Mexican Archaeological Sites
Classic Maya Sites to Visit in Chiapas, Mexico
There are several Maya ruins located in the state of Chiapas that are well worth a visit.
Aztec Archaeological Sites
A few of the important sites of the Aztec civilization, all located in the modern country of Mexico, and part of the Aztec Study guide.
Cacaxtla (Tlaxcala)
Cacaxtla was a Late Classic to Epiclassic (AD 600-900) city in the Puebla Valley, Tlaxcala, Mexico, with a population of about 10,000 at its peak.
Calakmul
A photo essay on some of the highlights of the fabulous Maya site of Calakmul.
Casas Grandes (Chihuahua)
Casas Grandes (or Paquimé) was a large, influential capital city of the Casas Grandes polity in the state of Chihuahua, northern Mexico
Chichén Itzá (Yucatán)
Chichén Itzá is a large Maya and Toltec village and temple complex on the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico.
Cobá (Quintana Roo)
Cobá is the name of a large lowland Maya city located between two large lakes in east central Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Coxcatlan Cave (Mexico)
Coxcatlan Cave is a rockshelter in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico, and it was occupied by humans for nearly 10,000 years.
Cuicuilco (DF)
Cuicuilco is the name of a Late Formative period site (300-1 BC) located in the Basin of Mexico, in the Distrito Federale of Mexico City.
El Tajín (Mexico)
El Tajin, located on the Gulf Coast, was likely built as a ceremonial center ca AD 700-1000, and from there developed into an important urban center.
Guila Naquitz (Mexico)
Guilá Naquitz is a small cave located within the eastern range of mountains in the Valley of Oaxaca. The site was occupied at least six times between 8000 and 6500 BC, by hunters and gatherers, probably during the fall (October to December) of the year.
La Mojarra (Mexico)
La Mojarra is an archaeological site in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, occupied from the late Formative period until at least the early Postclassic (ca. 300 BC-AD 1000).
Huandacareo (Michoacan)
Huandacareo is a Mesoamerican Postclassic site in Michoacan, belonging to the Tarascan empire
Malinalco (Mexico)
Malinalco is an important Aztec archaeological site and ceremonial center on a hilltop, in Mexico State just south of Mexico City. Its fascinating temples are carved out of the natural bedrock of the hill and its numerous jaguar and eagle sculptures related to Aztec warfare, nobility and imperial power.
Paquimé: Between Aztec and Toltec
A 14th century AD civilization in northwestern Mexico and southwestern US.
Tzintzuntzan (Michoacan)
Tzinztuntzan in Michoacan is an important Mesoamerican site in the north of Mexico and capital of the Postclassic Tarascan empire
San Blas (Nayarit)
The destroyed Late Archaic archaeological site of San Blas, Mexico was located near the town of the same name in Nayarit.
San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán (Veracruz)
The archaeological site of San Lorenzo is an Olmec period site located in the state of Veracruz.
Santa Luisa (Veracruz)
The archaeological site of Santa Luisa is a multi-component site located east of El Tajin in the state of Veracruz.
Quiahuiztlan (Mexico)
Quiahuiztlan is the name of a fortified settlement located on the lower slopes of a volcanic mountain on the gulf coast of Veracruz state, Mexico.
Templo Mayor (DF)
The principal temple for the Aztec people living in Tenochtitlan, the Templo Mayor was built beginning in the year 1390 AD.
Tenayuca (Mexico)
The site of Tenayuca is a Middle Post Classic period city and pyramid located in the state of Mexico north of Mexico City.
Tenochtitlan (DF)
The capital city of the Aztec civilization, Tenochtitlan is now the metropolis of Mexico City.
Tlachuachero (Chiapas)
The archaeological site of Tlachuachero is a Chantuto phase site in Chiapas state, Mexico.
Tlapacoya (Mexico)
The archaeological site of Tlapacoya is a multicomponent settlement located on an island in a precolumbian lake at the foot of the Tlapacoya volcano, in the central southern Basin of Mexico.
Tlaxcala (Tlaxcala)
Tlaxcala is the name of the state and its capital city in Mexico; and one of the rival city states with the Aztec nation in the mid-15th century AD.
Tula (Mexico)
The archaeological ruins of Tula are located in the Mexican state of Hildalgo about 50 kilometers northwest of Mexico City.
Vuelta Limon (Chiapas)
The archaeological site of Vuelta Limón is located about 20 kilometers from the Pacific coast of the state of Chiapas, on the banks of the Rio Cacaluta.
Cerro Toluquilla (Puebla)
The site of Cerro Toluquilla is where footprints were discovered in volcanic ash dated to 38,000 years ago. This website is from Silvia Gonzalez, who reported the site in 2005; the archaeological site is controversial because it is 25,000 years older than any other confirmed archaeological site in the Americas.
Chiconautla
Report of George Valliant's 1935 excavations at this Aztec period site, from Ananda Cohen and Christina Elson at the American Museum of Natural History. English and Spanish.
Yaxchilán, Mexico
Located on the Usumacinta river, Yaxchilan is one of the loveliest of Maya archaeological sites.
Cueva Pintada (Baja California)
Cave paintings in Mexico's Baha California, an article in Archaeology Online.
Dzibilchaltun (Yucatan)
A collection of photographs of the Mayan center of Dzibelchaltun in the Yucatan peninsula, from Clive Ruggles at the University of Leicester.
Edzná (Campeche, Mexico)
Edzná is a Late Classic Maya site in Campeche, described in this brief article from Athena Review.
Gruta de Chac
Terminal Classic Chac Cave, Yucatan, a report on the new study by Michael P. Smyth for FAMSI.
Juxtlahuaca (Guerrero, Mexico)
In a project gallery feature from the journal Antiquity 2005, Michael D. Coe provides a color image of an Olmec painted portrait from this site, enhanced with Photoshop.
Labna-Kiuic Project
Millsaps College (Mississippi, USA) and INAH; Proyecto Labna-Kiuic involves investigation of these two Maya sites on the Puuc Peninsula.
Palenque Project
Ongoing investigations at Palenque have been conducted at Palenque since 1997 by El Proyecto Groupo de las Cruces, directed by Merle Greene Robertson and Alfonso Morales Cleveland.
Tulúm (Quintana Roo)
Tulúm is a Maya site located in Quintana Roo; this meaty description of the site is from Athena Review.
Valdivia Shipwreck (1511)
Discussion of the historical events in 1511 during some of the earliest voyages to the New World, a shipwreck of the Yucatan peninsula by Enciso y Valdivia; an article summary from Athena Review.
Xochicalco (Morelos, Mexico)
Xochicalco is a classic period archaeological site in southwest Morelos. A collection of photographs.
Xochicalco, Morelos (Mexico)
The important Epiclassic and Classic period site of Xochilcalco is located in the state of Morelos.