Copilco
| Name: | Copilco |
| Location |
Coyoacán, Mexico City Mexico
|
| Coordinates | 19°20′08″N 99°10′36″W / 19.33556°N 99.17667°WCoordinates: 19°20′08″N 99°10′36″W / 19.33556°N 99.17667°W |
| Culture | Chichimeca – Tepaneca - Cuicuilca |
| Period | Preclassical Mesoamerican |
| Foundation | 600 to 100 CE. |
| Decline | Late mesoamerican Classical |
| Language | Uto-Aztecan languages - Oto-Manguean languages – Nahuatl |
| INAH Official Page | Non existent |
Copilco was an important Mesoamerican ceremonial center, southwest of Mexico City, Mexico. Copilco is located approximately four kilometers north of Cuicuilco, both are part of the area covered by lava from several eruptions of the Xitle volcano, as of three thousand years ago.
It is very likely that founding, development and destiny of both cities had common causes, from their geographical location, and chronology.
The area is located on the west side of Coyoacán or Coyohuacán (Nahuatl: coyō-hua-cān, 'place of coyotes') in the area covered by the lava from the volcano Xitle (according to Chronicles, one eruption of the volcano occurred on April 24, 76).
There are several theories regarding its foundation; it is believed that historical records establish Copilco's foundation in the year 100 BCE. Another version places its foundation chronologically at 500 BCE.
It was one of the first and most important ceremonial centers in the Valley of Mexico. In the mid-Preclassical (800 BC), several villages developed in this place, which slowly evolved and grew, becoming cities and eventually became major civic-ceremonial urban centers in the late-preclassical (ca. 100 CE.). As urban centers, these were very important, with an advanced and hierarchized society. Copilco's decline began early in the 1st century BCE, with the increasing rise of Teotihuacán as an important cultural and religious center. By 400 CE, the Xitle volcano located in the vicinity of the Ajusc, erupted, burying and destroying what still remained of Cuicuilco and Copilco, as important ceremonial centers. Lava spread in an area of 13 by 15 kilometers of what is today known as “Pedregal de San Ángel”. This disaster led to the population dispersing to Toluca and Teotihuacan.
Copilco was an altépetl and ceremonial center located on the shores of the Texcoco Lake. It had an incipient agriculture with an economy based on maize, hunting and fishing and the inhabitants supplemented their diet with amphibians, insects and mammals from the nearby forest. This area was explored by Dr. Manuel Gamio in 1917 and a cemetery was found covered by lava from the eruption. Gamio made three tunnels under the lava, finding a cultural sequence and bone remains from three individuals, containing offerings consisting of pottery, vessels, clay figurines, and Metates. Human remains are known as the “Hombre del Pedregal”. Several tunnels have been made, finding places with corpses occupying their original location, surrounded by funerary offerings items, such as ceramic ware.
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