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A vast carved disc with a central face ringed by glyphs.
Also known as: Aztec calendar stone, Piedra del Sol, Sun Stone, Carved stone disc with a face
The Sun Stone is a carved basalt monolith with a central face surrounded by concentric rings of glyphs. It is popularly called a calendar and is not one — it is a ceremonial monument that includes calendrical signs, and the central face's identity is still argued over.
Denotes the carved Mexica basalt monolith held at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, with a central face surrounded by concentric bands of glyphs.
Contexts: History
Is not a working calendar despite the popular name: it is a ceremonial monument that incorporates day signs and era glyphs rather than an instrument for reckoning dates.
The name 'Aztec calendar' is entrenched and misleading. The stone includes calendrical glyphs but was not used to compute or display dates.
Contexts: History
Has a central face whose identity is unresolved: the sun deity Tonatiuh, the earth deity Tlaltecuhtli and the night sun have all been proposed.
Contexts: History
Was buried after the conquest and rediscovered in 1790 during works in the main square of Mexico City.
Contexts: History
A large circular carved stone with a face in high relief at its centre, its tongue protruding as a blade, surrounded by concentric rings of square day-sign glyphs and two fire serpents meeting at the base.