Very similar to the
Mayan Calendar. The
Aztecs didn't add much to the
system except treating it even more
seriously regarding
sacrifices to the Gods.
The two systems are:
- The 13/20 day naming system that repeats itself every 260 days
- The 18 months of 20 days each system that with an additional 5 unlucky days to make up the year
Every 52 years the systems
synchronize, and the calendar
starts over which made the
Aztecs go
absolutely crazy sacrificing to make sure that the
sun would rise again the first day of a new
period.
Cortes and his
troops found 132,000
skulls under the main temple of
Tenochtitlan when tearing down the main
temple of the city.
The system was also one of the reasons for the easy
downfall of
the Aztec Empire: Just as Cortes entered the city - November 8,
1519 - , the
periods were turning - and an old
legend had it that a
god (and old
king) -
Quetzacoatl - would
return that excact
year.
Rumour has it that Cortes knew this (from his
mistress Malinche) and
dressed a bit up for it.