The Cuicuilco pyramid is one of the most interesting archaeological sites in Mexico City. For decades, it was speculated that the depopulation of this pre-Hispanic city coincided with the eruption of the Xitle volcano, located south of Mexico City. Now, a new study has confirmed this hypothesis and correctly dated the eruption of this volcano on the slopes of Ajusco.
Xitle, the volcano that buried Cuicuilco
The Valley of Mexico is flanked by several volcanoes. Among the most emblematic are Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl, the latter still active, located in the eastern part of the valley. But these are not the only volcanic sites surrounding the city.
South of Mexico City, on the slopes of Ajusco, lies the Xitle volcano. For decades, there was speculation that this volcano was linked to the depopulation of Cuicuilco.
Today, there is a pyramid at the corner of Insurgentes and Periférico Sur. It is the most imposing of the eight residential and religious buildings in the area. These are the remains of the Cuicuilca, a group that inhabited the Valley of Mexico more than two thousand years ago.
Contemporaries of the Olmecs, the inhabitants of Cuicuilco formed an altépetl, or city-state. This city was fed by water from Zacaltépetl Hill and at its height, however, around the beginning of our era, the area would have suddenly depopulated.
In this year, the Xitle volcano, south of Mexico City, erupted.
The history of Cuicuilco is inextricably linked to the Xitle volcano, located a few kilometers to the west. This tree-covered volcano still preserves its visible crater.
For decades, its eruption was dated to 275 AD. However, a study published by the Bulletin of the Mexican Geological Society dated the Xitle volcano’s eruption to 80 BC, which would support the hypothesis that the cataclysm was linked to the abandonment of Cuicuilco, and even to the rise of Teotihuacán. The study states:
The age of the second period is compatible with the possibility of Cuicuilco’s gradual abandonment and coincides with the accepted ages for the volcano’s most significant eruptive period.
Let there be no doubt: the new datings place the eruption of Xitle volcano (in the present-day municipality of Tlalpan) around 80 BC, plus or minus 10 years. For almost three decades, it was believed to have occurred in 275 AD.
Source: nmas
