Editing Aztec calendar (section)

{{short description|Calendar system that was used by the Aztecs}}
{{Aztecsmall}}
The '''Aztec''' or '''Mexica calendar''' is the [[calendar|calendrical]] system used by the [[Aztecs]] as well as other [[Pre-Columbian era|Pre-Columbian]] [[indigenous peoples of Mexico|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|thumb|220px|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 (Mexico)|National Museum of Anthropology]] in [[Mexico City]].
The actual Aztec calendar consists of a 365-day calendar cycle called {{lang|nci|[[xiuhpōhualli]]}} (year count), and a 260-day ritual cycle called {{lang|nci|[[tōnalpōhualli]]}} (day count). These two cycles together form a 52-year "century", sometimes called the "[[Calendar Round|calendar round]]". The {{lang|nci|xiuhpōhualli}} is considered to be the agricultural calendar, since it is based on the sun, and the {{lang|nci|tōnalpōhualli}} is considered to be the sacred calendar.