1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi again everyone, It's Eves and Welcome to 3 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class, a show where history waits 4 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: for no one. Today is December seen the day was 5 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: December See. The Aztecs Sunstone, a circular stone marked by 6 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: carvings of calendar signs and images related to the Aztec 7 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: creation myth, was rediscovered. Though it has been called a 8 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: calendar stone, archaeologist today believed that it was not used 9 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: as an astronomical device or sundial, but rather as a 10 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: ceremonial container related to the Aztecs sun got Tona to You. 11 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: The Aztecs Sunstone was probably carved sometime between fifteen two 12 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: and fifteen twenty, during the reign of motek Assuma the Second. 13 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: The center of the stone bears an image of what's 14 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: thought to be the Sun got Tona Tu, though some 15 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: scholars have proposed that it's an image of the god 16 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 1: of the Night Sun or the Earth Monster. The central 17 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: image appears inside a glyph that means movement and represents 18 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 1: the fifth Sun or the present era that will end 19 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: with the destruction of human kind. Tonatius hands appear as 20 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: claws holding human hearts, and his tongue is a stone knife. 21 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: The image of the sun God is framed by four 22 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: boxes that contain symbols of the four previous suns or eras. 23 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 1: Surrounding the central section is a ring depicting the signs 24 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: that correspond to the twenty days of the Aztec solar calendar. 25 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 1: Around that ring is a second ring with representations of 26 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 1: sun rays and square sections, each containing five dots. The 27 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: outermost ring depicts two fire serpents, and at the top 28 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: of that ring is a glyph that represents the date 29 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: thirteen read, which is said to correspond with the year 30 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: fourteen twenty seven and the beginning of the fifth sun. 31 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: The stone is about twelve feet or four meters in 32 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: diameter in ways more than twenty four short tons. The 33 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: stone may have been originally located in the ceremonial precinct 34 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: of to Note Tilon and placed horizontally near where human 35 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: sacrifices took place. After the Spanish conquest, religious officials buried 36 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: it underneath the Zokolo, the central plaza of Mexico City. 37 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 1: Workers who were leveling and remodeling the plaza dug up 38 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:37,079 Speaker 1: the stone on December. It was examined by archaeologists, then 39 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:40,519 Speaker 1: moved to a cathedral and later transferred to the Monolith 40 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:45,359 Speaker 1: Gallery of the Archaeological Museum. There have been many interpretations 41 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: of the stone's meaning. Scholars have said that it may 42 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: have been used as a repository for human hearts or 43 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: a base for the final sacrificial of a gladiatorial combatant. 44 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: Soon after its rediscovery, Mexican scholar Antonio de leon Gamma 45 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: wrote a treatise on the stone and hired artist Francisco 46 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: de Aguera to illustrate an image of the monument. Leon 47 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 1: Igama and other early scholars suggested that the stone was 48 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: used as an astronomical or timekeeping device. Scholars have also 49 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: suggested that the stone was used to represent rulership, death, sacrifice, 50 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 1: and the success of Aztec armies. The stone is currently 51 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,639 Speaker 1: housed at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. 52 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: I'm each Jeffcote, and hopefully you know a little more 53 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. Give us a 54 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 1: shout or a share on social media at t D 55 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: I h C podcast, or if you would prefer to 56 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: email us, you can send us a message at this 57 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: day at I Heart Media dot com I truly hope 58 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: you enjoyed today's show. We'll be back tomorrow with another episode. 59 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio is the I 60 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 61 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.