Cholula

Cholula is one of the most important archaeological sites from pre-Columbain Mexico.  It is located in the Puebla-Tlaxcala valley of the central highlands, east of the volcanic mountain chain that separates Puebla from the Basin of Mexico and Mexico City.  Cholula is arguably the oldest continuously occupied city in Mesoamerica, with its origins at least by 1000 BCE.  The Great Pyramid of Cholula, or Tlachihualtepetl, is the largest pyramid in the world in terms of volume of construction material, and has been used for changing religious rites for nearly 2500 years.  Cholula was a thriving city when it was encountered by Hernan Cortes in 1519, when he wrote:  "The city itself is more beautiful than any in Spain, for it is well proportioned and has many towers”

I have been actively involved in archaeological investigations at Cholula since 1980.  The pages of this section include:

Culture History -- an outline of the long developmental history of Cholula

The Great Pyramid -- an illustrated tour of the archaeological zone surrounding the Pyramid

The UA-1 household analysis -- an Early Postclassic house that provided the basis for reinterpreting the Postclassic chronological sequence

The Patio of the Carved Skulls -- an Epiclassic palace on the side of the Great Pyramid

The Transito site -- a Classic period house that provides the best information on domestic practice during this period.

Cholula ceramic classification -- typology of Cholula ceramics with color illustrations

Material Culture -- discussion of other aspects of the material record, for example: figurines, spindle whorls, lithics, etc.

Publications -- a list of my publications on Cholula with links to pdf copies of the articles

Bibliography -- a nearly complete list of published and unpublished resources on Cholula