the extrinary achievements at la nta and san lorenz were long thought toe uniqueo the cotal lowlands. but ongoing excavations far from the coast indicate otherwise. in the shadoof the volcano popocatepetl in the mexican highlands chalcatzingo, a ancienreonal center at i height om arnd 700 to 0 b.c. new speaker: chalcatzin is a uniq site in the central mexican highlands. it's the only site in the highlands with bas-relief carvings in the olm sty the ancient village of chalcatzingo, set on a terraced hillside-- these were large terraces, perhaps 100 by 100 meters each, at the largest. below the main terrace is a ge platformound. s a large ctgular form, over 70 mers lon platformounds e ry speal feature unlike a pyramid, a platform can be considered to be a raised stage on which performances, rituals, were carried out that could be viewed by the entire population. a large stone slab carved with an earth monster face with a hollow mouth sat on the northern edge of that platform mound, again where it was visible to the houses on all the terraces below. i can almost imagine a ritual with peo