New archaeological site discovered in Hidalgo; INAH prepares its registration

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) reported on June 26 about the discovery of a new archaeological site in Tecacahuaco, in the state of Hidalgo.

This discovery was made due to the report of a neighbor from the Tlamaya neighborhood, who was looking to expand his pasture, so it was due to the inquiries made by residents of Tecacahuaco that the elderly were investigated about the evidence of the now confirmed heritage site.

It was in April 2024 that the residents of the community discovered the remains of a circular base, in which a deer snake was seen after releasing said pre-Hispanic building.

In the most recent visit by the INAH, the head of the institute, Osvaldo José Sterpone, was able to register the 3.5-meter-high building, as well as the nearby architectural remains, including a ball game, which is kept under a plant cover, approximately 18 meters long.

The ball game was an activity of great cultural, religious and social importance in the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica
The ball game was an activity of great cultural, religious and social importance in the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica

According to the archaeologist, these investigations are the first carried out by the INAH in Tecacahuaco, a town in the Huasteca region of Hidalgo whose Nahuatl toponym translates as “place of hollow stone.”

“We have begun the work of photogrammetry and analysis that will allow us to document the characteristics of the buildings in the certificates of the Public Registry of Monuments and Archaeological and Historical Zones, in order to give certainty and identity to this area of ​​monuments,” said Sterpone.

Among the features of the pre-Hispanic building are its well-preserved staircase, flanked by two curbs, a “V” shaped wall, and remains of a mud plaster, which provide evidence that it is a substructure belonging to a larger construction that would have reached 15 meters in diameter at its base.

Likewise, the INAH indicated that although the temporality of the building and the site in general is not clear, some of the obsidian fragments found on the surface would indicate an occupation towards the Postclassic period, belonging to 900 to 1521 A.D., this due to documentation that refers to the identification of deposits of that material in places near Tecacahuaco.

In this regard, Sterpone stated that the possibility that this foundation corresponds to the Postclassic period would imply that Tecacahuaco was a settlement under the control of the Metzititlán lordship, hegemonic in the region during that period.

On the other hand, derived from the inquiries of the inhabitants, the stories of a priest who several years ago ordered the destruction of some stone idols were recovered, as well as of the healers who until a few decades ago went to what was then a hill to make requests for healing.

When someone fell ill, both the healer and the affected person went to the building found to make an offering of liquor, bread or zacahuil (a large traditional tamale in the Huasteca region of Hidalgo); this in a hybridization of the Catholic cult carried out in pre-Columbian sacred sites.

Source: infobae