Aztec Calendar Wheels, Central America, 1000 BCE

There is not just one Aztec calendar, but two, more or less, independent systems. One calendar has 365 days, and therefore might be called the agricultural year or the solar year.   In this time measuring calendar, one year had 365 days, divided into 18 months.  Each month has 20 days, and there are 5 extra days at the end of the year, which were thought to be bad luck days when disasters was most likely to happen.  The other calendar (the festival calendar) has 260 days. In the language of the Aztecs, it is called the tonalpohualli or, the day-count.

The system of the tonalpohualli can be best understood by imagining two wheels that are connected to each other. One wheel has the numbers "one" to "thirteen" written on it. The second wheel has twenty symbols on it. In the initial situation, number "one" combines with the first symbol (glyph). This is the first day of thetonalpohualli. Now the wheels start moving and number "two" combines with the second glyph. This is the second day. On the fourteenth day, a new Aztec week starts. The wheel with the numbers shows number "one" again. The other wheel now shows the fourteenth symbol. After 260 days, the two wheels have returned to their initial position. The tonalpohualli starts all over again.

Dividing time among gods - A day in the tonalpohualli consists of a number and a symbol or daysign. Each daysign is dedicated to a god.

 

         Students constructed their own Aztec calendars.

Inca Weaving & Textiles

Inca weaving is one of the greatest textile arts the world has ever seen.  Weaving was the most important craft of the Incas.  They used wool from llamas and alpaca, but they also used the extremely fine wool of the vicuna, the smallest American camel.

 

The wool from llamas was used to make blankets and ropes. They used the wool from alpaca because it was white, with some gray and brown in it. This wool was used for weaving clothing. The wool from a vicuna is a soft fiber.  The Inca used this wool for weaving their finest cloth.

 

Students made observations and explored detailed and intricate Inca weaving.  Students then wove their own original pieces inspired by Inca textiles.  These included belts, placemats, coasters, tunics, and tapestries. 

                                      

Math 

Math 4 students learned how to use a protractor to measure and draw angles.