Xochicalco facts for kids
Pyramids in Xochicalco
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 Location in Mesoamerica
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| Location | Miacatlán, Morelos, Mexico |
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| Region | Mesoamerica |
| Coordinates | 18°48′14″N 99°17′45.3″W / 18.80389°N 99.295917°W |
| History | |
| Periods | Late Classic |
| Site notes | |
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| Official name | Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalco |
| Criteria | Cultural: iii, iv |
| Inscription | 1999 (23rd Session) |
| Area | 707.65 ha |
Xochicalco is an ancient city in Mexico. Its name means "in the house of Flowers" in the Nahuatl language. You can find this amazing place in the state of Morelos, about 76 miles from Mexico City. It is open to visitors every day.
Xochicalco became a very important city after the famous city of Teotihuacan declined. Some people think Xochicalco might have even played a part in Teotihuacan's fall. The buildings and art at Xochicalco show styles from Teotihuacan, the Maya, and the Matlatzinca people. Today, people in the nearby village of Cuentepec still speak Nahuatl.
The main part of Xochicalco sits on a hill that was flattened by hand. There are also remains of homes on terraces around the hill. People first lived here around 200 BC. But it grew into a big city between 700 and 900 AD. Most of the buildings you see today were built during this time. At its busiest, Xochicalco may have had up to 20,000 people living there. Xochicalco is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a popular place for tourists and has a great museum.
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What Can You See at Xochicalco?
One of the most interesting things to see are the carvings on the sides of the buildings. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent is very special. It has beautiful carvings of the Feathered Serpent god. These carvings show styles from both Teotihuacan and Maya art. The pyramid's sides also show towns that paid tribute to Xochicalco. Some figures carved there look like Maya people. This makes experts think that artists from different parts of Mesoamerica might have lived and worked in Xochicalco.
Other cool structures at the site include more pyramid temples and palaces. There are also three ballcourts where ancient games were played. You can also see sweat-baths and a unique line of round altars. There is even a cave with steps carved into it. Some carved stone slabs, called stelae, are still at the site. Others are now in museums in Mexico City and at the Xochicalco museum.
How Was Xochicalco Discovered?
Xochicalco was built around 650 AD. It was founded by the Olmeca-Xicalanca people. They were Maya traders from Campeche. They chose this spot because it was perfect for trade routes. The city was home to 10,000 to 15,000 people. Many of them made crafts or traded goods over long distances. Xochicalco became an important trading and religious center. This happened after other big Mesoamerican cities started to decline. The area around Xochicalco wasn't great for farming. This suggests the city was built more for defense and trade.
An explorer named Antonio Alzate first wrote about the ruins in 1777. Later, in 1810, Alexander von Humboldt published a description of Xochicalco. Even Emperor Maximilian of Mexico visited the ruins. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent was restored in 1910 by archaeologist Leopoldo Batres. More big digs and restorations happened from the 1940s to the 1960s. Many archaeologists have worked here. In 1988, a large project began to dig up more of the main buildings. A new museum was built to show off the amazing things found.
What Happened to the City?
Around 900 CE, the city of Xochicalco was burned and destroyed. Many of the homes and temples that archaeologists have dug up show signs of burning. Underneath these layers of destruction, many objects were left behind. This suggests the city was destroyed and abandoned very quickly. A small group of people continued to live on the lower parts of the hill. Later, around 1200, the Nahuatl-speaking Tlahuica people settled here. They are the ancestors of the Nahuatl-speaking people in the modern state of Morelos.
The Astronomical Observatory
Xochicalco has a special cave that was used as an observatory. People used it to study the sun's movements. The cave was covered in plaster and painted black, yellow, and red. It has a chimney that goes up 8.7 meters to the surface. This chimney is shaped like a hexagon at the top. It is slightly slanted so that sunlight can shine directly onto the cave floor.
The sun shines into the cave for 105 days each year, from April 30 to August 15. On May 14 or 15, and again on July 28 or 29, the sun is directly overhead. At noon on these days, a beam of light falls perfectly through the chimney. It creates an image of the sun on the cave floor. This amazing solar event was likely used for important religious ceremonies.
Images for kids
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Temple of the Feathered Serpent
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