Filed under: Archaeology, Guadalajara, Mexico | Tags: Archaeology, Ixtepete, Mexico
One of the first things I noticed on the map of Guadalajara that a generous former resident of our house left behind, was an archaeological ruin in Zapopan. Before I even found where our street is on this map (which actually took considerably longer than it should have considering my map reading skills), I was hankering to find this place. There is very little information on this site. Even though it is technically protected by the state of Jalisco, and has a considerable fence built around it, for now the efforts to restore it and have an open visitors’ center have been put on hold.
The bus we found online, 59A, no longer exists, so we took bus 59 from the new bus station to Plaza De Sol, and then proceeded to walk from there. I wish I had written down the number of one of the buses that passed us on the way there to make future visitors lives easier. We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked…. We stopped and asked a few people how far it was, and their initial reaction was that we were crazy for walking. Sunburn aside, it really wasn’t that bad, but it was over an hour from the Plaza on a BLAZING day.
Once you get to the highway (and have to cross an overpass), it’s only another ten minutes or so. We walked far enough, that it no longer felt like city, with buildings getting further and further apart.
I hope in the future that the empty visitors center is opened. There was no information at the actual site, but from what I was able to find online, it is from between 700 and 900 A.D. from the Teochitlan II culture with square pyramids, mounds, and shaft tombs.
I found the structure next to the pyramid interesting, with a sloping aspect. I don’t know enough about this kind of archaeology to know what the purpose is, but maybe it’s the shaft tomb metioned online? (Russ, Aaron?)
The gate itself is unlocked for visitors, and a few people were resting under trees. There’s a little trash strewn about, and the sides of the pyramid are starting to erode from folks climbing around even though there is some barbed wire to keep people off. There was mention of a plethora of ceramic shards, but also online it’s mentioned that the site has been looted for decades. I really hope someday some true archaeology is done here and it is restored for view. It’s not that much smaller than Guachimontones, and arguably of similar importance.
Two hours northwest of Guadalajara is an archaeological site that very little is known about. It’s believed to be part of the Teochitlan culture, which the neighboring, tiny pueblo town is named after, but it’s not known for sure. The believed time from is from 300-900 BCE, but again, these particular pyramids are not known for sure. What is known is that their circular shape is unique to pyramids anywhere in the world, and the steps are unique to this area.
It is fairly smooth bus ride from Guadalajara, and an easy half hour walk from Teochitlan up the mountain to the pyramids.
Single post molds have been found at the top of each pyramid. I don’t know what that means, but I’m sure plenty of people are willing to offer their opinions.
On the other side of the city is a large lake. The restaurants there are supposed to be amazing. Although we had a great view, a nice spot under the trees, and some good live music, I didn’t find my shrimp fajitas to be much more than mediocre.
