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.

Good Friday in Cholula

Today is Good Friday in the Christian religion and Mexico is a very Catholic country (generally speaking) and I was able to hang out in the centro of Cholula (San Pedro Cholula) and see all of the morning festivities. People were preparing for the procession of statues by finishing their tapetes; they are these colourful images made right in the middle of the streets. Anyways, it was interesting to observe all of this and I haven't ever really seen anything like this in the United States. The tapetes are full life and colour and were, for me, the highlight of the day. Of anything else that I have learned about the people here in Cholula, I know that they like to have parties and festivites whenever they can (there are more than four hundred parties a year- you do the math- usually more than one a day). I truly enjoyed seeing the ways in which the cholultecas celebrated Good Friday.

These are just very impressive tapetes or arrangements of different images made from stenciled paper, sand, coloured wood chips, etc. When I got into the centro, some people were still working on their particular sections before the procession started. The colours are brilliant and varied; just as I like them. This experience was fascinating and I thorougly enjoyed walking around and admiring this artwork.

So these are some of the pictures that I took of the procession. My friend Paloma and I had to go up some sidestreets to avoid all of the foot traffic and find a place to observe instead of participate. I just have never seen anything like this and even though I am not a Christian or more specifically a Catholic, religions fascinate me; ideas, beliefs, practices and the iconography of this procession, for example, is just interesting to witness.

I like these pictures because they show that there are a lot of people in this procession; also, the flowers are significant because, as I see it, they represent life. I suppose this could be quite meaningful for Catholics and other Christians alike, particularly during their celebration of this weekend and all that it means to them. Somehow I was able to find a pretty good vantage point to take these photos and not be caught up in all of this (or be trampled by all of these people).

These last few images are of the streets at the end of the procession. Some parts of the sidewalks were lined with flowers which were very pretty. Vendors were setting up their different things, getting ready to bargain and sell their products. Also, the last two pics are of the street images or at least what was left of them after the procession passed on by.

Xalapa, Veracruz- Anthropological Museum

I have to say that I was really excited to see the Anthropological Museum in the state capital of Veracruz, the city of Xalapa. They did not disappoint and are quite impressive. The first colossal head was found in the mid-nineteenth century and because only the top was sticking up out of the ground, it was believed to be the base of a huge kettle. Since then, sixteen more were found so there are 17 in all (and some of them had been defaced, buried or mutilated in some way). 10 of the heads were found in San Lorenzo, four in La Venta (state of Tabasco), the largest one was found in Cobata and two were found in Tres Zapotes, another site in the state of Veracruz. The first picture is of colossal head #8 from San Lorenzo (state of Veracruz) and is the very first thing that one notices at the entrance of the museum. The second one is #5 from San Lorenzo (they're numbered by the sequence in which they were found) and the other one in front of which Paloma, her mom Eileen and I are standing is #1 from San Lorenzo (the very first one found!!). I believe that it's the second largest one of the 17 known colossal heads. Well, here are some of the highlights of my visit to this museum. I had a great three hours here and would love to go back.

This first figure (which has the big spool like objects in his ears) is the ancient god Huehueteotl, the god of fire. That, of course, is his name in Nahuatl, the language of the Tenochca Mexica (part of the "Aztecs"). But he is an ancient god and the Olmecas did have certain deities that SEEM to have been carried into other cultures and times within Mesoamerica. The second sculpture is the Potrero Nuevo Monument from the early Formative Period (Formative Period was from about 2000BCE to 250CE-some people use different time guidelines but this is a general timeline). These "altars" are now seen as thrones (David Grove was able to convincingly demonstrate their true function as thrones based on evidence from an Olmec cave painting at Oxtitlan in Guerrero). These two distinct Atlantean dwarves hoist up the throne towards the heavens; someone must maintain the heavens as being apart from the land of the earth but their images also bring to mind the fact that twins were are somewhat ubiquitous in the San Lorenzo region (the monument was found in Potrero Nuevo which is situated in Loma del Zapote which is located in the San Lorenzo hinterland). And of course, the last pictures are of a set of twins sitting in front of a jaguar personage. These twins were found in El Azuzul at Loma del Zapote, sitting just as they are displayed so scholars believe that this represents either an anthropomorphic transformation OR as can be seen up close, the twins are each holding a kind of stick or bar in their hands and the theory is that these twins are in the process of hoisting the world tree, the axis mundi that keeps this world balanced (the world tree can be found throughout Mesoamerican cultures and times and is a basic precept upon which the Mesoamericans viewed the creation of the world- five basic directions- East, West, North and South and of course, the axis mundi, the world tree being the fifth direction).

This is the La Mojarra Stela 1, from the site of La Mojarra which is located on the Acula River in the state of Veracruz. The site was actually pretty small (about 1 sq. km-or .4 sq miles) and the stela was found in the river shallows of the site. The text has not yet been deciphered (definitively) but there are two dates that do occur within the text: one is the 21st of May in 143CE and the other is the 13th of July in 156CE. It is speculated that perhaps the glyphs refer to this personage on the stela but we need to have better information and a larger body of recovered examples of the text in order to place it within its cultural context.

These last few images are of various sculptures, carvings and craneal modification. The cross-legged figure that is seated was decapitated and no head was ever found. There are a few more decapitated sculptures from the site of San Lorenzo. The face mask and statue found in the blue case picture perhaps depict real people and it has been speculated that they appear so happy because of their recent consumption of psychotropic drugs (found in different plants around Mesoamerica), hence they might be in a trance (or they could just be naturally happy). I wanted to also show what the inside of the museum looked like. It was a pretty big building and some of it was closed; one colossal head had even been wrapped up in covering so we didn't get to see that one. It was a memorable experience being there and I would love to go back but it also inspired me to try and see more museums around Mexico.