Discussion Spark:
Artifacts are objects crafted by people that can be traced back to its civilization. Common artifacts were used as tools, weapons, armor, and pottery. However, some of the most notable artifacts have historical, artistic,
and symbolic elements that were left behind by the indigenous people that have been discovered by historians, archeologists, and adventurers. During my trip to Mexico City, I have had the pleasure of visiting two of the most well-known Aztec artifacts, Templo Mayor (‘Main Temple’), and the Calendar Stone (‘Piedra del Sol’). The Templo Mayor is now a ruin, which consisted of a
twin pyramid built by the Aztecs at the center of the city of Tenochtitlan which is now Mexico City’s center plaza known as “Zocalo”. It was the focal centerpiece of the city dedicated to the Aztec’s main Gods, Huitzilopochtli, god of the sun and war, and Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture.
The Aztec Calendar (Sun) Stone is the Mona Lisa of Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology’s collection (Dillon, 2020). Its original intended purpose is incredibly complicated and still under scientific discussion, but it is considered by most as an astronomical cyclical calendar showing the Aztec
cosmic cycles. The stone stands at a diameter of twelve feet, three feet thick, and 24.5 tons. Its striking, bold, and iconic carvings are a remarkable sight. The stone is a circular sculpture out of solidified lava rock with intricate
symbolic carvings. At the center, is the Sun God surrounded by four symbols depicting Gods of the Jaguar, Wind, Rain, and Water. The stone was buried a few decades after the conquest of 1519 near the Templo Mayor in the main plaza, then rediscovered in 1790. It remained mounted in a main tower of the Catedral Metropolitan, then relocated to the original Anthropology Museum in 1885.
Reference:
Dillon, K. (2020)
What to See at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City
https://lajollamom.com/mexico-city-with-kids-national-museum-of-
anthropology/#aztec-sunstone
