El Tepozteco
El Tepozteco is an archaeological site in the Mexican state of Morelos. It consists of a small temple to the Aztec god Tepoztecatl.[1]
In the middle Postclassic Period, various terraces and a small pyramid were built on one of the peaks of the Sierra de Tepoztlan, overlooking the pre-Columbian town of Tepoztlan. The temple became important enough to attract pilgrims from as far away as Guatemala.[1]
The site
The temple itself stands at the western side of the site. It consists of a 6.4 meter high platform supporting a 3.3 meter high temple base. Upon this stand the remains of the temple building, the remains of which now stand 2.7 meters high.[1] The temple was formed of two rooms. The first room opened onto the temple stairs, with two pillars flanking the entrance. In the centre of this room a small hollow was found, containing traces of charcoal and copal.[1]
The entry to the small inner sanctum was also flanked by two pillars. The sculpture of Tepoztecatl was probably kept in this room.[1]
The temple was modifed several times during its history. The first consisted of a narrowing of the entrance to the inner sanctum by building flanking walls against the formerly free-standing inner pillars.[1] The second, and most important, modification was the addition of stone benches and a small projecting cornice. On the cornice are bas-reliefs of the glyphs of the 20 days of the sacred tonalpohualli calendar.[1] Other glyphs include a turqoise crown and a shield with arrows,which have lead investigators to conclude that the benches were built by the Triple Alliance.[1]
Dwellings were built on the terraces on the eastern side of the site in order to house the resident priests and their helpers.[1]
See also
Notes
References
- Canto Aguilar, Giselle (1998) El Tepozteco, Morelos miniguide, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico. Template:Es icon