Chichen Itza has been called one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Among its main structures, El Castillo, El Caracol (or observatory), the Ball Court, and the Temple of a thousand columns stand out.

One of the most important finds in Chichén Itzá was the sacred cenote, from which various offerings and bones were extracted from the maidens who were sacrificed to the gods, and sometimes also the prisoners of war were sacrificed and thrown into that seemingly bottomless pit.

Undoubtedly one of the most important archaeological sites of the Mayan culture in Yucatan, El Castillo was one of the great temples that were built near the end of the splendor of that culture.

Palenque is a Cultural Heritage of Humanity, it is located in the state of Chiapas, and its magnificent sculptures and buildings tell us the story of the man who tries to understand and explain the universe.

Its most important building is the Great Palace, the Temple of the Inscriptions, the Temple of the Foliated Cross, and the Great Ball Court.

One of the most important finds in Palenque was undoubtedly the tomb of Pakal II, whose stela adorns this entrance, and although there are many theories, it is most likely that the tree of life is portrayed, pointing the roots towards the underworld that was mysterious and attractive to the Mayans.

Without a doubt, the palace is its most important construction, since over 400 years it was built in various styles, with various architectural elements such as a tower, four patios, foundations, and stairways, among others.

One of the greatest exponents of the Puuc route is the archaeological zone of Uxmal, its main buildings are the Pyramid of the Magician, the Quadrangle of the Nuns, and the House of the Doves.

Among its ruins were stupendous masks of Chaac (god of rain) and also stelae with hieroglyphics.

One of the things that visitors can enjoy in Uxmal is the “light and sound show”, since entering an archaeological zone at night gives you a different perspective of how it is during the day.

In addition, those shows designed by the INAH allow you to enter to learn about the history and daily life of the ancient inhabitants of the place.

Tajin, Veracruz

One of the most beautiful pre-Hispanic buildings, it is undoubtedly the pyramid of the Nichos de Tajín, located in the state of Veracruz is a great exponent of the Totonaca culture.

Niches, reliefs, and mural paintings are the silent witnesses of that city that was known as the city of smoking temples since copal was constantly burned in its buildings.

It has 17 ball courts, which archaeologists have interpreted as a sign of multiculturalism since it was inhabited for almost 900 years, which speaks of periods of evolution within the same ethnic group.

One of the archaeological sites with which Mexico is identified is undoubtedly Teotihuacán, it is one of the most important ancient cities in the center of the country, Its name in Nahuatl means “city of the gods”.

At its time of maximum splendor, it had 100 thousand inhabitants. Its privileged location in a valley rich in natural resources made it a city as well as important for its architecture, an economic, political, religious, and cultural center of the time.

The most impressive thing is that even today we do not finish unraveling all its secrets, although we know that since Aztec times it was considered a sacred site.

Its extension available to the public is 264 hectares, in them, you can find the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, the Citadel, the Calzada de Los Muertos, the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, so without a doubt, the best thing is to go to visit it and fill yourself with the energy and history that still lives within its walls.

One of the few archaeological sites found in the north of the country is Paquimé, which is located in the state of Chihuahua, a culture that adapted to fight and survive in the great expanse of the Chihuahuan desert and that left evidence of it with the impressive structures.

The most striking thing about Paquimé is perhaps the impressive play of light and shadows that are made when the sun shines from different heights in those labyrinths that housed hundreds of rooms, some with a very specific function and others simply residential.

The archaeological wealth of Yaxchilán is not only in its buildings but in the texts found on its stelae, altars, and lintels, which narrate the history of that city-state, with everything and its warlike conflicts, its alliances, and the exploits of its rulers.

One of the peculiarities of Yaxchilán is that it must be reached by boat with an outboard motor crossing the Usumacinta River. You should not miss the Acropolis, the Labyrinth, or the Ball Court, silent witnesses of the splendor of this city.

From the top of Structure 33, one of the tallest buildings in Chiapas archaeology, it is possible to observe the meandering Usumacinta River and also a part of the Guatemalan Petén, another area where the Mayan culture flourished.

Your visit can be even more enjoyable with good binoculars to observe the Lacandon Jungle from its acropolis.

Just 10 kilometers from the city of Oaxaca, is Monte Albán, a vestige of the Zapotec and Mixtec culture, since, like many of the pre-Hispanic cities, it was inhabited by different cultures over time.

According to its architecture, it has been determined that it was in contact with the powerful Teotihuacán.

Its main structures are the Ball Court, the Dancers Building, and the South Platform. In the esplanade called Great Plaza, the merchants were located to set up the market.

This city was founded around 500 BC. C. at the top of a hill in the central valleys of Oaxaca, it had up to 35 thousand inhabitants who lived on architecture, pottery, and mural painting.

One of the best-known images of Cholula is that of the church on a mound with the Popocatepetl as a backdrop, and it is that according to the story, the Spaniards tried to replace the indigenous gods with their God, and for this, they destroyed the ancient temples and built their churches on them. More or less this is the history of this city of Puebla, which is said to have more than 300 churches.

But speaking of the archaeological zone, we must mention Tlachihualteptl (which means hill made by hand), the pyramid on which the church of the Virgen de Los Remedios is built and whose base is 450 meters long on each side.

The Toltecs expelled from Tula were the ones who built this archaeological zone.

Cholula’s strategic location made it a privileged place for trade between the various pre-Hispanic ethnic groups, it has amazing murals in good condition of conservation that by themselves make it worth the visit.

A walled city that overlooks the Caribbean Sea from above, this is Tulum, a sacred site for the Mayans, which despite being so close to the sea, has murals and structures in very good condition. In Mayan, it received the name of Zamá, which means sunrise.

The Castle, on the highest part of the cliff, has on its facades sculptures of the descending god, who has sometimes been associated with Chaac, the god of rain, there is also the temple of the frescoes in whose corners you can also see masks of Chaac.

The visit to the site will take perhaps an hour and a half, but if you have a chance, I recommend you go down to the beach and take a quick dip, or at least a foot soak in the warm waters of the Caribbean.

Nohoch Mul is the highest pyramid in Cobá, previously, when it was possible to climb it, from the highest part there were three freshwater lagoons that the Mayans used to supply themselves. One of its most impressive and well-preserved structures is the Ball Court.

Many of the centuries-old trees that grew on the structures have been respected, giving them an overwhelming air.

The archaeological zone of Cobá is quite extensive, so after visiting the main buildings, I recommend renting a bicycle or a tricycle with a driver to reach the structures furthest from the entrance.

Its stelae tell us the history of this site, that although it was not inhabited by the ruling class, it did have a sacbé of more than 100 kilometers that reached a city near Chichén Itzá.

Of the eminently commercial character, Comalcalco (city of the Comales), is the westernmost city in the Mayan world, in it, objects that belonged to ethnic groups from other latitudes have been found both in the north of Mexico and south of Central America.

The Chontales who inhabited this area (and whose descendants still live there), were born merchants, even reaching Cacaxtla in Tlaxcala. In this place, the cultivation of cocoa was and is to this day one of the most fruitful economic activities.

The North Plaza, the Acropolis, and the Tomb of the Nine Lords are the best-preserved structures, and one of the attractions of this place is the contrast between the well-kept green areas and the grey and yellowish tones of the walls.

If you are a nature lover, and you love to observe flora and fauna, Calakmul is a city that you cannot miss on your itinerary to Campeche. In the middle of the biosphere reserve is the archaeological zone which means two adjacent mounds.

Much of the history of this site was captured in its stelae and in the beautiful wall paintings that are not yet open to the public as they are being prepared to be exhibited. Within the site, you can visit extensive ceremonial squares and places destined for the dwellings of the inhabitants.

Its majestic palace is a tall construction that dominates the jungle and if you arrive very early, from its summit you will be able to admire how little by little the blanket of fog that covers the place is rising at night.

The mural paintings that Bonampak houses are among the most representative of the Mayan world, many have been studies have been conducted to try to determine who are the portrayed characters and what passages of history each of those painted walls tell us.

On the Acropolis, there is Building I, in whose three rooms 112 square meters of these murals are preserved, which archaeologists have unraveled speak of a long battle.

Getting to Bonampak is not an easy task, because, after several forks in the road, you will find a dirt road that after 8 kilometers leads to a place from where you will be transported by vehicles from the Lacandon community.

Its name means Star Jaguar (according to other translators, it means Black Jaguar), and its Acropolis contains one of the most impressive examples of stucco work carried out by the Mayans. That palace was built as a tomb for one of their kings.

Inside it contains a ramp that the priests and rulers used so that the people did not see them ascend, but they saw them already at the top of the palace, which is one of the main doors is adorned with what looks like the jaws of a jaguar, and it is also possible to see human beings with wings as if they were angels.

From the entrance of the site you can be surprised with a magnificent Mayan arch, a sample of the advanced architecture of its architecture, also in its heyday, the city was protected by a double wall that had access at each cardinal point.

The place of red corn, this is how the name of Chacchoben translates, was one of the most important settlements in the lake area, and began to be populated before the birth of Christ, since the bodies of water attracted the inhabitants to settle around it, let us remember that in Quintana Roo there are only underground rivers.

The different buildings remind us of the style of other sites of the Mayan culture, but due to its size, one of the great temples that we see at the beginning of these paragraphs stands out, two stelae have also been found on the site and there are still sites to be explored.

Cacaxtla contains some murals that could well be confused with those of Bonampak due to their aesthetics, it was a city that after the fall of Cholula had the hegemony of the Puebla-Tlaxcala area.

It was a ceremonial center, a fortified city, it had defensive walls and moats and residential areas for the elite.

Its murals combine Mayan and Altiplano features, in one of the most imposing you can see the scene of a battle between Olmec jaguar warriors and Huastec birdmen who are clearly losing the fight, and some are shown naked or in different states of dismemberment.

The Great Basamento is its most important structure, in fact, different ceremonial buildings were built in it and it is where the priests had their homes.

Cantona, although it has only been open to the public for a short time, was a rival of Teotihuacán, in fact, it diverted the goods that were supposed to arrive in that city, which contributed to its decline. However, their power was hampered by a climate change that drained the lands and forced them to emigrate.

Obsidian was one of the main products that they traded and worked on in their various workshops, and in fact, being so close to the Citlaltépetl volcano from which they extracted it, it was possible for them to dominate the trade of this very valuable good for the ethnic groups of the center of the country.

In addition, due to its privileged position, it controlled trade between the center and the gulf side.

Cantona is considered the most urbanized city in pre-Hispanic Mexico, as evidenced by the more than 500 streets and 3 thousand residential patios that have been discovered, as well as its roads of more than a kilometer in length.

So far 24 ball courts have been discovered, which shows the great importance of this site.

Settled on a group of low hills, Xochicalco was one of the most important cities in Mesoamerica after the fall of Tenochtitlán, it has civic, residential, and religious buildings, as well as moats and walls, which tells us about a war era in the one that each city wanted to control its own territory.

Among the constructions that you can visit is the Great Pyramid, in the central plaza, the South Ball Court, and the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpents, which suggests that some southern Mayan groups would have emigrated to Xochicalco before the fall of their cities.

In this archaeological zone, you will find a rather peculiar observatory because it is located inside a cave that is accessed through a stairway carved in stone.

Tamtoc was a political and religious center that came to house up to 16,000 inhabitants, it was home to the Huasteca culture, which we know from its buildings with a circular base or with rounded corners. The inhabitants of Tamtoc were mainly engaged in astronomy and hydraulic engineering.

The other economic activities of Tamtoc were agriculture mainly of beans and corn, fishing and hunting of animals. Its inhabitants were sedentary and knew how to work obsidian, flint, gold, basalt, and copper.

An important characteristic of this culture is that it gave a very special value to women since she was considered a living symbol of fertility and also the owner of time due to her menstrual cycles.

In Colima due to its climate, and the some rains that usually fall each year, it is difficult to find pre-Hispanic settlements, however, there is the Potrero de la Campana, named like this because, before the excavation, the hill looked like a bell due to its trapezoidal shape.

Here you will find the famous shaft tombs, places where bodies and rich offerings were deposited, and which were accessed by a vertical shaft.

It is located between the Colima and Pereira rivers, which despite having little rainfall during the year, ensured their water supply. Its platforms are circular or quadrangular and it is possible to appreciate a Ball Game and innumerable petroglyphs.

One of the things that most attracts the attention of La Campana is its drainage and water distribution network, which tells us about advanced hydraulic engineering.

One of the most important settlements in the Guadiana Valley was in La Ferrería Durango, in it more than twenty structures with religious functions, housing, pyramids, patios have been identified, in short, almost all types of pre-Hispanic structures are found here.

There is evidence of astronomical observation, also of good hydraulic knowledge, since they used channels to evacuate rainwater. The House of the Leaders preserves its original drains and is oriented towards the Temascal hill, very important for the ruling elite.

There are also several engraved rocks in the area that tell us stories of daily life, hunting scenes, fertility rituals associated with the female figure, a representation of the birth of the sun, among others.

Mictlán was the name given in Nahuatl to the place of the dead, Hispanicized it remained in Mitla, this city of Zapotec and Mixtec origin surprises with the abundant decoration on its facades, made of limestone rock mosaics that form frets, and that it could remind us of the decorative motifs of other archaeological sites.

After the fall of Monte Albán, it was the most important site in Oaxaca, it contains five sets of monumental architecture.

Also in Mitla, the evangelizers built a church on one of its main palaces, this is how we see the church of San Pablo on that structure.

Monolithic columns are very important, as they were used both as structural and decorative elements. The stones for the construction of the San Pablo temple were obtained from the destruction of other pre-Hispanic structures and temples.

The Tarascans were a parallel culture in relevance to the Mexica, the big difference is that those of Michoacán were not so warlike, however, when they were attacked by the Tenochcas they had no qualms about fighting them and stopping them in their tracks, inflicting severe defeats on the most powerful Mexican rulers: Atzayácatl, Ahuizadotl, and Moctezuma Xocoyotzin.

The domain of the Tarascans extended from the Lerma River to the Balsas, occupying more than 75 thousand square kilometers. The city of Tzintzuntzan has a sobriety and austerity that contrasts with the ornamentation of the temples that the Spanish had the Tarascans built.

The name has to do with the hummingbird, a bird of great importance both for the Mexica for whom it represented the god Huitzilopochtli and for the Tarascans for whom it represented the god Tzintzuuquixu.

A place dedicated to trading, which had influence throughout Mesoamerica is Tula, they controlled the turquoise trade, and their occupation began at the same time that Teotihuacán began its decline.

The Giants or Atlanteans of Tula are very tall sculptures representing warriors.

While Quetzalcóatl reigned in those places, the palaces covered with feathers and jade were common, and due to the fertility of their lands, merchants came from other latitudes who brought cocoa, precious metals, jaguar skins, jade, and ceramics from Chiapas and Guatemala.

The Burned Palace and the two Ball Games with their hoops decorated with undulating serpents, are structures that you should not miss, and it is remarkable that the Atlanteans supported a palace, implying that the warfare was the sustenance of the universe.

The site is located in Mexico in the highlands of the municipality of Papantla in modern-day Veracruz, not far from the city of Poza Rica, which lies northwest of the port and city of Veracruz.

The city is set in the low rolling mountains that lead from the Sierra Madre Oriental to the Gulf coast near the Tecolutla River.

In ancient times, this city was located in the northeast corner of what is called Mesoamerica and controlled an area from between the Cazones and Tecolutla Rivers to the modern state of Puebla.

The main city is defined by two streams that merge to form the Tlahuanapa Arroyo, a tributary of the Tecolutla River. These two streams provided the population with potable water.

Most of the buildings are at the southern end, where the land is relatively flat and the two streams converge. The site extends to the northwest where terraces were constructed to place more buildings, mostly for the city’s elite.

However, the city also had communities located on the hills east and west of the main city, with mostly lower-class dwellings. The total site extends to 1,056 hectares.

The area is rainforest, with a hot wet climate of the Senegal type.

The average temperature for the year is 35 °C with hurricanes possible from June to October. It is also affected by cold fronts with winds that come from the north and down the Tamaulipas and Veracruz coasts.

The site has no major settlements located next to it. Surrounding it are tobacco fields, banana plantations, apiaries, and vanilla groves. The closest settlement of any real size is Papantla.

When it was rediscovered by officialdom in 1785, the site was known to the local Totonac, whose ancestors may also have built the city, as El Tajín, which was said to mean “of thunder or lightning bolt”.

Related to this is their belief that twelve old thunderstorm deities, known as Tajín, still inhabit the ruins.

However, a series of indigenous maps dating from the time of the Spanish conquest, found in nearby Tihuatlan and now known as the Lienzos de Tuxpan, suggest that the city might then have been called “Mictlan” or “place of the dead”.

This was a common denomination for ancient sites whose original names have been lost.

This name also appears in the Matricula de Tributos, a surviving Aztec tribute record, which later formed part of the Codex Mendoza. This may therefore be linked to another Totonac meaning claimed for El Tajín: “place of the invisible beings or spirits”.

Chronology studies at Tajín and nearby sites show that the area has been occupied at least since 5600 B.C. and show how nomadic hunters and gatherers eventually became sedentary farmers, building more complex societies prior to the rise of the city of El Tajin.

The pace of this societal progression became more rapid with the rise of the neighboring Olmec civilization around 1150 B.C., although the Olmecs were never here in great numbers. It is unclear who built the city.

Some argue in favor of the Totonacs and the Xapaneca; however, there is a significant amount of evidence that the area was populated by the Huastec at the time the settlement was founded.

In the 1st century CE Monumental construction started soon after and by 600 CE, El Tajín was a city. The rapid rise of Tajin was due to its strategic position along the old Mesoamerican trade routes.

It controlled the flow of commodities, both exports such as vanilla and imports from other locations in what is now Mexico and Central America. From the early centuries, objects from Teotihuacan are abundant.

From 600 to 1200 C.E., El Tajín was a prosperous city that eventually controlled much of what is now modern Veracruz state. The city-state was highly centralized, with the city itself having more than fifty ethnicities living there.

Most of the population lived in the hills surrounding the main city, and the city obtained most of its foodstuffs from the Tecolutla, Nautla, and Cazones areas. These fields not only produced staples such as corn and beans but luxury items such as cacao.

One of the panels at the Pyramid of the Niches shows a ceremony being held at a cacao tree. The religion was based on the movements of the planets, the stars, and the Sun and Moon, with the Mesoamerican ballgame and pulque having extremely important parts.

This led to the building of many pyramids with temples and seventeen ballcourts, more than any other Mesoamerican site.

The city began to have extensive influence starting around this time, which can be best seen at the neighboring site of Yohualichan, whose buildings show the kinds of niches that define El Tajin.

Evidence of the city’s influence can be seen along the Veracruz Gulf coast to the Maya region and into the high plateau of central Mexico.

At the end of the Classic period, El Tajín survived the widespread social collapse, migrations, and destructions that forced the abandonment of many population centers at the end of this period.

El Tajín reached its peak after the fall of Teotihuacan and conserved many cultural traits inherited from that civilization. It reached its apogee in the Epi-Classic (900-1100 C.E.) before suffering destruction and the encroachment of the jungle.

El Tajín prospered until the early years of the 13th century, when it was destroyed by fire, presumably started by an invading force believed to be the Chichimecas. The Totonacs established the nearby settlement of Papantla after the fall of El Tajín.

El Tajín was left in the jungle and remained covered and silent for over 500 years. While the city had been completely covered by jungle from its demise until the 19th century, it is unlikely that knowledge of the place was completely lost to the native peoples.

Archeological evidence shows that a village existed here at the time the Spanish arrived and the area has always been considered sacred by the Totonacs. However, there are no records by any Europeans about the place prior to the late 18th century.

In 1785, an official by the name of Diego Ruiz stumbled upon the Pyramid of the Niches, whilst looking for clandestine tobacco plantings breaching the royal monopoly in this isolated area rarely visited by the authorities.

He made a drawing of the pyramid and reported his find to a publication called Gaceta de Mexico. He claimed the natives had kept the place secret.

The publication of the pyramid’s existence in the Gaceta influenced academic circles in New Spain and Europe, attracting the attention of antiquarians José Antonio Alzate y Ramírez and Ciriaco Gonazlez Carvajal, who wrote about it.

It also gained the interest of several academics, who compared the pyramid with the constructions of ancient Rome. The pyramid was further advertised by Italian Pietro Márquez in Europe and by Alexander von Humboldt.

Since its discovery by Europeans, the site has attracted visitors for two centuries. German architect Charles Nebel visited the site in 1831 and was the first to graphically and narratively detail the Pyramid of the Niches as well as the nearby ruins of Mapilca and Tuzapan.

He was also the first to speculate that the pyramid was part of a larger city.

The first archeologists reached the site in the early 20th century and included Teobert Maler, Edward Seler, Francisco del Paso y Troncoso, and Herbert and Ellen Spinden. With the discovery of oil in the area came roads that were built and improved from the 1920s to the 1940s.

This allowed for a more intensive investigation of the area. In 1935-38 the first formal mapping, clearing, and exploration was done by Agustin Garcia Vega. The first building to be completely cleared of jungle growth was the Pyramid of the Niches.

He eventually cleared 77 acres (310,000 m2), uncovering more buildings, and proposed that it be called “The Archeological City of El Tajín.”

Starting from 1938, excavation and reconstruction work was sponsored by INAH and headed by Jose Garcia Payon, uncovering platforms, ballcourts, and part of Tajín Chico with its palaces.

He continued to explore the site for 39 years until his death in 1977 despite the challenges of working in the jungle and the lack of funds.

By this time, he had uncovered most of the major buildings and established that Tajín was one of the most important cities of ancient Mexico. By the 1970s, the site was one of the few in Veracruz state that attracted significant numbers of tourists.

From 1984 to 1994, Jürgen K. Brüggemann built on the work of García Payón, uncovering 35 more buildings. It is believed that only half of the El Tajin archeological site has been uncovered.

El Tajín was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1992, because of its historical significance and architecture and engineering. “Its architecture, which is unique in Mesoamerica, is characterized by elaborate carved reliefs on the columns and frieze.

The ‘Pyramid of the Niches’, a masterpiece of ancient Mexican and American architecture, reveals the astronomical and symbolic significance of the buildings.” The site is one of the most important in Mexico and the most important in the state of Veracruz.

Its significance is due to its size and unique forms of art and architecture. The borders of the city’s residential areas have not yet been defined but the entire site is estimated at 10.7 sq km.

To date, only about fifty percent of the city’s buildings have been excavated, revealing a series of plazas, palaces, and administrative buildings within a two-square-mile area.

Unlike the highly rigid grid patterns of ancient cities in the central highlands of Mexico, the builders of El Tajin designed and aligned buildings as individual units. There are several architectural features here that are unique to the place or seen only rarely in Mesoamerica.

Adornment in the form of niches and stepped frets is omnipresent, decorating even utilitarian buttresses and platform walls. Stepped frets are seen in other parts of Mesoamerica but rarely to this extent.

The use of niches is unique to El Tajin.

One notable aspect of the construction at El Tajin is the use of poured cement in forms. Surviving roof fragments from Building C in the Tajín Chico section is an example of cement roof construction.

Due to the lack of beams or other materials to prop it up, this roof had to be very thick to support itself. To lighten the load and to bind the layers of cement, pumice stones, and pottery shards were mixed into the cement.

The cement could not be poured all at once but rather in successive layers. It has been suggested that the buildings were filled with earth to support the roof as it was being poured and dried. The finished roofs were nearly a meter thick and almost perfectly flat.

While this kind of cement roof is common in modern times, it is unique in the Mesoamerican world. Impressions of baskets, tamale wrappers, and other items have been found in the dried cement.

The poured cement was used in the only building with two floors at the site, Building B, as a roof and as a separator between the ground and upper floor. The only other known example of two-story construction is in the Mayan territories.

Another feature shared only with the Mayans is the use of light blue paint. (wikerson45) Another feature unique to El Tajin is that a number of the residences have windows placed to allow cool breezes to enter on hot days.

While ballcourts are common in Mesoamerica, El Tajin distinguishes itself by having seventeen. Two of these ballcourts contain sculpted panels that depict the ball game and its ritual significance.

The most impressive of these panels are on the South Ballcourt which contains images of underworld deities and a ballplayer being decapitated in order to approach the gods and ask for pulque for his people.

Since becoming a World Heritage Site, research and conservation efforts have been made to promote knowledge of and protect the site. There have been a number of research projects as well as reconstruction projects and projects to make more of the site accessible to visitors.

However, the director states that more needs to be done to conserve the site, especially its fragile murals, and to balance the needs of tourists against the need to conserve the site in general.

Each year since 1992, the number of visitors to the site increased which now stands at 653,000 annually.

Air pollution from oil-drilling platforms and power stations along the coast causes high levels of acid rain in the region, which is eroding the intricately carved reliefs on the soft limestone buildings “at an alarming rate”, according to Humberto Bravo of the University of Mexico’s Center for Atmospheric Sciences in 2007.

The entrance and site museum

The entrance to the site is located at the south end. In being named a World Heritage Site in 1992, new facilities have been added to this area, such as a cafeteria, information services, a park, and administrative offices.

The site museum is also located here. In addition, the Danza de los Voladores is enacted at the entrance to the site and is considered a requirement for visitors. The voladores appear every half-hour at the pole and circle erected just outside the main gate.

The park is named Parque Takilhsukut and is located about one km outside the site proper. It is a modern facility with the aim of being a center of Veracruz’s indigenous identity. It covers 17 hectares with a capacity of 40,000 people.

It hosts fairs, conventions, and other events, including part of the annual Cumbre Tajín cultural festival which is held in March. There are also facilities for workshops, exhibitions, alternative therapies, seminars, and ceremonies.

The site museum is divided into two parts: an enclosed building and a roofed area covering large stone sculpture fragments. The enclosed room is for smaller objects that have been found during the years the site has been explored, most coming from the Pyramid of the Niches.

One of the most interesting objects on display is an altar from Building 4. It is a large stone slab sculpted to depict four individuals standing in pairs with a figure of intertwined snakes between the two pairs.

The snakes represent the ball game marker called the tlaxmalacatle in Aztec times. The main exhibits of the roofed area are the fragments recovered from the Building of the Columns, with a number partially reassembled.

One tells the story of 13 Rabbit, a ruler of El Tajin who probably had the building constructed. The scene shows a dual procession with 13 Rabbits seated on a wooden throne and his feet on a severed head.

In front is a sacrifice victim with his entrails slung over a frame. 13 Rabbit’s name glyph appears above as well as an attendant named 4 Axe. The rest of the procession consists of warriors holding captives by their hair.

Arroyo Group

This is called the Arroyo Group because two streams surround it on three sides.

This area is one of the oldest sections of the city and is more than 86,100 square feet (8,000 m2). It is flanked by four high buildings, named Buildings 16, 18, 19, and 20, which were topped by temples.

Stairways lead from the plaza floor to the temples above. Unlike the rest of the city, these four buildings are uniform in height and nearly symmetrical. The pyramids here are primitive in comparison to the rest of the site, with niches that are not as finely formed.

The east and west pyramids of the Arroyo group each held three temples at the top.

Another unusual feature is that this plaza has no smaller structures such as buildings or altars to break up the space. It has been determined that this was the city marketplace because of the large plaza space for stalls and for a deity found here that is related to commerce.

The merchant deity found here has features more in common with this kind of deity in the central highlands of Mexico than of Tajín. The market that filled this plaza consisted of stalls made with sticks and cloth offering regional products such as vanilla as well as products from other parts of Mesoamerica such as jaguar skins, exotic birds such as the parrot and the macaw and quetzal feathers.

Slaves for service and sacrifice were also sold here.

West of the building on the south side is a large ball court with sloped sides and sculpted friezes depicting the god Quetzalcoatl. When the city fell, most of the sculptures in this area were smashed or defaced with some being reused as building stone.

The Pyramid of the Niches

This pyramid has a number of names including, El Tajín, Pyramid of Papantla, Pyramid of the Seven Stories, and the Temple of the Niches. It has become the focus of the site because of its unusual design and good state of preservation.

It was prominent in ancient times as well. A large quantity of sculpture was recovered from this pyramid. The building is mostly constructed of carefully cut and crafted flagstones, the largest of which is estimated to be about eight metric tons in weight.

The stones, especially around the niches are fitted together to need a minimum amount of lime and earth mortar. The structure originally was covered in stucco which served as the base for paint.

The pyramid has seven stories. Each of these consists of a sloping base wall called a talud and a vertical wall called a tablero, which was fairly common in Mesoamerica. What is unusual about this construction and others in the city is the addition of decorative niches with the top capped by what Jose Garcia Payon called a “flying cornice,” a triangular overhang. The stones are arranged in controlled lines and delicate proportions. Originally the structure was painted a dark red with the niches in black intended to deepen the shadows of the recessed niches. Niches are also found underneath the stairway along the east face, which indicates that the stairway was a later addition. The niches on the original structure, not counting those on the later stairway, total 365, the solar year. At the top of the pyramid, there were tablets framed by grotesque serpent-dragons.

The ritual function of the building is not primarily calendaric. The deep niches imitate caves, which long have been considered to be passageways to the underworld, where many of the gods reside. Caves, especially those with springs, have been considered sacred in much of Mexico with offerings of flowers and candles being traditional. As last as the mid-20th century, remains of beeswax candles could still be found left on the first level of this pyramid. There is a popular belief that each niche contained an idol or effigy but archeological work here has ruled this out. The most important part of the structure was the temple that was on top of this pyramid; however, this was completely destroyed and little is known about what it might have looked like.

Sculpture from the temple is largely fragmentary. The larger tablets have depictions of the rain god, or a ruler dressed as the deity, involved in several ritual or mythological scenes. This seems to have been the most important god of the culture as other depictions are found in other places at the site. His appearance here underlies the significance of this pyramid. The stairway to the temple is adorned on the sides with frets, which are called xicalcoliuhqui. It is thought to symbolize lightning and while it is common in Mesoamerica, it is a very prominent motif here. These frets were probably painted blue as they were on other buildings, where remains of paint have been found. At the top of the stairway were probably two large three-dimensional stelae. One has survived mostly intact and is now in the site museum. Off the stairs and leading east from the pyramid are large round stone with holes in the middle, in which were probably placed banners. The interior of the pyramid is rocks and earth. This fill is strained between the sloping walls which become the taluds of each level of the pyramid. Buried under all of this is a smaller stricter with taluds but no niches.

The pyramid is flanked by two smaller structures named Building 2 and Building 4. Both are small temple-like platforms. Building 4 contains a smaller, older structure inside it that may be among the earliest structures at the site.

Tajin Chico is a multilevel portion of the site that stretches north-northwest from the older parts of the city up a hill. Much of this section was created by using massive amounts of landfill. It is an immense acropolis composed of numerous palaces and other civil structures.

There are relatively few temples here. It is also more easily defended than other parts of the city. Tajin Chico is so named because it was initially thought to be a separate but related site. It is now known that it belonged to the center of the city.

However, as the term was already in the literature about the site, it has stuck.

Building C was not a temple but its function is not entirely clear. Nearby buildings A and B were palaces. It is probable that this building was used by priests or rulers to receive visitors, petitioners, and others.

The roof of Building C was more than 150 sq m in size and covered two rooms on the west side as well as the main room which opened to the east through five piers.

The entire exterior of the building is covered in stepped frets, with these frets arranged to give the appearance of niches. To further this effect, the inside of the frets were painted dark red and the exterior portion light blue, similar to turquoise.

The broad eastern stairway was also painted with cloud-like scroll motifs.

Building B is a two-story structure that was used as a residence and classified as a palace. Like other structures nearby, its roof is a thick slab of cement and there is another slab that separates the ground and upper floors.

The entrance to the building from the plaza was through a divided stairway, leading to a single room 9.8 by 7.3 m in size. This space is broken by six stone and cement pillars that support the floor above.

These columns were thickened over time as it became apparent to have stronger bracing for the weight of the two floors. The upper story is reached by a narrow stairway. This floor is more spacious even though there are columns here as well.

This is the only multistoried palace found outside the Mayan areas.

Building A has two levels, stepped frets, and niches, and is reminiscent of structures found in the Yucatán.

However, the lower level of the building is not rooms but a solid base. The lower level is adorned with large rectangular panels which appear to have been painted red. The entrance is on the south side of the building and is quite elaborate.

The upper level contains a corridor that goes all the way around and a number of rooms. The upper level was adorned with stepped frets and scrolls as well. These were painted yellow, blue, red, and black.

The panels inside were painted with murals, of which only fragments survive. At the east and west sides of the corridors are entrances to the rooms, two interconnected rooms on each side of the building.

Building A is constructed over older buildings that were buried when this area was filled in, some aspects of the building, like the buttresses been damaged due to settling where there are no buildings below.

The facade depicts a false stairway and balustrades of stepped frets capped by niches. It is unknown if the similarity between this building and the Pyramid of the Niches indicates a relationship between the two.

The false stairs were originally adorned with scroll motifs done in blue and yellow paint, but very little remains. At the center of the false stairway are true stairs leading upwards under an arch to the first level of the palace.

The Building of the Columns dominates the highest portion of Tajin Chico. It is part of one of the last building complexes built at El Tajín. These buildings are situated on a platform terrace with is formed on natural contours and filled in spaces.

The other structure on this platform is called the Annex or the Building of the Tunnels, as it is connected to the Building of the Columns by a passageway. Behind these buildings is a large plaza with small low structures on its edges.

This building is named for the columns that adorned the east facade of the structure.

The columns were made by stacking circles cut from flagstone. Then the surface of the columns was sculpted with scenes celebrating a ruler named 13 Rabbit, who probably had this structure built. Most of the remains of these columns are on display at the site museum.

This structure also had a cement roof, which was arched in the “porch” area between the columns and the inner rooms. There is an inner courtyard and ornately decorated, with stepped frets, and other symbols in stone and cement which were painted.

This complex was one of the last to be built and it also shows evidence of fire and other damage from the fall of the city.

Just east of Tajin Chico is an area of valley floor. There are numerous buildings in this section but many are not accessible to visitors due to the lack of trails and many have yet to be explored. Two have been partially explored.

The first is the Great Xicalcoluihqui or the Great Enclosure. This is a wall, which from above forms a giant stepped fret and encloses about 12,000 sq m. This structure is unique among Mesoamerican sites and contains two or three small ballcourts.

The sides of the enclosure are formed by a slender platform with sloping sides and free-standing niches, resembling the Pyramid of the Niches. There are more than a hundred niches in this wall, broken up by a number of entrances.

The other structure is the Great Ballcourt, the largest court at El Tajin. It is located at the northwest corner of the Great Xicalcoluihqui and at the base of Tajin Chico. It has vertical sides and is about 65 m long.

Unlike other ballcourts, there are no carved panels and no sculptures have been associated with this structure.

Buildings 3, 23, 15 and 5

Building 3 or the Blue Temple has some features that set it apart from other pyramids at the site. Except for six benches on the staircase and at the top of the balustrades, probably later additions, there are no niches. The seven stories of the pyramid are composed of gently sloping walling divided into panels of varying widths. The unreconstructed north side has a large indentation made by looters before the site was protected by guards. No sculpture is known to have come from this building and nothing of the temple at the top remains. The building was covered in cement several times over its history, and each layer of this cement was painted in blue rather than the more common red. Remnants of this paint can be seen on part of the stairway and on the side facing east toward Building 23. Blue is most often associated with the rain god but there is no other evidence to support this.

While the Blue Temple was a fairly early construction, the pyramid next to it, Building 23 was built very late in Tajin’s history. It consists of five stories in near vertical talud without niches. The original staircase was destroyed then reworked into its present form. The divider in the center is a buttress to hold the fill behind the stairs in place. The stairs are made from a mixture of lime, sand and clay without a stone core. The interior of the building is composed of loose stone, mostly rounded river boulders. At the top, there the temple was located, is a series of stepped merlons which look like medieval European battlements.

Just south of Buildings 3 and 23 is Building 15, which is only partially excavated. It faces west and appears to have a civil function much like Building C in Tajín Chico. It has stairways on both the east and west sides that lead to the top of the second level. The third story begins with a wall of niches and no visible stairs. The two lower levels are adorned with larger niches as is the top of the stairway divider. Beneath the larger niches is a line of seven panels. Under the fourth panel, an older panel was found. Deeper excavation found an older, damaged structure which was covered over by the visible structure. This building is thought to the last built with niches.

Building 5 is considered to be the stateliest of the El Tajin site. While located next to the Pyramid of the Niches, its visual appeal is not lost to its more famous neighbor. It is located in the center of a pyramid complex and consists of a truncated pyramid rising from a platform that is over 32,000 square feet (3,000 m2) in size. Access to the first level of the pyramid, which is lined with niches, is via a single staircase on the west side or a double staircase on the east side. Access to the top of the pyramid, where the temple once stood, is via a double staircase on the east side. The top of the pyramid contains two platforms, both of which are decorated with stepped frets. Between the two sets of staircases on the first level on the east side is a tall column-line sculpture. It had been thrown down from the top of the pyramid in ancient times and broken. Archeologists reassembled it at the spot in which it was found. The sculpture is similar in style to the carved stone yokes of Veracruz. The figure seems to be an allegorical representation of a seated figure with a severed upper torso and a skull for a head. The arms are holding a serpent like form and the body contains scrolls, which may signify sacrificial blood. The small buildings that surround this pyramid are meant to compliment it. However, the one on the northeast side has been completely destroyed due to centuries-old trail that was used when this area was still jungle.

The North Ballcourt is constructed by three layers of large flagstones. There are six carved panels with ritual scenes and an ornamental frieze that runs along both walls. The court is 87 feet (27 m) long, which is considered to be unusually small and has vertical rather than sloping walls. It is probably one of the oldest structures at Tajín.

Portions of the panels and friezes are worn to the point that large areas are incomplete. The four end panels have scenes relating to the ritual of the ball game that result in entreaties to the gods. The central panels depict the gods responding or performing a ritual of their own. Variant forms of the god of pulque appear over each of the end panels, suggesting that the drink was an important part of the ritual. The southeast, east and northwest panels show a ruler on a throne. The southwest panel has a figure dressed as an eagle seated in a vat of liquid, probably pulque, and being fed by a female figure on the left and a male on the right. The deteriorated north central panel shows two cross-legged figures facing each other. One is seated on a throne and the other by a pulque vat. In the center are two intertwined serpents which seem to form the shape of a tlaxmalactl or ball game marker. The friezes running along the upper edges of the court are composed of interlocking scroll figures, each containing a central element of a head and an eye. Many have feathered headdresses and reptilian attributes and a few are human like.

The South Ballcourt, like the North Ball court, has only vertical walls which are sculpted. The sculpted panels on these walls remain largely intact and show in step-by-step fashion how the ball game was played here, complete with ceremonies, sacrifice and the response of the gods. The court has a general east-west alignment and is 198 feet (60 m) long and 34.5 feet (10.5 m) wide. Spectators could watch events from Building 5 to the north and Building 6 to the south as well as from stands built on one side of the court. The court is made of stones of up to ten tons in weight many of which came from outside the valley. Once the court walls were built six panels were sculpted at the corners and centers of the two walls. The panels on the ends show scenes from the ballgame itself and the center panels show responses from the gods.

The southeast panel illustrates the opening ritual when the principal participant is elaborately dressed and is being handed a bundle of spears. This is part of an initial activity before the game itself starts. Overlooking this scene is the death deity who rises from a vat of liquid, perhaps pulque. The glyphs above the deity identify it with the planet Venus. Next is the southwest panel in which a different ceremonial preparation is depicted. The principal participant is supine on a kind of a sofa. Two musicians are playing a turtle shell drum and clay rattles. A figure dressed as an eagle dances in front while a skeletal deity flies above and the death deity rises from liquid. The northwest panel shows the beginning of the ballgame. Two participants are standing in the center of the court with speech scrolls emerging from their mouths. One holds a large knife in his left hand and gestures with his right. Between them are intertwined slashes, the symbol of the ballgame and a ball. At their waists are the protective and ritual accoutrements which are very similar to the stone yokes, palmas and hachas common in elite burials. Behind the players are two figures, one with a deer head, who are watching from the court walls as well as the death deity again above. The northeast panel indicates that the game has been played and one of the participants is about to be sacrificed by having his head cut off. The three figures are all dressed in the garments and symbols of the ballgame. The center figure has his arms held back by the one on the left. The figure on the right holds a large knife which is at the center figure’s neck. There are scrolls indicating speech from the sacrifice as well as a depiction of the skeletal god.

After this point, the panels deal with the response of the gods. The north central panel represents the continuation of the ritual in the afterlife, and shows how the events of the game connect the society of El Tajin to the gods. At the center of the scene is a temple with the rain and wind gods seated on top and a vat of liquid within. The sacrificed player appears here, whole and with a pot under his arm. He points to the vat and addresses the rain god. The liquid is protected by a reclining chacmool, who is speaking. What is being requested is pulque, indicated by a glyph indicating the mythical origin of the drink and a split image of the god of pulque above the scene. On the south central panel is depicting a scene after the sacrificed ball player has received the pulque with the same temple, glyphs and depiction of the pulque god. The differences are a depiction of the moon as a rabbit, the rain god in front of the temple and the level of the liquid in the vat lowered. The rain god is shown in a rite of auto sacrifice running a spike through part of his penis. The blood falls into the vat and to refill it with pulque.

The Cumbre Tajin is an annual artistic and cultural festival which is held at the site in March. The Cumbre Tajin is considered to be an identity festival of the Totonacs, who are considered to be the guardians of El Tajín. Events include those traditional to the Totonac culture as well as modern arts and events from cultures from as far as Tibet. Some of the events include musical concerts, experiencing a temazcal, theatrical events and visiting El Tajin at night, with a total over 5,000 activities. Many of the cultural, craft and gastronomic events occur at the adjacent Parque Takilhsukut which just located just outside the archeological site. In 2008, 160,000 attended the event which featured Fito Páez, Ximena Sariñana and Los Tigres del Norte. Thirty percent of the revenue the event generates goes toward scholarships for Totonaca youth.

In 2009, the event added the Encuentro Internacional de Voladores (International Encounter of Voladores). For five days, voladores from various places perform at the poles erected at the site. The objective is not only to see the different costumes and styles of the groups but to share experiences about the fertility ritual. Voladores come from as far as San Luis Potosi and Guatemala.

The Cumbre Tajín has been criticized for its emphasis on modern shows rather than on cultural events. One criticism is the illumination of pyramids at night without any kind of cultural historical instruction. The criticism is that it disrespects the site and the Totonac people. There are also fears that large numbers of visitors to the site for events such as concerts by names such as Alejandra Guzmán damage the site. However, the Centro de Artes Indígenas de Veracruz states that it works very hard to preserve and promote Totonac culture through the event, sponsoring events such as traditional cooking, painting and the ritual of the Voladores.

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