Item Size:  17" High     Type:  Wall Plaque

Material:  Casting Stone, with Antique Stone Finish

Original:  1500 C.E.

Current Location of Original:  National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City

The Aztec calendar is actually two: the Xiupohualli, or the count of the days, and the Tonalpohualli, or the count of destiny. The influence of the calendar was seen as so significant that priests were asked to consult the calendar before people would engage in any activity, whether it was farming, warfare, religion, or commerce. In addition to the count of the days, the calendar has astronomical data like the phases of the moon and Venus, and the years of Mercury and Mars. The calendar also makes a claim about four eras of humanity before our own, known as "suns," all of which ended in cataclysm. The era or sun that is said to be ours, the fifth one, Nahui Ollin ("four earthquake"), was expected to end by cataclysmic earthquakes. The Aztecs attributed the invention of their calendar to their god, Quetzalcoatl. The original weighs 25 tons and has a diameter of eleven feet.