How cool is this — Xochicalco's observatory is a former limestone quarry transformed into an astronomical instrument. A man-made shaft connects the plastered, painted cavern to the surface, tracking the sun's zenith passage around May 14–15 and July 28–29. That interval? Exactly 260 days — the sacred Mesoamerican calendar length. Access was restricted through defended portals.
Xochicalco's astronomical observatory tracks 260-day sacred calendar via modified cave
MexicoArchaeoastronomy
Key facts
- Observatory is an artificially modified cave complex originally used for quarrying limestone
- Cavern was plastered with stucco and painted in red, yellow, and black pigments, with a man-made shaft connecting the chamber to the surface above
- Observatory tracked the sun passing directly overhead at noon around May 14-15 and July 28-29 at Xochicalco's latitude
- The interval between the two zenith positions is exactly 260 days, the length of the sacred Mesoamerican calendar
- Accessible only through restricted passages with defended portals, indicating restricted access
Site mentioned
Sources
lugares.inah.gob.mx
Linked in video description
Xochicalco: The Observatory and Cavesuncoveredhistory.com
These caves expose how the hill was manipulated and dressed with stone to look as though it is an entirely man-made mountain.
Xochicalco: In-Depthcyark.org
One of the artificial caves at Xochicalco, originally a mine for construction materials and stone, was converted into a solar observatory with a chimney
Studying the Heavens Solved Problems on Earth (Thanks ...lugares.inah.gob.mx
Xochicalco is famous for two buildings: the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpents and the Observatory. Experts have identified a glyph on the Pyramid depicting a ...
Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalcowhc.unesco.org
Beneath this platform the entrance to the caves that were used in the early phases of occupation for quarrying building materials can be found. Later it was ...
Xochicalco - 7 Wonders7wonders.org
There is also an Observatory, an astronomical site, a cave in where the inhabitants of Xochicalco were dedicated to study the Sun's movement.
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