Ancient Civilizations of the Americas Lecture 18:

The Late Classic: 300-900 AD

Political Geography of the Classical Period

Puebla-Tlaxcala Plateau

Florescence begins in Late Preclassic (300 BC).

•25 Planned civic-ceremonial centers

•Earliest examples of tablud-tablero architecture

•Cholula: Located on a high plain at 6,912 ft. beneath volcanos of Popocatépetl and Ixtacihuatl.

•Settlement commences 1700 BC with two villages.

Great Pyramid of Tipanipa – cover 45 acres/177 ft. high

Construction commences 100 BC, called tlachiualtepetl in the Postclassic Historia Toteca-Chichimeca

Cholula cont. :

Enormous pyramid consists of nine levels.

Excavated in 1968 by tunneling: Mural de los Bebedores

• Cholula “falls” 600 AD, thereafter becomes the principle capital of the Olmeca-Xicalanca.

• In Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca Cholula is said to be governed by a pair of priests: the tlalchiyach and the aquiach. Various scholars (eg. William Ringle) have argued that in Postclassic times Cholula was considered to be a Tolan, where rulers came to gain legitimacy. This seems to be borne out by the Mixtec Codex Nuttall, which recounts how a leader 8 Deer goes to Cholula to get his nose pierced.

Cacaxtla

• Settlement founded in the Preclassic on a hilltop

• Period of fluorescence: 650-900 AD• Said to be a capital of the Olmeca-

Xicalanca

From the Red Temple

• “Battle mural” shows battle between “Jaguar” and “Bird” warriors. May be relating a foundation myth involving capture of “Bird” queen, who became founder of a dynasty.

• Nearby site of Xochitecatl has pyramid dedicated to a fertility goddess.

Xochicalco, Morelos

• Founded CE 650• So-far undeciphered hieroglyphs were

found on the temple of the Feathered Serpent and on stelae.

• In Ann Cypher’s opinion, pottery found on the site, Xochicalco Polished, seems related to pottery of the Olmeca-Xicallanca.