 By Rob Young from United Kingdom - Aztec Calendar Stone, CC BY 2.0© |
Before Research: This is the Aztec calendar stone also known as the Sunstone. Notice the lolling tongue and snarling face, such features were extremely common in their statues and wall carvings. Notice the intricate craftsmanship, the intricate layers that were chiseled into the stone, made all the more impressive considering the civilizations never advanced passed the bronze and copper stage of metallurgy. It was their belief that the gods maintained the ongoing existence of universe and that the continued existence of the gods was reliant on the faith and continuing human sacrifices made by their mortal worshipers. This belief extended to their artwork. The priesthood would commission artisans to create such monument to please the gods and in turn that would keep the gods sustained and themselves alive.
After Research: Standing at over 358 cm (11.7ft) tall, and made of a solid basalt, the Calendar Stone is one of many such monuments that the Aztecs erected and used to honor their gods. Within the center of the Calendar stone was a depiction of an unknown god with a still beating heart grasped within his claws. Who this god or if it is a god isn't exactly know, though the leading theorieis that the head belongs to Tonatiuh, the sun god. Surrounding that are four squares and the leading theory is that they represent the four previous eras that ended each ended with the destruction of human civilization to different apocalyptic disasters.
Source(http://www.lared-latina.com/sunstone.html, http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/calendar/calendar-stone, lared-latina.com/sunstone.html, truman.edu/~marc/webpages/nativesp99/aztecs/aztec_template.html)
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