Other Calendar Stones
editThere are several other known monuments and sculptures that bear similar inscriptions. Most of them were found underneath the center of Mexico City, while others are of unknown origin. Many fall under a category known as temalacatl, large stones built for ritual combat and sacrifice. Matos Moctezuma has proposed that the Aztec Calendar Stone might also be one of these[1].
Temalacatls
editThe Stone of Tizoc's upward-facing side contains a calendrical depiction similar to that of the subject of this page. Many of the formal elements are the same, although the five glyphs at the corners and center are not present. The tips of the compass here extend to the edge of the sculpture. The Stone of Tizoc is currently located in the National Anthropology Museum in the same gallery as the Aztec Calendar Stone.
The Stone of Motecuhzoma I is a massive object approximately 12 feet in diameter and 3 feet high with the 8 pointed compass iconography. The center depicts the sun deity Toniatuh with the tongue sticking out. [2]
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has another, viewable here. This one is much smaller, but still bears the calendar iconography and is listed in their catalog as "Calendar Stone". The side surface is split into two bands, the lower of which represents Venus with knives for eyes; the upper band has two rows of citlallo star icons[2].
A similar object is on display at the Yale University Art Gallery, on loan from the Peabody Museum of Natural History. This object can be viewed here.[3] The sculpture, officially known as Aztec Calendar Stone in the museum catalog but called Altar of the Five Cosmogonic Eras[2], bears similar hieroglyphic inscriptions around the central compass motif but is distinct in that it is a rectangular prism instead of cylindrical shape, allowing the artists to add the symbols of the four previous suns at the corners[2]. It bears some similarities to the Coronation Stone of Moctezuma II, listed in the next section.
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Calendar Iconography in Other Objects
editThe Coronation Stone of Motecuhzoma II (also known as the Stone of the Five Suns) is a sculpture measuring 55.9 x 66 x 22.9 cm (22 x 26 x 9 in[4]), currently in the possession of the Art Institute of Chicago. It bears similar hieroglyphic inscriptions to the Aztec Calendar Stone, with 4-Movement at the center surrounded by 4-Jaguar, 4-Wind, 4-Rain, and 4-Water, all of which represent one of the five suns, or "cosmic eras". The year sign 11-Reed in the lower middle places the creation of this sculpture in 1503, the year of Motecuhzoma II's coronation, while 1-Crocodile, the day in the upper middle, may indicate the day of the ceremony.[4] The date glyph 1-Rabbit on the back of the sculpture (not visible in the image to the right) orients Motecuhzoma II in the cosmic cycle because that date represents "the beginning of things in the distant mythological past."[4]
The Throne of Montezuma uses the same cardinal point iconography[5] as part of a larger whole. The monument is on display at the National Museum of Anthropology alongside the Aztec Calendar Stone and the Stone of Tizoc. The monument was discovered in 1831 underneath the National Palace[6] in Mexico City and is approximately 1 meter square at the base and 1.23 meters tall.[5] It is carved in a temple shape, and the year at the top, 2-House, refers to the traditional founding of Tenochtitlan in 1345 CE.[5]
The compass motif with Ollin can be found in stone alters built for the New Fire ceremony[2]. Another object, the Ceremonial Seat of Fire which belongs to the Eusebio Davalos Hurtado Museum of Mexica Sculpture[2], is visually similar but omits the central Ollin image in favor of the Sun.
The British Museum possesses a cuauhxicalli which may depict the tension between two opposites, the power of the sun (represented by the solar face) and the power of the moon (represented with lunar iconography on the rear of the object). This would be a parallel to the Templo Mayor with its depictions of Huitzilopochtli (as one of the two deities of the temple) and the large monument to Coyolxauhqui[2].
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- ^ Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo (2012). "La Piedra de Tízoc y la del Antiguo Arzobispado". Escultura monumental mexica. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica. ISBN 9786071609328.
- ^ a b c d e f g Matos Moctezuma, The Aztec Calendar and other Solar Monuments
- ^ Peabody Museum http://collections.peabody.yale.edu/search/Record/YPM-ANT-019231
- ^ a b c Art Institute of Chicago https://www.artic.edu/artworks/75644/coronation-stone-of-motecuhzoma-ii-stone-of-the-five-suns
- ^ a b c https://www.ancient.eu/article/648/throne-of-montezuma/
- ^ https://mesoamericanonlinemuseum.weebly.com/moctezumas-throne.html