Aztec (Mesoamerica)
(1300 to 1521)
What happened?
The Aztecs or Mexica were a military Mesoamerican civilization that existed between 1300-1521. The capital of the Aztec Empire was the city of Tenochtitlán, where present-day (2021) Mexico City is located. Human sacrifice played an important role in their society. The empire fell when the Spanish killed the Aztec king, Motecuhzoma.
In the beginning, the Aztecs served as mercenaries in city-states after the Toltec Empire. The Aztecs gained power by marrying Toltec princes. It was King Montezuma I who, between 1440-1469, expanded the empire to the coasts of the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. King Ahuitzotl (1486-1502) doubled the empire in size. The empire extended to Guatemala.
Replica with Antique Gold Finish. Found: Tenochtitlan, Mexico (JN0483)
Aztec Calendar of World Cycles
± 1479
All Mesoamericans believe in the periodic destruction of the Earth. The world is subject to catastrophic changes caused by the sun every twelve thousand years, according to the Aztecs. The sun disk in the center of the calendar presents a terrifying persona. The cryptic date “4 Ollin” is registered on the calendar. This is the time when the Last World Era suddenly ended, and all the mammals of the Holocene went extinct overnight. The “Nahui Ollin”, four squares around the face of the sun god, represent the four great cycles. These in turn are the previous world ages that were ruled by their own “suns”. Each period is identified by the cause of their end, namely, water, wind, earthquake, or fire.
The calendar should announce the end of the world. The year 2012 was long thought by some to be the end of the world. However, the year marked the beginning of the last “Baktun”, the last Mayan century. According to the calendar, the end of the current world cycle kart comes before the end of this 52-year period. The remarkable calendar creates many myths and legends. It is therefore a source of inspiration for books and movies. The long-term calendar measures approximately a major cycle of 26.800 years and cannot be compared to the current (2021) calendar. The later Aztecs adopted the “round count” of the long-term calendar. It is still (2021) used by Guatemalan natives. During the great cycle, the unusual calendar follows a full 360° through all twelve constellations of the twentieth century zodiac. Through this movement, it registers four previous worlds that return to times long gone.
There are many similarities in the Mayan and Aztec calendars. But the Aztec calendar is an adaptation of the older Mayan calendar. The Aztec calendar is simpler than the complex Mayan calendar.
Our copy is a scale replica. Originally, the solid stone slab has a diameter of about 358 cm and 98 cm thick. It weighs about 25 tons. The Aztecs called it Cuauhxicalli. It would have taken a full Aztec century (52 years) to carve and was completed in 1479. When the Spanish destroyed the city of Tenochtitlán in 1521, the Sun Stone was buried for about 250 years. Found during repairs in the 18th century, it is now (2021) on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
Copper. Found: Mexico City, Mexico (JN0584)
Aztec Hoe Money
± 1500
This is a cast copper odd and curious money piece with a characteristic hoe shape. It is defined by a wide handle with a raised circumference and a broad crescent-shaped blade with protruding fins. Such currencies are known as “tajaderos” (Spanish for “cleaver”) because of their leaf shape. These were standardized coins in the Aztec world, and usually equated to 8000 cocoa seeds. Possibly as early as the 12th and 13th centuries AD, such hoe or axe shaped objects were in use as a currency by the Pre-Columbian natives of Mexico and Peru.
This larger Aztec hoe money is harder to find. We were lucky enough to acquire this object. In Central Mexico and parts of Central America this was a form of money. The fixed value was 8000 cocoa seeds. This seems a strange fact in our daily life (anno 2022). Back then, cocoa seeds were a common unit of exchange in Mesoamerica. This piece dates from about 1500, 20 years before the Spanish began to colonize Central America.
During early colonization, tajaderos were still exchanged for goods by native Mexicans. Minted coins were still scarce. Coins from Spain were in short supply, so axe money was still used in the early days. As currency, the Spanish settlers used gold dust, nuggets, silver bars or sheets. Once the gold and silver from Mexican mines were requisitioned and used to make coins, they disappeared from circulation.