Guachimontones
Guachimontones is the name of an ancient pre-Hispanic settlement located in the city and municipality of Teuchitlán, approximately one hour west of the city of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco. This settlement represents the main site of the Teuchitlán Tradition, whose nuclear area was located in the surroundings of the Tequila volcano during 300 BC. C. until 350/400 d. C.
Its main ceremonial center includes several buildings with a peculiar architectural style, including several stepped cylindrical structures (one of them with the remains of a flying stick) surrounded by circular patios, two ball courts, an amphitheater and some terraces and minor buildings. Given its large dimensions, the site is currently still in the exploration phase and requires far-reaching research.
Etymologies
It is unknown who named this site in the vicinity of Teuchitlán. The word is a relatively modern mestizo term, and comes from the Nahuatl prefix cuautli-, tree; chinamitli, wall; and from Spanish montón. It is also believed that "guachi" or "guaje" comes from the Nahuatl word "huaxe" that combining it with the word "montón" which is of Castilian origin, could then be translated as "lot of gourds", since the area abounds the trees of this species (Leucaena leucocephala).
For its part, the place name Teuchitlán derives from the word “teotitlán” or “teutitlán” which is interpreted as “place dedicated to the divinity”.
Another possible etymology would derive from the Nahuatl Tepetitlan or "place next to the hills", corrupted in the local Nahuatl dialects as Tepetichan.
Background
The particular architectural style of this settlement is called Guachimontón, and is assigned to the burial mounds and structures made of staggered circular levels. It is believed that such structures, in the particular case of the settlement in Teuchitlán, were used for ceremonies in honor of the wind god Ehécatl, and that they included an analogue of the ritual ceremony of the Voladores, where a priest climbed a high pole to pay homage to divinity; post that was placed on top of the burial mounds, putting his abdomen in the center of the post in the shape of a scale. This concept is particularly important for Teuchitlán, because it places it among the oldest identified sites related to this tradition, which was believed to be rooted among the Aztecs and Totonacs of central and eastern Mexico.
Discovery
As an archaeological site, the site was discovered in 1970 and its systematic investigation began in 1996. The archaeological work was carried out by archaeologist Phil Weigand, his wife Arcelia García, and their research team. The help of the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the State of Jalisco (1995-2001) was crucial; in those years the Secretary of Culture was Dr. Guillermo Schmidhuber de la Mora and the coordinator of the project Carlos Eduardo Gutiérrez Arce. From the studies of this team, it is proposed that the rise of this city occurred between the years 200 and 400 AD. C. and its fall occurred around 900 d. C., although it is known that its antiquity is more than 2 thousand years.
Extension
The current site covers 90 hectares although only 1.3 percent has been explored, it is estimated that during its heyday it had 24,000 hectares, and that it was inhabited by around 40,000 people.
As in many other places on the continent, it is a common denominator, for example in Calixtlahuaca and in Tiahuanaco, Bolivia. The constructions of Guachimontones have been mistreated over the years, and many stones from the ruins have been they have used to pave streets and build houses in the town.
The Site
Place of Guajes The complex system of social organization was very similar to other neighboring cultures, with a ritual center and other dwelling places. The Teuchitlán Culture (inhabitants of the Guachimontones) specialized in the use of Obsidian in their crafts and sculptures, without ruling out other equally important materials, such as malachite, green stone, pseudo-cloisonné shell paintings, among others. It was also closely linked to agriculture, since its own plant irrigation system went beyond its time.
This region consists of structures in the shape of concentric circles, used to worship their gods, mainly Ehécatl (God of the Wind). In an aerial view, one can appreciate the perfect circle shape of its ceremonial building and its surrounding settlements, where it is thought that the community sat to watch, and dance, for their elemental gods (wind, water, fire, earth, etc.).).
In the center of the main circular structure (its floors are an exact calendar of 52 years) there is a long hole; possibly a post was placed there, from which the priests held on and swayed from one side to the other simulating the flight of a bird. Such a tradition was an offering to the god Ehécatl.
The Teuchitlán Culture, like several Mesoamerican cultures, had their own ball game. In this, the rubber ball did not go through any hoop, but had to be hit with the hip until it reached the opposite end of the court; when the ball was immobilized in one of the courts, the opposing team received points. The interesting thing about this game is the addition and subtraction of numbers, if a team was left with the ball in their part, there were more points for the opponents and less points for those who remained. Contrary to the general idea, the Ball Game was used for political purposes (territorial division, inheritance issues, among others) or religious, where the winner won the "immortality of the gods" in Heaven, being beheaded in the play area.
Such offerings consisted of large hearths on the sidewalk or burnt corn below the outer walls of the platform. There have been cases in which ceramic plates were found placed inside or under the walls.
Today, 1,000 years after the area was abandoned by its inhabitants, Guachimontones is being restructured and rediscovered. Many of the now archaeological areas were in precarious conditions due to the agriculture of the owners of these lands. Today, it is a world heritage site, which does not indicate that the work is finished, but simply that it is beginning to be reborn.
Structures
It is a large-scale site, designed and created as an element of society. The environment is considered by archaeologists as "political", composed of structures designed to impose or preserve unity and order within a territory or to make large-scale or long-term adjustments to it.
The site consists of concentric circular structures, probably to worship their gods, mainly Ehécatl (Wind God). The ceremonial building is a perfect circle as well as the perimeter structures.
The circular assemblages suggest restricted access and exclusive use for ruling families and the priestly caste. The western circular enclosures are unique, but their geometry follows widely cosmological principles, understood and shared by the peoples of Mesoamerica.
In the architectural microcosm of Teuchitlán, the rulers observed a program of cyclical ritual festivals and society in general lived under this ritual concept.
Weigand's definition of the Teuchitlán circular mound complex is based on five diagnostic architectural features:
- A central altar.
- An elevated circular courtyard that surrounds the altar.
- A circular banquet that surrounds the courtyard.
- Between eight and twelve rectangular platforms on the banquet.
- Ground funeral homes under the room area.
Such offerings consisted of large hearths on the sidewalk or burnt corn below the outer walls of the platform. There have been cases in which ceramic plates were found placed inside or under the walls.
Main set
In the center of the largest enclosure stands a structure with several layers and four stairways at the cardinal points. Around the circular floor a bench supports several platforms, each with a bower structure similar to a house; which were probably dedicated to ancestors or to dominant lineages. To the right, a sacred spring supplied water to ritual gardens or was used for similar purposes.
One proposal suggests that the floors of the C2 structure together with a set of alignments derived from the geometry at the Los Guachimontones site, form a system for computing the exact 52-year calendar. In the center there is a long hole; there a post was placed, from which the priests held on and swayed from one side to the other simulating the flight of a bird. Such a tradition was an offering to the god Ehécatl.
For its construction, stone, earth or, in its case, nopal slime were used since at that time neither lime nor cement was known as in other more current buildings. In the center of the largest enclosure stands a structure with several layers and four stairways at the cardinal points.
The Guachimontones venue has: 10 ensembles; one of them was the ceremonial center, a possible house of priests, housing units, workshops and two ball courts.
Yard
Four boreholes were excavated across the patio in order to study the construction technique and the history of this element. The probes were made in different sectors of the circle to know the thickness at different points since this is an advance in the new investigations of ancient civilizations. These surveys were directed by doctor Phil C. Weigand who died in 2011 and teacher Efraín Cárdenas; the laboratory work was in charge of the teacher Acelia García Anguiano and Eugenia Fernández.
Ball Game
The hip ball game is a unique ritual practice in the world. More than 89 courts so far located around the Tequila volcano show the importance of its practice for the society of the Teuchitlán tradition. Its execution implied a clear physical knowledge and a sophisticated way of understanding the environment where the game was conceived as a computer of the cosmos According to the written and pictographic references to the game in other Mesoamerican areas, we know that the contests had the function of pacifying society since it reconciled, sealed agreements and resolved conflicts. However, there was also the playful game that is represented in small houses located in the neighborhoods and local temples.
Physically, the building for the ball game is made up of two heads, two walls or lateral structures and the court in the shape of a Latin I or semi-closed or closed double T. It is usually oriented north south with 10 to 12 degrees of deviation in relation to the east or west. The most monumental court of its time measures 111 meters long by 24 meters wide and is located in the heart of Guachimontones. Four courts are located on the site; two located in the heart of the ritual enclosures, while the others are in the peripheral areas associated with housing units. The excavations show us two important facts; in the courts located in the ritual centers the contest is associated with a ritual practice related to the offering of parts of the human body, specifically the skull and phalanges of an individual, while in the latter there is no evidence of said practice.
The rules of the game consisted in touching the ball only with the hip without involving the extremities, the game could last several hours without rest, the ball with which it was played weighed around 4,200 kg.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
On July 12, 2004, the Agavero Landscape and old industrial facilities of Tequila were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This inscription also includes the area of Teuchitlán, 34 thousand 658 hectares between the foot of the Tequila Volcano and the deep canyon of the Rio Grande, and its Archaeological complex 'Los Guachimontones', this decision was made by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, at its headquarters in Vilnius (Lithuania) at the meeting 2006 annual.
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