Xochicalco

Xochicalco, or "The Place of the House of Flowers" in the language of the Mexica (Nahuatl), rose to power after the fall of Teotihuacan in the sixth century CE. Xochicalco is an Epiclassic site, flourishing between 650CE and 900CE. It sits atop five adjacent hilltops and because of that, it has been suggested that the people of Xochicalco needed their own natural fortification and defense systems. The general area, however, was first occupied at about 900BCE and there is even a trace of some occupation after it was destroyed in 900CE. The Feathered Serpent and sacrificial imagery abound in Xochicalco and the Feathered Serpent was considered to be the head of the state cult and the symbol for Xochicalco's elite. Around the city can be found workshop sites, mostly because of the material remains of obsidian (which came from the Ucareo source in Michoacan, about 124 miles away). Xochicalco is in the state of Morelos and was one of the most important sites in the central altiplano of Mexico during the Epiclassic period. There are many images also found at Xochicalco that speak of tribute-payment by other peoples and places to Xochicalco. This speaks to Xochicalco's position as a military power able to extract tribute and conquer other sites. There are glyphs found at Xochicalco that are mostly dates and a few names so it is conjecture as to what they could mean (they possibly have a relation to the 52 year sequence of events that the later Tenochca Mexica related to the Fuego Nuevo, a celebration that started every 52 years by extinguishing the fires or lights in the city and then relighting them).

Here is the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Xochicalco. It is quite fascinating to be in front of such a structure; the details of the iconography are interesting, given the fact that this particular feathered serpent has a beard which only occurs in the Maya area (and here at Xochicalco). The emergence of the Feathered Serpent cult during the Epiclassic period is evidently in relation to a religious and militaristic cult that spreads throughout Mesoamerica during this time period. For example, the name "Itza" (as in Chichen Itza) is not an ethnic reference (as some claim) but rather the name of the members of this new cult that participated in something like a holy war (just so it's clear: the Itza might have influenced the artists at Xochicalco but may not have ever been there. Obviously, the feathered serpent is extremely important to the site of Chichen Itza, just as it is here at Xochicalco). Here at Xochicalco, as at other major sites during this same time period, reflects within the art a militaristic aspect and the artists rework the symbols of Teotihuacan and the Maya in their attempts to re-establish the grandeur of the past. Some argue that the imagery used by artists at Xochicalco reflects the persistence of trade networks in Mesoamerica; with trade, the artists of Xochicalco could be copying images recorded on objects brought from the Maya area or perhaps some of them had been trained by the Maya or perhaps some of them actually were from the Maya area. We really don't know who the Xochicalcas were; we do know that the city was burned and partially destroyed around 900CE. Just as at Teotihuacan in 550CE, archaeologists and other scholars believe that the oppressed burned and destroyed the city; the argument is that aggressive outsiders would retain their newly conquered city and the tribute of the people but if the city is destroyed, it is much more likely that the oppressed peoples of the city destroyed it.

More pictures of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. This is truly a remarkable structure and the real reason that I wanted to go on this trip with the university. These day trips are short and so much is packed into them and when I arrive back in Cholula, tired and ready for sleep, I think about the experiences that I am having here in Mexico and I'm so thankful for the opportunities to visit these sites and stand in front of buildings such as this one.

And here are a few pictures from around Xochicalco. The site is actually much bigger than I imagined. There are a few pictures of the ball courts found at Xochicalco. The variation of ballcourts can be seen within the same site as here at Xochicalco. The immense valley below Xochicalco seems to go on forever and it is understandable that they wanted to build their city atop a natural defense system given the circumstances of warfare and professional militarism that flourished throughout Mesoamerica during the Epiclassic period.