Capacha facts for kids
Capacha is an ancient archaeological site found about 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) northeast of Colima City in Colima State, Mexico. This special place is known as the heart of the ancient Capacha Culture in Mesoamerica.
The people of the Capacha Culture lived between the Jalisco Sierra Madre Occidental mountains and the Colima Valley. Other nearby sites, like Embocadero II, also show connections to Capacha. They even found green stone items, Jadeite beads, and pieces of Turquoise there.
Capacha had strong ties with another important site called El Opeño. We know this because of similar pottery styles, like red and dark red/beige ceramics. They also had similar types of small figures. This connection is seen in other parts of Jalisco too, where tombs like El Opeño's and pottery like Capacha's have been found.
The Capacha culture also had some contact with cultures in central Mexico, like Tlatilco, between 1300 and 900 BCE. These central Mexican cultures were likely more developed at that time. Some researchers believe that the western region, where Capacha was, had its own unique traditions, different from the Olmec and central Mexican styles.
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History of the Capacha Culture
Long ago, the area of Colima State was home to many different groups of people. These groups often fought over land. By the early 1500s, the Purépecha people controlled several areas. The Tecos, who owned the Tzacoalco salt mines, were defeated by a leader named Coliman (or Tlatoani Colimotl) in a "salt war." After this, the Tecos became the main group in the region.
Where Did the Culture Come From?
Many archaeologists believe that the "mother culture" of Mesoamerica was the Olmec culture. However, in the western part of Mexico, where Capacha was, no Olmec evidence has been found. There's also no sign of influence from Teotihuacan, a big city from central Mesoamerica during the Classic period.
This shows that the cultures in Colima and other western regions were unique. Their art, especially the ceramic offerings found in "shaft tombs," tells us about a society that seemed more relaxed and equal. Their sculptures of people, dogs, parrots, and other animals show that artists carefully watched their daily lives.
Who were these early people? Recent digs in Colima and Michoacán show that at least two cultures, Capacha and El Opeño, are as old as the Olmec. Capacha, even before 1500 BCE, had burials with beautiful ceramic "bules" (gourd-shaped vessels) and vases with "stirrup" handles. They also had certain types of figures and grinding stones called metates.
How Was It Discovered?
The Capacha site was found and studied by Isabel Truesdell Kelly, an American archaeologist. She did excavations in the Colima area in 1939. She noticed that some Capacha pottery looked very similar to ceramics from Ecuador from the same time. This suggests that early cultures in western Mesoamerica might have had connections with cultures in the Andes mountains of South America.
What Was the Capacha Culture Like?
The Capacha archaeological site in Colima gives its name to the Capacha Culture. It was the first complex culture to develop in the region, existing roughly between 2000 and 1200 BCE.
Capacha existed at the same time as other important cultures, like El Opeño in Michoacán and the early phase of Tlatilco in the Valley of Mexico. Capacha-style pottery has been found along the Pacific coast, from Sinaloa in the north to Guerrero in the south. Important burials with Capacha pottery were found by Gordon F. Ekholm in Guasave, Sinaloa.
Periods of Development
The cultural history of this area is divided into different phases, named after the places where important discoveries were made:
- Capacha Phase
- Ortices Phase
- Comala Phase
- Colima Phase
- Armería Phase
- Chanal Phase
- Periquillos Phase
The Capacha Phase (around 1500 to 1000 BCE) is known for its pottery used in funeral ceremonies. The most common shapes were the "guaje" or "bule" (gourd-shaped vessels).
Later, during the Ortices Phase (around 500 BCE to 500 CE), people started building "shaft tombs." These were underground burial chambers. The Comala Phase (around 100 CE to 700 CE) continued the shaft tomb tradition, and the pottery from this time was very beautiful.
The Colima Phase (around 400 CE to 600 CE) saw the shaft tomb tradition slowly disappear. Cities with plazas and mounds began to appear. Pottery became more practical instead of just artistic.
During the Armería Phase (around 500 CE to 1000 CE), pottery had simple, geometric designs. The Chanal Phase (around 600 CE to 1500 CE) saw the rise of cities like El Chanal, which had stone buildings. Ceramic figures became solid, and people started making metal objects.
Finally, the Periquillos Phase (around 1000 CE to 1500 CE) was marked by three main groups controlling the area. Pottery from this time was rougher and looked more basic.
Important Archaeological Sites
The Capacha Culture includes nine main sites in eastern Colima State. However, archaeological finds related to this culture have been found in many other Mexican states, including Nayarit, Jalisco, Sinaloa, Guerrero, Morelos, Michoacán, and Mexico.
Here are some of the key sites:
El Opeño
El Opeño is an archaeological site in Jacona, Michoacán. It's famous for the pottery found in its ancient tombs, which date back to the late Preclassical Mesoamerican period. El Opeño is important because it's very old and its style spread widely. It existed at the same time as the Capacha culture. The tombs at El Opeño are the oldest in Mesoamerica, dating to around 1600 BCE. This means they are even older than the main Olmec culture centers.
La Campana
La Campana is an archaeological site located very close to Capacha. It has been recognized as part of Mexico's archaeological heritage since 1917. This site was the largest ancient city in western Mexico. Studies show that some of its features are connected to the Teotihuacan culture from the Classical period.
Los Ortices Complex
Archaeologists believe this site existed between 300 BCE and 300 CE. It's located southwest of Colima, near the village of Los Ortices. This ancient settlement was more advanced than Capacha. Its people made finer pottery and stone sculptures. They also buried their dead in "shaft tombs," which are very typical of this region.
Armería & Colima Complex
This complex dates from 600 to 1100 CE and is found east of Colima City. The people here created crafts that were a bit simpler than other groups. They made fewer types of ceramics and built rougher shaft tombs.
El Chanal Complex
The El Chanal site developed the most unique style of the region. In the mid-20th century, a step pyramid was found there. In the early 1990s, archaeologists discovered flat areas, temples, plazas, and a ballgame court. These buildings show that the culture here had become very advanced. By 1520, this complex had disappeared, and only a few local people remained, possibly under the control of another powerful city called Tecomán.
Key Discoveries
The Capacha site and its cultural development led to several important discoveries about ancient civilizations. These include:
- The Capacha Ceramic Tradition
- The Shaft Tomb Tradition
- Evidence of connections with South America
Capacha Pottery
Tests on Capacha pottery from various sites in Colima, Jalisco, and Sinaloa show that it dates back to between 1320 and 220 BCE.
Capacha pottery is special because of two main types:
- Large ceramic vessels shaped like two round vases stacked on top of each other. These are called "Bule."
- Pottery made of two round vessels placed one above the other, connected by two or three tubes. This style looks like the "stirrup" handle pottery found in South America.
Shaft Tombs
Pottery from the Colima cultures was often placed as offerings inside shaft tombs.
Shaft tombs are burial chambers accessed through a deep, narrow shaft, which is how they get their name. To build them, people would dig into the hard soil. The depth varied depending on how hard the ground was. Sometimes, there were steps, or a vertical circular tunnel about 1.2 to 1.4 meters (4 to 4.5 feet) wide. This tunnel led to one, two, or three small chambers, which looked like a baker's oven. Inside these chambers, offerings were placed next to the person who had died.
The offerings could include pottery with different designs, showing men or women doing daily activities. These items tell us about their lives, such as hunters, musicians, or farmers, along with their tools and clothes. They might also include everyday items or ornaments. Sometimes, a "nahual" (an animal spirit guide) was included. This guide, often shaped like an animal, was believed to help the soul of the dead person travel through nine difficult rivers to reach the afterlife.
After the funeral, the tombs were sealed with stone slabs or grinding stones (metates), and the shaft was filled with dirt. These types of burial chambers appeared during the Mid-Preclassical and early Classical periods. Besides western Mexico, similar tombs are also found in Colombia.
The end of this burial tradition likely meant a change in how people worshipped their gods. This might have led to the building of ceremonial centers and plazas, possibly because new groups of people arrived from the highlands. This idea comes from the fact that during the Armería Phase (500-1000 CE), pottery styles changed, and defensive structures appeared. Also, gods from the highlands, like Tláloc (rain god) and Huehueteotl (old fire god), started to be shown. During the Chanal Phase (600-1500 CE), cities like El Chanal and La Campana were built with plazas, platforms, and pyramids made of stone, which is typical of the architecture in that area.
Connections to South America
There are similarities between western Mexico and South America, especially the building of shaft tombs in both regions. Recent studies have found common elements with countries as far away as Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. This suggests that there might have been some contact, perhaps through ocean travel. Evidence was found at Treasure Beach (200-700 CE) on the Colima coast.
The animal shapes of the "nahual" figures found in tombs are very similar to those of the Mochica culture in Peru. Other connections have been made with the Machalilla culture in Ecuador.
According to Isabel Kelly, almost all the unique features of Capacha pottery are also found in early pottery collections in northern South America.
Images for kids
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Capacha culture extension Map.
See also
In Spanish: Cultura capacha para niños
