Like the flower that grows among the concrete, so resists the Mixcoac Archaeological Zone, one of the smallest pre-Hispanic settlements in Mexico (7,200 square meters), whose rock remains contrast decidedly between the capital's asphalt, as it is located next to the Peripheral Ring Road and in the middle of the generous neighborhood of San Pedro de los Pinos.
It was during the twentieth century that the archaeologist Eduardo Noguera, during his streetcar rides from the Zocalo to the Convent of El Carmen, noticed that after Tacubaya, on an elevated part, there were some interesting mounds known among the locals as "the teocalli of San Pedro de los Pinos". Of course, at that time archaeology was not professionalized as such, and INAH did not exist as the institution we know today. It was not until 1921 when, financed by the SEP, Noguera carried out the first explorations in the area and discovered the structures that prevail to this day.
Much of the information that has helped to understand the origin and occupation of the Mixcoac Ceremonial Center dates from the 1980s, after the construction of Metro Line 7, particularly the San Antonio station, yielded important Teotihuacan evidence in the region. Protection mechanisms have also been deployed for the area, mainly when the raising of the Peripheral Ring Road caused part of the basement to be under the road.
Mixcoatl, the god of storms, war and hunting.
Before becoming the Mexica god of hunting, Mixcoatl was a Chichimeca man who, according to one of the many stories of the pre-Hispanic cosmovision, led his companions from the north of Mesoamerica to the Valley of Mexico Basin, when Tenochtitlan did not yet exist. Once settled in Culhuacán with his people, mythology says that, in the vicinity of the Tepozteco hill, Mixcoátl fell in love with the beautiful Chimalma, to whom he shot some arrows that she stopped with her hand. Both had a son, Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, however, Chimalma died giving birth.
When he returned to Culhuacán, Mixcoátl was murdered by a usurper and his son had to be raised as a commoner. As a young man, Ce Acatl learned of the tragic family history and, in revenge, killed the usurper. Once he regained power, now in Cerro de la Estrella, it was he who named his father as the tutelary god of the hunt.
Adoration of the snake in the cloud
According to the aesthetics, architecture and pottery pieces found, the ruins that we observe today in the Mixcoac Archaeological Zone (Nahuatl word meaning "place of the serpent cloud"), date back to the era of Aztec subjugation, between 900 and 1520 A.D. However, the site as such dates back to the Teotihuacan period, which found its splendor between 400 and 600 A.D. Upon the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, the settlement was practically destroyed down to its foundations, which are all that survive of the original construction.
The few remaining evidences that are partially restored are the Pyramid dedicated to the god Mixcoátl; the East Platform and its annexed buildings; the Central Patio and its surroundings; the West Platform and its Ceremonial Plaza and the bases of some adobe rooms (presumably not for residential use).
Based on recent research we know that, in Mixcoac, the Aztecs celebrated the hunting ritual in the month of Quecholli (late October and early November). For this event, darts were previously prepared and, on certain dates, they celebrated ceremonies and dances to later go hunting animals in the Cerro del Venado or Mazatepetl, ending the ritual in the Zacatepetl hill.
Archaeologist Roberto Gallegos, in charge of the academic project at the site, says that the term Mixcoatl also alludes to the Milky Way, whose misty, serpentine view on clear nights evoked the Mexica god. Five hundred years have passed since then and, if we were still here, our ancestors would perhaps feel a hint of nostalgia knowing that we have exchanged the wonder of the night sky for the concrete of modernity. The Mixcoac Archaeological Zone is located at 7 Pirámide Street, next to the Centro Cultural La Pirámide and the Anillo Periférico, in the San Pedro de los Pinos neighborhood, a few steps from the San Antonio subway. It is open from Monday to Sunday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and admission is completely free.