Teayo Castle
Coordinates: 20 ° 44'59.3 " N , 97 ° 37'59.8" W.
Castillo de Teayo is an archaeological site in the center of the place of the same name and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz and the region called La Huasteca . The place was repopulated in the 19th century after being abandoned since the Conquista .
history
There is no precise information about the place known today as Castillo de Teayo for the pre-Hispanic period; however, some archaeologists believe that the pyramid shows Toltec influences. The region was inhabited by the Totonak and Huaxtec populations, who had paid tribute to the Aztec Empire since the mid-15th century . The area was administered by Teayo from Tochpan (now Tuxpan ). It was conquered by Andrés de Tapia in early 1520 . After the fall of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan , the port of Tuxpan was claimed by Hernán Cortés in 1526 and briefly held in possession, but then passed to various encomenderos . After 1604, the incomes of the Encomienda were the heirs of the last independent ruler of the Aztecs, Moctezuma I. assigned.
pyramid
The actual pyramid on the main square consists of two parts: The pyramid body consists of three steps, the outer walls of which slope inwards from bottom to top. The base is square and has a side length of almost 25 m. The 40-step staircase, lined with wide stringer and facing west, is sunk into the body of the pyramid. In line with the post-classical building canon, the uppermost part of the stringers merges into vertical blocks.
The actual temple building is quite small compared to the dimensions of the pyramid at 7 × 3 m, so that the interior is more like a niche. The lower third of the temple wall is sloped slightly inwards, above it is a narrow strip of cornice, then the walls are vertical and reach a total height of 4.50 m. Large remains of the stucco plaster have been preserved both inside and outside. Today the construction is protected from the weather by a roof made of palm leaf fibers. In the 19th century there was a covered wooden bell tower here .
museum
In the vicinity of the pyramid there were numerous stone sculptures up to the end of the 19th century, which are now on display in the local museum behind the pyramid. Among them is a representation of the rain god Tlaloc and one of the spring god Xipe Totec .
literature
- Eduard Seler : The antiquities of Castillo de Teayo . In Eduard Seler: Collected Abhandlungen , Behrendt, Berlin 1908. P. 410–49.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Peter Gerhard: Geografía histórica de la Nueva España, 1519-1821. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México 1986. ISBN 968-36-0293-2 . P. 119
- ↑ Felipe Solís: Escultura del Castillo de Teayao, Veracruz, México . Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México 1981. ISBN 968-5801-45-2 .