city state · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

Xochicalco

650 CE – 900 CE (approx.) · capital Xochicalco

A fortified hilltop city in Morelos that flourished after Teotihuacan's fall, famed for its Temple of the Feathered Serpent.

Origins

Xochicalco was built around 650 on a group of hills in western Morelos, as power in central Mexico fragmented after the decline of Teotihuacan. Its position allowed control of trade routes between the Valley of Mexico, Guerrero and the Gulf Coast.

Rule and society

The city was terraced, walled and moated, with three ballcourts, palaces and an observatory cave where a shaft allowed sunlight to mark the zenith passages of the sun. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent carries reliefs of plumed serpents and seated figures in Maya-like style, with glyphs that some scholars read as a calendar correction meeting. Artisans worked obsidian and other goods for trade.

Decline and legacy

Xochicalco was burnt and abandoned around 900. Its ideas, such as feathered-serpent imagery, passed to the later Toltec state. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Xochicalco. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/xochicalco
MLA
“Xochicalco.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/xochicalco. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Xochicalco.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/xochicalco.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Xochicalco’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/xochicalco (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻