La Quemada

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Hill Complex

Situated in what is now the southern region of the state of Zacatecas, La Quemada was part of Mesoamerica's northwest frontier. La Quemada, or "The Burnt Place," was a densely consolidated center, tightly built around a hill. Because of the relatively tall elevation of this hill, the position would have been a strategic place to survey the environment for invaders, and many of the crooked stairways might have helped to slow down assaults. The elaborate architecture was likely to have housed the local élites, where they had access to nearby administrative and ritual edifices.

La Quemada


Circular Patio

One of the nearby ritual edifices. La Quemada was occupied from 400 to 900 CE, and this was one of the longest-lasting structures, in terms of continual usage. It was originally built in the seventh century. Remains of over 250 individuals were discovered near the base of the small pyramid on the left! Many of the show evidence of perforation, as if to suspend them on racks similar to those of the Aztec skull racks. Other bones have grooved marks that suggest that the skin was cut off from the bodies, recalling the Mesoamerican deity Xipeh Toteuc.

La Quemada


The Colonnade

With massive columns that reach over 16 feet high, this was the largest structure at La Quemada, as well as one of the largest roofed structures in all of Mesoamerica. It is dated to 600-750 CE. A small cache of bone fragments were also discovered in the northwest corner of the walled enclosure.

La Quemada


The Citadel

The so-called Citadel is toward the northwestern extent of the hill on which much of the monumental architecture was built. It is connected to the larger hill via a narrow walkway, but it is otherwise isolated from much of the other prominent structures on the hill complex. A low-rise wall surrounds this small court, and the pyramid in the back is at the northeast side of the court. The three-tiered altar in the center of the court actually aligns with the center of the pyramid along the solstice line. Within the fill of the pyramid, a human burial and ritual offering was discovered, containing a multi-colored bowl, four cups, and a mosaic made from pyrite, obsidian, and turquoise.

La Quemada


The Temple of the Skulls of Alta Vista

The northwestern city of Alta Vista reached its peak around 800 CE. Atop Alta Vista's Pyramid of the Sun, remains of numerous skulls and other bones were found with small perforations. These small holes suggest that the bones were strung and perhaps suspended from the temple ceiling. This is a reconstruction of the temple, showing the bones hanging as they might have when the temple was in use, between 650 and 860 CE.

La Quemada Site Museum


Chalchiuites Bowl

This fascinating little bowl has a curious interior design, a human figure spiraling outward as a serpentine body. Like La Quemada, the Chalchiuites culture was also prominent in the state of Zacatecas, albeit farther northwest of the state. Many of the major ceramic styles of Chalchiuites emerged between the seventh and the ninth centuries CE, though certain regions such as Loma San Linda survived far into the post-Classic period, even into the fifteenth century.

National Museum of Anthropology and History


Votive Pyramid

One of the most imposing and well-known structures of La Quemada, the Votive Pyramid stands toward the eastern end of the site, near the base of the hill complex on which much of the architecture was built. Its mud mortar and clay finish are heavily eroded, but part of the incredibly steep stairway remains on the south side of the pyramid.

La Quemada


Courtyard with Central Structure

This enclosure, featuring a small central building, is on one of the lower tiers of the great hill on which the monumental center was constructed. La Quemada reached its apex between the years 700 and 800, but within two generations it would collapse, all but abandoned by 850. A Huichol tale reported by Phil C. Weigand tells of a great city whose religious and military officials terrorized the overpowered locals, who later consolidated to burn the city down. The great city could refer to La Quemada, and one of the formerly oppressed groups could have been ancestors to the Huichol themselves.

La Quemada


Pseudo-Cloisonné Vessels

Alta Vista and La Quemada were highly influential cultures in the northwest of Mesoamerica, with evidence of stylistic influence as far as the modern states of Jalisco, Aguascalientes, and Guanajuato to the south and Chihuahua and Durango to the north. The rich colors on the bowl at left attest to the artistic skill exercised at Alta Vista. In the center of the receptacle at right appears an ornately clad individual with a fanned headdress.

National Museum of Anthropology and History, La Quemada Site Museum