The Aztec Sun Stone (or Calendar Stone) depicts the five consecutive worlds of the sun from Aztec mythology. The stone is not, therefore, in any sense a functioning calendar, but rather it is an elaborately carved solar disk, which for the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican cultures represented rulership. At the top of the stone is a date glyph (13 reed) which represents both the beginning of the present sun, the 5th and final one according to mythology, and the actual date 1427 CE, thereby legitimizing the rule of Itzcoatl (who took power in that year) and creating a bond between the divine and mankind.

          阿兹特克太阳石（或日历石）描绘了阿兹特克神话中的五个连续的太阳世界。因此，这块石头在任何意义上都不是一个有效的日历，而是一个精心雕刻的太阳盘，这对阿兹特克人和其他中美洲文化来说，它代表着无上的统治权。在石头的顶部有一个日期字样（13个芦苇），它既代表了现在太阳的开始，根据神话，这是第五个也是最后一个太阳，也代表了公元1427年的实际日期，从而使伊茨考特尔的统治合法化（他在这一年掌权），并在神和人类之间建立了联系。

The stone was discovered in December 1790 CE in the central plaza of Mexico City and now resides in the National Museum of Anthropology in that city. The richly carved basalt stone was once a part of the architectural complex of the Temple Mayor and measures 3.58 metres in diameter, is 98 centimetres thick, and weighs 25 tons. The stone would originally have been laid flat on the ground and possibly anointed with blood sacrifices. When it was discovered, the stone was lying flat and upside down, perhaps in an attempt to prevent the final cataclysm - the fall of the 5th and final sun - as the Aztec world fell apart following the attack from the Old World.

          这块石头于公元1790年12月在墨西哥城的中央广场被人们发现，现存于该城市的国家人类学博物馆。这块雕刻精美的玄武岩石头曾经是马约尔神庙建筑群的一部分，直径3.58米，厚98厘米，重25吨。这块石头原本是平放在地上的，可能还被血祭过。当它被发现时，这块石头是平躺着的，也许是为了防止最后的大灾难——第五个也是最后一个太阳的陨落。因为阿兹特克世界在来自旧世界的攻击后分崩离析了。

At the centre of the stone is a representation of either the sun god Tonatiuh (the Day Sun) or Yohualtonatiuh (the Night Sun) or the primordial earth monster Tlaltecuhtli, in the latter case representing the final destruction of the world when the 5th sun fell to earth. The tongue is perhaps also a sacrificial knife and, sticking out, it suggests a thirst for blood and sacrifice. Around the central face at four points are the other four suns which successively replaced each other after the gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca struggled for control of the cosmos until the era of the 5th sun was reached. The suns are known by the day name on which their final destruction occurred. Beginning from the top right there is the first sun Nahui Ocelotl (4 - Jaguar), top left is the second sun Nahui Ehécatl (4 - Wind), bottom left the third sun Nahui Quiáhuitl (4 - Rain) and bottom right is the fourth sun Nahui Atl (4 - Water).

          在石头的中心是太阳神Tonatiuh（白天的太阳）或Yohualtonatiuh（夜晚的太阳）或原始地球怪物Tlaltecuhtli的代表。在后者情景下，当第五个太阳落入地球时，代表世界的最终毁灭。舌头也许也是一把祭祀用的刀，它伸出来，暗示着对血和牺牲的渴求。围绕着中央脸部的四个点是其他四个太阳，在奎托卡特尔和特兹卡特里波卡神争夺宇宙的控制权后，这四个太阳相继取代了对方，直到第五个太阳的时代到来。这些太阳以其最终毁灭的日期名称而闻名。从右上方开始是第一个太阳Nahui Ocelotl（4-美洲豹），左上方是第二个太阳Nahui Ehécatl（4-风），左下方是第三个太阳Nahui Quiáhuitl（4-雨），右下方是第四个太阳Nahui Atl（4-水）。

On either side of the central face are two jaguar heads or paws, each clutching a heart, representing the terrestrial realm. The band running immediately around the suns is segmented into the 20 Aztec day-names (hence the Calendar Stone name). Then there is a decorative ring surrounded by another ring depicting symbols which represent turquoise and jade, symbols of the equinoxes and solstices, and the colours of the heavens. The two heads at the bottom centre represent fire serpents, and their bodies run around the perimeter of the stone with each ending in a tail. The four cardinal and the inter-cardinal directions are also indicated with larger and lesser points respectively.

          在中央面的两侧有两个美洲豹的头或爪子，每个都攥着一颗心，代表陆地领域。紧挨着太阳的带子被分割成20个阿兹特克日名（因此被称为日历石）。然后是一个装饰环，周围有另一个环，描绘了代表绿松石和玉石的符号，象征着分和至，以及天体的颜色。底部中央的两个头代表火蛇，它们的身体围绕着石头的周边，每一个都以尾巴为终点。四个红心方向和红心间方向也分别用较大和较小的点表示。

参考书目:

Almere Read, K. Mesoamerican Mythology. Oxford University Press, USA, 2002.

Coe, M.D. Mexico. Thames & Hudson, 2013.

Jones, D. Mythology of Aztec & Maya. Southwater, 2007.

Miller, M.E. The Art of Mesoamerica. Thames & Hudson, 2012.

Miller, M.E. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. Thames & Hudson, 1993.

National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City Accessed 1 Dec 2016.

Townsend, R.F. The Aztecs. Thames & Hudson, London, 2009

原文作者：Mark Cartwright

          驻意大利的历史作家。他的主要兴趣包括陶瓷、建筑、世界神话和发现所有文明的共同思想。他拥有政治哲学硕士学位，是《世界历史百科全书》的出版总监。

原文网址：https://www.worldhistory.org/Sun_Stone/