Butterfly Festival in Angangueo - 2012

The 21st annual Festival of the Monarch Butterfly is from November 23 to December 2. Opening ceremonies are Friday, Nov. 23 in the Temple of the Immaculate Conception in Angangueo.

1,000 year old tomb found in Tingambato

MICHOACAN.- The discovery of a funerary chamber of more than a 1,000 years old, in the Archaeological Zone of Tingambato Michoacan, with an unidentified character’s burial, accompanied by 19,000 green stone beads, shells and human bones, is one of the most outstanding results of a special archaeological investigation and conservation project by INAH in five different pre Hispanic sites in this zone.

According to the archaeologists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH-Conaculta), the architectural complexity of the mortuary chamber and the burial’s wealth (which belong to the Classic period [200 through 900 AD]) indicate that the remains belong to a high ranking character from the ancient metropolis of Tingambato.

The cultural particulars of the burial haven’t been identified yet, but it’s inferred that the chamber matches the funerary traditions of the West, such as shaft tombs and the tombs of El Opeño, although these we built during the Pre Classic period (300 through 200 BC) and continuing through the Classic period (400 through 600 AD).

Archaeologist Melchor Cruz, coordinator of the conservation and investigation works of Tingambato, reported that the characteristics that have dominated in Tomb II and the wealth of the burial indicate that Tingambato must have had a major importance in the pre Hispanic culture of this region, which until now “could have been a governing center of the Classic Mesoamerican period, in the central region of what today is Michoacan”.

Archaeologists discover funerary chamber more than a 1,000 years old in Michoacan

Geothermal power plant in Los Azufres area

TOKYO – Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Thursday it reached an agreement with Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission, or CFE, to build a 50 MW geothermal power plant in the western Mexican state of Michoacan.

The facility, which will be completed in December 2014, will be the twelfth geothermal power plant delivered by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to Mexico, the Japanese company said in a statement.

The power plant is part of the Los Azufres III project, which the Japanese company has provided with engineering, manufacturing, acquisition and installation services.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will be supplying a steam turbine for the power plant that will be manufactured by subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric.

The deal will help expand Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ business in Mexico, which is No. 5 in the world in terms of geothermal resources.

The new plant, which is the fifth built by Mitsubishi in the Los Azufres III complex, will allow the CFE to meet rising demand for electricity due to economic growth.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of geothermal power systems. EFE

Lost city of Angamuco

Excavation of the ancient city to begin in 2013 with grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society.  Angamuco is located in Lake Patzcuaro Basin

One year ago, Fisher and Leisz used ground-breaking LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology to help map the city from the air. The LiDAR survey revealed more than 20,000 architectural features and a highly organized city that is far more complex and included more people than previous research in the region has suggested.

Included in the survey are several small pyramids, the only ball court in the region and evidence of a residential community of more than 25,000 people. In addition, there is evidence of a complex water management system and intensive agricultural features.

 
Colorado State University professors win grants to excavate ancient city in Mexico
 
A series of articles

Chinese mural in Tzintzuntzan?

I saw this mural on the wall of the Franciscan monastery of Santa Ana in Tzintzuntzan. Construction of the monastery began in 1526. I've never seen any Purepecha art that resembles this.   Maybe a visiting Chinese artist? 

Probably not but just thought I would ask