the once well preserved Michoacan pyramid in Ihuatzio, Mexico

Photo by:Ramiro Aguayo. INAH the once well preserved Michoacan pyramid in Ihuatzio, Mexico

By Scott Hamilton

The story on the street is that climate change is leading to the destruction of precious heritage sites around the world. One of the most recent impacted sites was the once well preserved Michoacan pyramid in Ihuatzio, Mexico. The pyramid was part of a temple complex containing two pyramids, a tower fortress and some tombs. On July 29, 2024, the roughly 50-foot-high square monument suddenly slumped under the pressure of incessant rain. The south wall crumbled, leaving a pile of rubble where a well preserved monument once stood.

I would argue that it was not the first time the monument was impacted by severe storms, considering the complex was originally occupied 1,110 years ago by Nauatl-speaking groups. It became the headquarters of the P’urhépechas people which was the only empire the Aztecs could not conquer. In fact their culture still thrives today. I cannot imagine that the site has not seen extreme weather several times throughout its history. I would instead say that regardless of the efforts to maintain the site, it was a failure of site maintenance that caused the underlying issue.

I like to think of it this way – the Michoacan people likely had a way of making mortar that was significantly different than what we can produce today, and it is likely that any repairs attempted on the site actually weakened the original construction. The main reason I think that this is a possibility is from a project of attempting to restore an old home with lathe and plaster walls several years ago. I found that mixing modern plaster with the old plaster on the walls caused a strange chemical reaction between the compounds, resulting in weakening the walls everywhere we patched them. The end result of our project was collapsed plaster walls in the floor of the house. You see, we needed to mix the patch with the same chemical composition of the original plaster in order to avoid the issues. I have visited a few ancient pyramids in Mexico and have seen the modern concrete repairs in sections of the pyramids, trying to prevent them from collapsing, but it leads me to wonder if there isn’t more than just the weather at play here.

In a statement released by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology (INAH) they claim that, “Work carried out in the past, using techniques and materials that are not currently in use due to their negative effects, has an impact on the conservation conditions of the pre-Columbian structure.” Which is just another way of saying, they don’t know how to properly restore these pre-Columbian structures.

Thankfully only one of the pyramids at the site was damaged by the extreme weather, but INAH personnel claim that at least six of its “stepped bodies” are in disrepair on both the interior and exterior of the structure. In July, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms hammered much of Mexico following some of the worst drought conditions in 30 years. INAH claims that the extreme heat and drought conditions leading up to the torrential rains created cracks in the surface of the pyramid, allowing water infiltration to reach the interior sections of the pyramid. The water infiltration made the collapse unavoidable.

The INAH officials are now trying to figure out how they can repair the damage to the building while maintaining its cultural and historical significance. According to Tariakuiri Alvarez, who identifies as a living member of the P’urhépecha tribe, his ancestors would have interpreted the crumbling of the pyramid at Ihuatzio as a “bad omen.” Alvarez claimed that this same pyramid had a similar collapse just before the arrival of foreign conquerors in Mexico. Alvarez claims that these types of events are clear signs that the gods are displeased.

Alvarez said, “Before the arrival of the conquistadors, something similar happened, which for the P’urhépecha worldview of that time was because the gods Nana Kuerhaepiri and K’eri Kurikweri were displeased.” The P’urhépecha defeated the Aztecs and ruled for 400 years before the Spanish invasion in 1519.

There have been several historical sites that suffered severe damage from recent severe weather and many of the groups involved have leaned heavily towards blaming climate change for all the issues. However, I feel that many of these structures are just no longer able to be properly maintained due to a lack of knowledge regarding the original construction techniques. It’s like trying to restore a 1914 Model T with only modern machining techniques; we cannot produce metal components compatible with the classic techniques, resulting in mechanical failures, much the same way INAH is struggling to repair these ancient structures. If we want to keep the past alive we must continue to teach the old methods to future generations, including the history behind the structures.

Until next week, stay safe and learn something new.

Scott Hamilton is an Expert in Emerging Technologies at ATOS and can be reached with questions and comments via email to sh*******@te**********.org or through his website at https://www.techshepherd.org.

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