Malinalco
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Malinalco is a city in México State, Mexico. The town serves as the municipal seat of the municipio of Malinalco.
The municipality is located in the southwestern portion of the state. It covers a total surface area of 186.28 km² and, in the year 2000 census, reported a population of 21,712.
The municipality is also home to the town of Chalma, a place of Roman Catholic pilgrimage.
In the pre-Conquest era and well into the modern era, Malinalco lay on the main route from Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City), the principal city of the Mexica, to Acapulco. Tribute goods were transported along this route on the backs of tamemes (bearers) from populations subjugated by the Mexica to Tenochtitlán.
The main points of interest in the city of Malinalco are:
- Archaeological site, Cerro de los Idolos. This site was begun around the year 1501 by the Mexica governor Ahuizótl. The main temple on this site is carved into the rock of the mountain, in contrast to many other sites in Mexico, which are constructed of stone blocks.
- Archaeological museum. Museum “Dr. Luis Mario Schneider” of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. It has an interesting ethnobotanical exhibit. Many of the other artifacts recovered from archaeological sites are grouped by discoverer, which does not give a good sense of their place or function in the archaeological record.
- Augustinian convent (1530s)
[edit] External links
