Chalchihuites
Encyclopedia
Alta Vista, or Chalchihuites, is a small Mesoamerica
n archaeological site in the Mexican state
of Zacatecas
, in the northwest of Mexico
. The archaeological site of Alta Vista, at Chalchihuites, is located 137 miles to the northwest of the city of Zacatecas and 102 miles southeast of the city of Durango
. Located to the west of Sombrerete in the northwestern corner of the Zacatecas
state, it is believed that the site was a cultural oasis that was occupied more or less continuously from AD 100 to AD 1400.
o ceremonial center lying on the Tropic of Cancer
. It has a number of important features, including petroglyph
s, a processional walkway and the Hall of Columns. It has some of the best evidence for astronomical alignments at an archaeological site but remains poorly known.
The archaeologist Manuel Gamio
referred to Chalchihuites as a “culture of transition” between the Mesoamerican civilizations and the so-called Chichimeca
hunter-gatherer
s who lived in the arid plateau of central Mexico. Chalchihuites and La Quemada
were both outposts of Mesoamerican settlement in an ecological and cultural frontier area. However, in this transition zone, climatic changes caused continual shifts in the available resource base, discouraging most attempts at creating permanent settlements.
about four miles east of the town of Chalchihuites. It is also close to the colonial town of Zacatecas
, which has a distinctive cathedral.
Now due to the changes in Technology, Chalchihuites has its own social network. In which people from all over the region connect to exchange, pictures, videos and to find long lost friends. This website has been really useful because helping people that have migrated to the United States, contact their long lost friends which they lost contact with due to the long distance.
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n archaeological site in the Mexican state
States of Mexico
The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
of Zacatecas
Zacatecas
Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
, in the northwest of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The archaeological site of Alta Vista, at Chalchihuites, is located 137 miles to the northwest of the city of Zacatecas and 102 miles southeast of the city of Durango
Durango, Durango
-Climate:The city of Durango has a semi-arid climate, classified as Bsk in the Koppen system. The climate is temperate in the western portion , with the average annual temperature being 15 °C and consisting of an average annual rainfall of 1,600 millimeters. In the eastern region, the average...
. Located to the west of Sombrerete in the northwestern corner of the Zacatecas
Zacatecas
Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
state, it is believed that the site was a cultural oasis that was occupied more or less continuously from AD 100 to AD 1400.
History
It was a TeotihuacanTeotihuacan
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
o ceremonial center lying on the Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer, also referred to as the Northern tropic, is the circle of latitude on the Earth that marks the most northerly position at which the Sun may appear directly overhead at its zenith...
. It has a number of important features, including petroglyph
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s, a processional walkway and the Hall of Columns. It has some of the best evidence for astronomical alignments at an archaeological site but remains poorly known.
The archaeologist Manuel Gamio
Manuel Gamio
Manuel Gamio was a Mexican anthropologist, archaeologist, sociologist, and a leader of the indigenismo movement. He is often considered as the father of modern anthropological studies in Mexico...
referred to Chalchihuites as a “culture of transition” between the Mesoamerican civilizations and the so-called Chichimeca
Chichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"...
hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s who lived in the arid plateau of central Mexico. Chalchihuites and La Quemada
La Quemada
La Quemada is a Mesoamerican archeological site, also known as Chicomóztoc. It is located in the Villanueva Municipality, in the state of Zacatecas, about 56 kilometers south of the city of Zacatecas on Federal Highway 54 Zacatecas–Guadalajara, in Mexico.- History :Given the distance between La...
were both outposts of Mesoamerican settlement in an ecological and cultural frontier area. However, in this transition zone, climatic changes caused continual shifts in the available resource base, discouraging most attempts at creating permanent settlements.
Climate
The climate is very hot during the summer months and cold in the winter. The site sits lonely in the badlandsBadlands
A badlands is a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water. It can resemble malpaís, a terrain of volcanic rock. Canyons, ravines, gullies, hoodoos and other such geological forms are common in badlands. They are often...
about four miles east of the town of Chalchihuites. It is also close to the colonial town of Zacatecas
Zacatecas, Zacatecas
Zacatecas is a city and municipality in Mexico and the capital of the state of Zacatecas. It is located in the north central part of the country. The city had its start as a Spanish mining camp in the mid 16th century. Prior to this, the area's rich deposits in silver and other minerals were known...
, which has a distinctive cathedral.
News
Three human heads were found in the garden of a government building in Chalchihuites in Zacatecas state at around 6 a.m on November 12. local time. They were found by a group of young students who were walking towards their school nearby.Police soon arrived at the scene and began an investigation which revealed that the heads were placed there by a group of armed men. The bodies which belonged to the heads were found about 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) away, at a local highway.Two messages were found next to the bodies indicating that the crime were linked to a fight between two local drug cartels. It said the crimes were a revenge for the kidnap and murder of two men and a 3-year-old boy in September.Police identified the victims as Fabian Lopez, Lamberto Lopez Sanchez and Francisco Arce Meza. Lopez Sanchez was wanted by law enforcement over the murder of three individuals while Fabian Lopez was Lamberto's brother and also had a criminal record. It has been said that this impact, will not only change Chalchihuites security but also it's economy. Since people fear that not so many tourists will go there due to the insecurity its causing to not only Chalchihuites, but to Mexico.Website
Chalchihuites.USNow due to the changes in Technology, Chalchihuites has its own social network. In which people from all over the region connect to exchange, pictures, videos and to find long lost friends. This website has been really useful because helping people that have migrated to the United States, contact their long lost friends which they lost contact with due to the long distance.
Notable Residents
- Ricardo MorenoRicardo MorenoRicardo Moreno Escamilla was a Mexican professional boxer in the Super Featherweight division. Moreno was ranked #76 on the The Ring's list of 100 All time Greatest Punchers....
, A former BoxerBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
in the Super FeatherweightSuper FeatherweightSuper featherweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 130 pounds or 59 kilograms....
division and ranked #76 on the The RingThe Ring (magazine)The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
's list of 100 All time Greatest Punchers. - Luis Moya Regis, A General of Francisco I. MaderoFrancisco I. MaderoFrancisco Ignacio Madero González was a politician, writer and revolutionary who served as President of Mexico from 1911 to 1913. As a respectable upper-class politician, he supplied a center around which opposition to the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz could coalesce...
during the Revolución MexicanaMexican RevolutionThe Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
. - Roberto Guadarrama, A band member of Los BukisLos BukisLos Bukis is a Mexican music band from Ario de Rosales, Michoacán. It was founded by cousins Joel Solís and Marco Antonio Solís in the 1970s. Their first song was Falso Amor and its style became popular in Latin America...
. - Los Buchis De Chalchihuites, Zacatecas, A MexicanMexican peopleMexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
Polka bandPolkaThe polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
.