The day after visiting Xochicalco, Enrique and I visited Cholula. Cholula is located east of Mexico City in the state of Puebla. Cholula contains a pyramid with the largest known base of any pyramid in the world. Sadly, a Catholic convent sits on top of it, and the Mexican Government has chosen not to excavate and remove the trees and vegetation covering this pyramid. So the main highlight of this site of the various altars and temples located to the south of the main pyramid. These structures are similar to the altars and structures found at Teotihuacan and Tula. I enjoyed walking up the main pyramid to the convent on top and seeing the view. The altars and structures below did not feel as negatively charged as those at Tula.
According to the INAH Plaque accompanying this site, Cholula means “place of those who fled” or “water that falls in the place of flight”. People have inhabited Cholula right up to the present. Archaeologists have dated the remains of the 1st sedentary groups of the region, which are found in the subsoil on the banks of ancient lagoons, to around 500 A.D. Cholula developed parallel with Teotihuacan during the Horizon Classic Period (0 to 850 A.D.) and adopted the Slope-Panel architectural form from Teotihuacan while imprinting this form with Cholula’s own mark. Some examples of this customization include the curved slope with projecting hanging rectangles and applying a double frame to the simple panel from Teotihuacan. The Cholultecas built their Great Pyramid during this period. This Great Pyramid measures 350 meters (1,137 1/2 feet) on each side and 66 meters (214 1/2 feet) high. This pyramid covers the remains of innumerable buildings and additions in its interior. Cholula’s great number of temples during the Classic Period transformed it into a sacred city. The Olmecs-Xicalancs, and later Quetzalcoatl with the Toltec-Chichmecs, arrived with the Post-Classic Period (850 to 1521 A.D.). These later arrivals marked a period of new growth and development of the city. The inhabitants abandoned their Great Pyramid and built new temples where the present Convent is located.
