The day after visiting Teopanzolco, Enrique and I visited Xochicalco. Xochicalco was a cosmopolitan city featuring several architectural styles, including Mayan. The highlight of this site is the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. Compared to the other sites we visited on this trip, Xochicalco felt relatively peaceful.
According to the INAH Plaque accompanying this site, Xochicalco was 1 of the leading urban centers on the Central High Plains after Teotihuacan fell. Xochicalco epitomizes the Epi-Classic Period (700-900 A.D.) in Mesoamerican history: marked militarism, migrations, political and economic instability, fortified cities, the worship of warrior gods like Quetzalcoatl, and a mixture of cultures in 1 place. Archaeologists suspect that the builders chose this hill for constructing Xochicalco because it was a strategic point facilitating the economic and political control of Morelos Valley. The builders modified and adapted the hill by constructing terraces, which served as a base for temples and pyramids, living areas, great plazas, and ball courts. The builders also carved out tunnels for observing the cosmos. The planning and distribution of the site indicates a strong class differentiation as well as conflictive atmosphere at the site itself and in the surrounding area. The most recent archaeological excavations suggest that an internal revolt caused the decline of Xochicalco. Archaeologists found evidence for this hypothesis in the central area, where luxury objects are mutilated and scattered. Archaeologists also found a great deal of carbon, suggesting a huge fire. In contrast, archaeologists everyday objects and other things in place in the lower-class living areas, suggesting that the inhabitants abandoned these areas gradually and without violence.
