuh, with a glyph representing movement and a stone knife used for sacrifices representing their language. It can also be seen that each hand has a human heart and in the center of the figure you can see 2 claws of prey with one orbit below and another above adding 4, which gives the meaning of 4 Ollin, an ideogram allusive to Fifth Sun.
It is known that this ancient Mexican civilization divided time into suns or eras. That is to say, each era was governed by an omnipotence and each one of these eras or suns had an opening and an end, which was precipitated by calamities. In this first circle allusion is made to the current era.
In addition, it is known that for the Aztec people, the ritual sacrifices had a sacred trade, since with them they sustained the sun of their era in order not to become extinct.
the four eras
Before continuing with the explanation of the other component discs of this majestic sun stone, we will briefly explain how the Aztecs saw the beginning and end of their eras. This one that alludes so much from the first central disc.
One can then begin by alluding to the 4 squares that surround the God central, understanding that these symbolize the first four suns that preceded the current Fifth Sun.
the first square top right he personifies 4 Jaguar, which would mean the day that, after 676 years, the initial era ended when beasts that engulfed humanity sprouted from the bottom of the earth.
Subsequently the leftIs 4 Wind which means that after 364 years, the storm currents shook the earth and conceived that the individuals who did not die were transformed into monkeys. To the East you can view the 4 rain, where it is reflected that the universe persisted for 312 years and those who inhabited it died or became a turkey, also known as turkeys, after a heavy rain of fire fell.
in the home run lower right is found 4 Water, where the origin of our cosmos is presented. This mentions that it lasted around 676 years and ended when those who lived in it succumbed imprisoned by the water currents and became fish. The persistence of these eras or suns were represented in years, but through the perspective of this ancient civilization, for example, they had a frequent digit that was 676, 364 and 312.
They used these numbers since they are multiples of 52, which meant 52 years, which is the permanence of an Aztec century. This is why they enunciated a certain established sum of Aztec centuries. It is in this way that 676 years represent 13 Aztec centuries and 364 years are 7 and 312 years represent 6 Aztec centuries. This would make a succession of 13, 7, 6 and 13. In conclusion, the Aztec centuries would be 39, which would be divided into 2028 years. A bit complicated right?
Cardinal points
This is another point to consider before proceeding with the development of the symbology on the Aztec sunstone discs. These are located in the central circle of the stone between the symbols that represent the ages. These were represented in the following way.
- North as a sign 1 Flint.
- El Public chat it was the sign 1 Rain.
- This was represented with xiuhuitzolli a heraldic sign.
- West personified with the sign 7 Monkey.
Also in this section of the rock you can see each of the 4 cardinal points united in a group of 5 day signs, a group of 5 weeks of 13 days and a group of Aztec years. You might want to read about the black tourmaline.
first ring
In the first circle or disk, a crown is represented that is formed by the pictograms of the 20 baptized days of the Aztec sacred almanac, called tonalpohualli which gives it an anti-clockwise direction. In addition, it is known that the 20 days were agreed with 13 figures until a sacred year of 260 days was constituted, each one represented by different figures.
It is made up of 20 equal portions with shapes that personify every day of the month. This ring was incorporated into the two-peso coin. But in a different way than the one that could be observed in the majestic stone of the sun.
Second ring
The second disk is made up of various square fractions, in each element it can be seen that it holds 5 points, of which it is believed that the 5-day weeks were symbolized. In addition, it is seen that there are 8 corners that divide the rock into 8 portions, which according to research could represent the sun's rays located in the direction of the cardinal points.
Third ring
The third circle of the sun stone is believed to represent a mouth of 2 vipers of fire that surround, frame the rock and place the God through the sky Their physiognomies were carved and divided into sections that would represent flames. It is believed that these fractions would be able to symbolize the 52 cycles of the year, which would be: the Aztec century that was rooted in 52 years. Once a period of 52 years was over, the ceremonial of the new fire.
When the upper part of the sun stone is observed, a quadrangular is carved between the tails of the snakes. These would signify the date Matlactli Omey-Acatl, this is conjectured to belong to 1479. That would be the period in which the new fire during the rule of Axayacatl, and it is considered that it was the period in which this almanac was worked. Then you can see the 8 parallel reliefs that symbolize different constellations.
Fourth ring
Also called as the Venusian cycles, it is composed of forty sections of 5 points called fifteen, which would be the figures of 5 points that form a quadrilateral, also contains 8 triangles or rays. These fifteen they are deciphered as a symbol of the movements of the planet Venus. Since for every 5 rotations of this star around the Sun, eight years of the solar or urban period would have already passed, which when multiplied gives 40.
Fifth, sixth and seventh ring
In these discs of the stone of the sun different compendia can be visualized, such as, for example, the figures in the shape of domes, plumage and other details from which different comments have germinated. Among them is deciphered as the alliance of heaven and Earth, the stars Mars, Mercury and Saturn or the Milky Way.
stone position
Several studies on this famous rock, determined that its original position was vertical, since in this way it would have been easier to carve all the symbols found on it. Other research done by Alfredo Chavera, indicates that perhaps it was located at 20 degrees in the circle, so its position would be horizontal. Currently these two proposals are the most accepted by specialists in this field.
Another hypothesis made by the specialist Herman Beyer, about the Aztec Calendar for the year 1921, alluded that the stone of the sun is unfinished. He also mentioned that the idea of the carvers was probably to recreate a monolith quite similar in shape to the well-known Tizoc Stone or currently found cuauhxicalli by Moctezuma Ilhuicamina. His conclusion was that the stone was not finished and that once the carving work was finished, a large fragment fell off.
In this way, it is believed that there was no other way than to transport the adjacent relief, only to the gap. And it is very logical, since when you look at this side you can see the entire circumference and in it the 32 symbols that commemorate the planet Venus, accompanied by knives for sacrifices.
These clues led other researchers to think that the position of the sun stone must have been definitively horizontal since it exposed the image of the solar relief as in other monoliths with a tubular structure that are known today.
Function of the Sun Stone
From the beginning we have mentioned that the exact function of this wonderful sun stone has not really been known. However, like many other times, various investigations have been carried out, one of them carried out by chavero Many years ago, he determined that considering its horizontal position, it could be useful as a ceremonial platform. In other words, human sacrifices were performed on it for different purposes.
This hypothesis gained strength when the painting that tlacuilos made by the father Durán, En of History of the Indies of New Spain and the Islands of Tierra Firme, colored, relative to the period of the government of Axayacatl. There you could see that the high priest extracts the heart of a sacrificed on a monolith with characteristics similar to the stone of the sun.
From this theory different discussions have arisen if this monument had the specific function of executing people on a gladiatorial platform. Or on the contrary, it would be a vessel in which the sacred food of the gods was placed. For dissatisfied writers, they can be considered a sacrificial platform, only if that rock had a beam in the center.
Where the prisoner was chained with a white ribbon during the progress of the celebration of the tlacaxipehualiztli. There are other specialists who believe that its function is a combination of both theories, since if they made sacrifices in the same, it received the blood and hearts of the chosen ones, that is, it would also function as a container.
So this mystical stone of the sun is a calendar, a platform or a container, because although the answer is not certain, perhaps it is all three.
Numismatics
The sun stone has been so representative throughout the history of this beautiful country that it has been featured on the backs of coins of different denominations. Among these are the following.
- The first coin with a value of 5 cents at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. He presented a partial design of the solar rays of the radiance disk equivalent to the edge of the sun stone.
- Made between 1936 and 1943, the 5-cent coin was also materialized in nickel. This presented a wicked style of the solar flares of the circle of irradiation equivalent to the edge of the stone.
- The coin with a value of 10 cents from the middle of the last century, was elaborated with a partial design of the solar rays of the flash disc parallel to the edge of the piece.
- Between 1992 and 2002, the 5-centavo coin embedded in stainless steel was introduced. In turn, it represented a characterization of the solar rays of the circle of quincunxes parallel to the pentagon inscribed in the stone of the sun.
- The coin with a value of 10 cents was stamped in stainless steel and perpetrated between 1992 and 2002, it presents a partial scheme of the solar rays of the disk parallel to the pentagon inscribed in the stone. Starting in 2002, this coin was beaten by a smaller variety but with the same design.
- Made of minerals such as bronze and aluminum for the years 1992 to 2003, the 20-cent coin personifies the circle of approval parallel to the pentagon inscribed on the sun stone. Later, in 2004, smaller coins were executed, but with the same outline and using stainless steel as material.
- The 50 cent coin was made in bronze and aluminum for the years 1992 and 2002, it represented a partial stylization of the acatl or the 13th day similar to the pentagon inscribed on the piece. Then in 2002 smaller volume coins were made but with the same design and in stainless steel.
- For the year 1992, a coin was made with a value of one peso and it is bimetallic, which means that it has a bronze and aluminum center and a stainless steel ring around it. This one carries a partial stylization of the glow circle parallel to the edge of the piece.
- The 2-peso coin was made bimetallic, that is, it has an aluminum bronze middle and a stainless steel ring around it. It was made for the first time in 1992. It has a partial characterization of the day disk parallel to the edge of the coin. Sun stone.
- In the same way as the previous coin, this one was made with a bimetallic material with an aluminum bronze middle and a stainless steel ring. The 5-peso coin was produced around 1993. It has a partial outline of the circle of vipers parallel to the edge of the stone.
- Originating in 1990, the 10-peso coin was produced bimetallic, with a cupro-nickel center and an aluminum bronze ring. It has an innocuous characterization of the central ring in the middle of the piece.
- With a face value, the 500-peso coin was set in gold and made for the years 1985 and 1986, approximately on the occasion of the 1986 Soccer World Cup. It has a stylization of the complete ring behind the figure of a soccer player .
- Gold coin produced between 1918 and 1960 with a value of twenty pesos, it was carved with the stone of the sun in its entirety.
- Finally, the most recent piece made for the year 2007, with a value of 100, is made of 1 kilo of silver. And it usually displays the sun stone dutifully.
Curiosities of the stone
Surely you have ever heard about the sun stone, but do you know everything about it? This Mexican emblem that perhaps we should visit sometime in our lives contains certain curiosities that you may not want to miss. Next, we will tell you about them.
- Its initial length and thickness, that is, with which it was built, has degraded thanks to being exposed to the sun's rays for too long. Despite this, today the stone of the sun is not so deteriorated.
- It was located outside the west tower of the Metropolitan Cathedral for almost 100 years, until the time when Porfirio Diaz He ordered that it be taken to the National Museum then located on Calle Moneda.
- For a long time it was considered a boxing ring, only with the ritual and celebration sense that the wars and sacrifices of that time possessed.
- Its mystery originates around a legend called the myth of the five suns, where there is talk of a deity who created 2 more. Creating these in turn four children to populate the earth, they founded the seas, fire, wind and men and women. It is then that we speak of the center of the stone of the sun where the five suns are represented.
- Actually, it is not correct to call it the stone of the sun either, since originally, according to different scholars of the subject. It was created with the purpose of celebrating the sacred date that was the new fire ceremony that was carried out every 52 years and with which the rebirth of the Sun God was celebrated.
- It was buried in the year 1559 by the Spanish colonizers since they feared that pagan rites would be fulfilled, since at that time the 52 Aztec years were fulfilled.
- During the ancient civilization the sun stone was used horizontally and not vertically, as it is today. Well, as we have mentioned, one of the theories mentions that it functioned as a gladiatorial sacrifice platform. And this is why it has an opening that was used as a repository for the hearts and blood of the defeated warrior.
The stone of the sun has been one of the most important monuments that the Aztec civilization has left for the history of Mexico and for the whole world. Well, it has allowed us to know certain traditions of antiquity, only its function is not clear to us, but it does not take away its charm.
This stone must undoubtedly be visited by all of us at some time in our lives, its antiquity may fill us with the best spiritual energy you can feel. We hope that this post has been useful for you and if you have any contribution, do not hesitate to share it with us. If you liked this article, we invite you to read about it. amber.