Calixtlahuaca Part 3: Artifacts of a lost culture

Xiuhtecuhtli, Lord of Fire and Volcanos. He is the Aztec version of Huehueteotl ("Old, Old God"), who had been revered throughout Mesoamerica from to the earliest times. Xiuhtecuhtli sits, with his arms crossed. He wears a head dress which includes projections beside his ears and a head band decorated with circular emblems. These elements are typical of how the Aztecs portrayed their Fire God. Control of fire was one of the earliest and most important human innovations, occurring long before the development of agriculture. Ancient people quickly discovered the many uses of fire. These included cooking, lighting, heating, protection against predators, and the production of tools and weapons. However, it could also be a dangerous force, if not respected. Its most awesome form appears during volcanic eruptions. Some of the earliest statues of the Fire God yet unearthed were recovered from the ancient city of Cuicuilco (700 BC - 150 BC). Apparently, the inhabitants lacked sufficient reverence, because Cuicuilco's final destruction occurred when the nearby Ixle volcano erupted.

This is the third and final part of my Calixtlahuaca series. In it, I will provide information about the archaeological site's museum artifacts and will also trace the region's history from the earliest times to the Spanish arrival.


Other ancient religious images

Chicometeotl, Goddess of Maiz, wearing a huge and elaborate head dress. Chicometeotl's head dress, when she was portrayed in religious celebrations, would have been made of sticks covered with amacalli, a paper the Aztecs made from the bark of the amate tree. She was the "goddess of the unripe maiz" (corn) and was believed to make the kernels turn into thriving plants. In line with the Mesoamerican concept of duality, she had a male counterpart named Centeotl who represented the harvested maiz.

The first evidence of agricultural settlements around Calixtlahuaca dates to 1200 BC, although hunter-gatherer nomads had roamed the area for thousands of years previous to that.  The people lived in small communities around the volcanic slopes of the small, extinct Cerro Tenismo, located about 2 km from modern Toluca. They supplemented their agricultural production with hunting and fishing. Their homes were made of perishable materials, but they did make decorated pottery, as well as small, clay, female figures. These may have represented a fertility goddess, perhaps an early version of Chicometeotl. These settlements were contemporaneous with the Olmec Civilization (1500 BC - 400 BC). Archaeologists have found a number of Olmec-style sculptures in the area, including chubby children with jaguar faces. These artifacts may indicate a trading relationship with the Olmec centers along the Gulf Coast, or possibly an actual Olmec presence. During the succeeding 2700 years, long-range trading networks were established that continued to function, up through the Spanish era. Some of the old trade routes have survived as 21st century roads.

Cihuateteo the divine spirit of women who have died in childbirth. This statue was found in the area of the tzompantli (skull rack) in the Tlaloc Complex seen Part 2 of this series. Its discovery helped trigger speculation that the structure was not a tzompantli at all but an altar dedicated to childbirth and fertility. The Aztecs considered childbirth the equivalent of battle and a woman's death in childbirth was honored as much as the battle death of a warrior. A woman who died in this way became a Cihuateteo, a divine spirit. While dead warriors accompanied the sun from its rise until mid-day, at noon the Cihuateteo took over the escort through sunset. These divine female spirits were sometimes considered dangerous because they lurked at crossroads to steal children and seduce men into adultery.

For several hundred years after the Olmec Civilization disappeared, no other great civilization dominated the area. Then, around 100 AD, in the area northeast of modern Mexico City, Teotihuacan arose. Its appearance launched the pre-hispanic period's Classic Era. Like the Olmecs, Teotihuacan was a great trading civilization. Its capital city was very cosmopolitan and eventually reached 200,000 inhabitants, larger than any European city of its time. Teotihuacan became the dominant force, economically and militarily, throughout Mesoamerica. During the Classic Era, groups from Teotihuacan arrived in the Valley of Toluca. Vases, figurines, and sculptures in the Teotihuacan style begin to appear during this time, some possibly made locally. Before long, trade items that were definitely made in Teotihuacan began to arrive, including pottery, ceramics, and obsidian tools and jewelry. In return, the local people sent corn, lime, wood, and the products of the lakes and forests to Teotihuacan. The earliest phases of the Calixtlahuaca's Palace, the Tlaloc Complex, and the Temple of Ehecatl were built on the slopes of Cerro Tenismo in the Teotihuacan fashion. 

Sacrificial altar covered with Aztec designs, from the Temple of Ehecatl. This altar was found at the base of the temple by Calixtlahuaca's first archaeologist, José Garcia Payón. He inferred from its upside-down position and proximity to the temple that the altar had originally sat atop the temple. Apparently it had been cast down by the Spanish when they took over the area and suppressed "devil worship". My friend Javier Urcid teaches archaeology at Brandeis University and his specialty is the interpretation of stone relief carvings. I asked him to decypher the altar markings for me. According to Javier, the altar "dates to the 15th or early 16th century AD. It is carved in the Aztec imperial style when the Mexica (Aztecs) had political control of Calixtlahuaca...the monument may have originally been a circular platform for placing offerings and perhaps used as a sacrificial stone...the carvings on the monument include the iconic representations of a jade bead...These generally conveyed the notion of preciousness." Thanks again Javier!

Approximately 650 AD, the Teotihuacan Empire suddenly collapsed, possibly due to an internal revolt related to crop failures triggered by droughts which were, in turn, caused by deforestation. The period that followed, called the Epi-Classic Era  (650 AD - 900 AD), is roughly equivalent to Dark Age Europe after the Roman Empire collapsed in the face of internal strife and external invasions. One effect of Teotihuacan's collapse was the dispersal of the huge city's population throughout the Valley of Mexico and beyond. A substantial number of these refugees settled on the slopes of Cerro Tenismo. Archaeologists digging on Cerro Tenismo have found double the number of Teotihuacan artifacts during the Epi-Classic compared to the Classic Era. Another effect of the collapse was a power vacuum into which tribes of fierce nomadic warriors from the north--the so-called Chichimecs--surged into the fallen empire's territory. The Matlazinca were one of these tribes and they took over the central part of the Toluca Valley, including the Teotihuacan town located on Cerro Tenismo. It eventually became their capital. The newcomers utilized the structures already there, sometimes building new temples over the old Teotihuacan versions. The Matlazinca town came to be known as Matlazinco, a name that it kept until the Aztecs destroyed it in the 15th century and built Calixtlahuaca atop of its ruins.

Relief carving of the Calixtlahuaca Bird. Even though the carving is worn, you can clearly see the two feet with curled talons at the bottom. The tail extends to the left and the head is at the upper right. Arizona University archaeologist Michael Smith has dubbed this the "Calixtlahuaca Bird". The same bird figure has been found in other sculptures, leading to speculation that it may be the sign, or totem of the city. 

During the Epi-Classic Era, after a period of consolidation, Matlazinco and other up-and-coming city-states began to compete, both in trade and war. Existing Mesoamerican communities, along with others established by new arrivals, began to fortify themselves against further waves of barbarians. They also began to expand their economic spheres of influence by dominating key trade routes. Cacaxtla, in Tlaxcala State, north of modern Puebla, was a contemporary of Matlazinco. A mural at Cacaxtla shows a ferocious battle typical of the conflicts of the time. When the rising city-states weren't warring with one another, they were actively trading. Another Cacaxtla mural, painted in the Maya style, portrays a trader with his pack of goods propped up behind him. Archaeologist Michael Coe* believes this figure may be the Maya god L (Ek Chuah), the patron of merchant-traders. Along with other murals at Cacaxtla showing Maya influence, Coe believes the trader image indicates that group of Puuc Maya from Yucatan and the southern Gulf Coast were penetrating the former Teotihuacan Empire's territory from the south, even as the Chichimecs moved down from the north. 

*See Michael D Coe, Mexico, From the Olmecs to the Aztecs.

Artist's rendering of the Bird of Calixtlahuaca from the relief carving. This bird symbol also appears in other carvings on the shields of warriors. Michael Smith speculates that the bird may be a North American turkey, one of the few animals domesticated by pre-hispanic people. The recurrent appearance of this symbol may indicate that it represents the ruling dynasty. This could possibly be one of the earliest references to political figures as "turkeys."

By the end of the Epi-Classic period (900 AD), the invasions had tapered off and strong, militarized city-states like Matlazinco and Cacaxtla dotted the map of Mesoamerica. Perhaps the most important was Tollan, (Tula, in modern Hidalgo State). Tollan was the capital of the Toltecs, an amalagam of Chichimecs and refugees from Teotihuacan who had settled in the area north of modern Mexico City around 700 AD. In an era when war and human sacrifice were glorified, the Toltecs stood out. They were the Spartans of their time, extremely militarized and aggressive. The Toltecs may have been among the earliest to employ the tzompantli, a skull rack used to display the heads of decapitated war prisoners. By 900 AD, they were strong enough to begin the conquest of surrounding areas. Within 200 years,, the Toltecs had become the strongest kingdom to emerge out of the old Teotihuacan Empire. They dominated a widespread trade network and Toltec artifacts and architecture began to appear in Matlazinco. 

The city market may have been located on the lower slope of Cerro Tenismo. Just as they do in modern Mexican towns, local vendors and traders from distant places would come to a market like this and set up stalls to display their goods. Markets like this were an extremely important part of Mesoamerican economic life and were the channel through which both goods and culture spread. On the slopes above the market, you can see homes, temples, and public structures on terraces carved into the side of the volcano. (Artist Michael Stesinos' conception of the market, based on the work of the Calixtlahuaca Archaeological Project of Arizona State University)

The Toltec kingdom fell somewhere around 1175 AD, for reasons that are not entirely clear. Instabiliity caused by leadership divisions among Toltec elites may have been a factor. Revolts by subject cities against tribute collection may have played a role. Finally, prolonged droughts in north-central Mexico about this time provoked a southward movement of nomadic groups into better-watered areas. This caused constant military pressure on the northern frontiers. Tollan's ultimate fall created a power vacuum which accelerated migrations by the fierce northern nomads, hungry for land and plunder. Among these groups were the Aztecs, or Mexica as they called themselves. According to their migration legend, they set out from Aztlán, a place that some believe is the island community of Mexicaltitán in the modern state of Nayarit. For over a hundred years the Mexica wandered, stopping along the way at the ruins of Tollan and the even more ancient Teotihuacan. The great and mysterious palaces and pyramids were crumbling and overgrown by then. Even so, the nomadic wanderers were suitably impressed, particularly by Teotihuacan (which they mistook for a Toltec city). The Mexica called it "the place where the gods were born." Eventually the tribe reached Lake Texcoco, a lush paradise that was, unfortunately for the newcomers, already surrounded by powerful and well-established city states.

Daily Living at Matlazinco / Calixtlahuaca

Typical home as it may have looked on the slopes of ancient Matlazinco. The house is of the mud-and-wattle adobe style with a thatched roof. It is typical of those used in the residential areas by common people. In front of the house, a man works on an obsidian "core" to produce tools, blades, or weapons while his son looks on. A core is a chunk of obsidian about the size of a softball from which large flakes are chipped to create razor-sharp implements. Interestingly, more than 2/3 of the obsidian implements found on or around Cerro Tenismo originated elsewhere. Archaeologists know this because they can determine, from the chemical structure, the exact origin point of the volcanic glass. This means traders may have brought finished tools to Matlazinco. Three quarters of these artifacts were of gray obsidian and 56% of these originated in Ucareo, Michoacan, indicating a lively trade with the Tarascan Empire. A small amount of green obsidian came from Pachuca, north of Mexico City. Traders may also have brought the cores and created the implements on site, or sold the cores to local people like the man above.  (Illustration by Michael Stasinos of the Calixtlahuaca Archaeological Project)

The Mexica were despised as uncouth barbarians by the settled and civilized people. At first, they drifted around the Lake Texcoco area, hiring themselves out as mercenaries in the incessant wars between the lakeside city-states. Eventually, the tribe settled on a swampy island off the southwestern shore of the lake, where they founded their capital, Tenochtitlán. The traditional date for this is 1325 AD. Desperate to shed their image of low-life country bumpkins, they adopted the culture, symbols, and art of the now-semi-mythical Toltecs. Most importantly, the Mexica imitated the Toltec's militarized social structure, which fitted nicely with their own fierce warrior culture. Over the next 150 years, their rise to power was meteoric. 

A tripod bowl, in the Matlazinca style. The Matlazinca design can be seen in the network of straight and diagonal lines on the interior and exterior surfaces, as well as the red-over-cream color scheme. Most of the intact objects recovered by archaeologists at Calixtlahuaca, or anywhere else in Mesoamerica for that matter, have come from tombs and burial sites. These "grave goods" were carefully and reverently placed in these tombs, which were then covered over and mostly forgotten for centuries or even thousands of years. Unfortunately, intact pottery and sculpture have become highly valued by private collectors, resulting in large-scale grave robbery. Often, artifacts considered less valuable are discarded or destroyed. Even if the best pieces survive, the destruction of the context in which they were discovered is usually lost. Context is extremely important in understanding ancient cultures. It relates to the position of the object when found in relation to other artifacts or structures. Understanding these relationships can help decipher the use or meaning of the piece. The stratum or depth at which the discovery occurred can affect its dating. When the artifact is removed or destroyed without proper documentation, all this is lost. Mexico has strict laws about the handling of ancient artifacts, but all too often these or ignored or circumvented. The often desperately poor people who do the actual looting are less guilty than the wealthy Mexican or foreign collectors who are looking for attractive additions to their mantlepieces.

A Matlazinca pot with a small handle near the lip. The pot, about the size of a basketball, may have been intended to hold water, or to store food. I was struck by its resemblance to an ancient Greek amphora. I am often bemused by the similarity between widely separated cultures in the shapes of the objects and structures they create. For example, there is a close resemblance between Mesoamerican step pyramids and those of early Egypt. Contact between the societies was extremely unlikely, although some folks fantasize that it may have happened. The answer to the mystery is likely to be much simpler: first, form follows function. Second, there are general principles of physics and engineering that apply, no matter where you are or what you are trying to build. Ancient people were no less intelligent that those living today. Through trial and error, people separated by vast distances, even oceans, came to similar solutions when faced with similar problems.

In 1428, the Mexicas joined with the kingdoms of Texcoco and Tacuba to form the Triple Alliance. This powerful federation began a campaign of conquest which ultimately brought much of Mesoamerica under its control, with the exception of the Chichimecs to the north, the Maya kingdoms of the south, and the Tarascan Empire to the west. For almost 50 years after the Triple Alliance began its program of conquest, Matlazinco maintained its independence and flourished. The city carried on a lively trade with surrounding areas, including both the kingdoms of the Triple Alliance and their bitter rival, the Tarascan Empire. The Tarascans dominated the territory of modern Michoacan State, plus portions of Guerrero, Colima, Querétaro, and Jalisco. The politics of pre-hispanic Mesoamerica were complex, but it appears that the Matlazincas may have staved off both of the empires by playing them off against each other. 

This small, graceful pitcher looks quite modern. I could easily envision this on my kitchen counter, or in my refrigerator. Long ago, someone decided to create a container shaped for pouring liquids. S/he came up with this solution and modern people are still using it.

The Matlazinca, as previously noted, acquired most of their obsidian for tools, weapons, and jewelry from the volcanic glass deposits around Ucareo, in Tarascan territory. Other Tarascan imports included copper objects, such as bells and small tools. In turn, the Matlazincas provided the Tarascans with corn from their famously rich farm lands. It was the desire to acquire the food from these lands, as well as jealously over the Matlazinca-Tarascan relationship, that led Axayacatl, the Mexica Tlatoani (ruler), to provoke a war against the Matlazinca. The pretext was a failure to provide materials for a temple the Mexica wanted to build. At first the Matlazinca were able to stave off the invasion. One of their generals, Cuextapalin, managed to wound the Mexica ruler with a stone from a sling and almost captured him. Axayacatl withdrew, but the Mexica never gave up easily and he soon returned with an even larger army. 

Some smaller artifacts recovered include shell jewelry, copper rings, and clay malacates. The shells probably came from the Pacific Coasts of Guerrero and Michoacan, both under Tarascan control. It is likely that the copper rings also originated within the Tarascan territory. Malacates are called whorls in English, and they are used in spinning fibers, such as cotton, into thread. Even though they are an ancient technology, I have seen them used in the remote mountain villages of Puebla State.

Axacayatl came back in 1474, intent on completing the conquest and avenging his previous loss. He may have had personal motives as well, since the wound he had received from the Matlazinca general crippled him for life. This time he was successful, and took 11,070 prisoners when he seized the city of Matlazinco. These unfortunates were marched to Tenochtitlán to be sacrificed in a grand celebration of his victory. Executing all those Matlazinca warriors also prevented further uprisings for the moment and opened up their lands for resettlement by people from the Triple Alliance. While the Matlazinca chafed under Mexica rule, they also prospered because trade with the far-flung Triple Alliance Empire (which had become the Mexica Empire by now) radically increased. Mexica demands for tribute, as well as their general arrogance, led to two great uprisings by the Matlazinca. The first lasted from 1482 to 1484 and was finally crushed by the Mexica ruler Tizoc. He marked his victory on a great stone disk used for human sacrifice. In retaliation for the revolt, Tizoc ordered the temples in Matlazinco destroyed, as well as the usual sacrifice of war prisoners. Another influx of Mexica settlers arrived, further changing the character of the city. 

Malacate, with its spindle and thread. Mesoamerican weaving dates back as far as 3000 BC. Use of a backstrap loom began in South American around 1800 BC and soon the technique migrated north to Mexico. Indigenous women still use the backstrap loom in many places in Mexico, including the pueblo of Ajijic, where I live. In ancient times, spinning thread and weaving cloth was a woman's task and, at birth, a female child would be presented with the tools seen above. Even today, every person I have seen using a malacate and spindle, or a backstrap loom, has been a woman.

After another Matlazinca revolt in 1510, the Mexica ruler Moctezuma II finally lost patience. He ordered the general destruction of Matlazinco and its rebuilding into a Mexica-style city, populated by Mexica settlers and re-named Calixtlahuaca. The Matlazincas fled west and were given asylum by the Tarascan ruler. They were resettled where they could act as a buffer between his kingdom and the Mexica. Calixtlahuaca soon became the third largest city in the whole Empire. Then, less than 10 years after the final defeat of the Matlazinca, the Spanish arrived. Soon the Mexica Empire was itself overthrown and in ruins. Unlike many other large Mexica cities, Calixtlahuaca was never settled by the Spanish and remodeled in their own style. Within a generation after the Conquest, Calixtlahuaca was an unpopulated ruin. What happened to its population is somewhat of a mystery. Archaeologist Michael Smith speculates that the inhabitants were victims of the Spanish policy of "congregation". This was a technique for political control that involved the displacement of a native population and its resettlement in another area. The modern city of Toluca may be where the Calixtlahuacans ended up, but the old records have disappeared so no one knows for sure. The Spanish colonial town of San Francisco Calixtlahuaca was founded many years after the depopulation of the old city and it was built on the plains below Cerro Tenismo, not on its slopes.

This completes the last part of my Calixtlahuaca series. I hope you have enjoyed it and, if so, that you leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email them to me directly. If you leave a question, PLEASE provide your email address so that I can respond.

Hasta luego, Jim

Calixtlahuaca Part 2: The Tlaloc Temple and the Palace

One of the rooms in the Palace Complex, with an impressive platform in the background. In front of the large platform, you can see part of the Palace Complex's broad, grassy plaza. This complex is one of a number of ruins scattered across the slopes of Cerro Tenismo, the small, extinct volcano on which ancient Calixtlahuaca was built. Because of our limited time, and the distance between the sites, we only visited the three most important, including the Temple of Ehecatl (see Part 1), the Tlaloc Complex, and the Palace. One of Calixtlahuaca's unique features is that these ceremonial structures are all so scattered. In other Mesoamerican cities, these kinds of structures are grouped together centrally into a single elite district. Archaeologists were also surprised that they could find almost no buildings or artifacts beyond the base of the volcano. At Calixtlahuaca, both the ceremonial and the residential areas were built on terraced platforms cut into the slopes of Cerro Tenismo, rather than on the flatter land that surrounds the hill. By contrast, the Spanish colonial town of Calixlahuaca was built on the flat lands below the hill, long after the abandonment of the ancient city.



Monument 4: The Tlaloc Temple Complex

The Tlaloc Complex includes three structures: a temple, a low platform, and a tzompantli. José Garcia Payón was the archaeologist who originally unearthed ancient Calixtlahuaca. The Tlaloc Complex was one of his primary areas of excavation. He associated the temple (left side of photo) with Tlaloc, the Rain God, because he found several statues of the god on or around the structure. All three structures of the complex are arranged around a stone patio. The entire complex rests on a broad, man-made terrace cut from the side of Cerro Tenismo. The Tlaloc Complex is oriented to the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west), considered sacred as far back as the time of the Olmecs.

Censer decorated with the face of Tlaloc. Many Mesoamericans cultures used containers called censers to burn copal incense during religious ceremonies. The Tlaloc statues Payón found are not kept in the site museum, and I have been unable to find any photos of them on the internet. In order to give you an idea of how the ancients viewed their Rain God, I am using a photo I took of a censer unearthed at the great Aztec pyramid called the Templo Mayor, in Mexico City. The "goggles" around Tlaloc's eyes are his most typical and distinctive feature. In addition, he is almost always shown with fangs hanging down from both corners of his mouth, with his tongue drooping between them. Tlaloc was one of the most important of all the many gods of the various Mesoamerican civilizations. This is not surprising, since all these societies were dependent upon agriculture, for which rain is always the critical element. He was so important to the Aztecs that they gave him equal billing, along with their War God  Huitzilopochtli. Temples devoted to both gods sit side-by-side atop the Templo Mayor, a pyramid that marked the center of their world.

The Tlaloc Temple The temple's only staircase is located on its east side. At one time, the temple was topped by a structure made of perishable materials, which did not survive the centuries.  Tlaloc ruled over the four sacred directions and he occupied a position in the center where the directional lines cross. The Rain God, called by various names over the centuries, is one of the most ancient Mesoamerican deities, probably dating to the birth of New World agriculture. The only god to exceed him in antiquity would have been the God of Fire, Huehueteotl, the "Old, Old God". Human awareness of the mystery, power, and usefulness of fire, as well as its dangers, long pre-dates agriculture.

Two small, square structures stand on either side of the staircase. They are each about 1 m sq (3' x 3') and about .3 m (1 ft) tall. Their function is not clear, but they may have been bases for statues or perhaps sacrificial altars. Tlaloc was married to Chalchiuhtlicue, the beautiful Goddess of Lakes and Streams. The Rain God was assisted by four helpers, called Tlaloque, who were dwarf-like beings. One of their key jobs was to smash great clay urns full of water, thus creating thunder as the rain was released. Tlaloc was closely associated with Ehecatl, the Wind God. Since strong, gusty winds often precede a rainstorm, the ancient people believed the rain was being pushed by the Wind God.

The north side of the Tlaloc Complex plaza is filled by a low platform. A sign at the site says that it probably served as the base for four rooms, but the purpose of these rooms is unclear. They might have housed priests of Tlaloc, or they could have provided space for materials and devices employed during ceremonies, or possibly both. The faint outline of a circle on the grassy surface may be the remains of an ancient ceremonial fire pit.

A unique cruciform (cross shaped) structure sits directly to the east of the Tlaloc Temple. Nothing else like it is known to exist in Mesoamerica. It is draped with yellow tape to warn visitors not to climb on it. Archaeologists disagree on the structure's purpose. Payón, the site's discoverer, believed that this was a tzompantli, or skull rack, used to to display the decapitated heads of sacrificial victims. To support his view, Payón pointed to a series of stone projections set at regular intervals around the sides. Four of these projections still have carved stone skulls attached to them. Similar stone skulls are found on the tzompantli adjacent to the Templo Mayor, as well as the one at Chichen Itza near the great ball court. Other archaeologists assert that this may be a site for fertility rites where a pregnant woman would lie with her head in the circular area with her arms outstretched on either side. However, the skulls attached to the sides, along with the well-known association between human sacrifice and Tlaloc, incline me toward the tzompantli theory. Even the proponents of the fertility theory admit that a person positioned as they describe would also have been ideally placed to have his/her heart cut out.


Monument 17: The Palace Complex

The Palace Complex, as displayed on a site marker. The Palace Complex was organized as a long rectangle around a large central plaza. A warren of residential rooms occupies one end, with a long, high platform along one side and several low platforms on the other. The design above shows structures at the end opposite the residential area that are now gone or possibly not yet excavated.

View of the Palace Complex from the top of the Tlaloc Temple. I took this shot with my telephoto zoom, so it is further away from the Tlaloc Complex than it appears here. Modern Calixtlahuaca structures surround the Palace site. Payón believed that this complex was a calmecac, or elite school which provided religious and military training to the sons of Aztec nobles. Further investigations by later archaeologists revealed the site to be a palace, probably of the ruler of Calixtlahuaca. They drew this conclusion, in part, because it closely resembles palaces in other parts of the Aztec Empire. For a Google satellite view of the Palace Complex, click here.

View of the Palace Complex from the left rear, near the residential area. In the upper right of the photo you can see the long, high platform with three grand staircases leading to its top. Archaeologists believe that the top was once occupied by the ruler's throne room. The area immediately behind the maguey plant in the foreground contains large rooms and low platforms that were probably the ruler's living area.

View from atop the throne room platform. This shot looks directly back to where the previous photo was taken. The long platform's grand staircase is in the immediate foreground. Below, you can see the broad plaza which contains a large altar at one end. Behind the altar is the residential area. Part of the ruler's living area can be seen in the upper right. In the upper left, you can see the rising slope of the Cerro Tenismo volcano.

Close-up of the altar in front of the residential area. This one is considerably larger than any of the altars we saw at the Ehecatl or Tlaloc temples. The size of the plaza indicates that a large number of people could be assembled here for religious activities. An altar like this would surely have been a focal point for ceremonies.

One of the low platforms across from the temple that were part of the ruler's area. These platforms may have contained perishable structures used for ceremonial or residential purposes. Carole is standing on a slight rise behind the platform. The platform above has particularly interesting architectural features on either end of the stairs

This tabla y talud shows a definite Teotihuacan influence. In Spanish, tabla y talud, means "panel and slope". The upper part is the tabla and the lower, sloping area is the talud. This architectural feature was widely employed throughout the Teotihuacan Empire (100 AD - 650 AD). The ruins of its capital are located a few miles to the northeast of Mexico City. Teotihuacan exerted a strong influence over the area around Calixtlahuaca during the Classic Era, 800 years before the Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico. Either this staircase is a remnant of that earlier Empire, or the Aztecs copied the Teotihuacan style when they re-built the Palace after conquering the previous inhabitants. The Aztecs admired everything about Teotihuacan, believing it was "where the gods were born". They imitated many of the artistic and architectural features they found in the ancient city, even though it had been in ruins for many centuries.

View of the residential area from the right rear. This area is a maze of narrow corridors and rooms of various sizes. Some of these rooms were the residences of nobles and warriors, while others were used to store food, weapons, and treasure. Still others were workshops for the production of sculpture, feather art and other luxury items desired by the ruler and his court. A few rooms contained shrines for rituals.

Flagstone covers the floors in some of the rooms. These were the luxury apartments of their day, and thus the floors would not have been the packed earth found in commoners' homes. Notice the niche seat in the upper right of the photo. The thick stone walls would have kept the rooms cool in summer and warm in winter.

Stucco made from lime plaster surfaced other floors in the complex. The stucco was produced by burning limestone, grinding up the resulting material, and then mixing it with water and sand. The Aztecs and other ancient Mesoamerican civilizations also used stucco to coat both the interior and exterior walls of stone buildings. The flat surfaces were then painted with vividly colored designs. Often, the need for massive amounts of wood to burn the limestone resulted in deforestation. This caused droughts and may have contributed in the decline of civilizations such as Teotihuacan and the Maya city states of the Classic Era.

One of the larger rooms in the residential area contained this square fire pit. This fire pit is similar to many found in the residential rooms. Archaeologists found charcoal remains in many of the pits. In addition to heating and cooking, the fire pits may have played a role in rituals conducted in some of the rooms.

This concludes Part 2 of my series on Calixtlahuaca. In Part 3, I will show you some of the artifacts found at the various sites and some of the history of the area from the early nomadic period to the arrival of the Spanish. If you enjoyed Part 2, and would like to leave a comment or question, please do so in the Comments section below, or email me directly.

If you leave a question in the Comments section, PLEASE provide your email address so I can respond.

Hasta luego, Jim

Calixtlahuaca Part 1: Temple of the Wind God

Statue of Ehecatl, the Wind God, located in Calixtlahuaca's museum. Ehecatl is always portrayed wearing this odd beak-like attachment to his face. After leaving Valle de Bravo, it was less than an hour's drive to the site of Calixtlahuaca. The ancient site was once called Matlazinco by the Matlazinca tribe, whose capital it was before the Aztecs conquered the region in 1474 AD. The Aztecs' language was Nahuatl, and Calixtlahuaca means "house in the prairie". The town, which still carries the Aztec name, is today a small community located just off Highway 55, about 10 km (6.2 mi) north of the center of the city of Toluca, in the State of Mexico. Part of the pre-hispanic site is on flat ground,  surrounded by the town's modern buildings. However, most of the ancient structures--including the Temple of Ehecatl--are located high up on the lightly-wooded slopes of a small volcano named Cerro Tenismo.  For a Google satellite map, directions, and hours of operation, click here.


Temple of Ehecatl - exterior

Front view of Ehecatl's temple. After visiting an excellent (and free) museum at the base of Cerro Tenismo, we started up the slope to the temple. Part way up, we were met by an attendant who collected $50 pesos ($2.76 USD), which covered admittance to the whole site for both of us. In front of the temple is a flagstone patio, which leads to a grand staircase. The structure behind the staircase is circular, with a spiraling walkway that also leads to the top. On the left side of the staircase you can see a small entrance which allows access to the interior. The entire structure sits on a level platform, the size of a couple of football fields set end to end. The platform was carved from the side of the volcano and leveling it must have been a huge job. This is particularly true since pre-hispanic people lacked metal tools, draft animals, or vehicles to move the earth. The top of the temple provides a grand vista over the surrounding countryside.

The temple, as it was being unearthed in the 1930s. At the bottom of the staircase is a large cube-shaped structure with people on either side. This was the base for the statue of Ehecatl. Two smaller rectangular structures sit below the steps that lead to the grand staircase. It is not clear whether these were altars or possibly used as bases for two more statues. On the right of the photo, you can see the circular, stepped-platforms that make up the rear of the temple.

Cut-away model of the temple from the same angle as the previous photo. Like many other pre-hispanic temples and pyramids, Ehecatl's temple was built in stages. What we see today was the latest of four phases of construction. When modern engineers want to replace a building, they simply demolish it, haul away the debris, and put up something new. In ancient times, the effort, expense, and limited technology would have made this approach virtually impossible. Instead, pre-hispanic architects simply built a new structure over top of the old.

Temples to Ehecatl tended to follow the same general design. Above, you see four different temples from different geographic areas. The view is from directly overhead. The one at Calixtlahuaca is at the top left. The temple at Acozac is below it, and those at Huexotla and Zultepec are top right and bottom right, respectively. While we have not visited these last three yet, we have seen other temples to Ehecatl in distant parts of Mexico. These include the circular pyramids known as the Guachimontones, west of Guadalajara, and the spiral temple at Xochitécatl, north of Puebla.

View from the left rear. Here, you can clearly see the circular platforms and their spiraling walkway. In ancient times, the top level of the temple contained an additional cylindrical structure with a conical roof. However, this was made of perishable materials and did not survive the passage of the centuries. To the best of my knowledge, Ehecatl, whose name in Nahuatl means "wind", was the only pre-hispanic deity for whom circular temples or pyramids were constructed. Virtually all other sacred structures were built in a square or rectangular design with the four corners often aligned with the sacred cardinal points: north, south, east, and west. The wind, however, can come from any and all directions, so Ehecatl's temples were circular to reflect the variability of this natural force.

View of the right side of the temple. A series of small staircases lead up to a narrow entrance to the interior, seen in the center of the photo. There are several similar entrances around the base of the temple and on the spiral walkway, as you can see in the previous photo. Through these, priests could access the interior and conduct rituals kept secret from the mass of people who gathered around the temple during periodic public ceremonies.


Temple Interior

The front entrance on the left side of grand staircase. The bright overhead sun cast the interior into deep shadow, making me cautious as I descended. I didn't want to lose my footing or encounter any unseen critters. Neither occurred, however, and I moved unscathed through a series of dark stone corridors.

A narrow chimney leads up to daylight. At the end of one corridor, I suddenly stepped into a pool of light created by this vertical chimney. I say "chimney" but allowing smoke to escape was probably not its purpose. More likely, the shaft was for astronomical observations. I have found such chimneys in a number of other temples where Venus, or the moon, or the sun at a particular season could be viewed through the opening at the top. Using these observations, time cycles could be measured and predictions made for when to plant or harvest crops. A structure in the pre-hispanic Zapotec capital of Monte Alban contains a very similar shaft once used by ancient priests to observe Venus' movements.

A steep internal staircase leads up from the bowels of the temple to its top.  After conducting their observations and secret rituals, the religious leaders could proceed up these steps and suddenly emerge high above the waiting crowd. It must have been a dramatic moment, accompanied by thundering drums and the mournful wail of conch shells. The climb up this staircase looked pretty tricky, in that each step is only a few inches deep and the incline is very steep. Since there was a safer way to the top, I decided not to risk it.

Top of Temple 

A stone walkway spirals around the sides of the temple. Portions of it are now blocked, so it was impossible for me to reach the top using this route. Apparently the ancients used it as one route for ascending or descending the temple. A long procession of priests and other high officials, gorgeously adorned with feathered head dresses and jaguar skins, must have been quite a sight as it wound around the temple's circular walls during one of these great ceremonies. On the sides of the wall to the left, you can see several stone projections. In another area of Calixtlahuaca, and at other sites around Mexico, similar projections were used as supports for decorative elements. Beyond the walkway's outer wall, you can see one of several altars that surround the temple.

The flat top of the temple can be reached over this small footbridge. After climbing the grand staircase, I reached this footbridge spanning the spiral walkway. The view from the top encompasses the town and valley and the mountains in the distance. The temple's flat top once contained a cylindrical structure with a conical roof, constructed from perishable materials.

The interior staircase, viewed from the top. The small opening in the lower right is the entrance on the right side of the temple, seen in one of the previous photos. The shallow depth of each step can clearly be seen here. After completing their rituals, the priests would have ascended the staircase and come up within the perishable structure. They would then appear in its doorway to address the crowd below. It is my conjecture that they would have ascended, rather than descended. Based on my rock-climbing experience, it is nearly always easier and safer to ascend a steep, treacherous incline than to climb down it. After emerging at the top, they may have proceeded down the grand staircase, or by way of the spiral walkway, or possibly both at the same time.


Ehecatl and Quetzalcoatl

Full view of Ehecatl, located in the Calixtlahuaca museum. Ehecatl is closely connected to Tlaloc, the Rain God, because strong, spiraling winds often precede a downpour. Ehecatl wears the unusual beak to cut through any obstacle on his way to join Tlaloc. The Wind God is one of the most ancient deities of Mesoamerican cultures and civilizations. The temple dedicated to him at Xochitécatl dates back as far as 800 BC. Over the centuries, Ehecatl became associated with Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, another important and widely revered god. One possible connection between them was the snake symbolism the two deities shared. Among the later Mesoamerican civilizations, the Wind God is referred to as Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl. The Aztecs built a circular temple for the double-god in the Sacred Precinct in their capital of Tenochtitlán. According to the Aztec cosmology, the Sacred Precinct was located at the center of the world and only the most important among their plentiful array of gods were assigned space there.

Ehecatl's statue was unearthed near the left side of the grand staircase. His "beak" can be seen at the upper end of the trench above, shaped like the bottom of a clothing iron. The statue had once stood on the cube-shaped platform at the base of the grand staircase. The Aztecs destroyed the Matlazinca's capital in 1510 after a revolt by its inhabitants. The Matlazincas fled to the territory of the Aztec's great rival, the Tarascans, where they settled in the area of what is now modern Morelia. The Aztecs resettled the Matlazincas' former territory with their own people and then rebuilt the city as Calixtlahuaca. In the process, they completed the final phase of the Temple of Ehecatl, and added the statue you see above. A little more than ten years later, the Spanish cast down the statue and destroyed the temple during their Conquest. It was Spanish policy to destroy native religions by destroying their temples. Sometimes they used the rubble to build a churches on the same spot, but in the case of Ehecatl's temple, they simply left it in ruins.

Workers have extracted most of the dismembered statue and are still digging for broken pieces. In the 1930s, Mexican archaeologist José Garcia Payón began to excavate ancient Calixtlahuaca. In the process, he uncovered and restored Templo Ehecatl and the palace area at the base of Cerro Tenismo. His workers discovered the statue when they saw a lizard run between two rocks. Payón was not present when the discovery occurred, which greatly annoyed him. Between 1988 and 2007, a series of other archaeologists made further discoveries including a temple complex dedicated to Tlaloc, located near the top of the volcano. We'll take a look at the Tlaloc complex and the palace area in later parts of this series.

This small, unidentified statue appears to depict Ehecatl. The figure is seated on a stepped throne and wears the strange beak associated with the Wind God. A writhing snake forms part of his head dress. In addition to snakes, there is another similarity between Ehecatl and Quetzalcoatl. Both are "culture heroes" as well as gods. A culture hero is person of great--and sometimes magical--power who acts as a leader, but is not a god. A familiar example is Hercules in the mythology of the ancient Greeks. In another wrinkle, some archaeologists believe that the culture heroes Ehecatl and Quetzalcoatl, may reflect greatly embellished stories about actual historical figures. Gods? Culture heroes? Actual people? All at the same time? This can be a bit confusing when studying Mesoamerican myths and legends.

This stela, containing a snake emblem, stands in the patio near the base of the grand staircase. While most of the carving on the stela is badly worn, the coiled snake on the left is clearly visible. The coil may represent not only Ehecatl's snake manifestation, but the spiral of the temple itself, thus making the very architecture of the structure a metaphor for a snake. Just as Ehecatl was a very ancient god, so was Quetzalcoatl. Representations of the Feathered Serpent have been associated with the Olmecs (1500 BC - 400 BC), known as the "Mother of Cultures." Later, the great empire of Teotihuacan (100 BC - 650 AD) revered Quetzalcoatl, as did their successors, the Toltecs (700 AD - 1000 AD). Each of these great civilizations maintained extensive trade networks through which the cult of the Feathered Serpent spread.

This statue of a feathered snake shows a human head emerging from its gaping jaws. The statue, located in the Calixtlahuaca museum, presents an image that is found throughout Mesoamerica, even down into the Maya areas of Yucatan and Central America. Quetzalcoatl is associated with knowledge, culture, civilization, and the use of maiz (corn). The image of a human emerging from a snake's mouth represents the Feathered Serpent's role as the creator of human beings.


Temple Altars

This square altar can be found on the side of the temple that overlooks the town. It is not clear what was sacrificed on altars like this, but it could well have included human beings, particularly in the period of Aztec rule. Quetzalcoatl was said to disapprove of human sacrifice, Ehecatl's position on the matter is unclear. The Aztecs were cultural sponges, somewhat like the Romans, and avidly adopted the culture, and cosmology of the people they conquered. They mixed and matched to create their own culture and cosmology (and, for political purposes, deliberately fabricated a good deal of their official history).

A circular altar, set in a small sunken area adjacent to the temple. According to early Aztec legends, they originated on an island (possibly Mexicaltitan) from which they began a meandering, 200-year migration. Their journey finally ended in the Valley of Mexico where they settled on another island in a broad shallow lake called Texcoco. There, they built their capital, Tenochtitlán  (now Mexico City). During their journey, they came upon the crumbling ruins of Tula, the Toltec capital, and later the abandoned but still overpowering site of Teotihuacan. The magnificent remains of these half-forgotten civilizations had a tremendous impact on these primitive. nomadic people. The Aztecs called Teotihuacan "the place where the gods were born". Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery. The Aztecs adopted what they found, almost wholesale, including the worship of Quetzalcoatl.

Another sunken altar, near the edge of the great platform on which the temple stands. When the Aztecs encountered the extensive sculptures of Quetzalcoatl in the ruins of the ancient cities, they saw the similarities with Ehecatl. Over time, the Feathered Serpent came to predominate until Ehecatl lost his separate identity and became simply a facet, or manifestation, of Quetzalcoatl. When they conquered the Matlazinca capital, with its temple to Ehecatl, they simply subsumed him into their broader deity of Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl.

This completes Part 1 of my series on Calixtlahuaca. In the next part, we'll explore the temple complex devoted to Tlaloc, the Rain God.  I hope you have enjoyed Part 1. If so, please leave any of your thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email them to me directly.

If you leave a question in the Comments section, PLEASE leave your email address so I can respond.

Hasta luego, Jim