Guiengola
Guiengola is a pre-Columbian fortress and cult of the Zapotecs at an altitude of 420 m on a mountain spur that protrudes into the valley floor around 15 km northwest of the modern city of Tehuantepec . It dates from the late fifteenth or the beginning of the sixteenth century. According to Spanish reports from the colonial period, a battle with an Aztec expeditionary force took place there, which was unsuccessful for the Aztecs . With the Spanish conquest, the fortress was abandoned.
Research history
The first scientific inspection of Guiengola was carried out by Eduard Seler in 1896 after Aureliano Estrada reported on the ruins in 1892. Modern research was carried out by David Andres Peterson in the 1970s , major excavations and restorations have not taken place so far (2010).
Ceremonial center
The center of Guiengloa is formed by the ceremonial complex, which is located on an artificially extended flat area of 150 × 200 m to the north between two rocky mountains. From the north, through a narrow valley, there was also the original access. Seler describes having come across fortifications there. The flat surface forms an irregular square on which there are three buildings: the west pyramid, the east pyramid and in the south the ball playground .
East pyramid
This structure was clearly the most important: the actual pyramid is preceded by a slightly sunken courtyard measuring 30 × 40 m inside. The boundary of the courtyard is formed by a 2 m wide and 60 cm high wall, to which a wide staircase leads up from the west. From the surrounding wall, large and small stairs lead down to the courtyard in several places, from there you can climb the actual pyramid on a staircase from the courtyard level. The east pyramid consists of three steps that become smaller towards the top, the staircase is without stringers and is slightly sunk into the structure. There are also two narrow stairs on both sides. The actual sanctuary may have been a construction made of river gravel on the surface of the pyramid, near its east wall, the entire surface of which was covered with stucco.
West pyramid
Unlike the pyramid just described, this one does not have a courtyard in front, but is directly accessible from the square. It also consists of three steps, but its staircase is not sunk, but rather in front and provided with wide stringer. The narrow side stairs also occur here. The upper end of the stair stringers ends vertically. The remains of an adobe building can be seen on the upper surface , which had two rooms almost 13 m long, one behind the other.
Ball court
The ball playground has the typical post-classical shape: the play alley runs between two sloping reflective surfaces that start from massive plinths and up to which small stairs lead. The play alley has a three-fold rectangular extension at both ends, which is framed by a wall plinth. From the north, two small stairs lead over this wall base to the play area.
palace
The palace is located almost 200 m southeast of the ceremonial zone and was probably the residence of the ruler Cocijoeza. It consisted of 64 rooms and other constructions on an area of 11,000 m², which are heavily nested and irregularly arranged due to the very rocky terrain. The only access is from the south; Because of the considerable height differences, numerous large and small stairways are necessary. In the middle of the complex there is a small, irregular courtyard (Patio 11), which is interpreted as the actual residential area due to the limited access (via a narrow staircase from the south that begins between two constructions that may serve as guard houses). The central building is a temple with three rooms staggered one behind the other, which had the typical doorways with two columns.
Noteworthy is the so-called Mirador , a lookout point that was built on a round rock ledge in the east of the palace complex and offers a great panoramic view of the plain.
Graves
Two graves were robbed in the 19th century. The first is next to Umfassungswall the patios of Ostpyramide. An entrance from the west leads to a 9 m long and 2 m wide burial chamber. Two small side chambers also lead from the entrance. The second grave is located in the palace area below a small temple with a column entrance. The grave is smaller and has three parallel chambers, with the side chambers also leading off from the entrance. According to information from the colonial era, the large central chamber of the graves was the sanctuary, while the side chambers were used several times for burials.
literature
- Eduard Seler: The ruins on the Quie-ngola In: In collected treatises for American linguistics and antiquity. Berlin, Asher 1904. Vol. 2. pp. 184-199
- Peterson, David A. La organización funcional del Palacio de Cocijueza en Guiengola, Oaxaca . In: Cuadernos de arquitectura mesoamericana 7 (1986), pp. 65-69
- Peterson, David A. The funerary and related architecture at Guiengola . In: Cuadernos de arquitectura mesoamericana 18 (1992), pp. 43-50
See also
Web links
- http://www.oaxacamexico.com.mx/blog/oaxaca-mexico-36.htm ( Memento from July 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 16 ° 23 ′ 9.5 ″ N , 95 ° 19 ′ 23.7 ″ W.