Hulings, William Empson

In 1790, when Viceroy Juan Vicente de Güemas Pacheco de Padilla, conde de Revilla Gigedo ordered the resurfacing of the Zócalo in Mexico City, the governmental plaza, he had little idea that his municipal project would lead to the greatest archaeological discoveries of eighteenth century Mexico, the statue of Coatlicue (feathered skirt) and the Great Aztec Sun Stone.

The key figure in these discoveries was Antonio de Leon y Gama, an astronomer born in Mexico City in 1735. Studying at the College de San Ildefonso, Leon y Gama read widely in contemporary European astronomy, eventually earning a position on the faculty at the new Schools of Mines based in part on his Descripcion Orthographica Universal del Eclipse del Sol del Dia 24 de Junio de 1778 (Mexico, 1778). Leon y Gama later published on the aurora borealis and on medical topics.

Leon y Gama's renown, however, rests with providing the first European accounts of Mexican archaeology. The Coatlicue was discovered in August 1790, followed on December 17 by the Sun Stone, an massive and elaborate sacrificial platform carved with a highly accurate calendar. Leon y Gama's description of the discovery of the "two stones", Descripcion Histórica y Cronológica de las dos Piedras (Mexico, 1791) emphasized the sophistication and high scientific and artistic achievements of the Aztecs, responding to and quickening the stirring of Mexican nationalism. Leon y Gama died in Mexico City on September 12, 1802.