Like other Formative period culture centers, Chalcatzingo declined in importance but, unlike centers on the Gulf Coast, the site was not abandoned. The location has clear evidence of a minor occupation in the Late Formative Period and served as a minor ceremonial center during the Classic period. However, by 500 BCE Chalcatzingo had lost its centrality in Mexican Highland culture. This occurred some 400 years after San Lorenzo was abandoned, and 100 years before the abandonment of La Venta. Chalcatzingo’s decline coincided with the development of widespread settlement clusters throughout the Morelos region, consisting mainly of small farming villages. Over 1000 years after Chalcatzingo’s abandonment, the Late Classic settlement Xochicalco reached its peak in Morelos between 700–900 CE.
