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Primary sourceSculpture1503

Stone of the Five Suns

Mexica sculptors · 1503

A carved stone showing the five cosmic eras and the date 11 Reed (1503), widely thought to commemorate Moctezuma II's coronation as emperor.

This stone is widely interpreted as commemorating the coronation of Moctezuma II as Huey Tlatoani in 1503.

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Photograph of a large, nearly square grey basalt stone carved in low relief. Carved figures and glyphs include a central circular face with radiating rays, four smaller face and creature panels in the corners, and a framed rectangular panel at the bottom. Dark background.
Stone of the Five Suns (Coronation Stone of Moctezuma II), Mexica sculptors, 1503. Art Institute of Chicago.

About this source

What it is

This basalt stone, carved by Mexica sculptors, bears images of the five cosmic "suns" of Aztec belief along with a date corresponding to 15 July 1503. It is held today at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Why it matters

Historians believe this date marks Moctezuma II's coronation as Huey Tlatoani, ruler of the Mexica empire, though some sources give a different date in the same year. The stone connects his kingship directly to Mexica cosmology, showing how the Aztecs tied political power to ideas about the creation of the world.

Look closer

  • Why might a ruler want his coronation linked to the creation of the universe?
  • What does it tell us that historians still debate the exact date shown here?
  • What can carved symbols tell us that a written record might not?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Montezuma II on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Painting showing Hernán Cortés seizing Moctezuma, a later imagined depiction of the event.Painting

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