Guachimontones

It is unknown who named this site “Los Guachimontones”. Oral tradition and historical ambiguity leave room for various interpretations of the term’s meaning.

It is believed that Guaje comes from the Nahuatl “Huaxe” word that, in combination with the Spanish word “montones” (bunches), could be construed to mean “a bunch of gourds”, a common tree species in the area. This aligns with regional flora and local linguistic blending.

The word Teuchitlán is derived from Teotzitlán or Teutzitlán, interpreted as “place dedicated to the divine”, “place of the God Tenoch,” or “place dedicated to the revered God”. These interpretations reveal the deep spiritual identity tied to the region.

Guachimontón means an enclosed place, alluding to the constructions discovered at the site: concentric circles. This spatial layout reinforces ceremonial enclosure and community participation in ritual activities.

Although the name is of Nahuatl origin, archaeologist Weigand is certain Nahuatl was not the official language, which was instead perhaps Totorame or Chipcha. The Totorame language is a variety of Cora, a Uto-Aztecan language of Nayarit.

There are approximately 950 archaeological sites under investigation in the State of Jalisco. These include both ceremonial centers and remnants of smaller communities, reflecting a wide historical tapestry.

There may be more than 2,000 archaeological sites in Jalisco. These include more than just large cities or ceremonial centers, as archaeological sites are also considered to be “any place with vestiges of ancient human activity.” This broad definition includes altars, tombs, and even petroglyphs.

Teuchitlán was a village dependent on the Etzatlán lordship, inhabited by tecos groups. These ethnic groups formed part of the wider cultural network that connected western Mexico with other Mesoamerican civilizations.

The specific architectural style of this site is called “Guachimontón”, due to the mounds and circular staggered-level structures. These reflect a departure from the more common rectangular forms found elsewhere in Mesoamerica.

It is believed that such structures, in the particular case of Teuchitlán, were used for ceremonies to honor the wind God Ehecatl. These rituals would often include music, offerings, and performance as part of spiritual expression.

These included an analog of the Volador ceremony, where a priest climbed the pole to honor the divinity. This flying dance ritual is still practiced in some parts of Mexico and has ancient symbolic roots.

The pole was placed atop the structure. This placement elevated the ceremony both physically and spiritually, reinforcing the importance of vertical symbolism in Mesoamerican rituals.

Possibly the city foundation goes back to the Aztecs, who erected it on a hill called Huachimontón, north of its current location. However, archaeological evidence places the original buildings earlier than the Aztec period.

It was founded by members of Nahuatlacas groups that developed central Mexico during the postclassical period; however, it is known that buildings at Teuchitlán were built before such development. This points to independent cultural innovation.

The creative culture that constructed “Guachimontones” is called the Teuchitlán tradition; its apogee was between 200 and 400 CE, disappearing in about 900 CE, possibly before the arrival of the Anahuaca colonists. Its decline may have been abrupt due to external pressures.

UNESCO has added the whole region, including the nearby tequila distilleries, to its World Heritage List. This designation recognizes both the cultural and economic importance of the region.

Due to heavy looting, the site was also included on the 2008 World Monuments Watch list of 100 Most Endangered Sites. This highlights the ongoing threats to archaeological heritage in Mexico.

Rediscovery of Guachimontones

American archaeologist Phil Weigand and his wife discovered the Los Guachimontones site in 1969. Their work has been fundamental to understanding this unique cultural expression in western Mexico.

Dr. Weigand, through drive-by and regular archaeological surveys, recorded over 200 Guachimontones around Western Mexico, the majority being in the Tequila Valleys area in highland Jalisco. This demonstrates the broader regional significance of the architecture.

The site had already been located, visited, and described. Local stories, early explorers, and historians noted the mounds, although systematic excavation came much later.

The local Indigenous people considered the site sacred. Ritual activities and oral traditions were preserved in memory, even if much of the original function had been forgotten.

While the site was re-discovered in 1970, extensive unearthing would get underway only in 1996 once funding was finally secured, although one source indicates that excavation would not begin until 1999. Excavation revealed deeper insights into the site’s complexity.

An understanding of the site and its former inhabitants remains limited, and research is ongoing, yet important information is known, thanks to the archaeologist Phil Weigand, his wife Arcelia García, and a team from the Colegio de Michoacán.

Weigand proposed that the ruins are some 2,000 years old and were inhabited by an ancient civilization currently referred to as the Teuchitlán Tradition. This society existed from around 300 BCE until its fall in roughly 900 CE.

The site currently covers some 19 hectares, although it is estimated that during its apogee, it consisted of over 24,000 and was inhabited by approximately 40,000 people. These numbers suggest a highly organized and populated settlement.

As at many other ruin sites in Latin America, appropriation of structural stones has occurred. This has unfortunately led to the loss of many archaeological layers and historical context.

Los Guachimontones have not been an exception. For example, stones from the Calixtlahuaca site were reused in the construction of the nearby St. Francis of Assisi church, some of them containing petroglyphs.

A sacrificial stone is located in the atrium of said church. From the Tiahuanaco site in Bolivia, stones were repurposed for the construction of a railroad passing close to the ruins to the north.

In the case of the Guachimontones ruins, they suffered years of neglect, and the site’s stones were appropriated to build streets and construct modern houses in the neighboring town of Teuchitlán.

The Teuchitlán tradition was a pre-Columbian complex society that occupied areas of the modern-day Mexican states of Nayarit and Jalisco. Although evidence of Teuchitlán’s traditional architecture appears as early as 300 BCE, its rise is generally dated to the 200 CE.

The tradition was rather abruptly extinguished at the end of the Classic era, ca. 900 CE. Archaeological evidence points to a rapid decline and abandonment of ceremonial centers.

The Teuchitlán tradition is notable for its circular central plazas and conical step pyramids. According to researcher Phil Weigand, these unusual structures are “unique in the Mesoamerican architectural repertoire and indeed are not found anywhere else in the world”.

Societal structure

There are several characteristics of a ranked society present within Teuchitlán Tradition societies — the circular plazas, for example, were restricted to the elite. The restricted access highlights the sociopolitical hierarchies of the time.

In Mesoamerica, many round buildings are connected to Ehecatl, an ancient god connected to the wind in Aztec mythology. He is seen as a form of the Feathered Serpent god, Quetzalcoatl, specifically as the god of wind, so he is often called Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl.

Because wind comes from all directions, Ehecatl was linked to all the cardinal points (north, south, east, and west). His temple was built in a cylindrical shape to let the wind pass smoothly, and sometimes it featured two masks that looked like mouths where the wind could blow through.

The circle is a perfect shape with no beginning or end, symbolizing infinity, just like the gods.

However, based on semi-fortified sites excavated in key mountain passes on the edge of the Teuchitlán core area, it is thought that the larger Teuchitlán tradition area was politically fragmented. There may have been multiple centers of power rather than a unified state.

The onset of the Postclassic era in western Mexico was marked by abrupt changes.

Around 900 CE, the circular pyramids, plazas, and concentric groups began to be replaced by a rectangular architecture – a change so abrupt that it has been suggested that it was brought about from outside, perhaps by the rising Tarascan state.

Excavations at various Teuchitlán sites reveal architectural features similar to Los Guachimontones. Post holes were often found in the central altars – or the center space if an altar was absent—used during rituals.

Ceramic dioramas from shaft tombs and Guachimonton excavations depict pole ceremonies performed across Teuchitlán communities. These often show a leader climbing a central pole in devotion to their gods. Feasting, musical performances, and even burials are also represented in these dioramas.

The most striking features at Los Guachimontones are the circular stepped pyramids, located at the center of ringed complexes.

The pyramid at Circle II stands 18 meters tall, with 13 steps leading to an upper platform, topped by an additional four steps. A post hole at the top likely served Volador ceremony. Pyramids may also have supported small temples.

The Guajes, as part of the site’s broader social organization, lived similarly to neighboring cultures, with centralized ritual spaces and peripheral residences. The Teuchitlán culture was highly skilled in working with obsidian and used other materials such as copper, gold, silver, malachite, and pseudo-cloisonné techniques.

They also had advanced agricultural practices—especially irrigation—that surpassed typical technologies of their time.

The site’s concentric structures were designed for worship, particularly of Ehecatl, the wind god. Aerial views reveal symmetrical ceremonial circles where it’s believed communities gathered to dance and commune with elemental gods (wind, water, fire, earth).

The central platform, thought to represent a 52-year calendar, contains a hole possibly used to anchor a pole for priestly rituals simulating flight as an offering to Ehecatl.

Teuchitlán also had its own version of the Mesoamerican ball game. Players used their hips to strike a rubber ball toward the opposing side. Points were added or subtracted depending on ball position and control.

Contrary to popular belief, the game wasn’t always sacrificial. It often settled political or territorial disputes. However, in religious contexts, the victorious player might be honored through ritual beheading, believed to bring immortality.

The name Teuchitlán means “place dedicated to the divine.” The civilization made sacrifices before construction, often burning corn or large fires beneath outer walls. Ceramic offerings have been found inside or beneath structures.

Over 1,500 years after its abandonment, Guachimontones is being studied and restored. Much of it was damaged by agricultural activity. Now recognized as a world heritage site, conservation efforts have only just begun.

The architecture is unlike other sites in Mexico, though it shares certain parallels:

• Cuicuilco (central highlands) in design
• Chichen Itza (Yucatán) in scale of the ballcourt
• Calakmul (Campeche) in irrigation complexity

Structures

The site is large and purposefully designed as a socio-political space, believed to promote unity and order. Sunken circular plazas are surrounded by raised platforms, once topped with wooden and clay buildings.

The site includes:

• 10 circular complexes
• 4 rectangular plazas
• 2 ballcourts

Excavations led by archaeologists from Colegio de Michoacán—primarily Phil Weigand and Celia García de Weigand—began around 1998, though some sources cite 1996 or 1999.

The circular complexes likely had restricted access for elites and priests. Though unique, their layout follows shared Mesoamerican cosmology.

Weigand defined the circular mound complex with five diagnostic features:

• Central pyramid
• Elevated circular patio
• Circular walkway
• 8–12 rectangular platforms along the walkway
• Funerary crypts beneath some platforms

Interpretation Center: Opened in 2012, the modern Interpretive Center offers exhibitions of daily life reconstructions, obsidian tools, and cultural artifacts. Guided tours are available.

A commemorative plaque honors Phil Weigand for his contributions to Jalisco’s archaeological heritage. The building bears his name: The Phil Weigand Guachimontones Interpretive Center.

Main pyramid: At the center of the main circle stands a multi-layered pyramid with staircases aligned to the cardinal directions. A small temple at the top may have honored a founding ancestor buried below.

Surrounding platforms with wood-frame structures likely served ancestral or clan-related functions. A sacred spring nearby may have supplied water for ceremonial gardens. Primary building materials included stone, clay, and lime.

Circle II – “The Iguana”: This is the second-largest structure, with a 115 m diameter and 360 m perimeter. It has 10 platforms—three sharing a common base. Poles for Volador ceremonies likely stood atop the smaller pyramids, as seen in local crafts.

Patio: Four sampling probes across the patio helped researchers analyze construction techniques and historical layers. Work was led by Dr. Phil C. Weigand and Prof. Efraín Cárdenas, with lab support from Prof. Acelia García Anguiano and Eugenia Fernández.

The ballgame court connects with a third, smaller circle. This smaller circle and nearby pyramids also featured Volador poles. The ballgame reflected the political and social tensions of the era. Its strategic and ceremonial nature addressed both battlefield and diplomatic outcomes.

Surrounding the structures are smaller buildings and agricultural zones, while lakes and swamps define the outer basin.

From Guadalajara International Airport, Los Guachimontones is about one hour away by taxi. This is the fastest and most convenient option, especially for first-time visitors unfamiliar with the region.

Taking the bus is possible but not recommended unless you know the area well. Even locals from Guadalajara sometimes get lost navigating the routes through the Tequila Valley.

Both taxis and buses will typically drop you off at the entrance to the town of Teuchitlán. From there, signs will guide you northeast toward the site and the Interpretation Center.

Be prepared for a steep uphill hike if you’re walking. If you arrived by taxi, you might be able to negotiate a ride up to the Interpretation Center to cut the distance and elevation. From the Interpretation Center, it’s another uphill trek to reach the main archaeological site.

The path is scenic but steep. A secondary site, Loma Alta, can also be visited. It requires a long hike or a sturdy off-road vehicle. Ask the guides at the Interpretation Center if you’re interested in arranging a visit.