June Magic In The Hills Of Central Mexico

 June Magic In The Hills Of Mexico

Tropic of Cancer Archaeological Ruin Site.

     On June 22 some magic happens in the hills of Central Mexico.  The sun appears to stop on its northward journey through the sky and hover over the archaeological ruin site called Alta Vista, a 1,600 year old settlement in Zacatecas built directly on the Tropic of Cancer.  
     Chalchihuites is another name for the site, the same name as a nearby town.  What is magic here is the ancient settlement's placement on the Tropic of Cancer, the place where the sun stops in its movement north and then hovers for a day before rising and setting further and further south as the days progress and it works its way back south. 

Stone Calender Buildings

Did the ancients plan this placement on the Tropic of Cancer and if so why?

If you visit you will quickly learn that it was no accidental placement of this settlement.  In fact the place could be a stone sundial, celestial observatory, and carved rock calendar all in one.

Alta Vista Archaeological Ruin Site 

     Reach the Alta Vista archaeological ruin Site on a long downhill glide from the town of  Chalchihuites in Zacatecas State, Mexico.  Reach the town from the nearest large town Sombrerete, reached from Zacatecas.
     You enter the small museum and learn that the Teotihuacan culture built the site and that they built it with sight lines to the distant mountains where notches and ridges would mark the solar events.

     Research at Alta Vista began with Mexican archaeologists Manuel Gamino in 1908 and continued with Charles Kelley who began digs in 1971 and studied the site and region for 45 years.

 Solar Significance 

     The Archaeologists found solar significance in the construction of the buildings situated on a gently sloping hillside at 7200 feet above sea level.  The research by Kelley cites deliberate placement by the builders of the ritual center at latitude 23°28′58″N 103°52′39″W, on the Tropic of Cancer, give or take a mile.  Since the tropic line moves a few feet each year the ancient builders could be forgiven any error.

Chalchihuites  Museum

     From the museum, enter the site itself and look for the calendar stones and columns.   At the northern end of the site you will find stones aligned east to west and another group crossing that runs north and south.  It appears that the ancient builders constructed an ideal spot for the observation of the summer solstice or zenith day.  Those north south and east west stones would announce the coming of that day with diminishing shadows and announce the day itself when no shadow at all falls beside the stones .  At that location the sun would appear to stand still in its movement north over the earth on June 21 and would not only linger for a day directly overhead at Chalchihuites, but appear to reverse direction and start its (apparent) annual movement south.

     Researchers found cross-shaped petroglyphs on the mountain peak, Picacho, in the distance to the southwest, and on a ridge called Chapin,  similar to stone glyphs used by the builders of Teotihuacan when they designed that city. The sight lines to the glyphs would track the movements of the sun.

     Since no shadow would fall to the side of a standing column on Zenith Day it seems likely also that the so called Hall Of Columns had its ritual purpose as well.
The site was occupied from 100 AD to 1400 AD with active building stages between 400 and 850 AD according to researchers.  

       
   While it might seem like magic to us users of the compass and the GPS it appears that the indigenous of Mexico were keen observers of nature who built their religion around observed natural events.

Archaeoastronomer Anthony F. Aveni of Colgate University, famed for his work with sun and star alignments on other Mexican sites, collaborated with Kelly in 1977               Aveni, Anthony F., Horst Hartung, and J. Charles Kelley. 1982. "Alta Vista (Chalchihuites): Astronomical Implications of a Mesoamerican Ceremonial Outpost at the Tropic of Cancer." American Antiquity, vol. 47, pp. 316-335.

Zacatecas City, Zip line, Hiking Tour

Alta Vista Chalchihuites, Zacatecas

La Quemada, Chicomostoc Ruin Zacatecas

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Google Map Zacatecas

Bus Travel Chihuahua to Mexico City

Chihuahua, Mexico Bus

We reached Chihuahua at 7 PM.

      I left the Chihuahuenses to switch to an Omnibus. Chihuahueses does not put paper in the lavatories; Omnibus does. This is no big deal but it demonstrates that Chihuahuesesa has a low regard for the passengers that I find annoying. I had never ridden on Omnibus and wanted to check them out.

Copper Canyon train stop at Divisadero.  Train passenger get 15 minutes to
look out at the junction of three canyons  

Copper Canyon Trips

From Chihuahua you can get a bus to Copper Canyon for 240 pesos to the village of Creel in the high mountains at the edge of the Copper Canyon. The train is not the only option for a Copper Canyon visit.

see Copper Canyon options Copper Canyon Trips.  The Cuauhtemoc Bus makes 5 trips daily.

I left Chihuahua on an Omnibus at 8:00 PM after a burger dinner and settled in for the 12 hour trip to Zacatecas. (635 pesos)

I slept most of the night and arrived in Zacatecas at 9:00 AM, 8:00 Tucson time. I then booked a 10:45 Futura Bus for Mexico City Terminal Norte for 430 pesos.

Futura Buses are the best of the three: Futura, Chihuhuenses and Omnibus. They are each a good and convenient ride. Chihuahuenses does not provide paper in the lavatory (hardly a First Class attribute) and their bus was an older model frayed at the edges. Omnibus was running an older bus also but they did provide paper, took careful head counts, and had a well maintained lavatory.

The Futura bus did have paper in the lavatory and was the newest bus of the three.

Primera plus, a division of Flecha Amarilla, runs on the coastal route from Mazatlan to Mexico Norte and they run the best buses and best service for the long haul trip through Mexico, north of Mexico City.

Primera Plus runs luxury buses from Mazatlan on the Pacific Coast

 to Mexico City through Guadalajara  

I arrived at Mexico City's Terminal Norte and 8:00 PM and booked an ADO bus for Oaxaca,  leaving at 11 PM.
I have made this run before and I wanted to arrive in Oaxaca at dawn. ADO runs excellent service south of Mexico City. See ADO

I slept most of the way and arrived at 6:00 AM refreshed.
The total cost of the trip (excluding food) was around 160 USD including the Tucson/Douglas Shuttle. ($320 USD round Trip) Round trip air at the time was around $ 550 not counting taxi to and from the airport. (about $100 USD)
BUS-$340 USD including taxi transfer      AIR-$650 USD including taxi transfer.   (575 with a shared shuttle to Tucson Center)

Bus Service Mexico: Just Show Up. (Article)
The bus companies have web sites but they have for the most part opted for style rather than substance. They are full of razzle dazzle flash but lack function. With the exception of ADO and Primera Plus, they are not fully connected by computer and can not take bookings on the web.   That is not a problem. You just show up and there are so many options, so many lines and so many buses going in all directions that you seldom wait more than an hour, usually less. (Except at Christmas and Easter)
I usually stop in one or more cities for the night on a long trip like this. see Mazatlan,   Morelia,   Guadalajara,   San Louis Potosi,   Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Casas Grande, Alta Vista/Sombrerete

Estrella Blanca (Article) is a group of bus lines that serve 27 of Mexico's states. Lines include Futura, Futura Plus, Chihuahuenses, and Elite along with many more.

Mexico City Norte Bus Station

Mexico Norte terminal is a bus hub for trips north west and east primarily 

although ADO serves southern Mexico from Norte.  Buses from Norte 

terminal also serve to  Teotihuacan Ruin and Tula

Next: Eight Months Backpack By Bus to south America/Antartica