Sacrifice And The Sun: The Aztec Sun Stone

The Aztec sun stone, also known as the Calendar Stone, is a massive sculpture that is one of the most recognizable artifacts of the Mesoamerican civilizations .It was discovered under what is now the plaza of Mexico City in 1790 and stands at almost 12 ft tall and 3 feet thick and it is roughly 24.5 tons. The Aztec sun stone is a remarkable massive circular stone disc with very detailed carvings. The Aztec sun stone is not only an impressive work of art, but it also holds significant cultural and historical value. It provides insight into the Aztec people's religion and understanding of the world and continues to be used as a symbol for Mexican Culture . The Aztec sun stone is an essential artifact for our continued understanding of the Aztec

Kent Reilly, they explore the significance and meaning of autosacrifice in correlation to the Aztec sunstone. In this chapter they go on to break down the visual meaning and significance of the intricate carvings seen on the sun stone. The chapter breaks down how the many identifiable Aztec iconography which was associated with the sun had the sunstone name. The chapter identifies the triangular carvings seen within the stone as rays from the sun. The pair of serpaints or “xiuhcocoaha” are decorated with flames that go along their back in combination with their placement in the stone allude to them providing the movement for the sun. Anyone after listening to these statements describing all the visual associations to the sun one would think the central figure to be the sun god. In “Sacrifice and the Sun '' the article mentions that there is serious debate on the exact identity of the central figure; some suggest it is the sun god, earth deity , or even the ruler who embodies these godly aspects. Cecelia F. Klein suggests that the central deity depicted on the sun stone may have been the Aztec god of war and the sun, Huitzilopochtli.The 20 glyphs seen in the stone are identified to be the day signs which have led to the stones popularly referred to as a calendar. It is clear that the sun stone holds significant cultural and historic meaning in

According to this book the sun stone's design reflects the Aztecs circular and cyclical understanding of time, with each rectangle that surrounds the central figure in the stone representing a different era or more commonly referred to as suns representing sections of time of creation and destruction. One can look at this understanding and these eras or suns are in this cycle of death and rebirth. Simply looking at the central images found in the sun stone even one with little knowledge can hypothesize that the middle image or even the stone as a whole represents the fight sun. As explained in the chapter “Fifth Sun Rising '' the intricate and detailed carvings peel back the curtain of how the Aztecs cycle view time and “suns”. The Stone also provides us with an understanding of how their religious beliefs were a part of their whole culture. Their understanding of time and these cycles of destruction were one in the same with their religious beliefs. This stone is not only a looking class to the past but serves as a strong symbol of the Aztec