Aztec Calendar History Facts

The aztec empire is among the most famous mesoamerican cultures that existed before the arrival of europeans in the early 16th century.

Aztec calendar history facts. Human beings have always had a thing for counting. The aztec calendar comprised of two cycles. Facts about aztec calendar 2.

The aztec believed that the five days were the lucky days for them. Xiuhpohualli was the aztec year count also known as the aztec agricultural calendar since it was based on the sun and had a 365 day cycle. 360 of these days were named while 5 were nameless.

Counting time has allowed us some measure of control over our actions. It formed a 260 day cycle in all probability originally based on astronomical observations. The aztecs used a sacred calendar known as the tonalpohualli or counting of the days.

There were five days left over. Based on this calendar there were 18 months. However the total day in the calendar was 365 days.

Together these cycles aligned after every 52 years which the aztecs called a century. The other was a 260 day cycle which was called the day count. Aztec calendar dating system based on the mayan calendar and used in the valley of mexico before the destruction of the aztec empire.

These 360 days were divided into 18 periods of 20 days each. This went back to great antiquity in mesoamerica perhaps to the olmec civilization of the 1st millennium bce. They were also called the tenochca from an eponymous ancestor tenoch and the mexica probably from metzliapán.