Teopanzolco Double Temple Pyramid
Teopanzolco · Temple of Ehécatl · Twin shrine Cuernavaca
Late Postclassic Aztec (Tlahuica)·Tlahuica / Aztec (Tlahuica Chalca)·🇲🇽 Morelos, Cuernavaca, Teopanzolco, Mexico
About
About Teopanzolco Double Temple Pyramid
Twin double-temple pyramid at Teopanzolco on hill above Cuernavaca (Tlahuica capital, c. 1400–1521 CE), allied to Aztec empire. Base 35 × 45 m, 12 m high double shrine with temples to Huitzilopochtli (war) and Tlaloc (rain) side by side on shared platform separated by low wall — antecedent to Teopanzolco's 2017 earthquake exposing interior Teocalli with extensive Teotihuacan-style talud-tablero sub-pyramid. Postclassic Tlahuica consolidation. Discovered 1914 when artillery shelling revealed pyramid during Mexican Revolution; INAH excavated 1920s.
Why it mattersUnique 2017 interior pyramid discovery documents Postclassic encasing; artillery discovery story parallels Cuicuilco; Tlahuica ethnogenesis.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Dating of inner talud-tablero — Teotihuacan revival or local
- 02Tlahuica vs Aztec patronage of rebuilds
Theories
- 01Postclassic reuse of Teotihuacan talud-tablero vocabulary centuries later
- 02Aztec provincial display vs local Tlahuica style
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1400–1521 CE (Tlahuica Late Postclassic, Aztec hegemony)
- Period
- Late Postclassic Aztec (Tlahuica)
- Culture
- Tlahuica / Aztec (Tlahuica Chalca)
- Builders
- Tlahuica lords under Aztec Triple Alliance
- Purpose
- Double temple pyramid commemorating 1521 contact horizon
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 1400–1521 CE (Tlahuica Late Postclassic, Aztec hegemony)
Initial construction
c. 1688 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
18.9304° N · 99.2220° W · 1550 m · 3 mapped features
Twin temple platform outer
pyramidDouble shrines Huitzilopochtli/Tlaloc
18.9305° N · 99.2221° WInner Teocalli talud-tablero
pyramidEarlier inner pyramid exposed by sismo
18.9304° N · 99.2220° WBallcourt and plaza
ballcourtCeremonial plaza with ballcourt south
18.9302° N · 99.2219° W
Gallery