ART 347L--Xochicalco

	Xochicalco The site of Xochicalco, in modern Morelos, participated in a Terminal and Postclassic communication sphere with sites such as Chichén Itzá, Tula, and Cacaxtla. Built on a hilltop, the site descends down a series of terraces and was strategically placed along communication routes between Central Mexico, the Maya region, and the Yucatan peninsula. Most notably, Xochicalco erected the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent that incorporated the same language of forms that can be traced back to Teotihuacan's Temple of the Feathered Serpent, and which was shared with other sites during this time period in an international language of authority and warfare.
The façade of the pyramid depicts an enormous, undulating feathered serpent. Seated between the curves of the serpent's body are portraits of individuals. The poses of the individuals are typical of Maya representations of elites, and compare closely to the postures of rulers carved on Maya jades. In fact, knowledge of this iconography may have reached Xochicalco from the Maya region via the jade trade. Although the identification of the seated figures on the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent is unknown, they may represent the founding ancestors of the site.
The sculpted panels from the temple atop the pyramid depict seated figures holding implements of warfare, and wearing a costume much like that of warriors from other Terminal and Postclassic sites. They are seated between glyph-like forms that may represent place names. Overall, the imagery of the pyramid conjures themes of the right to make war and rule by conquest, and recalls similar iconography at Teotihuacan, Chichén Itzá, Tula, and elsewhere.
Bibliography Caso, Alfonso. 1962. "Calendario y escritura en Xochicalco." In Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropologicos 18: 49-80. Hirth, Kenneth G. 2000. Archaeological research at Xochicalco. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. Litvak King, Jaime. 1970. "Xochicalco en la caída del clásico, una hipótesis." In Anales de Antropología 7: 131-144. Molina, August and Jeff Karl Kowalski. 1999. "Public Buildings and Civic Spaces at Xochicalco, Morelos." In Mesoamerican Architecture as a Cultural Symbol, edited by Jeff Karl Kowalski, pp. 140-161. Nagao, Debra. 1989. "Public Proclamation in the Art of Cacaxtla and Xochicalco." In Mesoamerica After the Decline of Teotihuacan A.D. 700-900, edited by Richard A. Diehl and Janet Catherine Berlo, pp. 83-104. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.