El Tajín, ancient home of the Totonaca culture

The  archaeological zone of El Tajín was the ancient home of the Totonaca culture.

The archaeological zone of El Tajín shows what was the most important city of Veracruz in pre-Hispanic times. This was founded in the fourth century AD. reaching its splendor in the sixth and seventh centuries AD. During this period they built ostentatious and beautiful buildings reflecting in them their art in architecture. It is believed that El Tajín was the capital of the Totonaca culture, which means “City of Thunder“.

Among the most prominent buildings is the Pyramid of the Niches, Tajin Chico, Buildings 3, 23, 15 and 5 and the North and South Ball Game Courts.

El Tajín was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992 for its extraordinary architecture and for being a testimony to the great pre-Hispanic cultures of Mexico.

The Pyramid of the Niches is well known fir its outstanding and ostentatious architecture.

This pyramid is the  most outstanding in the archaeological zone thanks to its peculiar design and its good state of preservation. The pyramid is formed by 365 niches (hollows) that represent the days of the year.  They based their life on the solar calendar as did other pre-Hispanic cultures.

The Ball Game was very important for the Totonaca culture.

In the archaeological zone 17 different courts have been found where the game of Ball was practiced.   All of them are distributed throughout the site and are of different dimensions with  the most important being the North and South Fields.

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