ARCHAEOLOGY

In Mexico City you can find archaeological ruins of the Mexica culture (more commonly known as the Aztec culture). At these places, and in their museums, you can learn more about the mysteries of the Aztecs? cosmo-vision and their customs, some of which persist in the capital today.

Templo Mayor ? Located in downtown Mexico City at 8 Seminario Street. This is a small archaeological zone where you can see the remains of the Aztecs? Grand Temple, the most important building of Tenochtitlan (the old Aztec capital now known as Mexico City).  The site has a museum that houses objects found during excavation and restoration. The Aztecs built the temple in honor of their gods Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 to 5:00.

Tlatelolco ? Located in the center of the city, on Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas, Col. Nonoalco-Tlatelolco. Considered the sister city of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire. The base of a main temple still stands at this site, similar to that of the Templo Mayor. There is also a round temple that was built to the honor the god of wind. The pre-Hispanic constructions form part of a group of architectural structures known as the Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Three Cultures Square), which is where you?ll also find colonial building la Iglesia de Santiago Tlatelolco (the Church of Santiago Tlatelolco) and a housing complex.

Cuicuilco ? Located in south Mexico City at 156 Avenida Insurgentes Sur and Anillo Pereferico, Tlalpan District. This is one of the oldest pre-Hispanic urban zones in Mexico. Here you?ll find the preserved ruins of several religious and residential buildings, as well as the remains of a water works system. One of the most interesting ruins is a round terraced pyramid with five levels, considered the first attempt by Mexico?s pre-Hispanic civilization to create a relationship between religion and the cosmos.