Bus Trip, Alta Vista Ruin Site, Chalchihuites, Zacatecas, Mexico

  Alta Vista Ruin Site,  Chalchihuites, Zacatecas
Update, March 2015

     I reached the town of Chlchihuites via bus from Sombrerte.  The following day I hired a taxi to take me to Alta Vista Ruin Site, a long downhill glide from Chalchihuites.  I was soon in the small museum looking over the ceramic objects and site scale models.
   
     The caretaker approached and greeted me, the only visitor.  He explained that the site had the same name carried by the nearby town but was more commonly called Alta Vista, the official name given it by the Government.
    The caretaker told me that researchers at Alta Vista had found solar significance in the construction of the buildings situated on a gently sloping hillside at 7, 200 feet above sea level.  The researchers cite deliberate placement by the builders of the ritual center at latitude 23* 28' 58", smack on the Tropic of Cancer, give or take a mile.  The tropic line moves a few feet each year, I would learn, so the builders in ancient times could be forgiven their GPS and computer-less error.

City of Zacatecas
 
      What they had built though was an ideal spot for the observation of the summer solstice or zenith day.  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.
   
     As I toured with the caretaker, he pointed out peaks in the distant hills where stone markers indicate a use of the center by builders of Teotihuacan to track the movements of the sun.
     The site was occupied from 100 AD to 1400 AD but was in active building stages between 400 and 850 AD, this according to archaeological researchers.  Some suggest that the Teotihuacan culture built the complex as a ritual center in the 4th century AD.
   
      Archaeological investigation of the site began with the work of Mexican archaeologists Manuel Gamino who first explored the site in 1908.  Later in 1971, Charles Kelley began digs at Alta Vista that spanned five years.  His studies of the site and region continued for 45 years.
     Archaeoastronomer Anthony F. Aveni of Colgate University, famed for his work with sun and star alignments on many Mexican sites, wrote, along with Kelly, in 1977 about the ruin and its solar significance in the alignment of walls and sight lines to the rising of the sun over distant mountains.
              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 Zip line, hiking Tour
   
     The caretaker didn't remember me from past visits as he pointed out  features include a solar equinox alignment and a summer solstice alignment of the sun over the mountain peak, Picacho, in the distance to the southwest, and to ridge called Chapin at dawn, where investigators found two cross-shaped petroglyphs similar to ones used by the builders of Teotihuacan when they designed that city.  Those markers at Chapin Mesa were the telling link between Alta Vista and its use by the distant City of Teotihuacan as a ceremonial outpost at the northern limit of Mesoamerica.
   
     It became evident that the caretaker was out to prove all of this to me as he had me squatting and sighting along walls this way and that.  He had many quirky facts to tell but I was relieved that he didn't pull out of his bag of tricks the lost tribe of Israel as a guide had done to Lorraine and me when we visited Monte Alban in Oaxaca.

          I suspect that the indigenous of Mexico didn't need help from the Egyptians, the Africans, spacemen, or lost tribes to build their grand stone cities; they were keen observers of nature who built their religion around observed natural events.

Alta Vista Chalchihuites, Zacatecas

La Quemada, Chicomostoc Ruin Zacatecas

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Bus to Alta Vista, Chalchihuites, Zacatecas Stone Observation Buildings

This row of stones laid east to west would
have shown an ever decreasing shadow
at mid day on the north side as the sun
approached zenith day of June 21

Bus to Alta Vista Chalchihuites, Zacatecas
Update Feb 2015

Solar Observations, Zenith Day

Alta Vista ruin site's position on the Tropic of Cancer would allow the observation of the one Zenith day each year for this point on earth.  The people living south of the tropic of Cancer in the ancient MesoAmerican cities would have observed two zenith days annually.  Alta vista being on the Tropic of Cancer would observe just one: June 21 or June 22.
     When I saw the Hall of Columns at Chalchihuites I was reminded of Stonehenge.  The literature claims that the tightly grouped columns, 28 in all, supported a roof in ancient times but this is hard to swallow; the columns are too closely packed and appear to be significant in themselves.  I suspect that they were used to observe the movement of the sun over the earth in its seasonal changes. (28 columns)
     With the standing stones of Stonehenge still in my mind I remembered other standing stones a lot closer to Chalchihuites, a group of isolated columns at the ruin site of Izapa in Chiapas.  At Izapa, a sprawling ruin site in the thick, humid jungle along the coast of

Hall of Columns, Alta Vista Zacatecas

Mexico's Chiapas State, three stone columns with no apparent utility stand widely spaced at three Cardinal points in a plaza below a pyramidal structure located at the fourth cardinal point.  The columns, about eye level in height, support only round stone spheres that are approximately equal in circumference to the diameter of the columns.

Stone column at Izapa
Ruin Site, Tapachula,  Chiapas

     Izapa is an old site with early Olmec influence in its artwork.  The area grows abundant chocolate and has been desirable turf for many cultures over the years including the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Mixtecs and the Aztecs.  The columns at Izapa Ruin site would have been elegantly simple devices for observing the zenith day.  On those two zenith days per year at Izapa, the sun would have cast no shadow at the base of those columns at mid day on May first and again on August twelfth.  Of course the columns would need to be perfectly plumb but archaeologists have found plumb bobs in ancient sites.  Could the Hall of Columns at Chalchihuites have served a similar purpose as those columns at Izapa I wondered.

     It is tempting to believe that all the civilizations in Mesoamerica followed plans formulated by the Olmec culture of 1200 BC.  When you see these columns and stones with no apparent utility you could imagine a sun worshiper religion that developed their observational skills over thousands of years to evolve into the use of mathematics and detailed observations of planets and stars.  These observations later fluoresced into the complex calculations evident in the later Mayan civilization.

     Other standing stones on the Alta Vista site which seem to have no structural significance could also have been sun trackers.  A row of low stone blocks runs roughly from east to west and another crosses it that runs north to south.  These would make a perfect solar time piece and calendar.  By observing the length and direction of shadows throughout the day and throughout the year, one could track the seasonal progression of the sun and its approach to the annual zenith day.

Walls at Alta vista Ruin that create
sight lines to the distant peaks

     The caretaker told me that many Europeans visit Chalchuhuites during the zenith days of June 21-22 to note the alignments created by the builders.  I could only imagine from what I had seen of the equinox serpent shadow at Chichen Itza and the 5000 visitors watching it, what tiny Alta Vista would look like when a few thousand sun worshipers arrive to watch the solstice sunrise over Mount Picacho.

     The town of Chalchihuites could provide lodging and limited services for visitors but it must be some scramble for lodging on the runup to the 21st of June. On a recent 2014 trip I found only one hotel open due to the influx on mine workers occupying all other hotels.     I didn't need to worry about a hotel on this trip  I was on a day trip so I caught a late afternoon bus back to Zacatecas where I spent the night in the Hotel Condesa, a solid place in the Historic Center and not a bad value at $39.00 USD although it did not offer WiFi.

     Early the next day I went about 30 miles south from Zacatecas City by local bus to the town of Vilanueva where I could get a taxi back north nine miles to another enigmatic Zacatecas ruin site, the ruin of La Quemada.

Next, Ruin of La Quemada  or Chicomostoc

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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 to Zacatecas

Cathedral and Cerro de la Bufa
 in the background

    Bus to Zacatecas

      From Aguascalientes I took a bus from the central Camionera north to Zacatecas, another colonial city built during the peak of silver mining activity.  Zacatecas is about 70 miles north of Aguascalientes and takes about two hours to reach.  Two ruin sites and a church were of particular interest to me, one ruin site is built directly on the Tropic of Cancer, the northern limits of what is deemed the tropics.
      ETN buses run regular service many times daily for 145 pesos for the 2-hour trip.  This works out to be two pesos per mile for high-quality, first class service.

      Zacatecas churches are of interest because of the opulent interiors built when gold and silver mining made the city rich.  The churches were built of pink stone, often pink volcanic cantera  which gives the historic center of Zacatecas a sense of cohesiveness, no building more impressive that the baroque cathedral in the center of the historic district.

     The Cerro de la Bufa and several other hills surround the old section of the city which is built in a low area within the surrounding gold and silver mines.  These eighteenth century mines provided riches for the construction of many now preserved buildings.
      Nomadic people lived in the area 10,000 years ago and at around 2000 BC built more permanent settlements in what is now called Zacatecas after the Zacateco Indians who among others such as Nahuatl speaking Chicamecas lived in the area when the Spanish arrived.

Santo Domingo Church

     The local indigenous people had been mining the area for years but the Spanish took that over soon after they discovered silver on Cerro de la Bufa.   By 1550 the town that grew around the mining operation  was well established.

      In the 1960s the city built a cable car called El Teleferico that runs from Cerro El Grillo to Cerro de la Bufa.  At the top of the la Bufa hill a statue commemorates a 1914 victory by Pancho Villa during the 1910 Revolution.  El Grillo, the hill opposite, is the site of the Eden Mine, one of Zacateca's most successful operations.  The mine started producing silver in the 1580s and continued to operate until the 1960s. The mine now hosts tours

     Two entrances to the mine are open for tours and one offers a short train trip to the gem museum, and the start of a walking tour into two levels of the mine.
The La Bufa hill at the opposite side of the Teleferico ride offers a museum that chronicles the battles fought in the area during the 1910 Revolution and the 1926 Cristero War.  The top of La Bufa offers a great view of the city of Zacatecas and can be reached by road, by a walking trail, or by the cable car. There is a zipline ride available at the top of the hill La Bufa.


     The cathedral, Zacateca's most notable building was first built in 1657 on the base of an existing indigenous ruin, as was the custom of the Spanish colonizers.  A second building was built in 1612 and in 1729-1754 the building now on the site was constructed.

     Another notable church with carved and gilt alter pieces is the Temple of Santo Domingo  built in 1746.  The eight side altars are carved wood in Churrigueresque style covered with gold leaf.  The nearby Pedro Coronel Museum houses the artists work and his collection which includes work by Picaso, Degas, Dali and others.
     From Zacatecas, the Chihuahuenses Bus, a division of Estrella Blanca Bus, reaches  the 40 miles to Somberete where a local bus serves to the town of Chalchihuites.  From there, cabs reach the ruin of Alta Vista, an intriguing ruin claimed by researcers to be a solar observatory built directly of the Tropic of Cancer.




Alta Vista Ruin Next