Plazuelas — Second Sector (Casas Tapadas)
Casas Tapadas Plazuelas Bajío
Epiclassic Bajío 600–900 CE·Bajío (Peralta/Plazuelas tradition)·🇲🇽 Guanajuato, Pénjamo, Mexico
About
About Plazuelas — Second Sector (Casas Tapadas)
Second ceremonial sector of Bajío Plazuelas-San Agustín tradition (550–1050 CE) 1 km east of main Casas Tapadas ballcourt: U-shaped pyramid 12 m, petroglyph boulder field 500+ carvings (spider, heron), sunken patio and shaft-tomb cists. Bajío–Teuchitlán interface where Chupícuaro shaft tombs meet ballcourt horizon, adobe pyramid with Teuchitlán patio heritage but Chihuahua polychrome phase. Discussed alongside main Plazuelas UNESCO proposal.
Why it mattersConnects West Mexican shaft tombs to Bajío ballcourt horizon; petroglyph catalog links to Teuchitlán.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Spider carvings astronomical or shamanic
- 02Why U-shaped pyramid not circular
Theories
- 01Bajío as buffer between Teotihuacan and Teuchitlán
- 02Petroglyph field as pilgrimage teaching stone
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.600–900 CE
- Period
- Epiclassic Bajío 600–900 CE
- Culture
- Bajío (Peralta/Plazuelas tradition)
- Builders
- Bajío tradition
- Purpose
- Secondary ceremonial center and petroglyph shrine
- Abandoned
- c.1050 CE (Bajío collapse)
- Rediscovered
- 1970s Braniff; INAH 1980s
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
550
Casas Tapadas founding
1050
Uto-Aztecan migration abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
20.3667° N · 101.8239° W · 1760 m · 2 mapped features
Casas Tapadas Pyramid
pyramid12 m U-shaped adobe pyramid with plaza
20.3670° N · 101.8235° WBoulder Petroglyph Field
petroglyph500+ pecked boulders with spider-heron glyphs
20.3660° N · 101.8245° W
Gallery