Cañada de la Virgen Archeological Site

Nineteen miles southwest of San Miguel de Allende is an archeological site. It was a pre-Hispanic settlement on the northern Mesoamerican border.

The civilization was at its peak between 600 and 900 A.D. Its urban design was closely linked with the observation of the sky: the surrounding hills served as axes and reference points, and the buildings were lined up with the points at which the sun and moon rose and set. The cosmic cycles and how they related to agricultural work, as well as an ample ritual and funeral system formed part of everyday life in this city. Its inhabitants also practiced harvesting and hunting, and had established trade links with other regions.

Among the architectural ensembles that characterize the archeological site, Complex A or Casa de los Trece Cielos (House of Thirteen Skies) stands out. Its tiered platforms house twelve bedchambers and border a sunken patio. Here, above the pyramid-shaped base, in the Templo Rojo (Red Temple), Burial 13 was found, that of the hierarch. These were the remains of a man wrapped in a reed mat, embracing a dog. Complex B or Casa de la Noche Más Larga (House of the Longest Night), in connection with the winter solstice, is a similar ensemble, with a sunken patio, four platforms and a pyramid-shaped base. Burial 15, or the Niña de la Lluvia (The Rain Girl), belongs to this complex. Here, the bones of a small girl and a coyote were found in a drainage passage through which rainwater flowed. Although Complex C is not yet open to the public, in Complex D or Casa del Viento (House of the Wind) you can observe a circular structure associated with the worship of the god Ehécatl.