Chupícuaro

Chupícuaro is an important prehispanic archeological site from the late preclassical or formative period. The culture that takes its name from the site dates to 400 BC to 200 AD, or alternatively 500 BC to 300 AD., although some academics suggest an origin as early as 800 BC. Although often included with the cultures of the Mexican West, Chupícuaro is both close to the Valley of Mexico and the northern edge of Meso-America. Information on the eponymous site, composed of several burial grounds, remains fragmentary, since most of it was flooded when the Presa Solis dam was built in the 1940s. An INAH excavation was able to salvage a little before that happened. Other excavations took place beginning in 1998, by the fr, CNRS and l'INAH, and also contributed to knowledge of Chupicuaro culture. On the northern border of Mesoamerica, west of the Mexican Plateau, just seven kilometers from Acámbaro, in Guanajuato State, México, it lies in hills near the Lerma River and its tributary the Coroneo or Tiger River. The name Chupícuaro can be translated as blue place. The name derives from the Purépecha language word "chupicua", a name for the "Ipomoea" plant, used for blue dye, and the term "ro", place. This prehispanic archaeological site is located on the banks of the Lerma River, between the present-day cities of Acámbaro and Tarandacuao in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Little is known about the history of this site. The first explorations took place in 1946 and uncovered pottery objects and tombs. The site is currently below water because of the dam, although the surrounding area is still being explored. Chichimeca nomadic groups (Guamares and Guachichil) arrived from the current San Luis Potosí state. These groups settled in a large village of huts built over platforms coated with mud and stone. They grew corn, beans and squash on the banks of the Lerma River and its tributaries. Based on the existence of metals and stone molcajetes used to grind corn, they probably planted chili and tomatoes.