Xochicalco

Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalco


State Party = MEX
Type = Cultural
Criteria = iii, iv
ID = 939
Region = Latin America and the Caribbean
Year = 1999
Session = 23rd
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/939

Xochicalco ("sho-chee-cal-co" IPA| [ʃot͡ʃi'kalko] ) is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in the western part of the Mexican state of Morelos. The name "Xochicalco" means "in the house of Flowers" in the Nahuatl language. The site is located 38 km southwest of Cuernavaca, about 76 miles by road from Mexico City. The site is open to visitors all week, from 10am to 5pm, although access to the observatory is only allowed after noon. The apogee of Xochicalco came after the fall of Teotihuacan and it has been speculated that Xochicalco may have played a part in the fall of the Teotihuacan empire.

The architecture and iconography of Xochicalco show affinities with Teotihuacan, the Maya area, and the Matlatzinca culture of the Toluca Valley. Today some residents of the nearby village of Cuentepec speak Nahuatl.

The main ceremonial center is atop an artificially leveled hill, with remains of residential structures, mostly unexcavated, on long terraces covering the slopes. The site was first occupied by 200 BC, but did not develop into an urban center until the Epiclassic period (A.D. 700 - 900). Nearly all the standing architecture at the site was built at this time. At its peak, the city may have had a population of up to 20,000 people.

Major Monuments

Of special interest are sculptured reliefs on the sides of some buildings. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent has fine stylized depictions of that deity in a style which includes apparent influences of Teotihuacan and Maya art. It has been speculated that Xochicalco may have had a community of artists from other parts of Mesoamerica.

Other monuments at the site include several other step-pyramid temples, palaces, three ballcourts, sweat-baths, an unusual row of circular altars, and a cave with steps carved down into it. The site also has some free-standing sculptured stelae; others were removed from their original location and are now on display in the INAH museum in Mexico City and at the site museum.

History of Exploration

The ruins were first described by explorer Antonio Alzate in 1777. Alexander von Humboldt published illustrations and a description of Xochicalco in 1810. Emperor Maximilian of Mexico visited the ruins. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent was restored by Mexican archaeologist Leopoldo Batres in 1910. Major archaeological excavations and further restorations were done in a project from the 1940s through the 1960s by Eduardo Noguera and César Saenz. Jaime Litvak King also worked at the site. In 1976 archaeologist Kenneth Hirth of Pennsylvania State University began a multi-season fieldwork project in which he mapped the entire site and conducted excavations of houses and obsidian workshops. In 1988 a large-scale program of excavation of monumental architecture was initiated by Norberto González Crespo and Silvia Garza of the INAH. A new museum was built to house the spectacular finds of this project.

Destruction of the City

At some point around A.D. 900 the city of Xochicalco was burned and destroyed. Many of the excavated houses and temples have layers of burning and destruction that cover the deposits from the main Epiclassic occupation. Underneath destruction layers, numerous objects were left in place in the houses, indicating that the site was destroyed and abandoned quickly. A small remnant population lived on, however, on the lower slopes of the hill. Later, around A.D. 1200, the site was recolonized by the Nahuatl-speaking Tlahuica peoples, ancestors to the Nahuatl-speaking populations of the modern state of Morelos.

Xochicalco is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a tourist destination. The site also has a well-stocked museum, designed by noted Mexican architect Roland Dada.

Temple of the Feathered Serpent

External links

* [http://studentweb.tulane.edu/~dhixson/xochicalco/xochicalco.html Xochicalco on Tulane.edu]
* [http://www.delange.org/Xochicalco1/Xochicalco1.htm The DeLanges visit Xochicalco, with lots of photos.]

Major Publications

* de la Fuente, Beatriz, Silvia Garza Tarazona, Norberto González Crespo, Arnold Leboef, Miguel León Portilla and Javier Wimer (1995) "La Acrópolis de Xochicalco", Instituto de Cultura de Morelos, Cuernavaca.

* González Crespo, Norberto, Silvia Garza Tarazona, Hortensia de Vega Nova, Pablo Mayer Guala and Giselle Canto Aguilar (1995) "Archaeological Investigations at Xochicalco, Morelos: 1984 and 1986", "Ancient Mesoamerica" 6:223-236.

* Hirth, Kenneth G. (editor) (2000) "Archaeological Research at Xochicalco", "Volume 1, Ancient Urbanism at Xochicalco: The Evolution and Organization of a Pre-Hispanic Society.", and "Volume 2, The Xochicalco Mapping Project". University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.

* Hirth, Kenneth G. (editor) (2006) "Obsidian Craft Production in Ancient Central Mexico", University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.

* Hirth, Kenneth G. and Ann Cyphers Guillén (1988) Tiempo y asentamiento en Xochicalco. Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.