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Description
Piedra del Sol "Stone of the Sun" or "Aztec calendar stone" is a large monolithic sculpture that was excavated in the Zócalo Mexico City's main square on December 17, 1790. Measuring about 3.6 metres (12 ft) in diameter, 1.22 metres (4 ft) in thickness and weighing 24 tonnes. The original basalt version is presently on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City's Chapultepec Park. While it is often called the "Aztec Calendar," it is a symbolic portrayal of the four disasters that led to the demise of the four prior Universes in Aztec cosmology. The Aztec calendar is the calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other pre-columbian peoples of central Mexico. It is one of the Mesoamerican calendars, sharing the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica. The calendar consisted of a 365 day calendar cycle called xiuhpohualli (year count) and a 260 calendar ritual cycle called tonalpohualli (day count). These two cycles together formed a 52 year "century," sometimes called the "Calendar Round". The xiuhpohualli is considered to be the agricultural calendar, since it is based on the sun, and the tonalpohualli is considered to be the sacred calendar.

Description
Piedra del Sol "Stone of the Sun" or "Aztec calendar stone" is a large monolithic sculpture that was excavated in the Zócalo Mexico City's main square on December 17, 1790. Measuring about 3.6 metres (12 ft) in diameter, 1.22 metres (4 ft) in thickness and weighing 24 tonnes. The original basalt version is presently on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City's Chapultepec Park. While it is often called the "Aztec Calendar," it is a symbolic portrayal of the four disasters that led to the demise of the four prior Universes in Aztec cosmology. The Aztec calendar is the calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other pre-columbian peoples of central Mexico. It is one of the Mesoamerican calendars, sharing the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica. The calendar consisted of a 365 day calendar cycle called xiuhpohualli (year count) and a 260 calendar ritual cycle called tonalpohualli (day count). These two cycles together formed a 52 year "century," sometimes called the "Calendar Round". The xiuhpohualli is considered to be the agricultural calendar, since it is based on the sun, and the tonalpohualli is considered to be the sacred calendar.