On a hill in southwestern Tlaxcala one can see (in a single panorama) the great pyramid of Cholula to the south, the fortified Post-classic Tlaxcalan site of Tepeticpac to the north, and the recently opened site of Cacaxtla immediately to the east. Cerro Xochitecatl is that hill. The extraordinary murals of Cacaxtla are or soon will be widely known, a circumstance that underscores the newly appreciated importance of this cluster of three sites, Xochitecatl, Cacaxtla, and Altachino.
This volume is the twelfth in a series of hardbound studies that at this writing totals fourteen. All are products of the interdisciplinary German Foundation for Scientific Investigation, as are the volumes in the more ephemeral paperbound Comunicaciones series.
The book is broken into three sections of decreasing lengths, written by Spranz, Dumond, and Hilbert respectively. The section by Spranz (in German) describes the excavations and ceramic inventory, frequently using tables in English supplied by Dumond. Apart from three major excavations elsewhere on the site, archaeological investigation was confined to the adoratory, a secondary platform (Mound 4) attached to the west side of the main pyramid (Mound 1). Dumond’s section is an analysis in English of the potsherds from Mound 4. The analysis concludes that despite some intrusions from around A.D. 1700, construction and use of Mound 4 occurred after the collapse of Teotihuacan but before ascendancy of Tula, not earlier than A.D. 750 and not later than A.D. 900. The site is therefore an important source of information on continuity outside the Valley of Mexico at a time of discontinuity within. Nearby Cacaxtla provides similar evidence of continuity in Tlaxcala at a later time when the Valley of Mexico was again in turmoil.
Hilbert’s section is a brief descriptive treatment of the smaller inventory Preclassic ceramics from the site. The section is in German and dovetails to some degree with a brief discussion of Preclassic sites in the region by Spranz. The book ends with a two-page summary in Spanish that reiterates Spranz’ reasons for choosing the site for testing, namely that it has general architectural similarities with the Preclassic Totimehuacan site. There is much Preclassic ceramic debris on the hill, and the authors conclude that the ceremonial center of Xochitecatl is “primordially” Preclassic despite the weight of Classic-Postclassic ceramic evidence from Mound 4. This and the adjacent sites are clearly deep and complex, together a central place of considerable significance to highland Mexico. One hopes that the popularity of Cacaxtla will lead to a continuation of the beginnings marked by this volume. Unfortunately, new overhead demands on foreign researchers by the Mexican government will probably combine with existing financial problems and put an end to the operations of the German Foundation in Mexico.
