In southern England, people built Stonehenge, a monument that consisted of stones up to 36 feet tall. By keeping accurate records of their shadows, people could tell which was the longest and shortest day of the year and that certain events occurred in regular cycles such as seasons.

Around 2600 B.C., the Great Pyramid in Egypt was built, an example of human's extraordinary understanding of engineering and astronomy. The star Thuban, which was the polestar at that time, could be located through one of the inner shafts. This shaft pointed to Sirius. Built around 2000 B.C., the temple structure of Amon-Ra in Karnak, Egypt, allowed Egyptians to determine the length of the solar year. Their calculations were only about one minute off.

The direction a house or temple faced was very significant to the ancient Chinese. They could figure out cardinal directions very accurately to build structures to line up with the four directions and further included their knowledge of the directions in yearly rituals.

Early Greeks created myths to explain the movement of the sun across the sky (Apollo/Phaethon). The directions of the sunrise-sunset equinox line was apparent in their daily lives. People who study ancient history by exploring ruins and remains of these early cultures are called archaeologists and those who combine this study with interest in astronomical significance of these structures and relics are called archaeoastronomers.

The Aztecs, who called themselves Mexica, appeared in the Valley of Mexicao about A.D. 1200. When they arrived, Teotihuacan had long since been abandoned. According to Aztec mythology it was in Teotihuacan that the gods met to create the sun and the moon. At Teotihuacan two pyramids were built so that the gods Nanauatzin and Tecciztecatl would be resurrected as the sun and the moon by casting themselves into a huge bonfire in an act of sacrifice. This gave name to the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon.

The Pyramid of the Sun is a structure with the largest volume in the city and the second such in Mexico. At the foot of the stairway is a projecting platform annexed to the main structure that was constructed during the Miccaotli phase, around 200 A.D. The rows of stones projecting from the sides were supports anchoring the thick layer of stone and stucco that decorated it. The main facade is oriented 15°ree; 30' east of astronomical north. The sun sets exactly in front of the pyramid and it is magnificently illuminated when the sun is at its zenith.

The Palace of the Sun, on the other hand sets at the northern end of the Plaza of the Sun. It is a complex building which has architectural grandeur, location and conception that indicates it must have been the residence of the High Priest of the pyramid. Many representations of the solar disc as part of the decoration have also been uncovered here.

The Sun Stone which is commonly called the Aztec calendar was placed on the main temple of the Aztecs. It was started in the year 1427 and completed in the year 1479. It is an olivine basalt monolith 3.57 meters in diameter and weighs 24.5 tons. The Stone was originally in a vertical position, facing South and was painted in several brilliant colors: red, blue, yellow and white. It is a monument of the Mexica dedicated to the sun, sculpted during the reign of Axayacatl, sixth tlatoani of the Aztecs in the year 13 acatl, and was placed on the Great Temple (Templo Mayor) which is close to the site were Mexico City's Cathedral stands today. The Spaniards buried the stone and it was lost for over 250 years until by accident was recovered in 1790. Afterwards, it set in the western tower of the Cathedral until 1885 when it was removed to the National Museum of Anthropology were it remains today.

The study of the Aztec calendar is not a direct reflection of the calender year for Aztec. It was mistakenly identified as a calendar. The massive carving had greater significance to the people than a calendar. Some scholars interpret the carvings as a depictions of the Aztec cosmos. The symbols were to have something to do with the Aztec people's continuance on earth with their ability to act on the demands of their gods.

There is still debate over the interpretation of the Sun Stone's complex symbolism. Some think that the stone was unfinished because the back was cracked which priests would find intolerable as an imperfection. Some think that it may have been used as a sun dial because on the very edge there are eight noticeable equidistant holes in which may have been placed horizontal sticks, that project their shadows on the figures. The detail and intricacy of the carvings show the Aztecs accomplishments in art and mathematics and their ability to carve stone. Many speculate that the carving was done with stone and took 52 years to complete.

For the purpose of this lesson, the focus will center on the inner circle. The Aztecs believed they were living in the fifth and last creation of the world. They called each creation a sun, because movement of the sun maintained human life.

Read Greek myths

Research and study ancient Aztec relics.

Design a sun god mask

Recreate The Aztec Sun Stone or its parts.

Write original myths or poems that will accompany the mask and art objects

Copies of the Aztec calendar (Sun Stone) with historical information about the Aztecs' mythology about the pyramids of the sun and moon

1. Read various Greek myths to:

   understand Zeus and the lineage of the gods,

   become familiar with the Greek and Roman gods and their symbols, and

   understand the Greek's point of view in myths as it relates to the heavens.

2. On a world desk map locate the island of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea. Use latitude and longitude.

3. Read the myth about Apollo and Phaethon or Helios and Phaethon-D'aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Ingri and Edgar. What vocabulary comes from this story? (minute, second, hour, day, month)

4. Write other endings for the story.

5. Locate Mexico City on a world desk map. Use latitude and longitude.

Collaborative Group Activities

1. Read about the Aztecs -- "America Will Be" and "Oh California," Houghton Mifflin social Studies.

2. Study pictures and literature related to Aztec life. National Geographic Society--Aztec, Ancient Culture of Mexico, National Museum of Anthropology Mexico, National Geographic, "The Aztec, December, 1980.

3. Using the illustration provided in this lesson, sketch the deity in the center. It is interpreted as either the sun god, Tonatiuh or the earth god, Tlaltecuhtli. The tongue is a sacrificial knife with claws holding a human heart in the circles on both ends.

4. Create a mask using paper plates with various art media - paper sculpture, mosaic, embossed aluminum, felt applique.

5. Write a myth using your mask as the central figure. Include beliefs about the sun's rotation and revolution as you think ancient people might have thought. Use your imagination.

6. You may want to add other characters to your myth. Make more masks.

7. Share your myths with the class.

1. Storyboard and videotape the myth or poetry with mask, art and music. Use music that contains tambourine drum and wind pipe.

2. Read about the first clock created by an Egyptian astronomer Amenemhet for King Amenophis I (ca. 1545-1525 B.C.) Exploring the Sky-Projects for Beginning Astronomers by Richard Moesvchl, A Ziggurat Book for Talented Beginners.

3. Using two 2-liter empty soda bottles, construct an hour glass with sand. Can you make several with different times? How did you establish the time? Which ways can the hour glasses be used in your daily life?

4. Construct a duplicate of the Aztec Sun Stone by using an opaque projector to enlarge it. Can you make it close the original size? Construct a Sun Stone with your imaginative characters. It may accompany your myth. You may want to choose colors that convey or express seasons, months, etc.