#xochicalco

By Maxtreiber - Originally uploaded on English Wikipedia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1817161

In the western part of the state of Morelos in Mexic, Xochicalco is a city on an artificially flattened hilltop that rose to prominence after the fall of Teotihuacan around 550 CE and possibly aided in that fall. The city does share iconography with Teotihuacan, such as the Feathered Serpent on its temples. It first saw occupation around 200 BCE, but it wasn't until the Epiclasic period (700-900 CE) that it became an urban center with likely a peak population of about 20,000. Around 900, the city was burned and abandoned quickly, with many household items being left behind with only a small population remaining in the lower hills. This is around the time that several Maya cities collapsed in the southern and central lowlands.

Source: https://archaeology.org/issues/january-february-2026/features/taking-the-measure-of-mesoamerica/

Founded by the Olmeca-Xicallanca, a group of Maya traders from the modern day state of Campeche in southeast Mexico, the location of Xochicalco 'gave them an excellent position along several of the major Mesoamerican trade routes' and was also an excellent position for the craftspeople that lived their to disperse their wares. It also served as religious center after the fall of other cities. The location would not have produced much in the way of crops, so it seems that it was 'likely built for defense purposes and trading'.

Source: https://www.cyark.org/projects/xochicalco/in-depth

Near the city, there is an observatory set up in a mine cave that was modified for the purpose. The interior was covered with stucco that was then painted black, yellow, and red. It has a 8.7 m chimney with a hexagonal opening at the top that sits on a slight slant so that from 30 April to 15 August, the sun shines through the chimney. At solar noon on 14/15 May and 28/29 July, the sun can be seen on the cave floor. The significance of those days is lost to history at this time.

Source: https://www.cyark.org/projects/xochicalco/in-depth

The city was built in layers, terraced into the hill and each level was home to a particular group of craftspeople, with obsidian workers at the lowest levels. The middle levels were dedicated to temples, including one known as the Great Pyramid, which was dedicated to a storm god. On the top of the hill was the Main Plaza, where the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpents was, 'as well as a palace complex known as the Acropolis'. This area was only accessible through one one of three defended porticoes. These buildings show a 'range of cultural influences that have been traced to Teotihuacan, to the Maya world, and to other areas in present-day Mexico including the states of Guerroro and Oaxaca on the Pacific Coast and Veracruz on the Gulf Coast'. These influences can be viewed in how they carved the Feathered Serpents, with them being decorated with 'shells that are thought to allude to the trading relationships with people from coastal regions' and human figures having 'Maya characteristics including an elongated forehead, which may be the result of cranial modification, and the way they hold their hands in front of their chests' and other figures 'whose features denote elevated rank in central Mexico'.

Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/280400?read-now=1&seq=14#page_scan_tab_contents

A recent study suggests that this blending of cultures goes even deeper than just the carvings to the construction of the monuments themselves, with one researcher saying 'This is the first time we can show that the builder's vision involved using multiple units. Most of the time in measurements of pre-Hispanic architecture, we talk about a single unit. But here, we have two and they combine in a very sophisticated way.' In pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, there were two primary units of measurement. The Maya used a zapal, which is 1.47 m as their primary unit, likely based on the length between a person's palms when they hold their arms outstretched. In central Mexico, at sites like Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlan, the unit used is the maitl, thought to be based on the same bodily span, was 1.68 m. The site also has a painting that has multiple Maya characteristics, but no Maya writings were left behind, leaving researchers puzzled as to 'why some Maya elements were adopted and others were not'.

The researchers studied 13 staircases and 45 structures to understand what measurement systems were used in their construction. They found that both units were used roughly equally throughout the structures they studied. The most common pattern of usage was to use the maitl for the north and south sides of a building and the zapal for the east and west sides, though reversed on important buildings, such as those in the Main Plaza.

Source: https://archaeology.org/issues/january-february-2026/features/taking-the-measure-of-mesoamerica/

As part of their research and to avoid cultural attribution to anything, the researchers used U7 and U8 as designations as they are multiples of 21 cm with the zapal being seven 21 cm segments and the maitl being eight, which is approximately the length of a person's spread hand from thumb to little finger, known as the palmo in Spanish. This relationship allowed for a 'superunit' to be made of either eight U7 or seven U8, which would be 11.76 m to naturally emerge, which the researchers called U7-8. This was used many times throughout the site, such as at the ball courts, which were three U7-8s by six U7-8s. The painting mentioned previously is one U7-8 long, leading researcher to think that '[t]his measurement is very symbolic'.

By Maunus at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5729494

☀Quetzalcoatl

Mesoamerican god

Also known as: Ce Acatl, Ehécatl, Feathered Serpent, Kukulcán, One Reed

Quetzalcoatl is a deity in Aztec culture and literature. the Feathered Serpent, one of the major deities of the ancient Mexican pantheon. Representations of a feathered snake occur as early as the Teotihuacán civilization (3rd to 8th century ce) on the central plateau. At that time Quetzalcóatl seems to have been conceived as a vegetation god—an earth and water deity closely associated with the rain god Tlaloc.

In Aztec times (14th through 16th centuries) Quetzalcóatl was revered as the patron of priests, the inventor of the calendar and of books, and the protector of goldsmiths and other craftsmen;

I painted my gym bag! I didn’t like the design it had before, so I used a carving from the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Xochicalco.

Quetzalcóatl

Quetzalcóatl (pron. Quet-zal-co-at) or 'Plumed Serpent' was one of the most important gods in ancient Mesoamerica. Quetzalcóatl was the god of winds and rain, and the creator of the world and humanity. A mix of bird and rattlesnake, his name is a combination of the Nahuatl words quetzal (the emerald plumed bird) and coatl (serpent).

Jean-Frédéric Maximilien de Waldeck (1766-1875) [a.k.a. Johann Friedrich von Waldeck], The Pyramid of Xochicalco, 1829; Fomento Cultural Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico.

A Bad Traveller

"Johann Friedrich von Waldeck was a painter and engraver in Prague who came to Mexico in 1826. He focused on the Mayan zone, meaning the Yucatán Peninsula. Unfortunately, he looted the zone and sent pieces to Europe. For this, he was forced to leave the country. In Paris, he published Picturesque and archaeological trip to the province of Yucatán between 1834 and 1836. His book also caused him problems in Mexico."

Quetzalcóatl

Quetzalcóatl (prononcé Quet-zal-co-at) ou "Serpent à plumes" était l'un des dieux les plus importants de l'ancienne Méso-Amérique. Mélange d'oiseau et de serpent à sonnette, son nom est une combinaison des mots nahuatl quetzal (l'oiseau au plumage émeraude) et coatl (serpent). Quetzalcóatl était le dieu des vents et de la pluie, et le créateur du monde et de l'humanité.