Olmec, Maya and Aztec

Mesoamerica, from central Mexico through Central America, built cities, writing, calendars and pyramids with no contact with the Old World. Its peoples shared maize farming, a sacred ball game, a 260-day ritual calendar and stepped pyramids topped by temples.

Colossal Head from San Lorenzo, Olmec, about 1200 to 900 BC, basalt. National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City.

Looking closely: An Olmec head. The Olmec of the Gulf Coast of Mexico carved huge heads from single boulders of basalt; seventeen are known, ranging from about 1.5 to over 3 meters tall and weighing many tons. This one has a broad face, full lips, a wide nose and heavy-lidded eyes under a close-fitting helmet with a band across the forehead. Each head has a different face and headgear, which is why scholars think they portray particular rulers. The stone came from mountains many kilometers away, so moving it took great organization.

The Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan, about AD 200. A photograph of about 1900.

Teotihuacan, near today's Mexico City, was one of the largest cities in the world around AD 500, with perhaps 100,000 people or more. Its Pyramid of the Sun, finished around AD 200, is about 65 meters tall, built of rubble and adobe faced with stone.

El Castillo, Chichén Itzá, Maya, about 900 to 1100. A photograph of about 1900.

Looking closely: El Castillo. The Maya built cities of limestone across southern Mexico and Central America and wrote in a full system of glyphs. At Chichén Itzá, this pyramid of nine stepped terraces has a stairway on each side, each with 91 steps; with the top platform, that makes 365, the days of the solar year. At the spring and autumn equinoxes, the afternoon sun casts a zigzag of shadow on the north stair that looks like a serpent sliding down to the carved serpent heads at its base. At Palenque, the Temple of the Inscriptions held the tomb of King Pakal, who died in 683; it was found in 1952.

The Aztec Sun Stone, about 1502 to 1520, basalt, about 3.6 meters across. National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City.

Looking closely: The Sun Stone. The Aztecs (Mexica) ruled from Tenochtitlan, today's Mexico City. This huge disk, about 24 tons, has a face at the center, usually identified as the sun god, surrounded by rings: the four earlier ages of the world, the twenty day-signs of the calendar, and two great fire-serpents around the rim. It was found in 1790 in Mexico City's main square.

Key idea

The Olmec carved colossal basalt heads (about 1200 to 900 BC); the Maya built Palenque and Chichén Itzá and wrote in glyphs; the Aztecs carved the great Sun Stone (about 1502 to 1520).

Why it works

Why call it the "Calendar Stone"? It carries the day-signs of the calendar, so early writers assumed it was one. But it could not be used to count days, and scholars debate what it was: an altar for ceremonies, a monument to the sun and the ages of the world, or both.

Worked example: Calendar or not?

Is the Aztec Sun Stone a working calendar?

It carries the twenty day-signs and symbols of the ages of the world.
But it has no means of counting or tracking particular days.
Scholars debate its use: an altar, a monument to the sun, or both.

Answer: No; it carries calendar signs, but its use is debated.

Common mistake

Calling the Aztec Sun Stone a working calendar. It carries calendar signs, but scholars debate its use; it may have been a ceremonial altar or a monument. When scholars disagree, say so instead of picking one answer.

Olmec, Maya and Aztec

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