Aztecs
The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec peoples included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Aztec culture was organized into city-states, some of whi…
Mesoamerican Long Count calendar
The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar is a non-repeating, vigesimal (base-20) and base-18 calendar used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya. For this reason, it is often known as the Maya (or Mayan) Long Count calendar.
Did the Aztecs have a calendar?
The Aztec calendar, in particular, was influenced by one of the earliest of Mesoamerican people, the Olmecs. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.
What do the different signs on the Aztec calendar mean?
On the Aztec calendar, different signs or images are used for the day counts which are also associated with one of the four cardinal directions. The day signs start with 1 cipactli meaning crocodile, with an actual image of the crocodile used to represent it.
What is the 260-day cycle on the Aztec calendar?
The 260-day ritual cycle on the Aztec calendar was called tonalpohualli which means “day count”. On it, each day is represented by a combination of a number from 1 to 13 in addition to one of the twenty day signs. The number and days were incremented with each passing day.
Why did the Aztecs have 52 year cycles?
Both calenders ran at the same time and the same day in each fell at the same time every fifty-two years. So, Aztec time was divided into 52-year cycles. In Aztec religion, the destruction of every era always occurred on the last day of each 52 year cycle (although each era lasted for several of these cycles.
How are the Aztecs calendars different?
Each day in the calendar was given a unique combination of a name and a number. In addition, both individual days and periods of days were given their own gods in the calendar, highlighting the Aztec view that time and daily life was inseparable from religious beliefs.
What is the difference between the 2 Aztec calendars?
Unlike The Gregorian calendar, however, the Xiuhpohualli and Haab calendars weren't divided into 12 months of ~30 days each, but into 18 months of precisely 20 days each. This meant that every year, the two cycles had 5 leftover days that weren't part of any month.
What were the 2 calendars of the Aztec how many days were in each?
The Aztec calendar consists of 260 days (13 months, each containing 20 days), which determined the life of each Mexica (Aztec).
How was the Aztec calendar divided?
The civil year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each, plus an additional 5 days called nemontemi and considered to be very unlucky.
What's the difference between the Aztec and the Mayan calendar?
The main difference between the Mayan and Aztec calendars is that the former refers to 11Th August 3114 as the day, month, and year, when the world was formed while on the other hand the latter refers to 1710, are the first year when the world was made.
What is the difference between the Mayan calendar and the Gregorian calendar?
The Maya had a numeric system, games, aqueducts, and even a calendar to tell time. The calendar that the Maya used looks very different in comparison to the 12 month Gregorian Calendar that we use. The Mayan Calendar consists of three dating systems, which make interpreting the date more unique than our dating system.
What are the names of the two Aztec calendars What do they keep track of?
The calendar consists of a 365-day calendar cycle called xiuhpōhualli (year count) and a 260-day ritual cycle called tōnalpōhualli (day count). These two cycles together form a 52-year "century", sometimes called the "calendar round".
What is the Aztec calendar called?
The tonalpohualli and Aztec cosmology The tonalpohualli, or day-count, has been called a sacred calendar because its main purpose is that of a divinatory tool. It divides the days and rituals between the gods. For the Aztec mind this is extremely important.
What does the Aztec calendar represent?
The Aztec solar year contained 18 months of 20 days each, with 5 extra days. Time was divided into “centuries” of 52 years. The calendar represents the Aztec belief that the universe had already passed through four world creations, which had all been destroyed.
Who invented the 365 day year?
the EgyptiansTo solve this problem the Egyptians invented a schematized civil year of 365 days divided into three seasons, each of which consisted of four months of 30 days each.
What was the Aztec calendar?
Aztec Calendar. Aztecs used a sophisticated calendar system for the calculation of ordinary days and religious ceremonies. The Basic structure of Aztec calendar was also used by other ancient civilisations of Mesoamerica. The Aztecs added their own features to this calendar and adapted it to their own needs. This Aztec calendar had two parts: one ...
How many days were there on the Aztec calendar?
Aztec Calendar: Trecenas. 20 periods of 13 days were used to organise the total of 260 days on the sacred Aztec calendar. Each of these 13-day periods is known as trecenas. The calendar date of the first day of the 13 days in a specific trecena is used to name that trecena.
What are the Aztec day signs?
Aztec Calendar Day Signs. On the Aztec calendar, different signs or images are used for the day counts which are also associated with one of the four cardinal directions. The day signs start with 1 cipactli meaning crocodile, with an actual image of the crocodile used to represent it. This image is associated with the east.
What are the two more or less independent calendars?
The two more or less independent calendars constituted the Aztec calendar system . The day signs on this calendar system are represented by different images and are also associated with one of the four cardinal directions.
What is the name of the festival that the Aztecs celebrated in the 20th century?
With the Spanish influence, each 20-day period became to be known as veintena, although the name used by the Aztecs for these periods is unknown. A specific festival was associated with each of these 20-day periods.
Who influenced the Aztec calendar?
The Aztec calendar, in particular, was influenced by one of the earliest of Mesoamerican people, the Olmecs. YouTube. Smarthistory.
Why is the agricultural calendar called the agricultural calendar?
This particular calendar cycle is also known as the agricultural calendar since it was based on the sun. The other calendar cycle was used to keep track of religious ceremonies and was thus considered a sacred calendar. This one had a 260-day ritual cycle. Both these calendars coincided after every 52 years had passed.
What were the two calendars used by the Aztecs?
The Aztecs, who called themselves Mexica, mainly used the two calendars Tonalpohualli / Tzolkin and Xiuhpohualli / Haab , which did not differ in their mode of operation. One of the major differences between the Aztec vs Mayan calendars that we can see is the lack of a Long Count calendar (Mayan Long Count calendar).
What was the meaning of the second solar calendar?
He was a civil calendar, was connected to agricultural practices and held an important place in Aztec religion.
How many days are in a Mayan cycle?
For example, 1 Alautun = 23,040,000,000 days. Meanwhile, in the Aztecs, the cycle would end only on the 52-year Tonalpohualli / Tzolkin cycle.
What are the names of the Nine Night Lords of the Maya?
They are written with the letter G and numbers. For example, G1, G2, etc. But in Aztec astrology, we know their names: 1. Xiuhtecuhtli (lor d of central fire) / Direction – Center. 2. Itztli (sacrificial knife god) / Direction – East.
What is the meaning of the Tonalpohualli cycle?
The descriptions of these cycles in Tonalpohualli: 1. Tonalli ( Shadow Soul – twenty-day cycle) – Resides in the brain and provides for thought, determining consciousness. 2. Teyollia (Spirit Soul – cycle of thirteen numbers) – Spirit Soul is implanted in the heart and provides for subconscious emotion. 3.
What civilizations used astrology?
Most Mesoamerican civilizations used one astrology that was given to them by the gods. The same as the Chaldeans, who mention the Oannes who taught them agriculture, to read, write and study the stars. Western astrology is derived from the Chaldeans among others, but also from Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Etruscan.
Did the Aztecs use the Long Count?
Both civilizations coexisted close together, so I personally think the Aztecs also used the Long Count calendar. However, what is known as the Long Count was introduced to be perfected by the Mayan in classic time. Image Credit.
How long did the Aztec calendar last?
The religious calender told when to consult the gods and lasted 260 days. Different days belonged to different gods, so days could be good or bad depending on which god's day it was. Elizabeth Hill Boone described how the religious calender worked in her book, "The Aztec World.".
What was the Aztec calendar used for?
The time-measuring calender was used to determine the best time for planting and harvesting times and to organize festivities.
What was the most important event in Aztec life?
This was the time when the gods could decide to destroy humanity, so the most important religious event in Aztec life happened. This was called the New Fire Ceremony and was held for five days before the end of the cycle.
How many years did the Aztecs have?
So, Aztec time was divided into 52-year cycles. In Aztec religion, the destruction of every era always occurred on the last day of each 52 year cycle (although each era lasted for several of these cycles. This was the time when the gods could decide to destroy humanity, so the most important religious event in Aztec life happened.
How many days are there in a year?
One year consisted of 365 days that was divided into 18 months. There were 20 day signs, (i.e. dog, water, deer, grass, etc..) and 13 day numbers. This was an continuious cycle which repeated with 5 extra days at the end of the year, which were considered to be bad-luck days when disasters were most likely to occur.
Who Were The Aztec and The Maya?
The Aztec and the Maya were two entirely different ethnicities and people.
Aztec vs. Maya Calendar – Similarities
Even if you know nothing about the Aztec and Maya cultures and religions, their two calendars are very similar even just at a glance. They are unique compared to calendrical systems elsewhere in the world in that each calendar is made out of two different cycles.
Aztec vs. Maya Calendar – Differences
There are several minor and superfluous differences between the Aztec and Maya calendars, with most of them being a bit too detailed for a quick article. However, there’s one major difference that should be mentioned and that perfectly exemplifies the main difference between the Maya and the Aztecs – scale.
Wrapping Up
The Aztec and the Maya were two of the greatest civilizations of Mesoamerica and shared many similarities. This can be seen in their respective calendars, which were very similar. While the Maya calendar was much older and likely influenced the Aztec calendar, the latter was able to create a dis
Overview
Tōnalpōhualli
The tōnalpōhualli ("day count") consists of a cycle of 260 days, each day signified by a combination of a number from 1 to 13, and one of the twenty day signs. With each new day, both the number and day sign would be incremented: 1 Crocodile is followed by 2 Wind, 3 House, 4 Lizard, and so forth up to 13 Reed, after which the cycle of numbers would restart (though the twenty day signs had not yet been exhausted) resulting in 1 Jaguar, 2 Eagle, and so on, as the days immediately f…
Xiuhpōhualli
In ancient times the year was composed of eighteen months, and thus it was observed by the native people. Since their months were made of no more than twenty days, these were all the days contained in a month, because they were not guided by the moon but by the days; therefore, the year had eighteen months. The days of the year were counted twenty by twenty.— Diego Durán
Xiuhpōhualli is the Aztec year (xihuitl) count (pōhualli). One year consists of 360 named days an…
Reconstruction of the Solar calendar
For many centuries scholars had tried to reconstruct the Calendar. A widely accepted version was proposed by Professor Rafael Tena of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, based on the studies of Sahagún and Alfonso Caso of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. His correlation argues that the first day of the Mexica year was February 13 of the old Julian calendar or February 23 of the current Gregorian calendar. Using the same count, it has been the date of t…
See also
• Maya calendar
• Mesoamerican calendars
• Aztec New Year
• Muisca calendar
External links
• The Aztec Calendar - Ancient History Encyclopedia
• (in Spanish) Detailed description of the temalacatl from Mexico's Museo Nacional de Antropología
• Daily Aztec Calendar
• Aztec Calendar Ruben Ochoa Correlation