Los Guachimontones (Teuchitlán Tradition)
Guachimontones
Late Formative–Early Classic Teuchitlán 350 BCE–400 CE·Teuchitlán tradition (Western Mexico)·🇲🇽 Jalisco, Teuchitlán, Mexico
About
About Los Guachimontones (Teuchitlán Tradition)
Only circular-step pyramid tradition in Mesoamerica (350 BCE–400 CE): nine concentric guachimontones — central altar 18 m high with 4–12 stepped circular platforms, 8-m ballcourt and 10 shaft tombs with hollow ceramic figures, concentric plaza. Teuchitlán core 12 km², agave center Tequila valley, agave-volcano UNESCO landscape 2006. Circular pyramids represent cosmology, ballcourt linked to shaft-tomb cult, obsidian from Tequila volcano.
Why it mattersUnique circular pyramid urbanism; challenges rectilinear Mesoamerican city model; links shaft-tomb tradition to 111 m ballcourt performance.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why circular vs rectangular pyramid elsewhere
- 02Ballcourt relationship to West Mexican metallurgy
Theories
- 01Circular reflects volcano cosmology (Tequila)
- 02Ballgame as autosde lineage ritual with shaft tombs
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.350 BCE–400 CE; peak 100–300 CE
- Period
- Late Formative–Early Classic Teuchitlán 350 BCE–400 CE
- Culture
- Teuchitlán tradition (Western Mexico)
- Builders
- Teuchitlán tradition
- Purpose
- Circular pyramid ceremonial center, ballcourt and shaft-tomb mortuary
- Abandoned
- c.400 CE (population dispersed to valleys)
- Rediscovered
- 1969 Phil Weigand surveys; excavation 1999–2008
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
350 BCE
First circular platforms
2006
Agave Landscape UNESCO inscription
On the ground
Structures & features
20.6831° N · 103.8167° W · 1350 m · 2 mapped features
Gran Guachimontón
pyramidLargest circular pyramid 115 m diameter, 18 m high with altar
20.6835° N · 103.8170° WBallcourt and Shaft Tombs
ballcourt111 m ballcourt and shaft-tomb cemetery southeast plaza
20.6820° N · 103.8160° W
Gallery