Coatetelco
| Name: | Coatetelco |
| Location |
Miacatlán, Morelos Mexico
|
| Coordinates | 18°43′36″N 99°19′44″W / 18.72667°N 99.32889°WCoordinates: 18°43′36″N 99°19′44″W / 18.72667°N 99.32889°W |
| Culture | Tlahuica & Nahuatl |
| Period | Late Preclassical Mesoamerican Period |
| Language | Tlahuica |
| INAH Official Page | Coatetelco Site Coatetelco Web Page |
Coatetelco or Cuatetelco, is a prehispanic archaeological site located next to the Coatetelco Lagoon, two kilometers from Alpuyeca, in the Miacatlán municipality, Morelos State, México, near Xochicalco, had an important development between 500 y 150 BCE.
Coatetelco means "Place of snakes mounds" or "Place where there are erected mounds in honor of snakes", however there are several versions on name variation:
At the end of the pleistocene, in this zone of the now state of Morelos as well as in the Mexico Plateau lived people whose diet was based in hunting-gathering of plants and fishing, living in rocky shelters. That first stage of human occupation dates back to 25,000 years ago.
During the Early Formative or Preclassical period, the human dwellings were small villages with less than 100 inhabitants; developed farming lands near the rivers. The ceramic produced was similar to that of the Basin of Mexico and the first clay figurines were also made.
In the Mid-Preclassical period (900-500 BCE.), villages were concentrated on the banks of the Chalma River, and the inhabitants practiced farming. Then the ceramic had strong local features, different from others, although there was some similarity with the Basin of Mexico.
The Coatetelco apogee took place in the Late Preclassical period (500-150 BCE) At that time the communities had 250 to 500 inhabitants. It can be affirmed, by the excavations in the zone, that there has been human occupation since the epoch of the Teotihuacan influence (450-600 A.C.) even when the remaining constructions correspond to the Late Postclassical (1350–1521) mainly in the Mexica epoch. Buildings had four construction stages.
When Xochicalco declined - around 1000 CE - Miacatlán becomes the leading center in the region. Subsequent history can rebuilt based on written documents and codices.
Coatetelco was a medium-sized urban site. The central part of the city has been excavated and restored, including a ball, a small pyramid-temple, and several other structures, clustered around a public square. There is a small site Museum.
Coatetelco was excavated in the 1970s by archaeologist Raúl Arana, who supervised reconstruction of the architecture. Several minor excavations have been done since that time to keep the site in good condition. Ceramics from Arana’s excavations are described in a monograph. (Smith 2002, s.f.)
The architectural complex consists of pyramidal bases, platforms, and a ball game court made with an earth core and covered with carved stones. Some sections still have walls and stairs with stucco remains. The structures distribution around a square was integrated to the terrain topography.
It is a three bodies structure, almost destroyed, and two stairways with side rafters. At the top of the structure are floor stuicco remains and two stone "boxes". At a side of the platform is a smaller platform with two steps. Stone cylinder artifacts were discovered here, their purpose or use is not known.
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