Mezcala culture

The Mezcala culture (sometimes referred to as the Balsas culture) is the name given to a Mesoamerican culture that was based in the Guerrero state of southwestern Mexico, in the upper Balsas River region. The culture is poorly understood but is believed to have developed during the Middle and Late Preclassic periods of Mesoamerican chronology, between 700 and 200 BC. The culture continued into the Classic period (c.250-650 AD) when it coexisted with the great metropolis of Teotihuacan.

Archaeologists have studied the culture through limited controlled excavations, the examination of looted artifacts, and the study of Mezcala sculptures found as dedicatory offerings at the Aztec complex of Tenochtitlan.

The Mezcala cultural region has been heavily looted by the local population, as these items have proven desirable on the art market. In terms of its archaeological resources, the present-day state of Guerrero has not seen extensive professional excavations; prehistoric cultures found there are among the least understood in Mexico. Only one Preclassic Mezcala site, Ahuinahuac, has been investigated by archaeologists undertaking controlled excavations. Excavations of Classic period Mezcala sites have taken place at Organera Xochipala and El Mirador. The sculptural style of the Mezcala culture is largely known from looted andesite and serpentine artifacts.

Based on excavations in Guerrero, examination of looted artifacts, and excavation of Mezcala artifacts at Teotihuacan, archaeologists have given the name "Mezcala culture" to a Mesoamerican culture that was based in the present-day Guerrero state of southwestern Mexico, in the upper Balsas River region. Archaeologists believe that the culture developed during the Middle and Late Preclassic periods of Mesoamerican chronology, between 700 and 200 BC. and continued into the Classic period (c.250-650 AD). At this time, the great metropolis of Teotihuacan developed to the north in the Valley of Mexico.

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