Component A
The Aztec Calendar or Sun Stone is made of basalt and is approximately 12 feet in diameter by three feet thick and weighs almost 25 tons. It is a sophisticated implement that chronicles the passage of time through symbols and formulas. The calendar is divided into rings using symbols that describe past events, predict future events, and calculates the date with amazing accuracy. Its full meaning is still being debated today.
Although the calendar has been dated back to the Aztec Monarchy in 1479, it was unearthed in the “Zocolo” or main square of Mexico City in 1760. It was embedded in the Western Tower of the Metropolitan Cathedral until 1885 when it was transferred, by order of the President of the Republic, General Porfirio Diaz, to the National Museum of Archeology and History.
The calendar is marked by four or six rings (depending on the source). In the center of the stone is the face of Tonatiuh, the face of the sun, Lord of Heaven. The Aztecs believed that four previous suns were cataclysmically destroyed and then re-created during four different eras. These four suns (The Jaguar Sun, The Winds Sun, Rain of Fire Sun, and Water Sun) found in the first ring, are symbolized by the rays surrounding Tonatiuh’s head. Tonatiuh symbolizes the current or fifth era, Earthquake Sun. It is predicted that the current era will end by a cataclysmic earthquake. The first ring also describes Tonatiuhs penchant for sacrificial blood and human hearts. The first ring also contains symbols for North, South, East, and West.
The second ring contains the days of the month, twenty in total. Each day consists of a number and a symbol (daysign) which is protected by a God. Each God watches over that day and recommends certain actions to take or not. For example, the sixth day of the month Miquiztli (death) is protected by Tecciztecatl, god of the conch. “Miquiztli is the the Unknown, that which emanates shadow. It is a good day for reflecting on your priorities in life, a bad day for ignoring possibilities. It is a day of transformation, signifying that briefest moment between old endings and new beginnings.”
The third ring depicts forty squares, with five balls each, symbolizing the 200 days in the Aztec year. In it and radiating to the outer ring are four arrowheads representing the suns rays. The fourth or outer ring contains the dedication date of the stone, which gives us the date of the stone. It is also said to describe the twelve constellations.
Although the Sun Stone is quite primitive, as compared to modern technology, it is surprisingly accurate. The symbols and meanings for the Aztecs and other pre-columbian cultures have been passed through through the ages. The sophistication of this tool is a credit to the Aztecs ingenuity and intelligence.
Component B
The following story is a fictionalized account of historic events.
I am an Aztec warrior and have been honorably chosen to be sacrificed at tonight’s “New Fire Ceremony” which marks the end of the fifty-two year period of time calculated by our calendar. At the end of our fifty-two year cycle (the solar cycle) there are five days between the old fifty-two period and the new fifty-two period known as Nemontemi, (empty, useless, or unlucky days). The empty days are marked by much solemnity. We begin by fasting and generally abstain from sex, rituals, and other normal activity. Next, in anticipation of the world ending, we destroy our personal things such as clothing, furniture, cookware, and religious idols. On the fifth day, our fires are extinguished, pregnant women are locked up in case they turn into wild animals, and children are pinched so they stay awake and don’t turn into mice.
As I lay on the convex alter on top of the Hill of the Star proudly awaiting the priest who will honor the Aztec people with my sacrifice, I see the Obsidian knife that will be used to cut open my chest and remove my heart offering it to the Gods. The Gods rule what we do daily from planting crops to rituals and we must make human and animal offerings to them in order to keep them happy and to keep us safe. Once the priest removes my heart, he will place a piece of burning wood into my chest cavity and from it, the people will light their torches and go back to their village and light their dark homes so that they may start re-building their broken possessions. The next twelve days will be spent in wild celebration.
I look into the night sky searching for Pleiades, whose impending appearance will mark the start of the next fifty-two year period and the end of my life. I am happy. I know that the Gods will make a special place for me in heaven and that the Aztec people will be granted light for another fifty-two years.
http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_3.htm
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/mysfifthsun.html
http://appsrv.cse.cuhk.edu.hk/~csc5460/mirror/handbook/Astronomy.html
http://frontpage2000.nmia.com/~nahualli/LDStopics/Mosiah/Mosiah2.htm