Copalita

Post fromProfessor Andrews:

Blasting out of Cuernavaca on Wednesday, January 18th, we made our way

to the town of Tlaxiaco in the state of Oaxaca in a huge chartered bus that made us all

feel like rock stars. That was an all-day bus ride affair. The next morning we jumped on the bus again for another all-day bus ride to Huatulco on the coast – rather stomach twisting from time-to-time. Just ask a few of us about that one if you dare.

Once in Huatulco, the first wonderful visit on Friday, January 20th was the Parque

Eco-Arqueológico de Copalita located near the town of La Crucesita, which is part of

Huatulco, Oaxaca .

Copalita is a prehispanic archaeological site that was recently excavated and developed into an eco-park, a truly remarkable setting adjacent to the mouth of the Copalita river. Copalita received it name, Copalitlan, a Mexica (Aztec) name in their language of Nahua, meaning Place of the Copal. Sap from the Copal tree was used as incense in Prehispanic rituals and is still burned today on various ceremonial occasions.

Mexico’s Instituto de Antropolgia e Historia (INAH) has been shifting its focus in

regards to how it develops archaeological sites for tourism. Emphasis is now increasingly

placed on preserving archaeological sites as they were uncovered by the archaeologist’s

trowel, rather than reconstructing walls and features, which is problematic because no

one knows what these sites really looked like beyond wh

at has survived the centuries since they were abandoned. As such, visitors get to see the remains of the “real” site. Moreover, the impact of tourism is minimized by insuring that visitors do not walk over the ruins. The Copalita Park, covering 81 hectares (about 200 acres), is designed

with a masonry pathway that leads through the

site and the surrounding tropical forest.

Therefore, visitors get an incredible micro-diversity of eco-systems. Our class had the immense good fortune to see the beautiful ruins while passing through to get a tour of the park from the famous Mesoamerican archaeologist Raúl Matadamas Diaz, who directed the El Proyecto Arqueológico Bocana del Río Copalita, Huatulco, Oaxaca (The Copalita Archaeological Project at Mouth of the Copalita River).

The archaeological remains represent a range of prehispanic occupation covering a little

over 2300 years. The earliest evidence dates to the Preclassic period (500-150 B.C.),

making its earliest occupation contemporaneous with the well-known site of Monte

Alban in the Valley of Oaxaca. Most of the architecture, however, dates to the Classic

and Post-Classic periods, roughly A.D. 200-to 1520 or so). As you wind your way

through the park you can see the imposing basal remains of several pyramids (some

more than 10 ft in height!), four platforms integrated around the site’s ballcourt, and

two impressive carved stone monuments. This architectural complex comprises the civic-ceremonial center of the site of Copalita.

Comparatively speaking, site has few carved stone monuments,

but the numerous polished stone faces throughout the site suggest that much of the architecture had a stucco finish that was probably painted with beautiful frescos using locally available natural and mineral based pigments. One notable source of brilliant red color was the cochineal worm, a small insect that makes its home on the pads of the nopal cactus.

The ballcourt at the site attests to the importance of Copalita site during the Classic period. Ballcourts were “I”-shaped venues where the ancient Mesoamerican elites played a game using a bouncy ball made of rubber from rubber trees that grow in the area. Although we do not know the exact rules of the game, it appears to have consisted of a match between two teams that vied to knock the ball through two rings set

on either side the court using their forearms, hips, and perhaps feet. These competitions were probably an important means of elite interaction and a source of community solidarity for the ancient Mesoamerican people. Although some people suggest that the winners were sacrificed, no one really knows for sure. It might have indeed been the case because it was considered an honor to be sacrificed to the gods. We know from Aztec and Maya ethnohistoric information that the gods required the nourishment of human blood to maintain the stability of the

universe!

In and around the park is a beautiful coastal environment with a spectacular elevated

view of the Pacific Ocean to the south. The region boasts an incredible variety of plant and animal life plant and animal life. In keeping with

the “eco” focus of the site, the trees that were growing on the site when excavations have

begun have been “pedestalled,” leaving the earth they were growing on intact so that they remain alive.

Estimates indicate a local faunal diversity

that includes 133 species of amphibians, 245 species

of reptiles (including iguanas and snakes!), 190 species of mammals, not to mention a vast variety birds (indeed the state of Oaxaca has more than half of the known bird species found throughout Mexico) and innumerable insects.

As one walks through the park numerous placards contain information about local plant species used for food, medicinal, and utilitarian purposes.

The bark of one local tree is still used by the people today as soap. An ongoing inventory

of the many useful plants in the area is being compiled with an eye towards keeping the

control of these products in the hands of the local people – resistance to corporate “bio-

piracy.”As is the case for many developing nations in the world today, there is an

increasing interest in protecting such resources from aggressive global corporations so

that the people of Mexico can manage and benefit from the resources that they have used

for untold generations.

Copalita was definitely worth the visit! Any of you planning trips to the west coast of

Mexico should give serious consideration to Huatulco as a vacation destination. As a

coastal paradise, at present it still has a local feel to it, not nearly as developed as many of

its counterparts like Acapulco and Puerto Escondido.