Developments in Brief : Pre-Aztec Stone Observatory Found

The ruins of an apparent pre-Hispanic observatory whose stone configurations are similar to Stonehenge in England have been discovered near Mexico’s Pacific Coast, authorities said last week.

The stone monoliths at the ruins near Cuautlan, a village in western Jalisco state, form shadows that determine the summer and winter solstices and the spring and fall equinoxes with surprising accuracy, they said.

Scientists at the Astronomy and Meteorology Institute in Guadalajara said the ruins might have belonged to the Chichimeca culture along the Pacific Coast that preceded the Aztec civilization. They said that sunlight passing through openings in the monoliths cast shadows that indicate star movements and perhaps a rudimentary calendar.