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<< Our Photo Pages >> El Tajin - Ancient Village or Settlement in Mexico in Veracruz

Submitted by bat400 on Monday, 05 February 2007  Page Views: 11897

Site WatchSite Name: El Tajin Alternative Name: El Tajin
Country: Mexico
NOTE: This site is 57.361 km away from the location you searched for.

Region: Veracruz Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Poza Rica
Latitude: 20.447700N  Longitude: 97.3776W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
no data

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DrewParsons jdeblois83 would like to visit

SolarMegalith visited on 21st Mar 2004 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4

Tdiver visited on 1st Jan 1991 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.5 Ambience: 4.5 Access: 4.5

El Tajin
El Tajin submitted by SolarMegalith : Piramide de los Nichos (Pyramid of Niches) - the most famous structure in El Tajin (phto taken on March 2004). (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient Village or Settlement in Vera Cruz, Mexico. An urban area with Pyramids and other buildings. The culture associated with El Tajin was important to this area after the fall of the Teotihuacan city state.

The city is famous for decorated stone buildings, including the Pyramid of the Niches. See the satellite view. Googly maps will provide the best detail.

Note: See the article on the damage caused by air pollution at this site.
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El Tajin
El Tajin submitted by SolarMegalith : General view of El Tajin (photo taken on March 2004). (Vote or comment on this photo)

El Tajin
El Tajin submitted by SolarMegalith : Native people performing traditional dances in El Tajin of 21st of March (photo taken on March 2004). (Vote or comment on this photo)

El Tajin
El Tajin submitted by durhamnature : Old photo from "Archaeological relics..." via archive.org Site in Veracruz Mexico (Vote or comment on this photo)

El Tajin
El Tajin submitted by durhamnature : Old photo, from "Mexican Archaeology" via archive.org Totonac is an alternative name. Site in Veracruz Mexico (Vote or comment on this photo)

El Tajin
El Tajin submitted by SolarMegalith : El Tajin - this Pre-Colombian city reached it's heyday between 7th and 12th century AD (photo taken on March 2004).

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
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"El Tajin" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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The Mesoamerican connection: the Totonacs - master architects, builders and farmers by Andy B on Friday, 21 May 2010
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One of the largest indigenous ethnic groups in Mexico today is the Totonacs. They are concentrated in the eastern Mexican states of Vera Cruz, Pueblo and Hidalgo, but claim to have been the occupants of the Valley of Mexico, when Teotihuacan was built. The Totonacs are unique in many ways. Their language is dissimilar to any in Mexico, but shares some words with the Creek Indians of the Southeastern United States. They traditionally did not eat any foods made with Indian corn (maize) flour, but instead ate large quantities of fruits, avocados, sweet potatoes and corn-on-the-cob.

Many foods we eat today were developed from ancestral wild plants by the Totonacs. These include mangoes, bananas, papayas, chill peppers, bell peppers and avocados, cocoa and vanilla. Until the late 19th century they produced much of the world’s supply of vanilla flavoring. They also ate large quantities of zapotes (a tropical fruit) and sweet potatoes.

The Totonac’s claim to have been the founders of Teotihuacan is still debated by archaeologists, but there is no doubt that they occupied a larger residential quarter in this ancient city. (See article on Teotihuacan.) However, their claim to have also been the builders of “El Tajin” near Poza Rica, Vera Cruz is supported by substantial evidence. The Temple of the Niches in the photo above was one of several dozen large, sophisticated structures in El Tajin. There were several of Totonac cities in the region that have not been investigated as extensively as El Tajin.

Archaeologists have determined that the El Tajin site has been inhabited by humans since at least 5600 BC. Up until the first or second century, AD, the site apparently was occupied by ancestors of the Huastec People. After that time, the area immediately around El Tajin begins to show increasing similarity to Totonac cultural traditions. After Teotihuacan experienced a revolt and burning of its public structures around 600 AD, construction of public buildings began at El Tajin. This is the strongest evidence that the Totonacs were the elite ethnic group in Teotihuacan. El Tajin was at its peak population size between around 900 AD and 1100 AD. In 1230 AD it was suddenly abandoned, very possibly due to an attack from the emerging Nahuatl cities in the Valley of Mexico that soon became the Aztec Empire.

The Totonacs were the first Mesoamerican people to build structures out of a form of concrete. Concrete construction in El Tajin has been dated to at least as early as 600 AD, but probably goes back several centuries further. Its use was primarily in temples and houses of the elite. Concrete construction had a distinct advantage in the humid, tropical regions along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Wood-destroying insects and diseases could not harm it. Its use guarantied that the structure would last for centuries. Indeed, some 1500 year old Totonac concrete houses are still partially standing.

More at
http://www.examiner.com/x-40598-Architecture--Design-Examiner~y2010m4d17-The-Mesoamerican-connection-the-Totonacs--master-architects-builders-and-farmers
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Ancient Mexican Carvings Being Erased by Acid Rain, Experts Say by bat400 on Monday, 05 February 2007
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Oil refineries and power stations pumping acid air pollutants along Mexico's Gulf coast threaten to erase carved stone murals at the pre-Aztec ruined city of El Tajin, a scientist said on Sunday.

Air pollution specialist Humberto Bravo said acid levels in the air around El Tajin, in oil producing Veracruz state, were among the highest in Mexico.

El Tajin's architecture is famous for intricate reliefs, many depicting an ancient Mesoamerican ball game sometimes compared to basketball.

"If nothing is done, within 10, 20 or 100 years, the hieroglyphics will disappear," said Bravo, from Mexico's UNAM university.

More of the story and photos at
National Geographic and Rueters.


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