Cacaxtla

How to get there

By car from Mexico City (MEX 150 or 190 D) or from Tlaxcala (city) by the MEX 136 via San Martín Texmelucan (Cacaxtla 5km/3mi).

The intriguing Cacaxtla (Náhuatl: "trader's back-pack frame") archaeological zone lies just under 20km/12.5mi south-west of Tlaxcala, near the village of San Miguel del Milagro. In 1975 the ruins caused a sensation overnight when grave robbers excavating a tunnel came across some pre-Hispanic wall paintings and told the authorities of their discovery.

History

This site, like those at Xochichalco and El Tajín, appears to owe its existence to the folk migrations linked to the decline of Teotihuanán. Experts suggest that between ad 650 and 850 the Puebla valley and Cacaxtla with it was controlled by the Xicalanc Olmecs, a people of ill-defined origin from the southern Gulf coast (distinct however from the pre-Classic Olmecs). Cacaxtla's heyday is presumed to have been between ad 700 and 900. The frescos, so impressive and so difficult to classify, were executed sometime in the 9th c. The paintings show strong Mayan and final phase Teotihuacán influence, the latter finding expression mainly in the modified Talud-Tablero style (sloping and upright walls) and the motifs and glyphs bordering the murals. Whether the frescos were the work of small groups of artists from the central Mayan area living in Cacaxtla or of Xicalanca Olmecs influenced by the Maya remains unknown. The Ruins

The site is open Tue.-Sun. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; the murals, however, can only be viewed between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., after which the building is closed to protect the paintings from the damaging effects of sunlight. The archaeological zone known as "Los Cerritos" is now for the most part roofed over. The little museum at the entrance contains mainly ceramics.

The tour of the site starts at Montículo B (Mound B) which consists of the partially exposed base of a three-storey pyramid.

Across from Mound B, on the opposite side of a dip, stands the Gran Basamento or "Great Base", an enormous terraced complex on which can be seen a large number of structures of various ages including palaces, colonnades, platforms, patios and altars. A glass screen protects paintings adorning the steps of the Red Temple, so-called on account of its predominantly red colouring.

The sloping walls of Edificio B (Building B) on the north side of the Gran Basamento are also adorned with colourful murals, in this case two wall paintings known as "The Battle". They depict a bloody encounter between Jaguar warriors (the victors) and Bird men (the vanquished). Two huge figures, dressed in the style of the Mexican highlands but wearing tall Mayan-type sandals, stand in the centre of the battlefield surveying the scene. The deformed heads, long Roman noses and pectorals (breastplates) are all further indications of Mayan influence. Whether these battle scenes represent a real or only a mythological struggle - perhaps in the latter case between night (Jaguar) and day (Bird) - remains unclear. The latest theories strongly suggest a cycle of mass human sacrifice.

The jewel in Cacaxtla's crown however is Edificio A or Edificio de las Pinturas (Building A or Building of the Paintings), situated in the north-east of the site. Adorning the interior are five colourful wall paintings, almost certainly consisting for the most part of symbolic representations of Quetzalcóatl and Tlaloc.

The fresco in the north colonnade shows a life-size figure in the guise of a jaguar, with a broad ceremonial staff from which drops of water fall on a serpent in the jaguar's fur. Note the glyph "9 Reptile Eye" with the typical Teotihuacán-style dot-and-dash numeral.

The mural adjacent to the door also depicts a figure in jaguar costume, in this case holding a Tlaloc vessel and a serpent. The head-dress and cross-fret motif are typically Mayan.

In the painting by the south entrance the magnificent winged figure, shown standing on a serpent and holding an exceptionally large ceremonial staff ending in a stylised serpent's head, is portrayed in the Classic Mayan manner. The glyphs of the dot-and-dash numeral 13 and the hand- and footprints higher up on the left are typical Teotihuacán elements.

The figure on the door jamb at the south entrance clearly has some connection with the sea, the octopus head-dress and large shell held in its hand being suggestive of a Mayan Shell god from the Gulf coast.

Note also the clay relief of a figure in profile, here framed in a manner reminiscent of similar reliefs at El Tajín.

In 1987 several more pre-Columbian frescos were discovered, considerably older than the ones described above. Most unusually the figures portrayed do not symbolise animals. The uncovering in 1990 of yet more buildings containing frescos may yet throw new light on the history of what is still largely unexplored territory from an archaeological point of view.