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ICQ's 15th International Congress

"The Millenarian Science of the Psycho-Astrology"

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PLAZUELAS (SQUARES).

Plazuelas Archaeological zone.

PLAZUELAS ARCHAEOLOGICAL ZONE, PENJAMO, GTO.

How to arrive

Over federal highway number 90 from Irapuato- La Piedad, on 12.5 km after passing Penjamo city, addressed to a deviation to the right and around 2 km. through the north will arrive to San Juan el  Alto plazuelas town. Crossing this place and around 500 meters you will find the museum and the archaeological zone.

History of the place.

Even though there are several hills, from the successful discovering of different offerings and of hundreds of carved stones which appears everywhere, lack of historical datum which made reference for this area, it's of calling attention; even neighborhoods of Penjamo, citizens from the ranch the Saúz de Pastores and Plazuelas, and like the others closer communities they knew since a long time “the houses which Indians covered”.

However it was up to 1982 in which the set was registered officially with the name “El cobre” by Sergio Sanchez and Gabriela Zepeda. Archaeological works for restoration of this place started in 1998 by command of personnel from INAH Guanajuato Center and are still working nowadays.

Plazuelas

Name of this area came from rural community in which they stay. Plazuelas sites in the south spurs of mountains of Penjamo range over three hillsides which separate two deep hollows, their buildings where constructed in an scatter way, being in communication between each other through large avenues and roads going up and down between the hills, roads that are still joining neighbor ranchs and in which is a point of confluence of all of them is the “agua nacida” source.

Plazuelas were sparsely in around 600 and 900 A.C. At the end of this epoch, sculptures and buildings were tumbled down, tentatively the city was burned, staying during a long time a desert area.

Central hillside had been explored almost totally. There are two buildings in there which made evident the high importance of the area: one which is located in the upper part, San Juan neighbors had been called “the covered houses” and is joined through a large paved road with a game ground for ball play.

Sightseeing

The sightseeing route of this site stars at the south of the game grounds of ball play, which have two heads and is found in a lower level of platform over which is built, showing on this way its relationship with underground world.

The Ball game was ritual and generally represents the sun fight against the dead and darkness gods' forces which lived in underground world. During the excavations, four sculptures with snake outlines were found, two were fix in the center of lateral walls as markers of the game.

To the west of the game grounds two little platforms are visible on which probably were taking over complementary rituals to the game.

Walking to the deep hollow of the Cuijes are parts of a platform, taking away of destruction, which seems as it was a vapor bath or temascal. Baths like this are located associated to others game grounds of the ball play and is coming to be interpreted that the bath was part of the purification rituals.

Following the west direction it stars the rout in a lateral form over the area of the Petroglyphs. Here were carved hundreds of symbols with the purpose of attract raining and fertility being found small an big concavities, concentric circles, serpentines lines, spirals and half moons.

everal rocks also show architectural elements in miniature as stairs, pyramidal buildings, game grounds of the ball play, simple buildings and descriptions of complex cities, surpassing one which represents to big detail the building of the las Casas Tapadas.

By now the rout between the petroglyphs is limited, because if we walk over them become being destroyed archaeological rests of more than a thousand years.

Going ahead to the north, we get to the bigger building and much more complex of this site, las Casas Tapadas. Built over an extensive platform on which were built four pyramids of different forms and sizes, a room whose had been named “the house of the snails”, probably was used as a place of meetings of government elite an a “little Indian temple for shrine” All of this architectonical site is marked by halls, yards, and terraces and surrounded of a long side walk, where maybe were sitting visitors to observe ceremonies.

Central, north and south pyramids are quadrangular, whereas the house of the snail and the eastern pyramid have on its base a "T" form, which also indicates the main entrance to the underground world. These two structures had ends: pyramid with the symbol of two parallel rays and the room with the cut snails. The five structures were adorned with a set of talus and boards which can be overflowed or be transformed according with the epoch and its construction moment. Those way, even do their great similitude, no one repeat the form of the other.

Text. Maria  Elene Aramoni y Carlos Castañeda.

Translation by: Ana Laura Aviles G.

General information

Horary: Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 hours.

Services: museum, toilets, baggage keeper, artisanship store, guide visitors.  Regional meal sale on Saturdays and Sundays.

PLAZUELAS ARCHAEOLOGICAL ZONE

In the county of Penjamo is found the Plazuelas Archaeological zones, being this the first open to the public in the state.

Here can be admired the rests of a city which was built and inhabited between the 600 and 900 years A.D. Four pyramids stand out by their harmony with the landscape, a game ground for the ball play and thousands of carved stones with different symbols, unique in the state. This zone has also a museum of the place in which can be appreciate a variety of objects which were recovered during excavation works in this zone.

Visit horary is from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 to 18 hours.

 

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