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The Valley of Mexico
ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of MexicoKimberly Martin, Ph.D.
MesoAmerican Timeline
Pre-Classic 1500 BCE – 250 BCE
• Chalcatzingo 1500 – 500 BCE
• Tlatilco (Cuicuilco) 1200 – 200 BCE
Chalcatzingo 1500-500 BCE
• Southern end of the Valley of Mexico• Population of 500-1000 individuals• Trade Center• Residences of several classes• Burials under residences• Central plaza with an Olmec style altar• Platform structures• Bas relief carvings
Water Dancing Group Carvings
Water Dancing Group
Carving Detail
Tlatilco 1200 BCE – 200 BCE
• Complex settlement patterns• Economic specialization• Stratification• Long distance trade• Pottery vessels and figurines• Burials
Tlatilco CultureCuicuilco Site, Valley of Mexico
South Side Cuicuilco Pyramid
Tlatilco Archaeology Sites: Burial Goods
Tlatilco Archaeology Sites: Burials
Deformed SkullCultural standard of beauty obtained by wrapping infant skulls to shape their growth.
Tlatilco Archaeology Sites: Body with
Burial Goods
Tlatilco Ceramics
Monument 1
El ReyWoman seated
inside cave (God’s
Mouth) with rain clouds
and rain
Chalcatzingo Stela 31:
Feline figure, human figure,
S cloud formation and
raindrops
Classic 250 BCE – 900 CE
• Teotihuacan• Cholula
Teotihuacan
– 125,000-200,000 population– 8 square miles (20 square kilometers)– Planned city laid out in a grid pattern– Monumental architecture in “talud-tablero” style– 15 degrees, 25 minutes east of north– N/S Avenue of the Dead – 4 miles (6.4 kilometers)– Bisected by E/W Avenue of same length– Northern arm runs from the
• Pyramid of the Moon PAST THE • Pyramid of the sun TO THE• Ciudadela and Quetzalcoatl Pyramid, THE HALF WAY
MARK OF AVENUE OF THE DEAD
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan (Museum Model)
Teotihuacan Talud-Tablero Style
Pyramid of the Sun
• 700 ft (215 m) long• 200 ft (60 m) high• Two layers of construction• Fill =41,000,000 cu ft of sun dried
brick• Built over a lava tube cave– 330 ft long, 20 ft deep– Stone channels for water run into the
cave
TeotihuacanFrom the Pyramid of the Moon
Pyramid of the Moon
• Six layers of construction• Three ritual offerings in the
foundation– One human victim– Felines– Eagles– Obsidian carvings– Greenstone carvings
Teotihuacan from Pyramid of the Moon
Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl• Smaller than the other two pyramids• Last monumental architecture constructed in 200
AD• Seven tiered talud-tablero structure located within
the Ciudadela• Tableros covered with two opposing feathered
serpent motifs– Mosaic headresses of warriors– Shells suggesting water context– Two serpents may be creation story
• Life, greenness, peace VS heat, desert, war in a primordial sea
• Built in a single stage• 200 human sacrificial victims buried within
Teotihuacan Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl
Teotihuacan
TeotihuacanHuman Sacrifice
• Two groups of eighteen young warriors with hands tied behind backs buried at north and south
• Near N/S burial pits smaller number of young women
• More warriors at E/W edges of pyramid• Four corners each had the burial of an other warrior
individual• In the center of the pyramid, 20 victims buried with
thousands of jade, shell and other types of artifacts• Using calendar numbers of 18 (months) and 20
(number of days in a calendar month) • Using the N/S/E/W directions related to the
Mesoamerican world view of reality
Teotihuacan
Xochicalco
• 650 AD• Step-pyramid temples• Palaces• Three ballcourts• Sweat-baths• Circular altars• A cave with observatory features• Free-standing sculptured stelae
Xochicalco
Xochicalco Ball Court
Xochicalco Feathered Serpent Temple
Observatory Cave
Xochicalco Stelae
Cholula
• 600 CE to Conquest• Cholula Pyramid – Largest monument by volume in the
world– 4.45 million cubic meters in volume– 450m x 450 m
• Excavated into the side of the pyramid
Cholula Museum Model
Cholula Pyramid with Church
Cholula Pyramid Interior
Staircase
Post Classic 900 CE – 1519 CE
• Tula• Tzintzuntzan• Tenochtitlan
Tula• 800CE – 1150 CE• Tolteca Chichimeca peoples led by Mixcoatl• Tribal peoples from the northwest• Conflict between
– Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, peaceful, against human sacrifice (Mixcoatl’s son)
– Tezcatlipoca, fierce warrior god, lord of sorcerers– Quetzalcoatl flees the city, journeys to the gulf coast and sets
sail to the east from which he was to return some day.– He may have gone to Yucatan, where Maya records report the
arrival of Kukulcan (Feathered Serpent) who conquered Chichen Itza
– Tezcatlipoca ruled Tula
• Traders from as far away as Nicaragua• Fine craftsmen• Warrior Statues “Atlantes”• Chac Mool Statues (meaning unknown)
Tula Pyramid B
Atlantes on Pyramid B
Tula Chac Mool
Mosaic Helmet
Tzintzuntzan
• 1000CE – Conquest• Overlooks Lake Patzcuaro• P’urepechua language is not related to any other
mesoamerican language• Language is closer to Zuni in southwestern U.S.
and Quechua in Peru• Power extended throughout Michoacán and parts
of modern Guanajuato, Guerrero and Jalisco states• Ceremonial center with plaza on a Grand Platform• Five round “yacata” pyramid structures
Tzintzuntzan Aerial View
Tzintzuntzan Yacatas
Tzintzuntzan Yacatas
Stirrup Necked Vessels