Chalcatzingo (Chal-kot-zingoh) is an important Formative site in Central Mexico, in the state of Morelos. It developed between 1500 and 500 BC. Its apogee spanned between 1000 and 500 BC and it is mostly famous for its beautiful stone carvings in pure Olmec style found on the rocks of the Chalcatzingo hill, as well as in other monuments on the terraces where the site is distributed.
Chalcatzingo Architecture
Chalcatzingo began as a dispersed village typical of the Formative period, located on the slopes of the Delgado and Chalcatzingo hills. By 1100 BC, the hillslopes were remodeled to create terraces for habitation space, and Chalcatzingo grew into a large village with public architecture. Between 700 and 500 BC Chalcatzingo became especially important, and during this period almost all of the site’s monuments were constructed. The settlement is dominated by a large earthen platform-mound, more than 220 ft. long (70 m) and 22 ft. high (7 m), one of the larges in Central Mexico for this period.
South of this platform, at the base of the Chalcatzingo mountain, archaeologists identified an elite residence, probably the leader's house. The status is inferred based on the presence of of luxury goods, such as jade, found in burials beneath its floor. Other important structures at Chalcatzingo were arranged around a sunken court, which contained a big stone throne in Olmec style dominating the center of the patio.
Domestic Activities and Figurines at Chalcatzingo
Several cooking vessels have been found at Chalcatzingo. Among these, large flat ceramic plates with traces of lime are believed to be comales, plates today used to cook tortillas. Lime is necessary to process tortillas in order to add calcium to the diet. Comales at Chalcatzingo provide one of the earliest evidence for the appearance of this food staple in Central Mexico.
Other domestic materials include figurines, along with musical instruments in the shape of animals. Especially interesting are the human figurines, since they are a widespread element in Central Mexico Formative culture, present in other sites, such as Tlatilco. These figurines have been traditionally interpreted as depicting women, some of them at different stages of pregnancy. Almost all of them wear a turban and it has been proposed that these objects were used during domestic rituals.
Chalcatzingo Monument 1
The most famousstone carving of Chalcatzingo is Monument 1, nicknamed “El Rey” (The King). This monument was carved on the slope of the Chalcatzingo hill, facing the southern portion of the site. The image represents an individual probably of high status sitting on a bench or throne within a U-shaped niche. This U-shaped motif has been interpreted by archaeologists as the image of a cave. Above the cave, there are clouds charged with rain and spirals of wind seem to come from the cave. The dress and headdress of the human figure too are decorated with curls and drops of rain.
The Olmec style of the representation suggest strong contact with the Olmec homeland in the Gulf Coast, where similar motifs have been found on stelae and thrones at La Venta. However, archaeologists working at Chalcatzingo also point out that the site’s monuments show a mixed iconography typical of an important center with multiple socio-political connection with many areas of Mesoamerica, and that the widespread presence of human figurines represents a strong connection with the local culture of the Basin of Mexico where these objects were amply distributed.
Chalcatzingo Abandonment
By 500 BC, Chalcatzingo was abandoned and other centers arose in the basin of Mexico, with new architectural characteristics and different ceramic and iconographic traditions. These changes will become the foundation for the Classic period development and the rising of Teotihuacan in central Mexico.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to the Ancient Mesoamerica and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Grove, David C., 2000, La Zona del Altiplano central en el Preclásico, in Historia Antigua de Mexico, edited by Linda Manzanilla and Leonardo Lopez Lujan, Miguel Angel Porrúa, Mexico City, pp: 511-542
Grove, David C., 2000, Faces of the Earth at Chalcatzingo, Mexico: Serpents, Caves, and Mountains in Middle Formative Period Iconography, in Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica, edited by John E. Clark and Mary E. Pye, National Gallery of Art, Washington, distributed by Yale University Press, New Heaven and London, pp: 277-295.