Stone of Motecuzoma I

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Archbishop's Stone" redirects here. For other uses, see Archbishop's Stone (disambiguation).

The "Stone of Motecuzoma Ilhuilcamina" is a large temalcatl, the word "sun stone" in Nahuatl, which is the language of the Aztecs. In 1988 was found under the patio of the ex-Archbishop's Palace in the Distrito Federal of Mexico, hence its pseudonym, the Archbishop's Stone.

[edit] Discovery

Just south of the Templo Mayor in Mexico City lies the palace which used to house the Archbishop of Mexico. Built not long after the Spanish destroyed the ceremonial center of the Tenochtitlan, this palace was likely resting on many pre-Columbian artifacts. During July of 1988, excavations under the palace patio revealed a large circular stone. It was immediately compared to the already widely known Stone of Tizoc and Calendar Stone.

[edit] Iconography

The large circular stone has a familiar solar relief on its top.