http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ mirrored file For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== Monte-Alban.com *HISTORIC TIMELINE * ? ca. 950 B.C. *Olmec* San Lorenzo loses political power and population. Sixty miles to the southeast, another Olmec center on the floodplain, the island site of La Venta, gains both. ? ca. 900 B.C. *Chalcatzingo*, in the central Mexican highlands, remodels the natural landscape into a series of broad terraces, and carves ritual scenes in low relief on living rock. At other central highland centers such as Tlatilco and Las Bocas, ceramic vessels and figures in Olmec style are present. Trade networks between important regional centers are considered to be active. They are thought to occasion numerous pan-Mesoamerican cultural similarities. ? ca. 900 B.C. The layout of the ceremonial heart of *La Venta*, a specially oriented pattern of juxtaposed mounds and open plazas, is established. Such layouts will be used?with regional and temporal variations?in building sacred Mesoamerican centers for more than 2,000 years. ? ca. 600 B.C. Major buildings at *San José Mogote* in the Valley of Oaxaca are built of masonry. A carved relief is set in a corridor floor that depicts a slain figure with a hieroglyph for "1 Earthquake" between its feet. It is the earliest recorded date in Zapotec, the Oaxaca hieroglyphic system. ? ca. 500 B.C. *Monte Albán* is established on a defensible hill above the *Valley of Oaxaca* , and grows rapidly into the major regional center. The populations of valley-floor villages such as San José Mogote are much diminished. ? ca. 400 B.C. Two *calendars*, a 365-day solar calendar and a 260-day ritual calendar, appear to be in use. Camino Real Zaashila Resort, Huatulco, Mexico ? ca. 300 B.C. *Cuicuilco*, now the largest center on the high plateau of the Basin of Mexico, has substantial public architecture, including a circular, stone-faced pyramid. ? ca. 200 B.C. Defensive walls are constructed on the north and west sides of *Monte Albán*. Low-relief carved stones with depictions of slain victims are set into the walls of Building L; known as *Danzantes *, from the contorted postures of the figures, they number more than 300. Also incorporated into Building L are Stelae 12 and 13, with hieroglyphs carved in an apparent early Zapotec text. ? ca. 100 B.C. The settlement of *Teotihuacan* in the northern Basin of Mexico grows. Close to perpetual springs and obsidian sources, it is well situated for irrigation agriculture and has active obsidian workshops. Obsidian, a volcanic glass, is essential in Mesoamerica for the making of tools?points, knives, and scrapers. ? 32 B.C. The Long Count date 7.16.6.16.18 (September 3, 32 B.C.) is carved on a stone monument, Stela C, at the Gulf Coast site of Tres Zapotes, a major Epi-Olmec community. ? ca. 50 A.D. The grid pattern of the city plan is established at *Teotihuacan* and the focus of sacred building is on the so-called Street of the Dead, where permanent construction of public architecture (such as three-temple complexes) begins. The *Pyramid of the Sun*, the largest structure ever raised in ancient Mesoamerica, is initiated over a narrow, tunnel-like cave adjacent to the street. Caves are associated with the origins or emergence of life in Mesoamerican thought. The city becomes a pilgrimage center. ? ca. 50 A.D. *Monte Albán* grows quickly and dominates, apparently by force, the Valley of *Oaxaca*. Much of the mountaintop on which it is built is leveled to form the great Main Plaza; temples and palaces on its perimeter are constructed or enlarged and surfaced with white lime plaster. Tomb construction and burial contents become more elaborate. ? ca. 150 A.D. The Pyramid of the Moon at the north end of *Teotihuacan*'s Street of the Dead is enlarged, and the axis of the city center shifts south with the building of a large permanent market structure, the Great Compound, and a religious/governing center, the Ciudadela. Teotihuacan is a major marketplace, and controls much of the essential trade in obsidian in central Mexico. ? ca. 200 A.D. Building J at *Monte Albán* incorporates the "conquest" reliefs believed to name the numerous Oaxaca locations claimed as subject to the hilltop city. I-shaped ballcourts are present at Monte Albán and the ballgame is thought to have had a role in resolving disputes. ? ca. 378 A.D. In Guatemala's Petén, the ninth recorded ruler of the *Maya* city of Tikal, Chak Toh Ich'ak I (Great Jaguar Claw), dies on the day a foreign warrior named K'ak Sih (Fire-Born)?thought to be from Teotihuacan?arrives. The following year, a new ruler is invested at Tikal, Yax Ain I (First Crocodile), who has strong ties to Teotihuacan, and there is much subsequent Teotihuacan presence at Tikal. ? ca. 450 A.D. Royal tombs at *Monte Albán* contain numerous large, complex funerary urns of ceramic. The urns are thought to depict deceased ancestors. A specific neighborhood, known as the *Oaxaca* * *barrio, exists in Teotihuacan for people from Monte Albán. ? ca. 500 A.D. The city of *Teotihuacan* covers about eight square miles, with an estimated population between 100,000 and 200,000. Major construction activity in the city subsides, while production of prestigious craft goods for local use and export flourishes. Large quantities of ceramics?cylindrical tripods, figurines, and multipiece incense burners?and greenstone, calcite, and obsidian human figures and masks are manufactured in specialized workshops. ? ca. 550 Elite tombs in regional centers in the *Oaxaca *valley feature door jambs and panels of stone carved with scenes and Zapotec hieroglyphs recounting the genealogies of the ruling lords. ? ca. 700 *Xochicalco* in western Morelos develops into an important regional center. Its art and architecture combine elements of traditional Teotihuacan style with aspects of contemporary styles from the *Oaxaca*, Maya, and Gulf Coast regions. ? ca. 800 Major construction ceases at *Monte Albán* and its population declines rapidly. Political power in the *Oaxaca* valley shifts to smaller centers on the valley floor, among them Yagul, *Mitla* , and *Zaachila* . ? ca. 900 *Toltec Tula* is the powerful capital of a state that integrates the diverse peoples of Mexico into a new cultural system. Its trade network stretches from Costa Rica to the United States Southwest. ? ca. 900 *Metalworking* is practiced and its popularity grows. *Turquoise* becomes an important luxury material. ? ca. 925 The Toltecs reach *Yucatán* , introducing new architectural forms and imagery. Toltec influence is particularly strong at the site of *Chichén Itzá* in northern Yucatán. ? ca. 1000 *Tula*, at the height of its cultural and political influence, is the largest city in central Mexico, covering some five square miles with a population of about 60,000 persons. At its center, the sacred precinct features two large ballcourts and two stepped pyramids. ? ca. 1070 A small Mixtec city-state in the Mixteca Alta of highland *Oaxaca*?the Tilantongo kingdom?expands under the rulership of Lord 8 Deer Jaguar Claw (died early twelfth century at age fifty-two). A warrior, he conquers several towns and forges alliances through marriage. His spectacular exploits are subsequently recorded in pictorial manuscripts. Three survive today: the Codex Bodley, the Codex Zouche-Nuttall, and the Codex Colombino-Becker. Oaxaca Hotel Group ? ca. 1250 Cholula to the east of the Basin of Mexico is conquered by the northern Tolteca Chichimeca people and a new ceremonial precinct is built around the Pyramid of Quetzalcoátl. Cholula's Great Pyramid was the focal point of religious activity for over a thousand years. ? ca. 1325 The Mexica people settle on a marshy island in the Basin of Mexico's Lake Texcoco after almost 200 years of wandering. Naming their city *Tenochtitlan*, they build a sanctuary dedicated to their tribal/war god Huitzilopochtli and to the ancient rain god Tlaloc. ? ca. 1350 In the *Oaxaca* Valley, Mixtecs marry into Zapotec royalty, increasing their local power. Mixtec metalsmiths produce exquisite gold ornaments valued throughout Mexico. ? ca. 1427 *Tenochtitlan* joins forces with two smaller cities, Tlacopan on the west and Texcoco on the east side of Lake Texcoco, to form the Triple Alliance; together they defeat powerful Azcapotzalco and the *Aztec* empire begins. The Mexica of Tenochtitlan soon become the dominant force of the Alliance. ? ca. 1445 Under the ruler *Motecuhzoma* Ilhuicamina (Motecuhzoma I, r. 1440?69), Aztec imperial domination spreads beyond the Basin. The Aztecs control extensive land, labor, and valuable resources. Several hundred northern city-states are conquered and subject to heavy tribute payments. ? ca. 1473 The *Aztec* empire continues to grow. Tenochtitlan conquers the small island city of Tlatelolco located to its north in Lake Texcoco. The two cities merge, becoming the most densely populated urban center in Mesoamerica. It covers an area of approximately five square miles. ? ca. 1518 *Spaniards* sailing from Cuba journey along the jungle coast of Tabasco where they encounter local chiefs wearing colorful cotton capes, brilliant feather ornaments, and gold jewelry. They barter European glass beads for gold and supplies. ? ca. 1519 *Hernán Cortés* (1485?1547) and about 500 soldiers land near the modern town of Cempoala in early 1519. They are met by Motecuhzoma's emissaries, who offer exotic gifts including elaborate costumes, feather fans and headdresses, and jewelry of shell, turquoise, jade, and gold, hoping to prevent the strangers from continuing to the imperial city. Cortés is also given a young woman named Malintzin or Malinche. Speaking both Nahuatl, the language of central Mexico, and Chontal Maya, spoken on the coast, she becomes his translator, confidante, and consort. On August 16, 1519, Cortés and his small army set off for Tenochtitlan. ? ca. 1521 Cuauhtemoc (1495??1525), the last ruler of the Aztecs, is taken captive, the city completely leveled, and the Aztec empire falls to the Spanish conquerors. ? ca. 1522 *Catholic* churches and monasteries, as well as mansions for the new Spanish rulers, rise on the ruins of Aztec temples and shrines in Tenochtitlan. The architecture shows a mixture of Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance styles. ? ca. 1530 Spanish plants and animals and a wide range of new materials and technologies are introduced. Metal tools and other implements replace stone tools. ? ca. 1531 Legendary apparition of the dark-skinned *Virgin of Guadalupe* to the christianized Mexican Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac north or Mexico City, the site of a former temple of the Aztec mother goddess Tonantzin. ? ca. 1535 The *Viceroyalty of New Spain* is established consisting of present-day Mexico, Central America, Florida, and parts of the Southwest United States. Tenochtitlan, renamed Ciudad de México, is the capital of the Viceroyalty, and Antonio de Mendoza (1490?1552) is appointed the first viceroy. ? ca. 1571 The *Tribunal of the Inquisition* is established. Indians are excluded from its jurisdiction. ? ca. 1590 About 900 churches and monasteries exist. The Spaniards have control over most of present-day Mexico.