Four years ago the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH – Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia) commenced digs at Soledad de Maciel (La Chole) near Petatlan, south of Ixtapa Zihuatanejo. In the course of these excavations, which are still in progress under the supervision of archaeologist Rodolfo Lobato, a large ball court was discovered as well as many other structures and features previously undetected.
The site had been visited by the curious for years — many stone carvings and clay artifacts were discovered in the covered mounds but not much official attention was given to the site until recently. Prior to this recent INAH interest, artifacts were collected and the site was maintained by the local inhabitants of the nearby community, who also established their own rudimentary museum in one of the homes so that visitors could appreciate the relics found in the area.
Now rechristened Xihuacan, INAH has inaugurated its new museum at the site that houses a collection of jewelry and ornaments, carved figurines, musical instruments, stone ball hoops and other artifacts extracted from the site and representative of the lives of the nobles, warriors and priests of what was once apparently an important center of the Cuitlatecos.
See http://www.vozihuatanejo.com.mx/index.php?news=4057 for more info on the opening (in Spanish)
2 Responses to “Xihuacan Museum Opening”
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Desafortunadamente, la conservación del patrimonio y su difusión a menudo termina con modelos de exclusión social, como en el caso de Soledad de Maciel, Guerrero. Ahí los pobladores de zonas aledañas han sido afectados y no han sido incluídos debido al cacicazgo imperante de un sistema burocrático corrupto que pone al frente de nuestras Zonas Arqueológicas a gente sin preparación que ni siquiera tiene un título en arqueología como es el caso de Rodolfo Lobato.
Our tour guide, Carlos, provided an interesting and informative narrative in great English. If only my history classes would have had a person like him. He has a lot of information about the area and I can tell it is a passion of his. He was able to provide answers to our questions and it was obvious he enjoyed what he was doing. This merits a return visit as little by little students of archeology are slowly uncovering the area which is quite large in size. I am already planning to return next year. It is a short ride from Zihuatanejo. No admission charge but a nice propina was in order.