Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Archaeologists discover ceremonial offerings and a staircase to the spiral pyramidal monument at Xoc
Image Credit : INAH
Archaeologists discover ceremonial offerings and a staircase to the spiral pyramidal monument at Xochitécatl
Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have discovered several ceremonial offerings, and a staircase to the spiral pyramidal monument at the pre-Columbian site of Xochitécatl, located in the Mexican State of Tlaxcala.
Xochitécatl was founded during the Middle Pre-Classic Period around 800 BC upon the summit of a 4 km-wide extinct volcano, that rises 200 metres above the floor of the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley.
In AD 150, an eruption of the Popocatepetl Volcano led to the site being abandoned, until it was resettled in AD 650, emerging as a ceremonial centre within the extended urban area of Cacaxtla. By AD 950, both Xochitecatl and Cacaxtla were abandoned, although there is evidence of continued ritual activity in the Post-Classic Period.
Excavations were conducted at the site’s spiral pyramidal monument within the framework of works initiated by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico, in preparation for the construction of a museum at Xochitécatl.
More:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/09/archaeologists-discover-ceremonial-offerings-and-a-staircase-to-the-spiral-pyramidal-monument-at-xochitecatl/141388
How to pronounce Xochitécatl:
https://www.howtopronounce.com/xochitecatl
How to pronounce cacaxtla:
https://www.howtopronounce.com/cacaxtla
Pirámide de Xochitécatl, Tlaxcala. México
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
The stones in the next to last picture are reminiscent of the ones at Stonehenge.
The upright stones in Xochitécatl are shaped cylinders with flattened tops, unlike the roughly shaped uprights at Stonehenge. And the capstone seems to be a modified oval shape. I can't understand how the rounded capstone stays in place when it only touches a small portion on the surface of the uprights. One would think it would fall off during an earth tremor.
As seen in this image, the capstones and uprights in Stonehenge are rectangular and appear to fit together more securely.
