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An Aztec "Calendar Stone" in Yale University Museum

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An Aztec American Anthropologist NEW SERIES VOL. 12 OCTOBER-DECEMBER, 1910 No. 4 AN AZTEC "CALENDAR STONE" IN YALE UNIVER- SITY MUSEUM BY GEORGE GRANT MAcCURDY stone was of Orrin Brothers and THIS valuable bought Nichols, proprietors of a show called the "Aztec Fair, Mexico Past and Present." The purchase was made in 1887 by Professor O. C. Marsh of Yale University at a sheriff's sale in New Haven, Conn., where the "Aztec Fair" was showing at the time; and the stone was given by Professor Marsh to the Peabody Museum of Yale University in 1898. In the printed "Guide to the Aztec Fair," the piece in question is described at No. 101 as "The 'temalacatl' (gladiator's stone). This stone, with a hole through the centre and covered with curious hieroglyphics, is one that victims destined to be sacrificed were fastened to by the arms or limbs, a rope passing through the hole securing them. They were also used for the fol- lowing purpose: Two of these stones were placed a few feet apart and a warrior fastened to each by the ankle. They were then compelled to fight one another until one or both were killed. There are only three of them known to exist-one at the National Museum in Mexico city, one in the institute at Oaxaca, and the one in our possession, which was lately unearthed in the valley of Mexico. Consequently this relic is without price." This statement does not specify which stone in the National Museum of Mexico and which in the institute at Oaxaca is to be compared with the Yale specimen. It is comparable with the great Aztec Calendar stone (Calendario azteca) of the Mexican National Museum although much smaller than the latter and differing in AM. ANTH., N. S., 12-33 481 482 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 12, 1910 detail; also with the stone of Tizoc. Taking advantage of the meeting of the International Congress of Americanists in Mexico city during the past summer, the author had photographs made of the Yale specimen; and through the courtesy of Director Garcia and Dr Paul Henning of the Museo Nacional was able to compare these photographs with certain originals including the two just mentioned. He is also much indebted to Professor Eduard Seler of Berlin, who made a special visit to New Haven in order to pass on the authenticity of the specimen, and to Mrs Zelia Nuttall, of Coyoacdn. The Yale specimen measures 54.6 X 45.7 X25.6 centimeters, each face being rectangular. The five visible faces bear figures in relief. The bottom is simply dressed to an approximately plain surface. The material is a rather hard, somewhat porous volcanic rock. There is a central vertical perforation lined with a brass' tube that reaches from the top to a point about ten centimeters from the bottom. At the top the inside diameter of this brass tube is 5 centimeters, while at the lower end it is only 3.5 centimeters. The wall of the tube has an average thickness of four-tenths of a centi- meter. From the lower end of the tube to the bottom of the stone the perforation expands into a cylindrical chamber with a diameter of about twelve centimeters. As no two of the three dimensions of the stone are equal, for the sake of convenience, its six rectangular faces can be referred to as top, bottom, sides, and ends. The most interesting face is the top with the sun's disk in relief, the latter forming a perfect circle 43.2 centimeters in diameter (plate xxxi). In the center surrounding the metal-lined hole is the sign olin, which signifies movement. Outside this sign are two concentric zones each bearing a circle of thirty-three nodes or raised disks. These occupy the same relative position on the face of the sun as do the twenty day-signs of the great stone in the City of Mexico. Then follows the zone of the four cardinal points or beams, the bases of the latter being separated by spaces, each ornamented with four annular disks alternating with three groups of parallel bars, three in each group, resembling trigylphs. These occupy the 1 So determined by Dr C. H. Mathewson of the Hammond Metallurgical Labora- tory. The tube is evidently post-Columbian. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST N. S., VOL. 12, PL. XXXI fl''f P4 Air eo? 4w 1? 'Le 5 Amp; Al IK 4T UPPER SURFACE OF THE YALE AZTEC "1CALENDAR STONE" With a representation of the historic sun and hieroglyphs of the four prehistoric suns. MACCURDY] AN AZTEC "CALENDAR STONE" 483 same relative position as the forty quincunx patterns to be seen on the Aztec Calendar. The two motives are derived from the same original. Another derivative, that serves as a connecting link between the two foregoing, is to be seen on the four sides of a painted stone chest (fig. 45) in the Museo Nacional and reputed to have been U U l U Lu , FIG. 45.-Stone chest with lid, supposed to have come from Texcoco. Museo Nac- ional de Mexico. After Seler, Gesammelte Abh., II, 743, 1904. found in Texcoco;' and still another on the sun's face of the qua- uhxicalli of Tizoc (plate xxxII). The outer zone with its four secondary or diagonal beams, eight groups of arches or scallops, four in a group, eight tower-like struc- tures and sixteen annular disks, although much simplified, is also similar to the outer zone of the Aztec Calendar; the two encompassing serpents, however, and the sign matlactli omei acatl, "thirteen reed," the birth year of the historic sun, are lacking. The arches of the outer zone represent feathers and the disks, eyes. These elements and the cardinal points and diagonal beams 1Eduard Seler. Gesammelte A bhandlungen II, 743, 1904. 484 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 12, 1910 generally enter into Mexican representations of the sun's disk. Beyond the latter in the four angular fields are the symbols for the four prehistoric suns which in the Aztec Calendar are to be found in the four spokes of the sign olin. The orientation of the Aztec Calendar of the Museo Nacional is not difficult because of the face or mask at the center and the two encircling blue feather snakes (plate xxxIII). As these are both lacking in the sun stone of Yale University Museum, I have ori- ented the latter by the sign olin, and the signs of the four pre- historic suns. The sign olin is bilaterally symmetrical when divided either vertically or horizontally. In placing its handles on the sides where they belong there would still be two possible orientations. One of these, however, would cause the hieroglyphs of the four pre- historic suns to be inverted. I have chosen the other. Beginning therefore at the upper left hand corner and proceeding in a direction opposite to the movement of the hands of a watch we have the following: I. Naui ocelotl, "four Jaguar." 2. Naui eecatl, "four Wind." 3. Naui quiauitl, "four Rain," i. e. Rain of Fire. 4. Naui atl, "four Water." These are the symbols of the following four prehistoric suns: I. Ocelotonatiuh, "the Jaguar sun." 2. Eecatonatiuh, "the Wind sun." 3. Quiauhtonatiuh, "the Rain sun." 4. Atonatiuh, "the Water sun." Ocelotonatiuh came to an end through darkness and the fall of the heavens, at which time the people were devoured by jaguars. According to the belief of the Mexicans it was a great jaguar that by devouring the sun caused its eclipse. Eecatonatiuh was destroyed by a great hurricane, the people of the time being turned into monkeys. The destruction of the third prehistoric sun, Quiauh- tonatiuh, was caused by a rain of fire, the evidences of which were to be seen in volcanic phenomena so common in Mexico. Atonatiuh perished by means of a flood and the people were turned into fishes. Only after the successive annihilation of these four prehistoric suns did the present sun, fifth in the series, appear. This took place in N. VOL. 12, PL. XXXII AMERICANANTHROPOLOGIST S., O O~ 0 o0 O OO (O oO 00 00 C) O 0 0 o \ / NACIONAL REPRESENTATION OF THE SUN ON TOP OF THE SACRIFICIAL STONE OF TIZOC, MUSEO DE MEXICO vol. of After A. Pefiafiel, MIolunzentos del Arfe Ylexicanzo Anznlguo, II plates, p, 300, 1890. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST N. S., VOL. 12, PL. XXXIII ?:b- all.... %Opp,,". AZTEC CALENDAR, MUSEO NACIONAL DE MEXICO After A. Pefiafiel, j1ioznumentos del 1-rteAlexicano Antz2uo, vol. II of plates, p. 312, 1890 MACCURDY] AN AZTEC "CALENDAR STONE" 485 the year matlactli omei acatl represented by the number thirteen and the sign reed. The date symbol occurs between the tails of the two serpents on the Aztec Calendar. The following year, ce tecpatl, "one flint," is reckoned by all peoples speaking the Aztec tongue as the first year of the present or historic era. They believe the historic sun is destined to be destroyed by an earthquake (tlalolin). It is therefore called Olintonatiuh, "the Earthquake sun " and its day-sign is naui olin, "four movement." The latter recurs every 260 days and with it the impending danger of destruction by a great earthquake, which the people seek to ward off by holding a four days' solemn fast. My orientation of the Yale stone of the sun gives the same sequence for the four prehistoric suns as that in the Museo Nacional specimen except that in the latter, one must begin at the upper right-hand instead of the upper left-hand. The only other Mexican stone monument bearing these four symbols is a cubical stone that was found in the City of Mexico (Centro Mercantil) and which is now in the Museo Nacional.
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