 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2015) |
| Stone of Tizoc | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Material | Basalt |
| Created | 1480s |
| Discovered | 17 December 1791 |
| Present location | National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City |
The Stone of Tizoc, Tizoc Stone or Sacrificial Stone is a large, round, carved Aztec stone. Because of a shallow, round depression carved in the center of the top surface, it may have been a cuauhxicalli or possibly a temalacatl.[1] Richard Townsend maintains, however, that the depression was made in the 16th century for unknown purposes.[2]
The stone was rediscovered on 17 December 1791 when the Zócalo, the heart of downtown Mexico City, was being repaved. Workmen had been cutting cobblestone, and were about to cut up the carved monolith. A churchman named Gamboa happened to be passing by and saved the stone from the same result. The stone was then moved to the nearby Cathedral, and propped up vertically on one of the building's towers, where it stayed until 1824, when it was moved to the University. The stone is currently in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.[3]
The monolith is made of basalt and measures 93 cm tall with a diameter of 2.65 meters and a circumference of 8.31 meters.[4]
- ^ Manuel., Aguilar-Moreno (2006). Handbook to life in the Aztec world. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 0816056730. OCLC 58468201.
- ^ Townsend, Richard (1977). "State and Cosmos in the Art of Tenochtitlan". Studies in Pre-Columbian Art & Archaeology: 46.
- ^ Museo Nacional de México (1 January 1877). Anales del Museo Nacional de México. México : El Museo.
- ^ Eduardo., Matos Moctezuma (2012). Escultura monumental mexica. López Luján, Leonardo. (1st ed.). México, D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica. ISBN 9786071609328. OCLC 820630721.