Museum in Mexico celebrates 224th anniversary of the discovery of the Aztec Sun Stone
Museum in Mexico celebrates 224th anniversary of the discovery of the Aztec Sun Stone
Friday, January 9, 2015
The Aztec Sun Stone, the colossal monument that synthesizes the astronomical knowledge that the Mexica society developed was fortuitously found on December 17th, 1790. Photo Melitón Tapia, INAH.
MEXICO CITY.- This past Wednesday, December 17th, marked the 224th Anniversary of the discovery of the emblematic monument currently on display in the Mexica Hall of the National Anthropology Museum.
After more than 200 years of being buried, the Aztec Sun Stone, the colossal monument that synthesizes the astronomical knowledge that the Mexica society (also known as Aztecs) developed before the Spanish conquest, was fortuitously found on December 17th, 1790 in the southern part of the Plaza Mayor (today known as the Zócalo) of Mexico City.
Archeologist Bertina Olmedo Vera, Investigative Curator at the Museum, in her book titled “Sun Stone”, details how, due to the destruction of the Mexican city Tenochtitlan in 1521, the Spanish conquerors removed the monolith from its sacred site and placed it relief side up in the Zócalo to the west of the Spanish royal palace.
The Sun Stone remained there until the second half of the 16th century when Archbishop Alonso de Montúfar had it flipped over and re-buried claiming that the stone was the work of the devil and that it brought evil influences to the inhabitants of the city. In 1790, less than 50 cm underground and 66.8 meters from the second entrance to the palace, workers happened upon it and dug it out of the mud where they left it in an upright position just next to where it had been unearthed.
More:
http://artdaily.com/news/75415/Museum-in-Mexico-celebrates-224th-anniversary-of-the-discovery-of-the-Aztec-Sun-Stone#.VK-wLWctAq0
