Zazacatla

cultural influences at the site, the first such known for the western Morelos region. [Lovgren (2007), p.2.]

ite description

A fraction of Zazacatla's ceremonial center has been investigated, amounting to some 9,000 m² (approx. 2.2 acres) of excavations. ["Confirma hallazgo arqueológico influencia olmeca en Zazacatla", 2007] The total area of the site is estimated to occupy some 2.5 km², or slightly less than one square mile. [Lovgren (2007), p.2; Stevenson (2007).]

Zazacatla's occupation is dated to between 800—500 BCE, making it roughly contemporary with the Olmec center of La Venta, 400 km (250 mi) to the east. Several sculptures of what appear to be Olmec-style "priests" have been uncovered. These sculptures, as well as Olmec-style architecture, have led to speculation on the role that Olmec culture played in Zazacatla.

Archaeologist Giselle Canto told Associate Press that the inhabitants adopted Olmec styles when they changed from a simpler egalitarian society to a more complex hierarchical one:

Canto believes that the inhabitants may not have been ethnically Olmec.

In January 2007 the governor of Morelos, Marco Adame Castillo, announced an offer for the state to underwrite the preservation of the site and to incorporate it into the tourism and cultural heritage plans for Morelos. He foreshadowed that a tourism project would be initiated at the site's location once the archaeological investigations had further developed. [García (2007).]

Notes

References

: cite news |date=2007-02-01 |title=Confirma hallazgo arqueológico influencia olmeca en Zazacatla |url=http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldemexico/notas/n156104.htm |work=El Sol de México |publisher=Organizacíon Editorial Mexicana |accessdate=2007-02-09 es icon: cite news |author=aut|García, Miguel Ángel |date=2007-01-26 |title=Posible, nuevo plan arqueológico en Xochitepec |url=http://www.lajornadamorelos.com/index.php?module=pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=1&pid=22322 |work=La Jornada Morelos |publisher=Editora de Medios de Morelos |accessdate=2007-02-09 es icon: cite news |author=aut|Lovgren, Stefan |date=2007-01-26 |title=Ancient City Found in Mexico; Shows Olmec Influence |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070126-mexico-olmec.html |work=National Geographic News |publisher=National Geographic Society |accessdate=2007-02-08: cite web |author=aut|Pérez de Lara, Jorge |year=2007 |title=Olmec Discovery at Zazacatla |url=http://www.mesoweb.com/reports/Zazacatla.html |work=Mesoweb Reports and News |publisher=Mesoweb |accessdate=2007-02-19: cite news |author=aut|Stevenson, Mark |date=2007-01-25 |title=Olmec-influenced city found in Mexico |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16815713/ |publisher=msnbc.com |accessdate=2008-09-22 Also available as Gale General OneFile document number A158381284.

ee also

*Olmec influences on Mesoamerican cultures
*Tlatilco
*Tlapacoya

External links

* [http://www.mesoweb.com/monuments/Zazacatla.html Olmec-Style Effigies from Zazacatla] , photographs by Jorge Pérez de Lara, reproduced at Mesoweb
* [http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=377296285&size=o Photo of the Olmec-style sculptures] -- note the downturned mouths.