The Altavista petroglyph complex is located near the village and beach-town of

Chacala Chacala is a beach town set in small cove on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the State of Nayarit. It is located near pueblo Las Varas, about north of Puerto Vallarta, and is part of the coastline known as the Riviera Nayarita. The name means ...

, south of the Compostela Municipality, in

Nayarit Nayarit, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Nayarit, 20 municipalit ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The area is known as "La Pila del Rey", "Chacalán", "El Santuario", "The Petroglyphs” or "the Altavista petroglyphs", near the Jaltemba Bay, in the Pacific Ocean of Nayarit. This region was originally home to the largely unstudied Tecoxquin (Tequectequi) native culture dating from approximately 2000 BC to 2300 BCE. It contains 56 petroglyphs whose antiquity cannot be accurately determined. Aside from its cultural and archeological importance, the site remains an important religious center for the

Huichol The Huichol () or Wixárika () are an Indigenous people of Mexico living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, with considerable communities in the United States, in the states of Califo ...

es who still leave offerings and perform ceremonies here. In prehispanic times, the Compostela municipality area was inhabited by the Mazatán peoples, tributary of Xalisco-Zacualpan Kingdom.COMPOSTELA
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México Nayarit (Spanish) Oct. 2010

References

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