Image: Stone of the Five Suns

Description: A prehispanic Mexican stone with inscriptions possibly created in the year 1503. This stone known as the Coronation of Motecuhzoma II, also known as the Stone of the Five Suns, has multiple inscriptions: the five "suns" are depicted in the corners and in the center, "suns" being the term used in Aztec religion ro refer to five cycles of the creation of our world; Nahui-Ocelotl ("Four-Jaguar") in the bottom right corner, Nahui-Ehecatl ("Four-Wind") in the top right corner, Nahui-Quiahuitl ("Four-Rain") in the top left corner, Nahui-Atl ("Four-Water") in the bottom left corner, and Nahui-Ollin ("Four-Movement") in the center. At the top and bottom of the inscrption a date is written in the Aztec calendar; at the top the symbol Ce cipactli ("One crocodile") is written, representing a day in the calendar, and at the bottom the symbol Mahtlactli once acatl xihuitl ("Year eleven reed") is written, referring to a year. This date is equivalent to the date 15 July 1503 in the Gregorian calendar, which historians believe to be the date in which Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, also known as Moctezuma II, was coronated as the Huey Tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, and therefore the emperor of the Mexica Empire (commonly referred to as the Aztec Empire). The stone is currently held at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Title: Stone of the Five Suns
Credit: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/75644/coronation-stone-of-motecuhzoma-ii-stone-of-the-five-suns
Author: Photo by the Art Institute of Chicago. Inscription by an unknown author.
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
License: CC0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
Attribution Required?: No