Malinalco
Malinalco is a Mesoamerican cult site of the Aztecs in the southwestern part of the Mexican state of Mexico .
location
The archaeological site is located in the Toluca Valley, around 75 km (driving distance) south-southeast of the city of Toluca and just under 100 km southwest of Mexico City on the edge of the modern town of Malinalco . It is located about 200 m above the village at an altitude of about 1940 m .
history
The region of Malinalco belonged in pre-Hispanic times to the dominion of the Matlatzinca , which was conquered by the Aztecs under the ruler Axayacatl around 1476 . According to information in the Aztec Codices, construction work was carried out in Malinalco from 1501 to around 1515, which is believed to be the complex of the rock temple. The system dates from the last sections of the post-classical period .
Temple complex
The temple complex lies on a ledge of the mountain that has been artificially expanded. On the slope of the mountain there is a well sanctuary with stairs and terraces carved out of the rock, which is still a place of worship today.
Rock temple
The rock temple, also known as Monument 1, is a unique structure in Mesoamerica . This is not a real cave temple , as only the base of the pyramid and the surrounding walls were carved out of the rock; however, the interior is not covered by rock. The rock material is hardened volcanic ash in various bands.
The structure consists of two parts. The lower part appears as a pyramid base carved out of the rock, but in fact only the front is designed accordingly. In the center there is a staircase with 13 steps, which is framed by wide strings. In the lower third of the stairs, the remains of a human figure can be seen, a standard bearer. Three-dimensional figures of seated jaguars are arranged on both sides of the stairs . To the right of the pyramid base, a staircase carved out of the rock runs to the roof level of the temple building.
The actual temple building consists of a circular interior, which - like the facade - is cut out of the rock. The facade is smooth, it is dominated by a low gate which leads into the interior and which was later broken open by a lightning strike. The gate is framed by the line drawing of an enormous throat of a reptile , which represents the earth monster. His forked tongue extends out of the gate onto the terrace in front of the facade. Despite the completely different stylistic design, the same topic is dealt with here as occurs in the Mayan culture , in the style regions of the Chenes and the Rio Bec as snake mouth entrances.
Next to the gate entrance are two fully sculptural representations: on the left a drum-shaped structure on which a human figure may once have stood, of which only the feet are recognizable, on the right a snake on which a seated figure rests. The snake's body is covered with grass, which is called malinalli in the Aztec language , reminding of the name of the place.
In the interior, which is almost 6 m in diameter, there is a low bench leading along the rear half of the wall, on which three animal hides made of stone are placed as seat cushions. There is a jaguar in the middle, eagles on either side and on the floor in the middle of the room. Behind the central eagle is a round depression about 30 cm deep and wide, presumably for sacrifices.
There are no traces of the original roof of the round temple. The construction installed today primarily serves to protect the monument, but is based on drawings for corresponding temple roofs in the codices. Above the modern roof there are drainage channels for the rainwater in the rock.
Building 2
A heavily reconstructed pyramid building with two steps is located diagonally in front of the rock temple. A wide, laterally limited staircase leads from the small square in front of the rock temple up to the pyramid platform, on which a temple made of branches, twigs, palm leaves, reeds and / or grass once rose.
Building 3
Next to the rock temple, at the level of the entrance, there is a larger round building with a pillar portico , which for the most part consists of masonry. A stone bench runs in the portico. At the time of the first investigations, there were traces of wall paintings showing warriors in procession. Sculptures or other architectural decorations have not been preserved.
Building 4
At right angles to the rock temple and its neighboring building is a large, almost rectangular room that is almost completely cut out of the rock. The room was probably roofed in an unknown way, as indicated by the two plinths in the middle of the room. Similar to the rock temple, the back wall runs along a low plinth, here too there are depressions in the ground. One can speculate that this building was built to allow a larger number of people to attend the ceremonies than could have been the case in the rock temple.
Mountain sanctuary
At the top of the mountain there are further platforms and wall sections as well as pyramid bases and remains of residential buildings.
See also
literature
- Jürgen Neubauer: In Mexico. Travel to a magical land . Random House, Munich, 2017. ISBN 978-37-407-3522-7
- Xavier Noguez: El templo monolítico de Malinalco, Estado de México . In: Arqueología Mexicana 78 (2006). Pp. 68-73.
Web links
- Malinalco, rock temple - information (spanish)
- Malinalco, rock sanctuary - information (spanish)
- Malinalco, rock sanctuary - video
- Malinalco, place and rock sanctuary - photos + information
- Malinalco, rock temple - information (spanish)
Coordinates: 18 ° 57 ′ 11 " N , 99 ° 30 ′ 11.6" W.