On Thursday we spent time in the region of Yanhuitlan, about an hour’s drive from Oaxaca de Juarez. We were able to receive a guided tour from Ron Spores, who is leading an excavation in two sites in Yanhuitlan, one, Casa del Cacique, a 16th century indigenous noble’s home with a wealth of history, and another, the site of the biggest known city in the world at the time of the conquest in 1521.
Casa de Cacique was the home of the indigenous lord of Yanhuitlan, which also served as the site of the town council meetings, with nine patios. The Spanish institution of the cahildo allowed for indigenous self-rule, with meetings that occurred in the native languages and were also recorded in those languages. Funding on this project was recently lost, and Ron Spores (center) explained that we wish to see this funding restored so that renovation can continue on this fascinating site.
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“For most of his life, Gustavo has collected pottery and other important objects around his home in Coixtlahuaca, in the Mixteca Alta region of the north Oaxacan valley, which was historically inhabited by Chocho, Mixtec, and Nahuatl speakers. We found abundant shards of red on cream pottery and obsidian blades in the hills above Gustavo's house- archaeological evidence of a Mexica (Aztec) presence before Spanish conquest. Here Gustavo is seated in a room that serves as a pulqueria, living room, museum, and temple (out of frame; a rifle and hacksaw mounted on one wall and an elaborate Catholic altar at the far end of the room).” |
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