Museo de Sitio de Alta Vista
Finest example of the Chalchihuite Culture. Possibly founded by priests emigrated from Teotihuacan to the plains of Zacatecas, the museum houses a rich collection of finely made instruments, jewellery, figures and offerings, including the symbol of the eagle and the serpent.
About the museum
This archeological museum, opened in 2007, exhibits the remains of the pre-Hispanic culture of Chalchihuites, with around 350 archeological finds from the excavations. It provides a clear view of the daily life and beliefs of the ancient inhabitants of the region whose most important ceremonial center of the early period was Alta Vista. It has been established that this shrine was the result of external cultural development, founded by a group of priests from Teotihuacan. The research carried out on the site has also revealed very significant cosmological and astronomical aspects. It is known that the founders of this center managed to record the solstices and equinoxes precisely from different points of observation, and that they oriented their buildings to specific points of the compass.
The modern building complex has a large circular exhibition gallery. The displays feature 350 archeological pieces, found in the first instance by the archeologist J. Charles Kelley and his team from the Southern Illinois University in the United States, and subsequently in partnership with the archeologists of INAH Zacatecas.
The four main topics covered are: the broader context, everyday life, the apogee and the terminal period. The collection includes instruments worked in stone, ceramic items, wood skin and bone, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, turquoise and malachite necklaces, pendants made from flint, malachite and quartz, and fragments of battlements. There is an important mortuary offering of earthenware pots bearing the symbol of the eagle subduing the serpent found in Structure 2B, also known as the Pyramid of the Sun, as well as a scoreboard for the ball game, squashes or gourds decorated with natural pigments, rings made from nut shells with turquoise and malachite inlay; small cups, a pot associated with the pulque cult and human remains which show signs of disease, or perforations and deformations of a ritual nature. Visits are complemented by a video on astronomy and Alta Vista’s relationship to the Mesoamerican world view.
The modern building complex has a large circular exhibition gallery. The displays feature 350 archeological pieces, found in the first instance by the archeologist J. Charles Kelley and his team from the Southern Illinois University in the United States, and subsequently in partnership with the archeologists of INAH Zacatecas.
The four main topics covered are: the broader context, everyday life, the apogee and the terminal period. The collection includes instruments worked in stone, ceramic items, wood skin and bone, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, turquoise and malachite necklaces, pendants made from flint, malachite and quartz, and fragments of battlements. There is an important mortuary offering of earthenware pots bearing the symbol of the eagle subduing the serpent found in Structure 2B, also known as the Pyramid of the Sun, as well as a scoreboard for the ball game, squashes or gourds decorated with natural pigments, rings made from nut shells with turquoise and malachite inlay; small cups, a pot associated with the pulque cult and human remains which show signs of disease, or perforations and deformations of a ritual nature. Visits are complemented by a video on astronomy and Alta Vista’s relationship to the Mesoamerican world view.
October 2007
Map
An expert point of view
Patricia Monreal Martínez
Centro INAH Zacatecas
Practical information
Monday to Sunday from 09:00 to 17:00 hrs.
Included in the entrance to the Archeological Site
Carretera a Rancho Colorado-Chalchihuites-Zacatecas, Chalchihuites, Zacatecas, México.
Services
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+52 (492) 922 50 85
Directory
Directora
Patricia Monreal Martínez
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+52 (492) 922 50 85
