Aztec calendar

Template:Short description Template:Aztecsmall The Aztec or Mexica calendar is the calendrical system used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. It is one of the Mesoamerican calendars, sharing the basic structure of calendars from throughout the region.

File:Monolito de la Piedra del Sol.jpg

The Aztec sun stone depicts calendrical symbols on its inner ring but did not function as an actual calendar.

The Aztec sun stone, often erroneously called the calendar stone, is on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. The actual Aztec calendar consists of a 365-day calendar cycle called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (year count), and a 260-day ritual cycle called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (day count). These two cycles together form a 52-year "century", sometimes called the "calendar round". The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is considered to be the agricultural calendar, since it is based on the sun, and the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is considered to be the sacred calendar.

TōnalpōhualliEdit

The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("day count") consists of a cycle of 260 days, each day signified by a combination of a number from 1 to 13, and one of the twenty day signs. With each new day, both the number and day sign would be incremented: 1. Crocodile is followed by 2. Wind, 3. House, 4. Lizard, and so forth up to 13. Reed. After Reed, the cycle of numbers would restart (though the twenty day signs had not yet been exhausted), resulting in 1. Jaguar, 2. Eagle, and so on, as the days immediately following 13. Reed. This cycle of number and day signs would continue similarly until the 20th week, which would start on 1. Rabbit, and end on 13. Flower. It would take a full 260 days (13×20) for the two cycles (of twenty day signs, and thirteen numbers) to realign and repeat the sequence back to 1. Crocodile.

Day signsEdit

The set of day signs used in central Mexico is identical to that used by Mixtecs, and to a lesser degree similar to those of other Mesoamerican calendars. Each of the day signs bear an association with one of the four cardinal directions.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

There is some variation in the way the day signs were drawn or carved. Those here were taken from the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.

Image	Nahuatl name	Pronunciation	English translation	Direction
File:Cipactli.jpg	lang}}	main}}	Crocodile Alligator Caiman Crocodilian Monster Dragon	East
File:Ehecatl2.jpg	lang}}	main}}	Wind	North
File:Calli.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	House	West
File:Cuetzpalin.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Lizard	South
File:Coatl.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Serpent Snake	East
File:Miquiztli.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Death	North
File:Mazatl.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Deer Animal	West
File:Tochtli.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Rabbit	South
File:Atl3.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Water	East
File:Itzcuintli.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Dog	North

Image	Nahuatl name	Pronunciation	English translation	Direction
File:Ozomatli.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Monkey	West
File:Malinalli.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Grass	South
File:Acatl.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Reed	East
File:Ocelotl.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Ocelot Jaguar	North
File:Cuauhtli.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Eagle	West
File:Cozcacuauhtli.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Vulture	South
File:Olin (Aztec glyph from the Codex Magliabechiano).jpg	lang}}	main}}	Movement Quake Earthquake	East
File:Tecpatl.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Flint Flint Knife	North
File:Quiahuitl.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Rain	West
File:Xochitl.jpg	Template:Wikt-lang	main}}	Flower	South

Wind and Rain are represented by images of their associated gods, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} respectively.

Other marks on the stone showed the current world, and the worlds before this one. Each world was called a sun, and each sun had its own species of inhabitants. The Aztecs believed that they were in the Fifth Sun, and like all of the suns before them, they would also eventually perish due to their own imperfections. Every 52 years was marked out due to the belief that 52 years was a life cycle and at the end of any given life cycle, the gods could take all they had, and destroy the world.

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}Edit

The 260 days of the sacred calendar were grouped into twenty periods of 13 days each. Scholars usually refer to these thirteen-day "weeks" as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, using a Spanish term derived from Template:Wikt-lang "thirteen" (just as the Spanish term Template:Wikt-lang "dozen" is derived from Template:Wikt-lang "twelve"). The original Nahuatl term was "in cencalli tonalli" (a family of days), according to Book IV of the Florentine Codex.

Each {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is named according to the calendar date of the first day of the 13 days in that {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. In addition, each of the twenty {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in the 260-day cycle had its own tutelary deity:

lang}}	Deity	lang}}	Deity
1 Crocodile	lang}}	1 Monkey	lang}}
1 Jaguar	lang}}	1 Lizard	lang}}
1 Deer	lang}}	1 Quake	lang}}
1 Flower	lang}}	1 Dog	lang}}
1 Reed	lang}}	1 House	lang}}
1 Death	lang}}	1 Vulture	lang}}
1 Rain	lang}}	1 Water	lang}}
1 Grass	lang}}	1 Wind	lang}}
1 Snake	lang}}	1 Eagle	lang}}
1 Flint	lang}}	1 Rabbit	lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}Edit

Template:Quote

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is the Aztec year (Template:Wikt-lang) count (Template:Wikt-lang). One year consists of 360 named days and 5 nameless ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}). These 'extra' days are thought to be unlucky. The year was broken into 18 periods of twenty days each, sometimes compared to the Julian month. The Nahuatl word for moon is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} but whatever name was used for these periods is unknown. Through Spanish usage, the 20-day period of the Aztec calendar has become commonly known as a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.

Each 20-day period started on {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Crocodile) for which a festival was held. The eighteen {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are listed below. The dates are from early eyewitnesses; each wrote what they saw. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}'s date precedes the observations of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} by several decades and is before recent to the surrender. Both are shown to emphasize the fact that the beginning of the Native new year became non-uniform as a result of an absence of the unifying force of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} after the Mexica defeat.

Veintenas of the xiuhpōhualliEdit

#	Glyph	Name	Gregorian range		Presiding deities
#	Glyph	Name	Durán	Sahagún	Presiding deities
1	File:MetzliAtlca.jpg	ātl cāhualo (“the water ceases”) cuahuitl ēhua (“the trees rise”)	Mar 01–Mar 20	Feb 02–Feb 21	Water gods
2	File:MetzliTlaca.jpg	tlācaxīpēhualiztli (“flaying of men”)	Mar 21–Apr 09	Feb 22–Mar 13	Xipe Totec
3	File:MetzliToz.jpg	tōzōztōntli (“lesser vigil”)	Apr 10–Apr 29	Mar 14–Apr 02	Tlaloc
4	File:MetzliToz2.jpg	huēyi tōzōztli (“greater vigil”)	Apr 30–May 19	Apr 03–Apr 22	Cinteotl
5	File:MeztliToxcatl.jpg	toxcatl (“dryness”)	May 20–Jun 08	Apr 23–May 12	Tezcatlipoca
6	File:MeztliEtzal.jpg	etzalcualiztli (“eating of cooked maize and beans”)	Jun 09–Jun 28	May 13–Jun 01	Tlaloque
7	File:MeztliTecu.jpg	tēcuilhuitōntli (“lesser feast day”)	Jun 29–Jul 18	Jun 02–Jun 21	Huixtocihuatl
8	File:MeztliHTecu.jpg	huēyi tēcuilhuitōntli (“greater feast day”)	Jul 19–Aug 07	Jun 22–Jul 11	Xilonen
9	File:MeztliMicc.jpg	tlaxōchimaco (“giving of flowers”) miccāilhuitōntli (“lesser feast day of the dead”)	Aug 08–Aug 27	Jul 12–Jul 31	Huitzilopochtli
10	File:MeztliMiccH.jpg	xocotl huetzi (“the xocotl falls”) huēyi miccāilhuitl (“greater feast day of the dead”)	Aug 28–Sep 16	Aug 01–Aug 20	Xiuhtecuhtli
11	File:MeztliOch.jpg	ochpaniztli (“sweeping”)	Sep 17–Oct 06	Aug 21–Sep 09	Teteo Innan
12	File:MeztliTeo.jpg	teōtlehco (“the gods arrive”)	Oct 07–Oct 26	Sep 10–Sep 29	All the gods
13	File:MeztliTep.jpg	tepēilhuitl (“feast day of mountains”)	Oct 27–Nov 15	Sep 30–Oct 19	Mountains
14	File:MeztliQue.jpg	quechōlli (“roseate spoonbill”)	Nov 16–Dec 05	Oct 20–Nov 8	Mixcoatl
15	File:MeztliPanq.jpg	panquetzaliztli (“raising of banners”)	Dec 06–Dec 25	Nov 09–Nov 28	Huitzilopochtli
16	File:MetzliAtem.jpg	ātemoztli (“descent of water”)	Dec 26–Jan 14	Nov 29–Dec 18	Rain gods
17	File:MeztliTitl.jpg	tititl (“tightening,” “contraction”)	Jan 15–Feb 03	Dec 19–Jan 07	Tonan
18	File:MeztliIzcalli.jpg	izcalli (“offshoot,” “bud”)	Feb 04–Feb 23	Jan 08–Jan 27	Xiuhtecuhtli
–	File:MeztliNem.jpg	nēmontēmi (“they fill up in vain”); Not a veintena, 5-day complementary period	Feb 24–Feb 28	Jan 28–Feb 01	None

XiuhmolpilliEdit

The ancient Mexicans counted their years by means of four signs combined with thirteen numbers, thus obtaining periods of 52 years,<ref>Tena, 2008: 103. There he shows us a table.</ref> which are commonly known as Xiuhmolpilli, a popular but incorrect generic name; the most correct Nahuatl word for this cycle is Xiuhnelpilli.<ref>Tena, 2008:9.</ref> The table with the current years:

Tlalpilli Tochtli	Tlalpilli Acatl	Tlalpilli Tecpatl	Tlalpilli Calli
1 tochtli / 1974	1 acatl / 1987	1 tecpatl / 2000	1 calli / 2013
2 acatl / 1975	2 tecpatl / 1988	2 calli / 2001	2 tochtli / 2014
3 tecpatl / 1976	3 calli / 1989	3 tochtli / 2002	3 acatl / 2015
4 calli / 1977	4 tochtli / 1990	4 acatl / 2003	4 tecpatl / 2016
5 tochtli / 1978	5 acatl / 1991	5 tecpatl / 2004	5 calli / 2017
6 acatl / 1979	6 tecpatl / 1992	6 calli / 2005	6 tochtli / 2018
7 tecpatl / 1980	7 calli / 1993	7 tochtli / 2006	7 acatl / 2019
8 calli / 1981	8 tochtli / 1994	8 acatl / 2007	8 tecpatl / 2020
9 tochtli / 1982	9 acatl / 1995	9 tecpatl / 2008	9 calli / 2021
10 acatl / 1983	10 tecpatl / 1996	10 calli / 2009	10 tochtli / 2022
11 tecpatl / 1984	11 calli / 1997	11 tochtli / 2010	11 acatl / 2023
12 calli / 1985	12 tochtli / 1998	12 acatl / 2011	12 tecpatl / 2024
13 tochtli / 1986	13 acatl / 1999	13 tecpatl / 2012	13 calli / 2025

Reconstruction of the Solar calendarEdit

For many centuries scholars had tried to reconstruct the Calendar. A widely accepted version was proposed by Professor {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}},<ref>The Mexica Calendar and the Chronography, Rafael Tena. INAH-CONACULTA. 2008</ref> based on the studies of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. His correlation argues that the first day of the Mexica year was February 13 of the old Julian calendar or February 23 of the current Gregorian calendar. Using the same count, it has been the date of the birth of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the end of the year and a cycle or "Tie of the Years", and the New Fire Ceremony, day-sign {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} of the year {{#invoke:Lang|lang}},<ref>Crónica Mexicayotl, Fernando Alvarado Tezozomoc p 36</ref> corresponding to the date February 22. A correlation by independent researcher Ruben Ochoa interprets pre-Columbian codices, to reconstruct the calendar, while ignoring most primary colonial sources that contradict this idea, using a method that proposes to connect the year count to the vernal equinox and placing the first day of the year on the first day after the equinox.<ref>Azteca/Mexica Calendar Correlations: the Good, the Bad, and the Completely Useless, Itztli Ehecatl. http://www.calmecacanahuac.com/blog/calendar/aztecamexica-calendar-correlations-the-good-the-bad-and-the-completely-useless/. 2015</ref>

In this regard, José Genaro Emiliano Medina Ramos, a senior native nahua philosopher from San Lucas Atzala in the state of Puebla, proposes a multidisciplinary calendar reconstruction in náhuatl (‘centro de Puebla’ variant) according with his own nahua cosmosvision;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and relying precisely on Ochoa's smart correlation and on Tena's presuppositions as well. His proposal was translated to Spanish and English, and codified as an academic webpage in 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>