The Oldest Solar Observatory Outside the Maya Area
Investigative report on INAH's confirmation of a 2,500-year-old Group E solar observatory in Puebla, the oldest documented outside the Maya world. Swipe to see →
THE BREAKTHROUGH REWRITING PRECLASSIC
For more than a century, archaeological textbooks maintained that formal astronomical architecture in Mesoamerica originated within the tropical lowlands of the Maya Petén basin.
THE ARCHITECTURAL PUZZLE
In Mesoamerican archaeology, the term Group E identifies a standardized spatial configuration featuring a central quadrangular plaza with two primary structures positioned along an east-west axis.
ARCHAEOASTRONOMY AND THE SACRED CALENDAR
The classic Mesoamerican calendar system relied on the interlocking synchronization of two fundamental cycles: the 365-day solar year (Xiuhpohualli) and the 260-day sacred divinatory count (Tonalpohualli).
ARCHITECTURAL AND METRIC PARAMETERS
Metric comparisons with Uaxactun highlight the unprecedented scale of the Puebla complex.
TRADE CORRIDORS AND THE GENESIS OF INDIGENOUS
The presence of a monumental solar observatory in Teteles de Ávila Castillo illuminates an active prehistoric trade corridor connecting the Central Mexican Highlands with the Gulf Coast.