List of pre-Columbian ruins in Mexico

The list preferably contains pre-Columbian archaeological sites in Mexico outside of the Mayan culture, where excavations and mostly also reconstruction work have taken place. Most of the mentioned ruin sites are officially open to visitors. The list is sorted alphabetically according to the names of the localities, but can also be sorted according to the Mexican states and the nearby larger towns. The ruins in Mexico are looked after by a government agency, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH). The sites of the Mokaya culture are not yet included in the following list.

The times correspond to the usual terms of Mesoamerican chronology .

The ruins of the Maya culture can be found in the list of Maya ruins .

Surname	Country	Near	Time position	Brief description	image
Acozac	México	Ixtapaluca	Late post-classic	Small palace
Altavista	Zacatecas	Chalchihuites	Classic	Observatory near the tropic
Balcony of Montezuma	Tamaulipas	Ciudad Victoria	Classic - post-classic
Cacaxtla	Tlaxcala	Puebla	Classic	Large murals
Calixtlahuaca	México	Toluca	Classic-Post-Classic	Round temple
Cantona	Puebla	Libres		Big city on lava field, many ball courts
Teayo Castle	Veracruz	Poza Rica	Post-classic	Pyramid with a well-preserved temple
Cempoala	Veracruz	Cardel	Post-classic	Lots of temples, some murals
Cerro de la Campana	Oaxaca	Sto. Domingo de Morelos
Cerro de la Estrella	Federal District	Metro: Cerro de la Estrella	Post-classic	Site of the Aztec New Fire Ceremony
Cerro de las Minas	Oaxaca	Huajuapan de León	Post-classic
Chalcatzingo	Morelos	Cuautla	Pre-classical	Rock reliefs
Chapultepec	Federal District	Chapultepec Metro	Post-classic	Rock painting of the last Aztec ruler
Chimalacatlan	Morelos	Cuautla	Pre-classical	Platforms and ball playground
Cholula	Puebla	San Andrés Cholula	Pre-Classical-Post-Classical	Huge pyramid
Coatetelco	Morelos	Cuernavaca	Classic	Small place with a ball playground
Complejo Huapoca	Chihuahua	Madera	Post-classic	Cave houses
Cuarenta Casas	Chihuahua	Madera	Post-classic	Cave houses
Cuetlajuchitlán	Guerrero	Iguala	Pre-classical	City on hill with brick streets
Cueva de la Olla	Chihuahua	Casas Grandes	Post-classic	Cave settlement
Cueva Grande	Chihuahua	Madera	Post-classic	Cave settlement
Cuicuilco	Federal District		Pre-classical	Round pyramid in lava field
Cuyuxquihui	Veracruz	El Tajin / Papantla	Post-classic	Temple pyramids and ball playground
Dainzú	Oaxaca	Oaxaca de Juarez	Pre-classical
El Cerrito	Querétaro	Querétaro	Late classical	Very large pyramid
El Conde	México
El Consuelo / Tamuin	San Luis Potosí	Ciudad Valles	Post-classic	Pyramids and altar with painting in Codex style
El Tajín	Veracruz	Papantla	Classic	Large ceremonial center with a peculiar architectural style
El Teúl	Zacatecas	Teúl de González Ortega		Mountain fortress
El Vallecito	Baja California
El Xihuingo	Hidalgo	Tepeapulco	Classic	Pyramid on top of a mountain
El Zapotal	Veracruz	Ignacio de la Llave	Late classical
Filobobos	Veracruz	Teziutlan	Classic	Several centers in a narrow valley
Guachimontones	Jalisco	Guadalajara		Annular buildings
Guiengola	Oaxaca	Tehuantepec	Post-classic	Great center, not excavated
Huamango	México	Acambay	Early post-classic	Small ceremonial center
Huamelulpan	Oaxaca	Teposcolula	Pre-classical	Platforms with very early inscriptions
Huandacareo	Michoacan	Cuitzeo	Post-classic
Huapalcalco	Hidalgo	Tulancingo	Classic	Small ceremonial center
Huatusco	Veracruz	Cordoba	Post-classic	Well-preserved temple pyramid from Aztec times
Huexotla	México	Texcoco	Post-classic	Palace and high wall
Huitzo	Oaxaca	Etla	Post-classic	Post-classic
Ihuatzio	Michoacan	Pátzcuaro	Post-classic	Double pyramid, courtyard complex
Ixtlán del Río	Nayarit	Tepic	Post-classic	Palace and Round Temple
Izapa	Chiapas	Tamazulapan	Pre-classical	Important site with many steles
La Ferrería	Durango
La Mojarra	Veracruz		Pre-classical	several steles, including the famous stele 1 with two long count dates
La Pintada	Sonora			Rock paintings
La Quemada	Zacatecas	Zacatecas	Classic	Walled city or mountain fortress with pillared halls
La Venta	Tabasco	Coatzacoalcos	Pre-classical	Olmec monuments
Lambityeco	Oaxaca	Oaxaca de Juarez	Post-classic
Las Flores	Tamaulipas
Las Pilas	Morelos	Jonacatepec	Classic - post-classic
Las Ranas	Querétaro	San Joaquín		Fortified place on ridge
Los melones	México
Los Reyes Acaquilpan	México	Texcoco
Malinalco	México	Tenancingo de Degollado	Late post-classic	Round temple carved out of the rock
Malpasito	Tabasco		Post-classic	Squares and building foundations at different levels, ball playground, no temples
Mitla	Oaxaca	Mitla	Post-classic	Palaces with stone mosaic
Mixcoac	Federal District	Metro Mixcoac	Post-classic
Mixquiahuala	Hidalgo		Late post-classic	Small pyramid in the modern cemetery
Monte Albán	Oaxaca	Oaxaca de Juarez	Pre-Classical-Classical	Big city, ceremonial buildings on ridge
Ocotelulco	Tlaxcala	Tlaxcala	Late post-classic	Murals
Ocoyoacac	México
Olintepec	Morelos	Cuautla	Pre-classical
Paquime	Chihuahua	Casas Grandes	Post-classic
Paxil	Veracruz	Misantla	Classic
Plazuelas	Guanajuato	Penjamo	Late classical	Temple complex
Quiahuiztlan	Veracruz	Cardel	Post-classic	Miniature temple
Rincon Colorado	Coahuila
San Felipe los Alzati	Michoacan	Zitácuaro	Late post-classic	Pyramids and courtyards
San Jose Mogote	Oaxaca	Oaxaca de Juarez	Pre-classical	Pyramid and finds in the Olmec style
San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán	Tabasco	Acayucan	Pre-classical	Olmec monuments
San Miguel Ixtapan	México	Tejupilco de Hidalgo
Santa Cecilia Acatitlán	México		Late post-classic	Small double pyramid, heavily restored
Tancama	Querétaro	Jalpan de Serra	Epiclassic
Tantok / Tantoque	San Luis Potosí	Ciudad Valles	Early post-classic
Tecoaque	Tlaxcala	Calpulalpan	Post-classic	Extensive housing estate
Tehuacalco	Guerrero		Post-classic	Pyramid bases and palaces
Templo Mayor	Federal District	Metro: Zócalo	Post-classic	Central temple of the Aztecs
Tenayuca	México		Post-classic	Double temple with a row of snakes
Teopantecuanitlan	Guerrero	Iguala	Pre-classical	Reliefs in the Olmec style
Teopanzolco	Morelos	Cuernavaca	Late post-classic	Large double temple
Teotenango	México	Toluca	Late classical	Big city on lava field
Teotihuacan	México		Classic	Greatest city in ancient America
Tepapayeca	Puebla	Izucar de Matamoros	Post-classic	pyramid
Tepatlaxco	Puebla	S. Martín Texmelucan	Post-classic	Pyramids
Tepeapulco	Hidalgo		Classic
Tepeji el viejo	Puebla	Tepexi de Rodríguez	Post-classic	Fortress
Tepozteco	Morelos	Tepoztlan	Late post-classic	Temple on a rock spur
Tetzcotzingo	México	Texcoco	Late post-classic	Water games around mountain ridges
Tingambato	Michoacan	Pátzcuaro	Post-classic	Pyramids and courtyards
Tizatlan	Tlaxcala	Tlaxcala	Late post-classic	Murals
Tlalcozotitlan	Guerrero
Tlapacoya	México	Ixtapaluca	Pre-classical	Small platforms
Tlatelolco	Federal District		Post-classic	Tlatelolco Temple and Market
Toluquilla	Querétaro	San Joaquín	Late classical	Fortified place on ridge
Totimehuacan	Puebla	Puebla	Pre-classical	Pyramid with a water sanctuary inside
Tres Cerritos	Michoacan	Cuitzeo	Post-classic	Platforms and Courtyards
Tres Zapotes	Veracruz	San Andrés Tuxtla	Pre-classical	Olmec monuments
Tula	Hidalgo		Early post-classic	Center of the Toltecs
Tzintzuntzan	Michoacan		Late post-classic	Taraskan pyramids (yacatas)
Xaaga	Oaxaca	Mitla	Post-classic
Xiutetelco	Puebla	Teziutlán		Unexcavated pyramids in place
Xochicalco	Morelos	Cuernavaca	Early post-classic	Ceremonial center with observatory, feather snake pyramid
Xochitécatl	Tlaxcala	Puebla	Classic	Great pyramid on mountain top
Yagul	Oaxaca	Oaxaca	Post-classic	Palace, ball playground, burial chambers
Yautepec	Morelos	Yautepec	Post-classic	Palace platform, settlement
Yohualichan	Puebla	Cuetzalan		Buildings in the style of El Tajín
Yucuita	Oaxaca	Nochixtlan	Pre-classical	Large center excavated sporadically
Zaachila	Oaxaca	Oaxaca	Post-classic	Burial chambers with stucco reliefs

literature

• Davíd Carrasco (Ed.): The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures . 3 volumes. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-510815-9

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