Chupícuaro
| Name: | Chupícuaro |
| Location |
Acámbaro, Guanajuato Mexico
|
| Coordinates | 20°01′20″N 100°35′29″W / 20.02222°N 100.59139°WCoordinates: 20°01′20″N 100°35′29″W / 20.02222°N 100.59139°W |
| Culture | Chichimec - Toltec |
| Period | Preclassical Mesoamercian Period |
| Language | Purépecha language |
| INAH Official Page | Not available |
Chupícuaro is an important prehispanic archeological site from the late preclassical or formative period; located in the northern mesoamerican border, west of the Mexican Plateau, it is on hills nearby the Lerma River and its tributary Coroneo or Tiger River; currently most part is under water by the Solis dam, just 7 kilometers from Acámbaro, in the Guanajuato State, México.
The name Chupícuaro derives from the Purépecha language word "chupicua" name of the "Ipomoea" plant, used to tint blue, and the term "ro" place or that is, which can be translated as "blue place".
This prehispanic archaeological site located on the banks of the Lerma River, between the present-day cities of Acámbaro and Tarandacuao in the State of Guanajuato, Mexico. Little is known about the history of this site, and it was not until 1946, due to a dam construction, that the first explorations were performed, discovering pottery objects and tombs. The place is currently below dam water, although there are surrounding areas still being explored.
Chichimec nomad groups (guamares y guachichiles) arrived from the current day San Luis Potosí state.
These groups settled in a large village comprising huts built over platforms coated with mud and stone. They grew corn, beans and squash, on the banks of the Lerma River and its tributaries. By the existence of metals and stone molcajetes (used to grind corn), it is inferred the probably planted chili and wild tomatoes. It is also known they were hunters-fishers-gathers.
According to several authors, it is believed that this settlement developed between 500 BCE and 300 CE. The first inhabitants of this area were hunter-gatherers and lived along the river, eventually developed agricultural knowledge.
In 2013 the level of the water behind the dam in Chupicuaro was lowered for a couple of days. Archeologists brought the towers from the old church to the town of Nuevo Chupicuaro in Guanajuato — the town founded in 1946 after the townspeople of the original town of Chupicuaro had to move out following the construction of the dam.
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Wikipedia