Guachimontones

A few weeks ago I went with my girls from Casa Kamami to the archeological site Guachimontones which is right outside of Guadalajara.  

Walking the 100 meters up to the Pyramids, you would think this was the longest walk of their lives

Guachimontones (or Huachimontones) is the name of the ceremonial central and prehispanic meeting grounds located in the city of Teuchitlan approximately an hour to the west of the city of Guadalajara.  Its unknown who actually named this archeological site "Los Guachimontones."  The word Guachimontón or Huachimontón has mixed origins, relatively modern, that comes from the word in nahuatl cuautli-, which means tree; chinamitli, which means wall; and from Castellano (spanish from Spain) montón or montones means mountain. They believe that an entire civilization lived in this area between the years 300AC and 900BC.

This central ceremonial ground includes various buildings with a peculiar type of construction, different towers, platforms and pyramids.  The most interesting part is the center pyramids which are round instead of triangular shaped.  They are constructed with a pole that goes through the center and the different sized circular stones set one on top of the other gradually getting smaller and smaller.  The interesting part is as they have deconstructed these buildings they have found that it looks like newer bigger circular pyramids were built on top of the previous pyramid..  with the same or an extension of the middle pole being used as a guide.  Also in this archeological site you will find dos "ball game" courts.

The girls had a great time as did I.  I think the pictures speak for themselves.  This place is so cool and the pyramids are out of this world.  Sometimes its hard to believe and remember that there were people here way before us doing things a lot more advanced than we can imagine.  Maybe they didn't have cell phones, the internet, or blogs that they would share experiences with but in a lot of ways it seems like they were a lot more connected to people, the earth and the world than what we are now.  Besides, its not everyday one can say they saw a round pyramid!!!

Couple of the girls modeling in front of the main pyramid. 

 

This is the full Juego de pelota or "Ball Game" court.  No one really knows the rules of the ball game, and its been established that its uses and rules differed greatly throughout Mesoamerica.  The objective  of the game is to keep the ball in play.  In the most likely version played in Teuchtitlan (where los Guachimontones are located) the game was played using only the hips.  Players had to pass the ball back and forth sending it into the air and picking it up from the ground using only their hips.  In other versions, players could use forearms or the backs of their hands.  The ball was made with with a gummy substance was the extracted from the trees in the area usually put inside an animal stomach and weighed about 10lbs.  The size of the ball differed greatly depending on the area where the game was being played. 

The girls and me in the small "ball game" court.

The game was used for many reasons, anything from choosing battle grounds to human sacrifice.  But one thing that is known for sure is that this game became a very important part of indigenous rituals and religious events.  In most tribes, the winner of the game would be honored with the rite of being sacrificed to the gods.  The sport was also played for fun in an informal manner.  It was great entertainment for both kids and women within the tribes.  Most archeological sites that you see will have at least two ball game courts.  It is thought the one was strictly used for rituals and events, and the other, sometimes smaller, was used for informal games, fun and practice. 

Group Foto!!!  Well not all, but most of us!  :) 

Hasta Entonces!