El Opeño
Encyclopedia
| Tecuexe – Purépecha – Archaeological Site | ||
| Name: | El Opeño archaeological site | |
| Type | Archaeology | |
| Location | Jacona Jacona, Michoacán Jacona de Plancarte is a city, county seat of Jacona in the state of Michoacán. Located in the northwest of the state, on the northern slope of the Sierra de Patamban, part of the Volcanic Belt, at 1,600 meters altitude. It was founded by Fray Sebastián de Trasierra in 1555, although they are... , Michoacán Michoacán Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia... |
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| Region | Mesoamérica Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and... (México Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... ) |
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| Coordinates | 19°56′03"N 102°18′26"W | |
| Culture | Chichimeca Chichimeca Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"... – Tecuexe Tecuexe The Tecuexe were an indigenous group found in the eastern part of present day Guadalajara, Mexico-History:It is believed that the Tecuexe derived from the dispersion of Zacateco groups from La Quemada. Like the Zacatecos, the Tecuexe were a tribe belonging to the generic "Chichimeca" peoples... – P'urhépecha P'urhépecha The P'urhépecha, normally spelled Purépecha in Spanish and in English and traditionally referred to as Tarascans, are an indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of the Mexican state of Michoacán, principally in the area of the cities of Uruapan and Pátzcuaro... |
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| Language | Uto-Aztecan language – P'urhépecha language P'urhépecha language P'urhépecha is a language isolate or small language family spoken by more than 100,000 P'urhépecha people in the highlands of the Mexican state of Michoacán... |
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| Chronology | 1300 – 200 BCE | |
| Period | Preclassical | |
| Apogee | ||
| INAH Web Page | Non existent | |
El Opeño is an archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
located in the municipality of Jacona
Jacona, Michoacán
Jacona de Plancarte is a city, county seat of Jacona in the state of Michoacán. Located in the northwest of the state, on the northern slope of the Sierra de Patamban, part of the Volcanic Belt, at 1,600 meters altitude. It was founded by Fray Sebastián de Trasierra in 1555, although they are...
, in the Michoacan
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
state, México. It is home to a prehispanic site, mainly known from the ceramic material found in the funerary complexes of the site, which have been dated to the late preclassical mesoamerican period. The importance of this site in mesoamerican archaeology is due to its antiquity and the ample diffusion of its style, contemporary to other native culture developments such as the Capacha culture and earlier of the Chupicuaro
Chupícuaro (archaeological site)
Chupícuaro is an important prehispanic archeological site from the late preclassical or formative period; located in the northern mesoamerican border, west of the Mexican Plateau, it is on hills nearby the Lerma River and its tributary Coroneo or Tiger River; currently most part is under water by...
. El Opeño tombs are the oldest in Mesoamerica. Have been dated to around 1600 BCE, hence they predate de Olmec
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
culture development, with main centers in the Gulf of Mexico coast and flourished some centuries later.
El Opeño discoveries became a milestone that questions the Olmec culture, as the founders or precursors of all mesoamerican cultures.
At the same time, the lack of validated information becomes evident, as well as the need of serious studies of Cem Ānáhuac history, name of the territories known to the Mexica civilization before the Mexico spaniards invasion and conquest.
The Name
It is not clear if the name El Opeño, has some meaning or what is the original name of this site.In relation to the name of the city it is located, Jacona or Xucunan, there are several versions.
According to the municipalities’ encyclopedia of, Jacona is a chichimeca origin word which means "place of vegetables". Another meaning comes from Xucunan, "place of flowers and vegetables".
Another version notes that Jacona (Xucunan) is a word from the Tecuexe
Tecuexe
The Tecuexe were an indigenous group found in the eastern part of present day Guadalajara, Mexico-History:It is believed that the Tecuexe derived from the dispersion of Zacateco groups from La Quemada. Like the Zacatecos, the Tecuexe were a tribe belonging to the generic "Chichimeca" peoples...
, one of the Great Chichimeca civilization, whose language is Uto-Aztecan languages.
Background
In relation to this site inhabitants or their culture, there is no clear information, available text mentions several cultures, among other the ChichimecaChichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"...
, a subgroup of the chichimecas, the Tecuexe
Tecuexe
The Tecuexe were an indigenous group found in the eastern part of present day Guadalajara, Mexico-History:It is believed that the Tecuexe derived from the dispersion of Zacateco groups from La Quemada. Like the Zacatecos, the Tecuexe were a tribe belonging to the generic "Chichimeca" peoples...
, Purépecha and another contemporary culture, the Capacha culture.
What is apparently clear, is that regardless of assigned name by scientists and scholars, the broad ancient Mexico region or Cem Anahuac, had many cultures and subcultures scattered in time and space, it is very likely that all had a common origin, the Nahuatl language and its derivations, and the many found similar archaeological evidence could corroborate this, regardless of the assigned name.
Cem Ānáhuac
Cem Anahuac is a composed náhuatlNahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
name, consisting of the words "cem" (totally) and "Ānáhuac", in turn a composed word from "atl" (water) and "nahuac", a location prefix that means "surrounded ". The name can then literally be translated as "land completely surrounded by water ", or "[the] whole of [what is] beside the waters". The expression refers to the conscious continental territory that the Aztec knew, surrounded by two large oceans, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
The ancient inhabitants of the highlands plateau in central Mexico - "Cem Ānáhuac", used the term "ānahuacah" to refer to the "Cem Ānáhuac" inhabitants. And to distinguish the different Nations inhabiting the greater Cem Anahuac referred to them as 'maya ānahuacah', 'ānahuacah zapotecah', 'anahuacah mexicah' and so on.
P'urhépecha Culture
The P'urhépecha, normally spelled Purépecha in Spanish and in English and sometimes referred to as Tarascans, are an indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of the Mexican state of Michoacán, principally in the area of the cities of Uruapan and Pátzcuaro. There is an ongoing discussion about which term should be considered as the correct one.Tecuexe Culture
It is believed that the TecuexeTecuexe
The Tecuexe were an indigenous group found in the eastern part of present day Guadalajara, Mexico-History:It is believed that the Tecuexe derived from the dispersion of Zacateco groups from La Quemada. Like the Zacatecos, the Tecuexe were a tribe belonging to the generic "Chichimeca" peoples...
derived from the dispersion of Zacateco
Zacateco
The Zacatecos were an indigenous people inhabiting part of northern Mexico, one of the peoples called Chichimecas by the Aztecs. They lived in most of what is now the state of Zacatecas and the northeastern part of Durango. They have many direct descendants, but most of their culture and...
groups from La Quemada
La Quemada
La Quemada is a Mesoamerican archeological site, also known as Chicomóztoc. It is located in the Villanueva Municipality, in the state of Zacatecas, about 56 kilometers south of the city of Zacatecas on Federal Highway 54 Zacatecas–Guadalajara, in Mexico.- History :Given the distance between La...
. Like the Zacatecos, the Tecuexe were a tribe belonging to the Chichimeca
Chichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"...
nation. It is known that they settled next to rivers which they used to their advantage to grow beans and corn. They were also expert artisans, carpenters and musicians. Toribio de Benavente Motolinia
Toribio de Benavente Motolinia
Fray Toribio de Benavente also known as Motolinia was a Franciscan missionary and among the first 12 clerics to arrive in New Spain in May 1524.-Life and times:...
wrote "in any place… all know to work a stone, to make a house simple, to twist a cord and a rope, and the other subtle offices that do not require instruments or much art." The Tecuexe were known for their fierceness and cruelty towards their enemy. They were known to be so brave, it is said, that once, when the Mexica (Aztecs) came from Chicomostoc, Zacatecas to take control of Xolotl, (and course on to the lagoon where they found an eagle devouring a serpent) they attacked the settlers of Acatic, Teocaltiche, Mitic, Teocaltitán and Xalostotitlán, but in Tepatitlán, when they encountered the Tecuexe, having heard of their legendary cruelty, the Mexica avoided facing them.
Capacha Culture
Capacha is an archaeological complex of Colima, the west of Mesoamerica. The Capacha Culture was the first with complex traits that developed in the region, approximately between the years 2000 and 1200 BC. It was studied and discovered by Elizabeth Trusdell-Kelly, American archaeologist who made excavations in the area of Colima in the year 1939. The similarities between the pieces of this Culture and contemporary ceramics Ecuador region indicate that there were some very early relationship between west of Mesoamerica and the Andean Cultures.Capacha was contemporary to other important Mesoamerica cultural developments such as El Opeño, Michoacán, and the first Tlatilco
Tlatilco
Tlatilco was a large pre-Columbian village in the Valley of Mexico situated near the modern-day town of the same name in the Mexican Federal District. It was one of the first chiefdom centers to arise in the Valley, flourishing on the western shore of Lake Texcoco during the Middle Pre-Classic...
phase, in the Mexico Valley. The geographical extent of the Capacha pottery covers the entire coast of the Pacific Ocean, between the Mexican States of Sinaloa, in the North, and Guerrero, in the South. Especially important are the burials uncovered by Gordon f. Ekholm in Guasave, Sinaloa.
The Site
Archaeological evidence found in this site, correspond to the Preclassical horizon (1300 -200 BCE), settlements evidence in this area. Jacona is one of the oldest towns of Michoacán and one of the first settlements dominated and tributary of the tarascan kingdom.The current Jacona city (originally Xacona, derivated from Xucunan) was founded in 1555 by Augustinian Friars, Jacona, placing it at about 16 kilometres from the old pre-Hispanic town which was called then "Pueblo Viejo " or "Jacona Vieja"
Xacona was established in a chichimeca (tecuexe) region, bordering the purépecha Kingdom (incorrectly called "tarascan"). This explains why other neighboring places have Purépecha names. The main hill facing Jacona, for example, is called Curutarán.
Curutarán is a purépecha word, formed by the words: "ku", put together; "rhu", projection, tip; "tarha" play ball; and "an" gods. It means: "Point where the gods come together to play ball". This ball game was not a common game, but the "celestial ball game".
Description
El Opeño consists of a funeral complex that is usually included in the Shaft tomb tradition, that spread throughout much of the west of Mesoamerica, on the territory of the current states of JaliscoJalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
Colima
Colima
Colima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima....
, Nayarit
Nayarit
Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
and Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
. Burials at El Opeño, as in all where shaft burial materials have been found, are distinguished by their exceptional quality within the Mesoamerica framework. No other Mesoamerican people built this type of tradition of funerary monuments before their flourishing or after their decline. These are vertical tombs (or nearly vertical) excavated in the Tepetate
Tepetate
Tepetate is a Mexican term for a kind of brittle volcanic rock. Tepetate can be converted into arable land through pulverization.-References:...
or Tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
which is part of the subsoil of the region. Access to the underground burial chambers had different means, for example in Nayarit, it is common for tombs to have a very deep shaft, although in El Opeño had ladders.
In El Opeño twelve tombs were discovered, all of which show signs of architectural planning in the funerary complex. Also, the complex as a whole is organized into an overall plan.
These tombs can be considered the oldest antecedent of shaft tombs, which include this site archaeological material. The site architecture, as mentioned earlier, has very particular characteristics that were not included in the later necropolis of Jalisco, Colima, and Nayarit. The funeral architecture with similar or divergent characteristics was practiced by the peoples who lived in a wide continental region and at different times, in prehispanic times. This region extends from western Mesoamerica down to northern Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, along the Pacific Ocean coast.
The geographical continuity and chronology of these practices requires deeper analysis to better understand the links between these peoples.
Neither remains nor evidence of the builders of the tombs have been found around the site. Hence they have been represented as a people who was in the transition towards agricultural sedentary, that characterized mesoamerican urban societies of the Mid-Preclassical. However, analysis of archaeological materials, both human bone remains and offerings, found in the tombs, indicates that the tomb builders were members of a clearly sedentary people with a high social stratification as reflected in the differences of the offering goods.