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Very few visitors to Guadalajara and, indeed, only a minority of Tapatios (Guadalajara residents), realize that several ancient pyramids, built more than a thousand years ago, still stand in silent pride even as they hear the noise and feel the rumble of the traffic on the city's periferico. The site of Iztepete is so close to where Mariano Otero joins the periferico that literally tens of thousands of people pass within 300 meters of it every day, yet there is not even a clear sign indicating its presence. What would these forgotten stones say, if they could talk!
None of the archaeological sites near Guadalajara is more interesting, or accessible, than Iztepete. Perhaps visitors who know the pyramids at San Juan Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, or those built by the Maya in the Yucatan may find Iztepete disappointing. But before dismissing these ancient mounds, intriguing sections of stairway and evocative walls, bear in mind that very few larger pre-Columbian stone constructions are known anywhere in western or northern Mexico and certainly none are as close to a major international airport, perennial tourist destination and lively, business-oriented city.
MIRRORS, KNIVES AND OBSIDIANSome early references to the site spell it "Ixtepete." For centuries, local inhabitants had passed the name down orally from one generation to the next. When archaeologists "re"-discovered the ruins and began exploring them in 1954, and heard its name, they were forced to choose between two alternative spellings: "Ixtepete" (derived linguistically from "ixtle", the hard fibre made from the leaves of the maguey), and "Iztepete" (meaning "hill of obsidian or knives"). Obsidian is a hard, black, reflective, volcanic glass formed when lava cools instantaneously on falling into a lake. When fractured, pieces of obsidian acquire very sharp edges. Not surprisingly, many pre-Columbian peoples prized it for use as mirrors, arrow heads and knives. Given that large, angular chunks of obsidian litter the slopes of Cerro Colli, the hill rising behind the pyramids, "Iztepete" was deemed the more appropriate spelling.
The largest structure visible today, six meters high, conceals at least five preceding pyramids which had newer, bigger, pyramids superimposed over them. The steps up it are off-centre, an indication, perhaps, that more than one temple once adorned its top. The most recent, 12-meter-wide stairway, also superimposed over earlier versions, is probably more than a thousand years old! The earliest ceramics found at Iztepete suggest...
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