El Opeño facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tecuexe – Purépecha – Archaeological Site |
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| Name: | El Opeño archaeological site | |
| Type | Archaeology | |
| Location | Jacona, Michoacán Mexico |
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| Region | Mesoamérica (México) | |
| Coordinates | 19°56′03″N 102°18′26″W / 19.93417°N 102.30722°W | |
| Culture | Chichimeca – Tecuexe – Purépecha | |
| Language | Uto-Aztecan language – Purépecha language | |
| Chronology | 1300 – 200 BCE | |
| Period | Preclassical | |
| Apogee | ||
| INAH Web Page | Non existent | |
El Opeño is an ancient archaeological site in Mexico. It's found in Jacona, a town in the state of Michoacán. This site is famous for its old pottery and special burial places called funerary complexes. These findings date back to the Late Preclassic period.
El Opeño is very important because it's so old. Its unique style spread widely and was around at the same time as the Capacha culture. It even existed before the Chupícuaro culture. The tombs at El Opeño are the oldest in Mesoamerica, dating back to about 1600 BCE. This is around the same time the Olmec culture was developing. The discoveries at El Opeño made experts rethink if the Olmec culture was truly the first major culture in Mesoamerica.
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What's in a Name?
It's not clear what the name "El Opeño" means or what the original name of this ancient site was.
The city where it's located, Jacona, also has different stories about its name. Some say Jacona comes from a Chichimeca word meaning "place of vegetables." Others believe it comes from "Xucunan," which means "place of flowers and vegetables."
Another idea is that Jacona (or Xucunan) is a word from the Tecuexe people. The Tecuexe were a large Chichimeca group who spoke a Uto-Aztecan language.
Who Lived Here?
We don't have clear information about the people or cultures who lived at El Opeño. Texts mention several groups, including the Chichimeca, a subgroup called the Tecuexe, and the Purépecha. The Capacha culture was also around at the same time.
It seems that the large ancient region of Mexico, known as Cem Ānáhuac, had many different cultures and subcultures over time. It's likely they all shared a common origin, perhaps linked to the Nahuatl language. Many similar archaeological finds support this idea, no matter what names scientists give them.
Understanding Cem Ānáhuac
"Cem Ānáhuac" is a Nahuatl name. It combines "cem" (meaning totally) and "Ānáhuac." "Ānáhuac" itself comes from "atl" (water) and "nahuac" (surrounded). So, Cem Ānáhuac means "land completely surrounded by water." It refers to the entire land the Aztec people knew, bordered by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The ancient people of central Mexico's highlands used "ānahuacah" to describe those living in Cem Ānáhuac. They would add names to tell different groups apart, like 'maya ānahuacah' or 'ānahuacah mexicah'.
About the Purépecha Culture
The Purépecha are native people living mainly in the northwestern part of Michoacán, Mexico. Their main areas are around the cities of Uruapan and Pátzcuaro. There's still a discussion about what the correct name for them should be.
About the Tecuexe Culture
Many believe the Tecuexe people came from Zacateco groups who spread out from La Quemada. Like the Zacatecos, the Tecuexe were a tribe within the larger Chichimeca nation. They settled near rivers, which they used to grow beans and corn. They were also skilled artisans, carpenters, and musicians.
A writer named Toribio de Benavente Motolinia noted that "everyone knows how to work a stone, to make a simple house, to twist a cord and a rope." The Tecuexe were known for being fierce and tough fighters. It's even said that when the Mexica (Aztecs) came to take control of Xolotl, they avoided fighting the Tecuexe because of their legendary cruelty.
About the Capacha Culture
The Capacha culture is an important archaeological complex in Colima, western Mesoamerica. It was the first complex culture to develop in that region, roughly between 2000 and 1200 BC. American archaeologist Isabel Truesdell Kelly discovered and studied it in 1939.
Similarities between Capacha pottery and ceramics from Ecuador suggest that there were very early connections between western Mesoamerica and cultures in the Andes mountains. Capacha existed at the same time as other important Mesoamerican cultures, like El Opeño in Michoacán and the early Tlatilco phase in the Valley of Mexico. Capacha pottery has been found along the Pacific coast from Sinaloa in the north to Guerrero in the south.
The El Opeño Site
The archaeological finds at El Opeño show settlements from the Preclassical period (1300 - 200 BCE). Jacona is one of the oldest towns in Michoacán. It was also one of the first settlements controlled by the Purépecha kingdom.
The current city of Jacona was founded in 1555 by Augustinian Friars. It was built about 16 kilometers away from the old pre-Hispanic town, which was called "Pueblo Viejo" or "Jacona Vieja."
The old town of Xacona was in a Chichimeca (Tecuexe) area, right next to the Purépecha kingdom. This explains why nearby places have Purépecha names. For example, the main hill facing Jacona is called Curutarán.
Curutarán is a Purépecha language word. It means "Point where the gods come together to play ball." This wasn't a normal game, but a "celestial ball game" played by the gods.
What the Site Looks Like
El Opeño is a funeral complex. It's part of the Shaft tomb tradition that spread across much of western Mesoamerica. This tradition is found in the states of Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit, and Michoacán. The burials at El Opeño are known for their amazing quality. No other Mesoamerican people built these kinds of funeral monuments before or after this period.
These tombs are vertical shafts dug into the Tepetate or tuff, which is a type of soft rock in the ground. People accessed the underground burial chambers in different ways. In Nayarit, tombs often had very deep shafts. At El Opeño, the tombs had ladders.
Twelve tombs were found at El Opeño. All of them show signs of careful planning in how the funeral complex was built. The entire complex was organized with an overall design.
These tombs are considered the oldest examples of shaft tombs. The architecture of El Opeño is very special and different from later burial sites in Jalisco, Colima, and Nayarit. This type of funeral architecture was used by people across a wide area, from western Mesoamerica down to northern Peru along the Pacific coast.
More studies are needed to understand the connections between these ancient peoples. We haven't found any remains or signs of the tomb builders around the site itself. Experts think they were people who were becoming settled farmers. This was a step towards the urban societies of the mid-Preclassical period in Mesoamerica. However, studying the human bones and offerings in the tombs shows that the builders were a settled people with different social classes. This is clear from the different kinds of goods found in the tombs.
Connections to Other Regions
Many imported items have been found at El Opeño. These show how wealthy these people were and how far their trade networks reached. Some of these goods include:
- Probable turquoise from northern Mexico or New Mexico.
- Jade from the Motagua Valley in Guatemala.
- Seashells from both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
- Iron pyrite mirrors, similar to those made in Oaxaca.
- Green obsidian from Pachuca in central Mexico.
This trade went both ways. Obsidian from Michoacán was also traded east into the Basin of Mexico, the Oaxaca Valley, and the Gulf Coast during that time.
See also
In Spanish: El Opeño para niños
