Calixtlahuaca

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Calixtlahuaca is a Postclassic period Mesoamerican archaeological site, located near the present-day city of Toluca in the State of Mexico. Known originally as "Matlatzinco," this urban Aztec settlement was a powerful capital whose kings controlled a large territory in the Toluca Valley.

Archaeologist José García Payón excavated the monumental architecture at Calixtlahuaca in the 1930s and restored a number of temples and other buildings. Most notable are Structure 3, a circular temple dedicated to the Aztec wind god Ehecatl, and Structure 17, a large royal “palace.” The architecture and stone sculpture at the site is similar to that of other Middle to Late Postclassic period (AD 1100-1520) Aztec sites in central Mexico.

In 2002 Dr. Michael E. Smith initiated a new research project at Calixtlahuaca. This project was sponsored by Arizona State University and the National Science Foundation, and fieldwork began in 2006.

Calixtlahuaca is also known for a supposedly Roman figurine claimed to have been excavated at the site by García Payón. A number of inconsistencies and problems with the excavation of the artifact suggest that it did not make its way to Mesoamerica prior to the arrival of the Spanish.^[1]