One of the most renowned and important surviving artefact from the Aztec Empire reveals how they expected the apocalypse to go down – but also the rather sneaky manner they compute out to obviate it .

If there ’s only one thing you know about Graeco-Roman Mesoamerican apocalypse myths , it ’s probably this : that the world ended in 2012 , and the Mayas anticipate it .

Of course , as archaeologists ( and , you know , calendar owner throughout the last decennium ) were quick to guide out , that was never true – the Maya did n’t even really have an end - of - the - earth myth . A few thousand international nautical mile North , however , and there was another civilization that definitelydidworry about the impending apocalypse : the Aztecs .

So disquieted were they , in fact , that they regularly pop the question up human lives in the hope of staving off The End for another year . At least , that ’s what Susan Milbrath , a Latin American artwork and archaeology conservator at the Florida Museum of Natural History , take in the gigantic relic experience as theSun Stone : a 24 - ton , orbitual , basalt calendar stone which , she believes , we ’ve been misunderstanding for centuries .

While expert have long thought that the central image in the Stone shows Tonatiuh , the Aztec sun deity , Milbrath’s2017 paperon its eclipse imagery suggests the depiction may be more nuanced . Rather than just impersonate the face of the heart - devouring god , she rede the image as demo their last during an eclipse – an event that the refinement believed would lead to a global and ground - shake Revelation .

And this was n’t due to pass on some far - off , forgettable date , either . Based on the ( really pretty metal ) lottery surrounding Tonatiuh – claws clutching human heart , alluding to an eclipse fiend ; a circle of signs symbolise the 260 - 24-hour interval calendar used by the priesthood to predict future issue ; fire serpents , representing a constellation closely associate with the Sun in the dry season – modern bookman are able to figure outexactlywhen the Aztecs conceive the world was due to quake itself into oblivion : 4 Olin .

To put that into context , it ’s kind of like if today we all fuck the earth was ending on , say , August 19 . It ’s just a particular date ; it turns up every class – and if we do n’t want this to be the last one we see , we should believably dosomethingto stop our imminent doom halfway through summer break .

For the Aztecs , you may not be surprised to larn , thatsomethingwas human sacrifice . The Sun Stone was “ almost … like a stage for public ritual , ” Milbrathsaid : with each 4 Olin , a high - time value captive would be sacrifice to the sun immortal in a despairing bidding to stop an occultation and keep the world grow for another year .

It sound gruesome , but to a panic-struck public , it must have made mother wit . “ meaning adult female stayed indoors [ during eclipses ] because they thought their tike would be expect with ugly malformation , ” explain Milbrath . “ Most of the details of how the Aztecs deal with solar occultation are not well - known , but they definitely did attempt to scare off the teras they thought was eating the Sun . ”

Indeed , while the Empire is mostly known today by elbow room of itsbloodthirsty reputationfor ritualhuman sacrificeanddecapitation - orb , Milbrath conceive the substantial example from the ominous raw interpretation of the Sun Stone is more scholarly than wildcat .

“ They did perhaps have a more premonition look on their future than citizenry in today ’s societies do , ” she said . “ But the Aztecs were more sophisticated in terms of astronomy than people realize . ”

And for proof of that , look no further than the sneaky short get - out - of - apocalypse - complimentary card they may have snuck into their prevision .

“ When they created their mythology , they made sure that 4 Olin would never occur with an occultation in their world , ” Milbrath point out . “ The theory of purposeful handling should not be ignored . ”