Aztec SUN stone: meaning, origin and symbols

The Aztec culture it has a huge amount of interesting elements that most people do not know, some of these being more popular knowledge than others. One of the most recognized elements of the Aztecs is the Stone of the Sun and, in order to know what it is and explain its symbols, in this lesson from a Teacher we must talk about it. meaning of the Aztec Sun Stone.

Index

1. What is the Aztec Sun Stone?
2. History of the Stone of the Sun
3. What does Piedra del Sol represent?

The Sun stone, also known as Aztec calendar (although the term is wrong), it is a basalt monolith in which Aztec elements such as their cosmology or solar cults, hence its name.

The origin of the Stone of the Sun goes back to 1250, being the historical moment, it considers that Aztecs or Mexica they were able to build it. Although the sources differ in the exact moment and place it more in the future, but always before the arrival of the European colonizers.

For an enormous amount of time it was thought that the Stone of the Sun was a calendar, causing that even today many people call it the Aztec calendar; but this is wrong.

Image: Slideplayer

To better understand this important element of the Aztec culture We must talk about its history and understand its origin and the relevance it had during the Aztec period.

The Stone of the Sun has its origin in the Aztec zone around 1250, although the sources leave us doubts but always between this year and 1500. The stone was in the center of the city of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztecs until the arrival of the European colonizers.

For some unknown reason the Spanish did not destroy it as they did with other Aztec elements, moving it to the so-called Templo Mayor next to the Viceregal Palace until, years later, it was buried to eliminate traces of the Aztec culture.

Forgotten by the passing of the years, it wasn't until December 1790 that the Aztec Sun Stone was unearthed due to a series of works carried out in Mexico City. Historians did not agree on the origin of the stone, so named as Aztec calendar for its resemblance to similar elements of other Mesoamerican cultures.

Since then numerous studies have shown that it is not a calendar and it has become a key element of the Aztec civilization.

To continue with this lesson on the meaning of the Aztec Sun Stone, we must talk about what the main symbols that appear on it represent.

Although the stone has been studied and analyzed for years, the reality is that we still do not know the truth behind several of the circles, existing symbols and icons that we cannot relate to anything and causing that much of the Stone of the Sun, still be a mystery.

The composition in stone circles makes it necessary to talk about them and therefore we must analyze each of the circles:

• First Circle or Fifth Sun: This circle represents the god Tonatiuh, who is in charge of the current stage. Being a god focused on sacrifices, the idea was that by sacrificing people you could delay the end of the Sun and the stage.
• Second Circle or the four suns: The suns in this circle represent the 4 eras prior to the current one, each of them centered on a different element. Among these eras we find one centered on a flood, another on a rain of fire, another in which the wind turned the Aztecs into monkeys, and finally one in which humans were eaten by animals.
• Third Circle: This part of the Stone of the Sun is related to the days of the month, being twenty and associated with God and elements of nature. In the Aztec civilization it was normal to use symbols or icons to represent the days of a month, being the reason why we know that the icons present in the stone represent that.
• Fourth Circle: 40 five-point sections thought to represent the motion of Venus, serving as a system to differentiate the movements of the Earth and Venus, although we do not know the reason why the Aztecs made this.
• Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Circle: We are not sure what this part of the stone represents, and it could be many different elements, such as the movements of other planets or the Milky Way itself. There are many studies on this subject, but none have been able to guarantee with certainty the reason for the symbols.
• Eighth Circle: It is believed that it is the representation of the dual, being a key element in the beliefs of the Aztecs, such as life and death or day and night.

If you want to read more articles similar to Aztec Sun Stone: Meaning, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

• Ocampo, E., & Bidon-Chanal, C. (1981). The stone of the sun: Notes on the conception of time among the Aztecs. Americanist newsletter, (31), 173-185.
• Luján, L. L. (2008). "The goodbye and sad complaint of the great Aztec Calendar": the incessant pilgrimage of the Stone of the Sun. Mexican archeology, 16(91), 78-83.
• Matos Moctezuma, E. (2013). Sun stone.