Cempoala

The word "Cēmpoalli" (from Nahuatl root "Cēmpoal) means twenty and "ā(tl)", means water, hence "twenty waters". An alternative etymology suggests the name meant “Abundant Water”. Both versions imply that the city had many aqueducts which fed the numerous gardens and surrounding farmland fields. A third version conjectures that the name referred to commercial activities which, according to some sources, were performed every 20 days in pre-Hispanic times. ==History==

According to some sources, the city was founded at least 1,500 years before the arrival of the Spanish, and there is evidence of Olmec influence. Although not much is known about the Preclassic and Classic eras, the Preclassic town was built on mounds to protect it from floods. The Totonacs moved onto this coastal plain during the height of the Toltec Empire (A.D. 1000–1150). Archaeologists believe the Toltecs had pushed the Totonacs out of their settlements on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental and down to the coast. Aztec conquest Cempoala and other coastal Veracruz locations were defeated by the Aztec armies of Moctezuma I (mid-15th century), who was drawn to the area by local marine resources. They were heavily taxed and coerced into sending hundreds of people as tribute for sacrifices and to be used as household and agricultural slaves. This treatment at the hands of the Aztecs created the situation which led up to the defeat of the Aztecs by Cortés in the 16th century. The effort ended with the fall of Tenochtitlan and Moctezuma II, the Aztec tlatoani, being taken hostage. After the victory and conquest, the people of Cempoala were relocated, Christianized, banned from practicing their ancient cults, and were enslaved to work new Spanish sugar cane fields. Between 1575 and 1577 a smallpox (matlazahuatl) epidemic decimated the population. It is estimated that two million people lost their lives in Mesoamerica due to this epidemic. The city was totally abandoned, and the few survivors moved to the city of Xalapa. The city was then lost to history until archaeologist Francisco del Paso y Troncoso rediscovered it. ==Site==

The Cempoala complex site is an assembly of impressive public spaces and fortress-like buildings surrounded by vegetation. The structures were built with stones from the nearby river, joined with mortar, and covered with lime made from burning shells and snails. This added a silver-like luster to their appearance when viewed from a distance. As the political-religious center of the city, it included the "Place of accounts", as it was referred by the Mexica rulers, because it was where taxes and tributes from the region were collected. Structures with often overlooked historic importance are in the part of the site now known as walled system IV. It was here that Cortés successfully faced the forces of Pánfilo de Narváez, thus consolidating his leadership in the colonization of the Mexican territory. Structures The main structures at Cempoala include the following: • Templo del Sol (Sun Temple; Great Pyramid) This temple is built on the same platform as the Templo Mayor, separated by an ample square. This is probably the most impressive structure of the site. The great temple resembles the Sun Temple in Tenochtitlan. The Temple of Quetzalcoatl (the Feathered Serpent) is a square platform, and the Temple of Ehecatl (the wind god) is round. • Templo Mayor (Great Temple) The top part is surrounded by battlements. • Templo de las Chimeneas (Chimney Temple) It has a series of semicircular pillars 1.5 meters high, because of this peculiar shape, the building is named. • El Pimiento (The Pepper) It has a three bodied structure, its most notable feature is its exterior decor based on skulls representations. • Moctezuma's Palace • Templo de la Cruz (Temple of the Cross) This temple contains some fresco mural sections with celestial motifs. • Templo Las Caritas (Temple of the Faces) The so-called Temple of Charity standing about 200 meters to the east is a two-tier structure decorated with fragments of stucco reliefs. It is named for the hundreds of stucco skulls that once adorned the facade of a small structure at the base of the temple's staircase-archaeologists believe this complex was dedicated to the god of death. It consists of two overlaid basements with top side elements, an open room, two decorative belts, the lower has murals depicting the sun, Moon and Venus, as early morning star, the higher section has a large amount of clay “little faces” or little skulls. The Structure is decorated with stucco faces on the walls and hieroglyphs painted in lower sections Gran Pirámide and the wind god Ehécatl worship altar. • Other Mounds There are other mounds, unexcavated, that cannot be visited, located within Cempoala current houses. Some of the structures there are probably built in the same style as were the residences of the prehispanic commoners. ==Astronomy in Cempoala==

Some research by Vincent H. Malmström of Dartmouth College describes an interesting astronomical relationship that exists because of the three round rings found at Zempoala: ==See also==