In 2025, the Cacaxtla site will celebrate half a century since its discovery in the community of San Miguel del Milagro, municipality of Nativitas, and remains one of the most important archaeological discoveries in our state.
To commemorate this important historical event, archaeologist Rosalba Delgadillo Torres—one of the specialists who participated in the excavations in the 1970s—will give a lecture on “The Murals of Cacaxtla 50 Years After Their Discovery” on September 3rd at 4:00 PM at the Museum of Memory in the city of Tlaxcala.
The anniversary of the discovery of the Cacaxtla archaeological site is commemorated every September 13th. On this date, in 1975, the existence of the remains of what was once a powerful political, military, and economic city was officially made known to the public.
According to contemporary chronicles published by El Sol de Tlaxcala in 1975, evidence of the existence of archaeological remains emerged after the owner of farmland notified authorities that an elevation prevented him from leveling the area for corn planting. Thus, specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) traveled from Puebla to Tlaxcala to begin the research, as Tlaxcala did not yet have an INAH Center.
As the excavations progressed, a fortified city consisting of a complex of rooms and walls that were in a good state of preservation began to come to light. However, the most striking discovery was a mural measuring 2.20 meters long by 1.85 meters high depicting the image of a half-man, half-bird.
In an interview conducted by this newspaper in 2023, archaeologist Rosalba Delgadillo stated that the Cacaxtla murals are unparalleled due to their characteristics, such as the anatomical proportions of the human figures and the clarity of their colors at the time of their discovery.
Fifty years have passed since this event, which astonished not only Tlaxcala, but also Mexico and even the world, as it is an area that yielded valuable information about pre-Hispanic civilizations.
In addition to the conference at the Museum of Memory, the INAH is also preparing two conferences in Puebla, on Thursday, September 4th at 11:00 a.m., at the 5 de Mayo Civic Center, located in Los Fuertes. Archaeologists Rosalba Delgadillo and Andrés Santana Sandoval, who participated in the first excavations at Cacaxtla, will participate.
Source: oem
