Tovar Codex, Etzalcualiztli, 6th Month Aztec Calendar

An Aztec month, showing the name of each day of the month. At the top is an image of a man with fish-scale torso and quetzal plume, standing in water and holding a stalk of maize and a vessel. The Aztecs used two calendars to compute the days of the year. Xiuhpohualli (the first, or solar, calendar) consisted of 365 days, divided into 18 months of 20 units each, plus an additional period of five empty days at the end of the year. Tonalpohualli (day count calendar) was made up of 260 days, combinations of 13 numbers and 20 symbols. Every 52 years both calendars would align. The image probably indicates that the month shown here is the sixth month, Etzalcualiztli (Meal of Maize and Beans). The Tovar Codex (16th century) contains detailed information about the rites and ceremonies of the Aztecs. The codex is illustrated with 51 full-page paintings in watercolor. Illustration taken from a 19th century transcript of Juan de Tovar's Historia de la benida de los yndios apoblar a Mexico (the Codex Tovar). Rare Book and Special Collections Division Jay I. Kislak Collection

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Aztec Aztlan Bean Calendar Codex Codices Glyphic Glyphs Maize Mesoamerica Mesoamerican Mexica Nahuatl Pre-columbian Sixteenth Sixth Solar Tonalpohualli Tovar Watercolor

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