The Stone of the Sun

Most emblematic of Mexican images is the Aztec Calendar. The original twelve-foot circular stone miraculously escaped destruction by Conquistadores bent on obliterating all traces of heathen Mexica culture. It was excavated during renovation of Mexico City's Zocalo in 1790 after being buried for almost three centuries.

A colored image of the stone hangs in the National Museum of Anthropology. The Mexica may have painted the stone, but the colors shown here are speculative. Accurate or not, they make it easier to discern details, like the hands of the sun god Tonatuih arranged on either side of his face, each holding a human heart.

(For a high-resolution diagram of the stone, click here.)

The stone is iconic. I see images everywhere. One appears on the ten-peso coin. I imagine no other country issues currency that implies human sacrifice.

 

Throughout Mexico, no souvenir stand worth its salt fails to offer a shawl or a plate bearing the stone's likeness.

Starbucks recently got itself into trouble by issuing mugs bearing the Sun Stone image without paying licensing fees to the Mexican Government. I had no idea intellectual property rights extended to works created in the Fifteenth Century. I think it noteworthy that government lawyers pursue Starbucks while overlooking all those artisans cranking out ceramic replicas. The legal principle of "deep pockets" appears to be well understood in Mexico.

I saw the stone for the first time on a recent visit to the National Museum of Anthropology. The sight of it engendered the same thrill I experienced when I first saw the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum.

The Rosetta Stone arguably had a more important influence in the development of western thought owing to its role in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. But its content—tax regulations—is unremarkable. The Stone of the Sun, on the other hand, represents a significant intellectual achievement. It contains a pair of interlocked calendars of 365 and 260 days each which combine to track dates over a 52-year cycle. The Mexica calculation of the length of the day is more accurate than the contemporary European figure.

Mesoamerican science died with the Spanish conquest. But in its time, it was equivalent to western thinking in complexity and sophistication.

Comments

[Beatriz]

I didn't realize the original Aztec calendar was so large. Thanks for sharing.