Peralta (Mesoamerican site)
Encyclopedia
| Chichimec-Toltec Culture – Archaeological Site | ||
| Name: | Peralta Archaeological Site | |
| Type | Mesoamerican archaeology | |
| Location | San José Peralta, Abasolo, Guanajuato Abasolo, Guanajuato Abasolo is a Mexican city located in the Southeast region of the state of Guanajuato. The municipality has an area of 601.73 square kilometres , and is bordered to the north by Pueblo Nuevo and Valle de Santiago, to the south by the state of Michoacán and Huanímaro, and to the west by Pénjamo and... |
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| Region | Mesoamerica 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... |
|
| Coordinates | 20°28′17"N 101°24′59"W | |
| Culture | Chichimec – Toltec Toltec The Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology... |
|
| Language | ||
| Chronology | 100 to 900 CE | |
| Period | Mesoamerican Postclassical | |
| Apogee | 300 – 650 CE | |
| INAH Web Page | Non existent | |
Peralta is a prehispanic mesoamerican archaeological site located in the municipality of Abasolo, Guanajuato
Abasolo, Guanajuato
Abasolo is a Mexican city located in the Southeast region of the state of Guanajuato. The municipality has an area of 601.73 square kilometres , and is bordered to the north by Pueblo Nuevo and Valle de Santiago, to the south by the state of Michoacán and Huanímaro, and to the west by Pénjamo and...
, just outside the village of San Jose de Peralta in the Mexican
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...
state of Guanajuato
Guanajuato
Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....
. The site is reached via Mexico highway 90 of from Irapuato
Irapuato, Guanajuato
Irapuato is a Mexican city located at the foot of the Arandas mountain , in the south central region of the state of Guanajuato. It lies between the Silao River and the Guanajuato River, a tributary of the Lerma River, at 1,724 m above sea level. It is located at...
. Approximately 15.5 km south of the intersection with Mexico highway 45, take the Irapuato-Huanimaro route southeast (left). Follow the route for about 12.5 km, then turnoff southwest (right) to San Jose de Peralta. Cross the bridge and turn right, and then follow the road out of the village northwest about 1 km. The site is on the left.
The center originally occupied about 130 hectares of land and was home to many structures, of which 22 pyramids have been identified, including a multitude of terraced agricultural fields that supported the population. The region was initially settled around 100 AD, with the center reaching its apex between 300 and 650 AD prior to the population's reversion to nomadism.
The site is part of what is known as the “Bajio Tradition” region.
The site developed between 300 and 700 CE, at the time that Teotihuacan was declining and Tula was rising. According to archeologists the city declined and collapsed due to the overexploitation of the surrounding deciduous rainforest and it was abandoned around 900 CE. The site occupies 150 hectares divided into a center with five surrounding settlements. The most important structure is double temple structure, with a “Patio Hundido” (Sunken Patio). Another important building is the Main Structure, called by some La Mesita (The Small Table) or Recinto de los Gobernantes (Governors’ Precinct). It has a large plaza which is considered to have been the main square for the city. Among the walls and other structures a semicircle dedicated to the Danza de Voladores has been discovered.
Peralta and the Bajio Tradition are part of a regional culture, its architecture and ceramic works are different from other mesoamerican societies.
Its large constructions place Peralta among the largest Tradition sites and contain one of the largest ceremonial centers in the region.
Very little is known about these societies inhabiting the Bajio Region, they are thought to have been members of hunter-gatherer, fishing Chichimec groups, it is now known that places such as Peralta were trading confluence routes between central Mexico with northern and western Mesoamerica.
The Peralta inhabitants are believed to have formed autonomous agricultural societies that formed social and religious networks, probably linked by family ties and regional governments. These societies traded foodstuff items, baskets, ornaments and luxury items such as turquoise jewels, shell collars and obsidian
Obsidian use in Mesoamerica
Obsidian is a naturally formed volcanic glass that was an important part of the material culture of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Obsidian was a highly integrated part of daily and ritual life, and its widespread and varied use may be a significant contributor to Mesoamerica's lack of metallurgy...
items.
Over 1400 years ago, in addition to Peralta, there were other five known important cities in the region; San Bartolome (Tzchté), San Miguel Viejo, Tepozán, Loza Los Padres and Peñuelas. Circular structures confirm the Tradition constant ancient relations with other civilizations. Circular structures are common across prehispanic Mesoamerica.
Background
In the prehispanic times, the Bajio region saw the most human development due to the fertility of the soil and the presence of surface water for agriculture. The oldest group to inhabit the area are called the Chupícuarios, who dominated the center of the Bajío area and were active in between 800 BCE and 300 CE. Their largest city is now the site called Chupícuaro, and their influence was widespread being found in the modern states of Zacatecas, Querétaro, ColimaColima
Colima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima....
, Nayarit
Nayarit
Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
, Hidalgo, State of Mexico, Michoacán and Guerrero
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
. Chupícuaro cities were associated with the Toltec
Toltec
The Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology...
city of Tula
Tula, Hidalgo
Tula, formally, Tula de Allende, is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 305.8 km² , and as of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 93,296, with 28,432 in the town...
and when this city fell, these agricultural cities of Guanajuato also went in to decline. This and a prolonged drought cause these cities to be abandoned between the 10th and 11th centuries with only the Guamare
Guamare
The Guamares were an indigenous group that were concentrated in the region of the present state of Guanajuato. They were part of the Chichimecas.The Guamares were centered in the Guanajuato Sierras, but some bands ranged as far east as Querétaro...
s left ethnically.
Then Chichimeca and other nomadic groups entered the area. These nomadic indigenous groups are generically referred to as Chichimeca, but in reality they were a variety of ethnicities such as the Guachichiles, Pames and Zacateco
Zacateco
The Zacatecos were an indigenous people inhabiting part of northern Mexico, one of the peoples called Chichimecas by the Aztecs. They lived in most of what is now the state of Zacatecas and the northeastern part of Durango. They have many direct descendants, but most of their culture and...
s. These groups were warlike, semi nomadic and did not practice significant agriculture, nor did they construct cities. Part of the state was also inhabited by the Otomi but they were mostly displaced or dominated by the P’urhépecha in the southwest and the Chichimeca in other parts. By the 16th century, most of Mesoamerica
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...
was dominated by either the Aztec or P'urhépecha
Tarascan state
The Tarascan state was a state in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, roughly covering the geographic area of the present-day Mexican state of Michoacán. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico it was the second-largest state in Mexico. The state was founded in the early 14th century and lost its...
empires, but Guanajuato was under the control of neither. It was on the northern border of the P’urhépecha empire with southern Guanajuato showing significant cultural influence in the southern valleys, and Aztecs had ventured into the area looking for minerals. However, most of the state was dominated by various Chichimeca tribes as part of what the Spanish would call the “Gran Chichimeca.” These Chichimeca were mostly nomadic with some scattered agricultural communities, mostly in the north.
Bajio Tradition
Not too long ago, the Bajio Region and a good part of the Mexican central plateau were considered of little archaeological interest. Little was known of native regional societies, beyond the historical data describing an almost uninhabited area two centuries before the conquest.Data from historical documents indicated that the prehispanic Bajio inhabitants were only Chichimeca, nomadic groups with appropriation economies and belligerents. By 1972, Beatriz Braniff began to explain the Bajio cultures and proposed the contours of a "marginal" region of Mesoamerica, located on the edges of the high cultured regions The apparent influence of large Mesoamerican cities, mainly Teotihuacan in regional development, also departed from the academic debate the possibility of identifying and explaining the specific role played by local societies in the Mesoamerican development.
During the last ten years, archaeological studies have had a major boost in Guanajuato, and several myths of the Bajio past became truth, have provided better founded explanations based on the prehispanic life in this geographic area.
Three aspects seem fundamental: a) the Bajio as an important part of the Mesoamerican universe was a trade communication region and a link between three the cultural areas proposed by Paul Kirchhoff (1967): Central, North and West Mexico; b) theories based on influences determination from major population centers, has now been replaced by understanding the interactions and bi-directional relationships, where the implications of local societies such as Peralta have barely been addressed but no doubt will continue to investigate; c) during the mesoamerican classical period, between 300 and 700 CE, the Bajio developed a notable agricultural population, with a social and political organization structure, in addition to its deep regional cultural roots, that has been identified as the Bajio tradition.
Chichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadNomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day 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...
and southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian
Barbarian
Barbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
". The name was adopted with a pejorative tone by the Spaniards when referring especially to the semi-nomadic 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...
peoples of northern Mexico. In modern times only one ethnic group is customarily referred to as Chichimecs, namely the Chichimeca Jonaz
Chichimeca Jonaz
The Chichimeca Jonaz are a group of indigenous people living in Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí. In Guanajuato State the Chichimeca Jonaz people live in a community of San Luis de la Paz municipality. The settlement is 2,070 m above sea level...
, although lately this usage is being changed for simply "Jonáz" or their own name for themselves "Úza".
The Chichimeca peoples were in fact many different groups with varying ethnic and linguistic affiliations. As the Spaniards worked towards consolidating the rule of New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
over the Mexican indigenous peoples during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the "Chichimecan tribes" maintained a resistance. A number of ethnic groups of the region allied against the Spanish, and the following military colonization of northern Mexico has become known as the "Chichimeca War
Chichimeca War
The Chichimeca War was a military conflict waged between Spanish colonizers and their Indian allies against a confederation of Chichimeca Indians. It was the longest and most expensive conflict between Spaniards and the indigenous peoples of New Spain in the history of the colony.The Chichimeca...
s".
Many of the peoples called Chichimeca are virtually unknown today; few descriptions mention them and they seem to have been absorbed into mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
culture or into other indigenous ethnic groups. For example, virtually nothing is known about the peoples referred to as Guachichil
Guachichil
Of all the Chichimeca natives, the Guachichiles occupied the most extensive territory, stretching north to Saltillo in Coahuila and to the northern corners of Michoacán in the south...
es, Caxcan
Caxcan
The Caxcan were a partly nomadic indigenous people of Mexico. Under their leader, Francisco Tenamaztle, the Caxcan were allied with the Zacatecos against the Spaniards during the Mixtón Rebellion. During the rebellion, they were described as "the heart and the center of the Indian Rebellion". They...
es, Zacateco
Zacateco
The Zacatecos were an indigenous people inhabiting part of northern Mexico, one of the peoples called Chichimecas by the Aztecs. They lived in most of what is now the state of Zacatecas and the northeastern part of Durango. They have many direct descendants, but most of their culture and...
s, Tecuexe
Tecuexe
The Tecuexe were an indigenous group found in the eastern part of present day Guadalajara, Mexico-History:It is believed that the Tecuexe derived from the dispersion of Zacateco groups from La Quemada. Like the Zacatecos, the Tecuexe were a tribe belonging to the generic "Chichimeca" peoples...
s, or Guamare
Guamare
The Guamares were an indigenous group that were concentrated in the region of the present state of Guanajuato. They were part of the Chichimecas.The Guamares were centered in the Guanajuato Sierras, but some bands ranged as far east as Querétaro...
s. Others like the Opata
Opata
Opata is the collective name for three indigenous peoples native to the northern Mexican border state of Sonora. The whole of Opata territory encompasses the northeasterly and central part of the state...
or "Eudeve" are well described but extinct as a people.
Other "Chichimec" peoples maintain a separate identity into the present day, for example the Otomi
Otomi people
The Otomi people . Smaller Otomi populations exist in the states of Puebla, Mexico, Tlaxcala, Michoacán and Guanajuato. The Otomi language belonging to the Oto-Pamean branch of the Oto-Manguean language family is spoken in many different varieties some of which are not mutually intelligible.One of...
es, Chichimeca Jonaz
Chichimeca Jonaz
The Chichimeca Jonaz are a group of indigenous people living in Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí. In Guanajuato State the Chichimeca Jonaz people live in a community of San Luis de la Paz municipality. The settlement is 2,070 m above sea level...
, Cora
Cora people
The Cora are an indigenous ethnic group of Western Central Mexico that live in the Sierra de Nayarit and in La Mesa de Nayar in the Mexican states of Jalisco and Nayarit. They call themselves náayarite , whence the name of the present day Mexican state of Nayarit...
s, Huicholes, Pame
Pame
The Pame are an indigenous people of central Mexico living in the state of San Luis Potosí. They call themselves Xi'úi. They speak the Pame language, which belongs to the Oto-Pamean group of the Oto-Manguean language family....
s, Yaquis, Mayos
Mayo people
The Mayo are a Mexican indigenous people living in the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, originally living near the Mayo River in Sonora. In their own language they call themselves Yoreme....
, O'odham
O'odham
The O'odham peoples, including the Tohono O'odham or Papago, the Pima or Akimel O'odham, and the Hia C-ed O'odham, are an indigenous Uto-Aztecan peoples of the Sonoran desert in southern and central Arizona and northern Sonora, united by a common heritage language, the O'odham language...
and the Tepehuánes
Tepehuán
The Tepehuán are a Native American ethnic group in northwest Mexico, whose villages at the time of Spanish conquest spanned a large territory along the Sierra Madre Occidental from Chihuahua and Durango in the north to Jalisco in the south...
.
The first description of a modern objective ethnography of the peoples inhabiting La Gran Chichimeca was done by Norwegian naturalist and explorer Carl Sofus Lumholtz
Carl Sofus Lumholtz
Carl Sofus Lumholtz was a Norwegian explorer and ethnographer, best known for his meticulous field research and ethnographic publications on indigenous cultures of Australia and Mesoamerican central Mexico.-Biography:...
in 1890 when he traveled on muleback through northwestern Mexico, meeting the indigenous peoples on friendly terms. With his descriptions of the rich and different cultures of the various "uncivilized" tribes, the picture of the uniform Chichimec barbarians was changed, although in Mexican Spanish the word "Chichimeca" remains connected to an image of "savagery".
The historian Paul Kirchhoff, in his work "The Hunting-Gathering People of North Mexico," described the Chichimecas as sharing a 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...
culture, based on the gathering of mesquite
Mesquite
Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...
, agave
Agave
Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....
, and tunas (the fruit of the nopal). While others also lived off of acorns, root
Root
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s and seeds
SEEDS
SEEDS is a voluntary organisation registered under the Societies Act of India....
. In some areas, the Chichimecas cultivated maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and calabash
Calabash
Lagenaria siceraria , bottle gourd, opo squash or long melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, the calabash is widely known as the bottle gourd...
. From the mesquite, the Chichimecas made white bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
and wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
. Many Chichimec tribes utilized the juice of the agave as a substitute for water when it was in short supply.
The Site
Although the site was known for many years by local residents that farmed in and around the structures, it has only been explored three times; the first time was in 1978 by archaeology students; in 1981 explored by salvage archaeologists and the third time in 2002, when several structures were identified.The archaeological site is dominated by two stepped pyramidal structures with a common, fully enclosed plaza, along with an immense raised platform and additional enclosed plazas. Notably, finds of turquoise, copper bells, seashells, and jadeite in the nearby site of Plazuelas
Plazuelas
Plazuelas is a prehispanic archaeological site located just north of San Juan el Alto, some 2.7 kilometers north of federal highway 90 , and about 11 kilometers west of the city of Penjamo in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico...
indicate an extensive trade network spanning from Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. The inhabitants have been identified as part of a unique culture labeled El Bajío
Bajío
The Bajío is a region of Central Mexico that includes the plains south of the Sierra de Guanajuato, in the state of Guanajuato, as well as parts of the states of Querétaro and Michoacán .In general parlance, it is usually associated with the States of Guanajuato and Querétaro, although it only...
. The specific ethnicity of the inhabitants is still under investigation.
The area discovered is only a small percentage of the entire city, which probably extended to Mount Peralta, several kilometers due west and all around the archaeological site.
Natural Disaster
The population living in that time, apparently belonged to the Nahuatl and Otomi culture but, as noted, it is not known, because there are no records confirming the culture, hence it can only be assumed from similarities with other archaeological areas.From available vestiges, it is believed that a natural disaster occurred in 900 CE, diminishing the population, forcing survivors to abandon the city.
Structures
Many structures have been identified, including a ballgame court, but are yet to be explored and uncovered.Within the site, as many as 22 structure remains have been identified, as well as large farming terraces, thus it is believed that about over 15 thousand inhabitants lived there.
The monumental Peralta architecture is an indication of the highly specialized architects and crafts of its times, it is indeed an impressive architectural expression of the Bajio Tradition. As opposed to the typical mesoamerican open patios or squares, Peralta is distinguished by sunken patios surrounded by rooms and bordered by one or more temples, aligned with equinoxes. Another Peralta characteristic is the presence of circular structures, typically used for ceremonial rituals, probably dedicated to wind, rain and fertility deities. It is believed that Peralta had socio-cultural relations with other regions, such as Guachimontones (Teuchitlán, Jalisco) and Chalchihuites, Zacatecas.
Main Structure
The site main structure is unique in Mesoamerica; it is considered the first constructive stage, combining a large rectangular stepped structure with “sunken patios” (pool) and round structures built on top. The structure basement is stepped to adjust to the irregular terrains it was built on.It is a stepped rectangular structure oriented east-west with external side walls built at an approximate 45 deg., angle, built from stone and earth, stucco and finishing’s of clay mixed with vegetal fibers. The structure perimeter is stepped and measures some 147 (east-west) by 137 (north-south) meters (482 by 450 ft.).
A top the structure are three different levels, the lower level is composed by a huge sunken plaza, the middle level probably was an area dedicated for spectators or ceremonies participants, on the western side of the top level are a deep “Ceremonial pool” with access ramps and steps to lower levels and remains of a circular basement, measuring some 42 meters in diameter (138 ft.).
It is believed that on the eastern side of the top level rooms were built, probably for governors and high priests. Several human burials with offerings were found in several places of the structure, their origins are unknown. The offerings found are indicative of trade and relations with faraway regions; a turquoise collar is an indication of possible trade with New Mexico and Arizona; shell beads from Pacific Ocean coastal regions; other offerings included two well preserved wooden pieces, pigments, various ceramic vessels, and articles carved from obsidian and flint stone.
The main access stairway to the main structure is located on the western side of the structure, facing a platform and two “sunken patios”. The structure has a secondary entrance, on the southern side.
Sunken Patios
On ground level, on the western side of the Main Structure is a large platform containing two large “sunken patios”, probably used for preliminary ceremonial activities.Sunken Patio 1, is west of the Main Structure and centered with its access stairway, it is larger than and not as deep as the other sunken patio.
Sunken Patio 2 is located south of the other patio.
Double Temple
The double temple represents another unique mesoamerican structure, comprising two structures and a plaza, on a single platform.It is believed the temples followed the typical staged construction practiced throughout Mesoamerica, where every few years a new structure was added over previous ones, by new governors or for new reasons.
These layers or additions to the structures used obsidian stones, turquoise, tepetate and a clay and fiber admixture for construction.
It is believed that on top of the structures existed other constructions for the religious or political purposes of its constructors.
In front of both temples is a sunken plaza, with an intricate series of access stairways, from the outside into the plaza and from the plaza to the structures. The plaza is equipped with a drainage system to prevent flooding.
Stone Bell
Peralta was deemed by the villagers of San José to be enchanted by the spirits of its original inhabitants. At the southern-most extent of the archaeological site lies a mineral-rich boulder previously used as a bell by the local elders to call spiritual gatherings at the site.The stone that rings with a characteristic sound, when struck with another stone (the smaller round stone in the picture). It is a large basalt stone, part of a large stone group, it overhangs on the side of a hill, and it is already fractured, in at least three places.
External links
- Primeros Pobladores de Peralta (First Peralta settlers), Municipio de San Jose de Peralta, 2008
- Oficial Abasolo Web Site
Guanajuato: Governmental portal