Morro del Tulcán facts for kids
El Morro del Tulcán means "Tulcán Hill." It is an ancient Indigenous pyramid located in Popayán, Colombia.
People built this pyramid long ago, before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas. This was roughly between 1600 and 500 BCE. For many years, a statue of the Spanish Conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar stood on top of the pyramid. This statue was placed there in 1937 and removed in 2020.
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Discovering the Pyramid's Secrets
In 1957, an archaeologist named Hernan Cubillos led a dig at El Morro del Tulcán. He was the director of the Ethnological Institute of the University of Cauca at the time. His team found that the hill was not just a natural formation. It was a special structure made mostly of reddish-brown clay.
The ancient people built this pyramid using clay bricks called adobes. They also filled it with earth. They likely used it for special ceremonies, possibly for funerals. Cubillos noted that the structure's shape sometimes showed through when parts of the surface layer broke away. This revealed the adobe bricks underneath.
Changes to the Pyramid's Top
The very top of the pyramid was removed a long time ago. The walls that defined its original shape also disappeared. This happened when people started building around the hill. This work destroyed the pyramid's original "pre-Hispanic cuspid shaped top," which means its ancient pointed top.
According to Cubillos, this destruction happened around 1940. At that time, the city of Popayán was celebrating its 400th birthday. Workers leveled the top of the hill. They wanted to create a flat area to place the statue of the conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar. They also did other landscaping work.
Today, thousands of people visit El Morro del Tulcán. From the flat top, they can see the growing city of Popayán. However, many do not know that the original top of the hill was cut off. This cut destroyed two important walls that were also made of adobe bricks and earth fill.
The hill is now covered with natural grass. This replaced the native shrubs and plants that once grew there.
Future Research
An expert named Londoño (in 2011) said that the exact age of this ancient pyramid still needs to be found. More archaeological research is needed. Cubillos's study is the only official one done so far.
After the statue was removed in September 2020, the University of Cauca announced something important. They said that archaeological studies in the area would start again. This is seen as a way to honor the site's original history and meaning.
Photographs of Excavations
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How the layers and adobes looked
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Adobe bricks used to build the eastern edge
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Eastern edge of the building near the north slope. Adobes lined up, scraped area, and a ditch. The structure continues in the background.
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End of the north structure on the east side. Notice the dip in the organic base layer and the carved stone plates.
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Close-up of many carved stone slabs on the east side
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Close-up of adobe brick layers forming the north track's support
See also
In Spanish: Morro del Tulcán para niños
