MEXICO |
Xochicalco, Morelos, Mexico
View of the Mountains above the Ballcourt
MEXICO |
View of the Mountains above the Ballcourt
Xochicalco is a beautiful and picturesque site located in the rolling foothills of south-western Morelos, about 15 kilometers south-west of Cuernavaca, on the road to Taxco. Site of a late Classic ceremonial center, it is one of the most important archaeological sites in central Mexico, a hybrid site on the southern edge of the Valley of Mexico, showing Olmec, Mayan, Teotihuacano and Zapotec and Mixtec influences. The ceremonial center appears to have been used for making astronomical observations and records, and for keeping the 52 year calendar cycle up to date, later the Toltec kings came to be educated here, in Nahuatl, Xochicalco means the place of flowers.
The site has been occupied since about 200 AD, but it became an important ceremonial center after the time of Teotihuacan, and had it's greatest florescence between 700-900 AD, when it was transformed into a series of terraces and plazas, set into a west-facing hillside, and punctuated by pyramids and temple platforms, as well as several ballcourts. Much of the site remains unexcavated, and the most interesting structure is the Pyramid of Quetxalcoatl, which has well-preserved bas-reliefs, depicting the feathered serpent with priest and temple motif.
| Courtyard Near the Entry to the Site
The entrance is in the center of the archaeological area, where there is a large, square terrace, about half way up on the hillside. There are pyramidal temple mounds, facing each other on the east and west sides of the terrace, and a square altar platform with a vertical stone marker in the middle. There are two long, low stepped platforms on the south side of the space, and on the west side it overlooks the large ballcourt, which lies farther down the hillside to the west. |
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| View of the Ballcourt below the Terrace
This image shows the view from the main terrace near the entrance to the site, looking to the west, and over the large ballcourt, farther down the hillside to the west. The ballcourt is about 100 meters long and 50 meters wide, with parallel walls running east to west, and broad sloped playing surfaces topped by flat terraces. The round stone rings in the middle of the ballcourt at the top of each playing surface, were used in the ritual performance of the ballgame, and the captain of the winning team was ritually sacrificed after the performance. |
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| Feathered Serpent Relief on the Pyramid
The Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl is not the largest building at the site, but it is certainly the most interesting structure, featuring a high, sloping base decorated with bas-reliefs depicting the feathered serpent intertwined with scenes of seated priests-kings and the typical square altar or temple motifs. The Coatepantli, or serpent wall at Tula, seems to be a faithful replica of the present relief. |
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| Relief Depicting Serpent Altar or Temple
This detail view shows the high sloping base of the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, and one of the scenes in the feathered serpent frieze, depicting a small, square altar or temple, topped by coils or shell symbols, and with glyphs and numbers at the base. Apparently meant to symbolize certain astronomical houses, or positions in the cosmology of the 52 year calendar, the coil or shell symbols are associated with Venus, in it's appelation as either the evening or the morning star, and tracked in it's rising and setting positions at the equinox and solstice. The coils have also been interpreted as speech volutes or as symbols of the emanation of energy or the assertion of power. |
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Andreas Kultermann - andrekult@mchsi.com 324 N. Main St. #612, Davenport, IA 52801 Telephone:(563) 823-1881 |