THE 5 MOST IMPORTANT ARCHAEOLOGICAL ZONES OF MORELOS - HISTORY - 2025

The archaeological zones of Morelos represent one of the main tourist attractions in Mexico and contain part of the most important centers of art and monuments of antiquity worldwide.

Morelos is a state located in the south central region of Mexico made up of 33 municipalities of which 31 have indigenous names from the Nahuatl culture.

The capital of Morelos is the city of Cuernavaca and around it various archaeological centers were established, among which Xochicalco, Teopanzolco, Coatetelco, Chalcatzingo and Las Pilas, among others, stand out.

You may also be interested in the traditions and customs of Morelos.

The most outstanding archaeological sites of Morelos

Xochicalco

Xochicalco is an archaeological center located in the Municipality of Miacatlán, 38 km from Cuernavaca.

Among its attractions is the pyramid of the feathered serpent and an observatory that contains a cave with steps carved into the interior that is illuminated by the rays of the sun during the equinox.

It also has large causeways, pyramids, structures, stairways and an impressive acropolis, located on the highest site, which at the time served as a temple-palace and to hold specialized workshops controlled by the State.

Xochicalco means in language "in the place of the house of flowers."

Teopanzolco

Teopanzolco means "In the old temple" also in the Nahuatl language; Studies show that this area had the first occupation in the Middle Post-Classic period, between 1000 AD-1697 AD

According to historians, the first settlers in the area were the Tlauhicas and they finished settling there around the 16th century, in the middle and late post-classic period.

This settlement integrates 14 buildings and on the main façade that is located to the west, through double stairways, you can access the temples: Tláloc, god of celestial water and fertility and Huitzilopochtli, god of war and representative of the sun.

Coatetelco

"Place of trees among a mound" is what the word Coatetelco means, the name of an archaeological center located next to the Coatetelco Lagoon, very close to the municipality of Miacatlán.

When the power of Xochicalco waned, Coatetelco became the most important populated site of the late Preclassic period.

Chalcatzingo

In the valley of the Chalcatzingo and Delgado hills, the archaeological center Chalcatzingo extends over a very fertile land.

It is one of the main settlements that adopted aspects of the Olmec culture and that are easily identified in artistic and architectural production. It was founded around the year XV BC

In this place it is possible to find 75 terraces with a residential, ceremonial and even funerary destination where burials with jade ornaments and magnetite mirrors were found; impressive petroglyphs appear on several of the terraces.

The Stacks

Studies on the archaeological site Las Pilas suggest that it was part of Chalcatzingo as a religious or commercial center.

What is very clear is that its soil was very rich in water and it was exploited in such a way that it led to the construction of a large network of storage and transport channels for the liquid with drainage ducts in some structures.

References

1. Smith, ME (1993). Houses and the settlement hierarchy in Late Postclassic Morelos: A comparison of archeology and ethnohistory. Prehispanic domestic units in Western Mesoamerica: Studies of the household, compound, and residence, 191-206.
2. Hirth, K. (2006). Obsidian Craft Production in Ancient Central Mexico. Archaeological Research at Xochicalco.
3. Hirth, K. (2001). Archaeological research at Xochicalco.
4. Noguera, E. (1961). Archaeological sites of the State of Morelos. National Institute of Anthropology and History.
5. Aviles, M. (2000). The Archeology of Early Formative Chalcatzingo, Morelos, México, 1995. FAMSI Grantee Report. Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies.