The picture on my calendar for the month of September is of the archaeological site of Xochicalco in the state of Morelos.
Xochicalco is located about 75 miles to the south of Mexico City. Its ceremonial center was built on top of an artificially leveled hill. The city was founded around AD 650 by the Olmeca-Xicalanco, a Mayan group of traders who moved into central Mexico from the Gulf coast. The location of the town was an excellent position along several trade routes. After the great city of Teotihuacan, which had dominated central Mexico for centuries, went into decline, Xochicalco was one of several cities which filled the vacuum. Between AD 700 and 900 it reached its height, and may have had a population of 20,000 people. The site was destroyed and abandoned around 900 when invading tribes moved into the region.
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