Mexico

Castillo de Teayo (Mesoamerican site)

Huastec pyramid and temple in Veracruz, Mexico

Location

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Historical Context

About

Castillo de Teayo is a mesoamerican Prehispanic archeological site and Mesoamerican pyramid, located in the La Huasteca region in northern Veracruz, Mexico. The main access to the site is via Federal Highway 130 México-Tuxpan up to the city of Teayo, it belongs to the Huastec culture and it is estimated it was inhabited between the 10th and 12th centuries. In the modern era the contemporary settlement of Castillo de Teayo developed around the ancient pyramid that the settlement and its municipality of Castillo de Teayo were named after. In the Tuxpan Canvas, this place is represented by the Teayotlán glyph. According to one version, the name etymology comes from the Huastec language word teayo o teayoc, which means “on the stone turtle”. Another official version of the name is that it comes from the Nahuatl word Teayok, Te-ayo-k “Turtle on stone”. The site received its current name because there is a temple or archaeological monument in the municipality, as the only remaining vestige of a large ancient city, a mixture of the Olmec and Huastec cultures. It used to be called Tzapotlán.

Paleolithic
Mesolithic
Neolithic
Chalcolithic
Bronze Age
Iron Age
Classical Period
Post-Classical Period
Early Modern Period
Industrial Period
Contemporary Period
Temporal Epochs

Historical Timeline

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Huastec occupation

10th–12th centuries

Toltec-period attribution

15th century

Classification

Archaeological Features

Unique architectural and cultural elements found at this historical site

category

Public and Civic Structures

Plazas
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Burial and Funerary Structures

Pyramids
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Religious and Ritual Structures

TemplesCeremonial Platforms
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Artistic and Decorative Features

StatuesMonumentsReliefs
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Domestic and Habitation Structures

TownsCities
Knowledge Base

Frequently Asked Questions

Reference

Details

Country

Mexico

Coordinates

20.75° N, -97.63° E