Balcón de Montezuma, also known as "Balcon del Chiue" () is an
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
located at the Alta Cumbre ''
ejido
An ''ejido'' (, from Latin ''exitum'') is an area of communal land used for agriculture in which community members have usufruct rights rather than ownership rights to land, which in Mexico is held by the Mexican state. People awarded ejidos in ...
'', some south of
Ciudad Victoria
Ciudad Victoria () is the seat of the Municipality of Victoria, and the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located in the northeast of Mexico at the foot of the Sierra Madre Oriental. It borders the municipality of Güémez to ...
, in the state of
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
,
México
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. It is situated about one kilometer north of
Highway 101
Highway 101 was an American country music band founded in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. The initial lineup consisted of Paulette Carlson (lead vocals), Jack Daniels (guitar), Curtis Stone (bass guitar, vocals), and Scott "Cactus" Moser (drums) ...
, towards
San Luis PotosÃ
San Luis Potosà (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosà ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis PotosÃ), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
.
This
Huastec Huastec can refer to either:
*Huastec people, an indigenous group of Mexico
*Huastec language (also called "Wasteko" and "Teenek"), spoken by the Huastec people
* Huastec civilization
The Huastec civilization (sometimes spelled Huaxtec or Wastek ...
site is located some north-west from the
Las Flores Huastec archaeological site.
Background
According to paleontological and archaeological records, the earliest settlements in Tamaulipas are dated to twelve thousand years before the Christian era, and are identified in the so-called "complex Devil", in allusion to a Canyon of the Sierra of Tamaulipas. Later, at the Tropic of cancer level, are the first manifestations of native civilization, linked to the discovery and domestication of corn and thus to the beginning of agricultural life and the grouping of permanent settlements. As a result, in this period began to appear manifestations of Mesoamerican cultures in this region.
Before the arrival of the Spanish invaders, the Tamaulipas territory was occupied by various ethnic groups, one of them were the
Wasteks.
Américo Vespucio, famous Italian cartographer after whom the American continent was named, visited the Tamaulipas territory at the end of the 16th century and in his correspondence with Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco mentioned that the natives called the territory "lariab". During colonial times was known by other names: "Kingdom Guasteca, province of Amichel and Earth Garayana, Pánuco province, Comarca of Paul, Alifau and Ocinan, Magdalena Medanos and "New Santander". The current name comes from the founding "Tamaholipa" by Fray
Andrés de Olmos
Andrés de Olmos (c.1485 – 8 October 1571) was a Spanish Franciscan priest and grammarian and ethno-historian of Mexico's indigenous languages and peoples. He was born in Oña, Burgos, Spain and died in Tampico in New Spain (modern-day T ...
in 1544.
In Tamaulipas, the Huastecs settled primarily along the lower basin of the Guayalejo River-Tamesà and in mountain valleys of TanguanchÃn (Ocampo) and Tammapul (Tula). Politically they did not seem to constitute a State, but rather a series of Lordships. They were skilled craftsmen and possessed a complex religious cosmogony, insomuch that in the Huasteca emerged the concept of the Quetzalcoatl deity. As a culture located in a peripheral area of nuclear Mesoamerica, they held a long autonomy until in the late postclassical period the
Mexicas
The Mexica (Nahuatl: , ;''Nahuatl Dictionary.'' (1990). Wired Humanities Project. University of Oregon. Retrieved August 29, 2012, frolink/ref> singular ) were a Nahuatl-speaking indigenous people of the Valley of Mexico who were the rulers of ...
subjected them to their domain to a portion of the Huasteca.
Other Huastec settlements with a great constructive work, are evident in the Balcón de Montezuma, an archaeological site located in the vicinity of the present capital of the State.
The Huastec culture large geographical development above is evident by the many sites scattered throughout the almost impenetrable mountains, as it is the case of the Sabinito, an interesting site currently in research, which speaks of an organized society of Mesoamerican type. However, there is evidence that during the postclassical period this cultural model was depleted, leaving the sierra inhabited by various groups of farmers, but of a lesser civilization level.
Cultural development
In the Tamaulipas sierras, three mesoamerican related archaeological phases are present; Laguna, Eslabones and Salta, covering a chronological period from 650 BCE to 1000 CE.
It had an initial cultural Pantheon defined by a constant evolution and the emergence of scattered villages between the sierra that concentrated up to 400 homes located around squares and platforms; and small circular base structures. But it was around 500 CE when this culture reached its peak, to expand urban concentrations up to a thousand houses, which formed villages in the peaks of the hills, with a central core of small pyramids. Simple urban planning suggests the existence of a possibly theocratic and centralized government, and pottery indicate trade with the nuclear area of Mesoamerica.
The Huastecs
The Huastec, also known as Huaxtec, Wastek and Huastecos, are a
native group of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, historically based in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
s of
Hidalgo
Hidalgo may refer to:
People
* Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility
* Hidalgo (surname)
Places
Mexico
* Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico
* Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila
* Hidalgo, Nuevo Leà ...
,
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
,
San Luis PotosÃ
San Luis Potosà (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosà ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis PotosÃ), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
and
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
concentrated along the route of the
Pánuco River
The Pánuco River ( es, RÃo Pánuco, ), also known as the ''RÃo de Canoas'', is a river in Mexico fed by several tributaries including the Moctezuma River and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. The river is approximately long and passes throug ...
and along the coast of the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
.
The ancient
Huastec culture is thought to date back to approximately the 10th century BCE, although their most productive period of civilization is usually considered to be the
Postclassic era between the fall of
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is ...
and the rise of the
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
Empire. The Huastecs constructed temples on
step-pyramids, carved independently-standing sculptures, and produced elaborately painted pottery.
The Huastecs attained an important culture and built cities, yet usually wore no clothing. They were admired for their abilities as musicians by other
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
n peoples.
The Huastecs arrived in northern Mesoamerica between 1500 BCE and 900 BCE. The linguistic evidence is corroborated by archaeological discoveries. In 1954,
Richard Stockton MacNeish found ceramics and figurines from the mid-preclassical (Formative) period, called "Pavon de Panuco" in the Panuco River sites of the Huasteca, which resemble preclassical period objects from
Uaxactun
Uaxactun (pronounced ) is an ancient sacred place of the Maya civilization, located in the Petén Basin region of the Maya lowlands, in the present-day department of Petén, Guatemala. The site lies some north of the major center of Tikal. The ...
, a
Petén-region
Maya site. A date not earlier than 1100 BCE for the Huastecs' arrival at their present location seems most likely, since they probably did not arrive at the north-central Veracruz site of Santa Luisa until about 1200 BCE, the phase at the end of the early preclassical period known locally as the "Ojite phase". Artifacts of the period include Panuco-like basalt ''manos'' and ''metates''.
[Wilkerson, p. 892] The Huastecs remained in Santa Luisa, located east of Papantla near the Gulf coast, until supplanted or absorbed by the Totonacs around 1000 CE.
Huastec language
The Wastek or Huastec language is a
Mayan
Mayan most commonly refers to:
* Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
language of Mexico, spoken by the
Huastec Huastec can refer to either:
*Huastec people, an indigenous group of Mexico
*Huastec language (also called "Wasteko" and "Teenek"), spoken by the Huastec people
* Huastec civilization
The Huastec civilization (sometimes spelled Huaxtec or Wastek ...
s. Though relatively isolated from them, it is related to the Mayan languages spoken further south and east in Mexico and Central America.
The language is called Teenek (with varying spellings) by its speakers, and this name has gained currency in Mexican national and international usage in recent years.
The now-extinct
Chicomuceltec language
Chicomuceltec (also ''Chikomuselteko'' or ''Chicomucelteco''; archaically, ''Cotoque'') is a Mayan language formerly spoken in the region defined by the ''municipios'' of Chicomuselo, Mazapa de Madero, and Amatenango de la Frontera in Chiapas ...
is believed to have been most closely related to Wastek.
The first linguistic description of the Huastec language accessible to Europeans was written by
Andrés de Olmos
Andrés de Olmos (c.1485 – 8 October 1571) was a Spanish Franciscan priest and grammarian and ethno-historian of Mexico's indigenous languages and peoples. He was born in Oña, Burgos, Spain and died in Tampico in New Spain (modern-day T ...
, who also wrote the first grammatical descriptions of
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
and
Totonac
The Totonac are an indigenous people of Mexico who reside in the states of Veracruz, Puebla, and Hidalgo. They are one of the possible builders of the pre-Columbian city of El TajÃn, and further maintained quarters in Teotihuacán (a city wh ...
.
Toponymy
The name Tamaulipas () is probably derived from Tamaholipa, a
Huastec Huastec can refer to either:
*Huastec people, an indigenous group of Mexico
*Huastec language (also called "Wasteko" and "Teenek"), spoken by the Huastec people
* Huastec civilization
The Huastec civilization (sometimes spelled Huaxtec or Wastek ...
term in which the ''tam-'' prefix signifies "place where." As yet, there is no scholarly agreement on the meaning of ''holipa'', the native population of Tamaulipas, now extinct, was referred to as the "Olives"
Tamaulipas probably means "Montes Altos" (high hills). Another version states that means "Place of olives", natives originating in Florida, USA.
Site Investigation
This site was explored and restored between 1989 and 1990, by archaeologist Jesus Nárez. Based on the research, it is known that ancient houses found at the site—hut style with palm roofs—were built on top of the circular bases while their dead was buried under the floors. In the 1980s numerous human skeletal remains were found, both children and adults.
Balcón de Montezuma is representative of small farming villages of the sierra that originated in the Late Classic period (600–900 CE) of Mesoamerican chronology.
The site
This site represents a village (400–1200
CE) composed of around 90 circular bases distributed in two plazas; and is located in the
Sierra Madre Oriental
The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...
range, at an altitude of
above mean sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
.
The site contains vestiges and architectonic styles of human groups that inhabited the Sierra Madre Oriental (
Sierra Gorda
The Sierra Gorda () is an ecological region centered on the northern third of the Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo and San Luis PotosÃ. Within Querétaro, the ecosystem extends from ...
) region and the
Sierra de Tamaulipas
The Sierra de Tamaulipas is an isolated, semi-tropical mountain range in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Its highest point is . There are no cities or towns in the Sierra and the small population is largely agricultural. The higher elevations o ...
, whose culture and the
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
n profile shares features of the
Huastec culture and the Southwestern United States.
So far no representations of their gods has been found, nor it is known if any of the buildings functioned as temples. The original entrance to the site was via a large stairway of more than 80 steps located on the western hillside; it was built as an adaptation to natural limestone hill protrusions.
Structures
The site comprises more than 70 circular structures of different diameters and heights grouped into two small semi-circular plazas. These bases were built with limestone, overlaid without mortar, the core is made up of dirt, small stones and pottery remains. The site displays unique characteristics, such as a small stairway with 3 to 4 steps, recessed or superimposed, with a fan-shaped base. It is thought that the bases were houses circular foundations, with ''bajareque'' walls and palm leaf roofs.
The archaeological remains have traces of stone slabs paved surfaces.
Archaeological material found at the site revealed practices of its people such as smoking pipes, using crystal quartz – perhaps as amulets-, necklaces, stone disks and burial of the dead under the floor of the House, accompanied by ceramic offerings.
See also
*
El Sabinito
El Sabinito is a Pre-Columbian ruin associated with the Huastec civilization. Located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, El Sabinito is approximately 25 kilometers southwest and 96 kilometers east of the modern-day cities Soto la Marina and Ciud ...
*
La Huasteca
La Huasteca is a geographical and cultural region located partially along the Gulf of Mexico and including parts of the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Puebla, Hidalgo, San Luis PotosÃ, Querétaro and Guanajuato. It is roughly defined as the area ...
*
Las Flores
*
Tamuin
*
Tammapul
References
Bibliography
*Ariel de Vidas, A. 2003. "Ethnicidad y cosmologia: La construccion cultural de la diferencia entre los teenek (huaxtecos) de Veracruz", in UNAM, ''Estudios de Cultura Maya.'' Vol. 23.
*Campbell, L. and T. Kaufman. 1985. "Maya linguistics: Where are we now?," in'' Annual Review of Anthropology.'' Vol. 14, pp. 187–98
*Dahlin, B. et al. 1987. "Linguistic divergence and the collapse of Preclassic civilization in southern Mesoamerica". ''American Antiquity.'' Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 367–82.
*INAH. 1988. '' Atlas cultural de Mexico: Linguistica.'' Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia.
*Kaufman, T. 1976. "Archaeological and linguistic correlations in Mayaland and associated areas of Mesoamerica." ''World Archaeology'' 8:101–18.
*Malstrom, V. 1985. "The origins of civilization in Mesoamerica: A geographic perspective", in L. Pulsipher, ed. ''Yearbook of the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers.'' Vol. 11, pp. 23–29.
*Ochoa, L. 2003. "La costa del Golfo y el area maya: Relaciones imaginables o imaginadas?", in UNAM, ''Estudios de Cultura Maya.'' Vol. 23.
*Robertson, J. 1993. "The origins and development of Huastec pronouns." ''International Journal of American Linguistics.'' 59(3):294–314
*Stresser-Pean, G. 1989. "Los indios huastecos." In ''Huastecos y Totonacas,'' edited by L. Ochoa. Mexico City: CONACULTA.
*Vadillo Lopez, C. and C. Riviera Ayala. 2003. "El tráfico marÃtimo, vehÃculo de relaciones culturales entre la región maya chontal de Laguna de Términos y la región huaxteca del norte de Veracruz, siglos XVI-XIX", in UNAM, ''Estudios de Cultura Maya.'' Vol. 23.
*Wilkerson, J. 1972. ''Ethnogenesis of the Huastecs and Totonacs.'' PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Tulane University, New Orleans.
* E. B. Tylor, "On the Game of Patolli in Ancient Mexico, and Its Probably Asiatic Origin" (Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland) Vol. 8, 1879), pp. 116–129.
* E. B. Tylor, "American Lot Games as Evidence of Asiatic Intercourse before the Time of Columbus" (Internationales Archie fur Ethnogrophie, Vol. 9, supplement, 1896), p. 66. For a critical evaluation of Tylor's method, see C. J. Erasmus, "Patolli, Pachisi, and the Limitation of Possibilities" (Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 6, 1950), pp. 369–387.
* F. Boas, Tsimshian Mythology (Bureau of American Ethnology, Annual Report 31, 1916), pp. 393–558. This is the classic study of the reflection of a people's material culture and social organization in their mythology.
Further reading
*Ariel de Vidas, A. 2003. "Etnicidad y cosmologÃa: La construcción cultural de la diferencia entre los teenek (huaxtecos) de Veracruz", in UNAM, ''Estudios de Cultura Maya.'' Vol. 23.
*Campbell, L. and T. Kaufman. 1985. "Maya linguistics: Where are we now?," in'' Annual Review of Anthropology.'' Vol. 14, pp. 187–98
*Dahlin, B. et al. 1987. "Linguistic divergence and the collapse of Preclassic civilization in southern Mesoamerica". ''American Antiquity.'' Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 367–82.
*INAH. 1988. '' Atlas cultural de Mexico: Linguistica.'' Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia.
*Kaufman, T. 1976. "Archaeological and linguistic correlations in Mayaland and associated areas of Mesoamerica," in ''World Archaeology.'' Vol. 8, pp. 101–18
*Malstrom, V. 1985. "The origins of civilization in Mesoamerica: A geographic perspective", in L. Pulsipher, ed. ''Yearbook of the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers.'' Vol. 11, pp. 23–29.
*
(CDI). No date
San Luis PotosÃ: A Teenek Profile; Summary
*Ochoa, L. 2003. "La costa del Golfo y el area maya: Relaciones imaginables o imaginadas?", in UNAM, ''Estudios de Cultura Maya.'' Vol. 23.
*Robertson, J. 1993. "The origins and development of Huastec pronouns." ''International Journal of American Linguistics.'' Vol. 59, No. 3, pp. 294–314
*Stresser-Pean, G. 1989. "Los indios huastecos", in Ochoa, L., ed. ''Huastecos y Totonacas.'' Mexico City: CONACULTA.
*Vadillo Lopez, C. and C. Riviera Ayala. 2003. "El trafico marÃtimo, vehÃculo de relaciones culturales entre la región maya chontal de Laguna de Términos y la región huasteca del norte de Veracruz, siglos XVI-XIX", in UNAM, ''Estudios de Cultura Maya.'' Vol. 23.
*Wilkerson, J. 1972. ''Ethnogenesis of the Huastecs and Totonacs.'' PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Tulane University, New Orleans.
External links
Tampico municipal government Official websiteTamaulipas state government
Ciudad Victoria Municipal government official web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balcon Montezuma
Mesoamerican sites
Archaeological sites in Mexico
Archaeological sites in Tamaulipas
Huastec
Huastec sites