page_title: Aztec sun stone
section_title: Physical description and iconography
hierarchical_section_title: Aztec sun stone / Physical description and iconography
caption_attribution_description: Español: Parte central del monolito de la Piedra del Sol, también llamado Calendario azteca (Museo nacional de Antropología e Historia, Ciudad de México). Français&#160;: Partie centrale du monolithe de la Pierre du soleil, également appelé Calendrier aztèque (Musée National d'Anthropologie et d'Histoire, Mexico). English: Central part of the monolith of the Stone of the Sun, also named Aztec calendar stone (National Museum of Anthropology and History, Mexico City).
context_page_description: The Aztec sun stone is a late post-classic Mexica sculpture housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, and is perhaps the most famous work of Aztec sculpture. Its complex design and intricate glyphic language reflect that the stone is the product of a highly sophisticated culture. It measures 358 centimetres in diameter and 98 centimetres thick, and weighs 24,590 kg. Shortly after the Spanish conquest, the monolithic sculpture was buried in the Zócalo, the main square of Mexico City. It was rediscovered on 17 December 1790 during repairs on the Mexico City Cathedral. Following its rediscovery, the sun stone was mounted on an exterior wall of the Cathedral, where it remained until 1885. Early scholars initially thought that the stone was carved in the 1470s, though modern research suggests that it was carved some time between 1502 and 1521.
context_section_description: The sculpted motifs that cover the surface of the stone refer to central components of the Mexica cosmogony. The state-sponsored monument linked aspects of Aztec ideology such as the importance of violence and warfare, the cosmic cycles, and the nature of the relationship between gods and man. The Aztec elite used this relationship with the cosmos and the bloodshed often associated with it to maintain control over the population, and the Sun Stone was a tool in which the ideology was visually manifested.
caption: Detail of the two innermost circles of the monolith
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