Xochicalco

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Xochicalco

Pyramids in Xochicalco

Xochicalco

Location within Mesoamerica

Location
Coordinates
Country

184814N 991745.3W
Mexico

Region

Morelos

Municipality

Miacatln

History
Period

Late Classic

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Official name: Archaeological Monuments Zone of
Xochicalco
Type

Cultural

Criteria

iii, iv

Designated

1999 (23rd session)

Reference No.

939

State Party
Region

Mexico
Latin America and the Caribbean

Xochicalco (Nahuatl pronunciation: /ottikako/) is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in the

Municipality of Miacatlnin the western part of the Mexican state of Morelos. The
name Xochicalco may be translated from Nahuatl as "in the house of Flowers". The site is located
38 km southwest of Cuernavaca, about 76 miles by road from Mexico City. The site is open to
visitors all week, from 10 am to 5 pm, although access to the observatory is only allowed after
noon. The apogee of Xochicalco came after the fall of Teotihuacan and it has been speculated
that Xochicalco may have played a part in the fall of the Teotihuacan empire.
The architecture and iconography of Xochicalco show affinities with Teotihuacan, the Maya area,
and theMatlatzinca culture of the Toluca Valley. Today the residents of the nearby village
of Cuentepec speak Nahuatl.
The main ceremonial center is atop an artificially leveled hill, with remains of residential
structures, mostly unexcavated, on long terraces covering the slopes. The site was first occupied
by 200 BC, but did not develop into an urban center until the Epiclassic period (AD 700 900).
Nearly all the standing architecture at the site was built at this time. At its peak, the city may have
had a population of up to 20,000 people.