Cacaxtla

Cacaxtla is an archaeological site located near the southern border of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala.

History

Cacaxtla was the capital of region inhabited by the Olmeca-Xicalanca people. It is not known with certainly the origins of the Olmeca-Xicalanca, but they are assumed to come from the Gulf coast region, and were perhaps Maya settlers who arrived in this part of central Mexico around 400 CE.

The term "Olmeca-Xicalanca" was first mentioned by Tlaxcalan historian Diego Muñoz Camargo at the end of the 16th century. This historian described Cacaxtla as the principal settlement of the “Olmeca”, although what we today refer to as the Olmec culture ended ~400 BCE, that is, almost 800 years earlier.

After the fall of the nearby city Cholula (ca. 650 - 750) -- in which the "Cacaxtlecas" might have been involved -- Cacaxtla became the hegemonic power in this part of the Tlaxcala–Puebla valley. Its ascendancy came to an end around 900 CE and, by 1000, the city had been abandoned.

Modern history of the site

The site was rediscovered in 1975 by looters, but quickly came to the attention of archaeologists that same year.

The city

The centre of the city of Cacaxtla was the 200-metre-long, 25-metre-high "Gran Basamento" – a natural platform offering a fine defensive position and commanding views over the surrounding terrain. The city's main religious and civil buildings were located on this platform, as were the residences of the priest class. Several other smaller pyramids and temple bases stand in the vicinity of the main platform.

Because Cacaxtla's main "basamento" was not excavated until the 1980s, many of the original coloured wall decorations have been preserved and can be appreciated "in situ" by visitors to the site. Of particular interest is the fact that most of the murals seem to combine the symbology of Altiplano cultures with influences from the Maya, making Cacaxtla unique in this regard.

The most famous of Cacaxtla's preserved paintings is the "Battle Mural", or "Mural de la batalla", located in the northern plaza of the "basamento". Dating from prior to 700, it is placed on the sloping limestone wall of a temple base and is split in two by a central staircase. It depicts two groups of warriors locked in battle: on the one side are Olmec jaguar warriors, armed with spears, obsidian knives, and round shields, who are clearly trouncing an invading army of Huastec bird warriors (some of whom are shown naked and in various stages of dismemberment).

Visiting the site

The archaeological site is maintained by the government National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and is is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 8:00 to 17:30. The admission is $46 MXP. Further information: www.dti.inah.gob.mx . In addition to the ruins, there is a small but well presented museum containing models of how the city appeared in its heyday and a collection of artifacts found on the site.

Due to heavy hail storms of May 21, 2007 the archaeological site is closed. Detailshttp://www.inah.gob.mx/Banners/cacaxtla_comunicado/index.html The site was open again in April,2008. From April 30th 2008, visitors will be able to admire mural paintings’ colors, the Lattice beauty and base magnificence at Cacaxtla, and earlier structures at the nearby Xochitecatl Archaeological Site.

ee also

*Xochitécatl, a neighbouring archaeological site, some 2 km to the west.

References

:cite book |author=aut|Nichols, Deborah L. |coauthors=and aut|Timothy H. Charlton |year=2001 |chapter=Central Mexico Postclassic |title=Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Vol. 5: Middle America |editor=Peter N. Peregrine and Melvin Ember (eds.) |location=New York [etc..] |publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, in conjunction with the Human Relations Area Files at Yale University |pages=pp.22–53|isbn=0-306-46259-1 |oclc=84088734

External links

* [http://www.inah.gob.mx/inah_ing/zoar/htme/za02401.html INAH]
* [http://www.pinturamural.esteticas.unam.mx Proyecto La pintura mural prehispánica en México, UNAM]
* [http://www.tourbymexico.com/tlaxcala/cacaxtla/cacaxtla.htm Tour by Mexico]
* [http://www.inaoep.mx/~sole/turismo/Tlaxcala/mini-cacaxtla.html INAOEP]