Archeologists discovered the first signs of settlement in the state of Zacatecas on the top of a hill. The site was occupied for more than 1,600 years without interruption. The techniques used in the buildings point to great expertise in hydraulic engineering and the skillful use of the natural shape of the land.

Twelve centuries ago, a mountain enabled a thousand farmers, craftsmen and leaders to establish a city in the Sonora desert. They levelled out more than 900 hillside terraces, raised walls of river stones, built a plaza on the peak and marked out a shell form. Its traces still remain.

The great Mesoamerican city was at the heart of politics, the economy, trade, religion and culture. Its influence reached such distant places as Tikal. The city of Teotihuacan was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987, owing to the outstanding value of its monumental building complexes, mural paintings and living areas.

With the Colima volcano in the background, this site is striking because of the design of its streets and buildings, as well as the numerous stone carvings found in its squares and courtyards. An example of the first urban settlements in Mesoamerica, it developed in parallel to Teotihuacan and Monte Albán.

Engulfed in the urban sprawl of present-day Cuernavaca, and originally inhabited possibly by Tlahuicas, when the Mexica dominated the region they built new palaces, temples and houses. The principal pyramid survives, surmounted by two temples, one dedicated to Tlaloc and the other to Huitzilopochtli.

With only 330 yards separating them, Tenayuca II is considered to be part of Tenayuca. The site has an interesting housing complex.

First capital of the Chichimecas of Xólotl (end of the twelfth century) until it was moved to Texcoco. It still contains an extraordinary pyramid crowned with twin temples dedicated to Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli, with glyphs on many steps and surrounded by a wall of serpents.

The majestic Cerro de las Ventanas rises close to the southern end of the Juchipila Canyon. It was named after the pre-Hispanic remains found in a rock shelter under the mountain’s highest crag. The shelter has a stone wall covered in clay with a few holes which look like windows from a distance.

Spectacular platforms with retaining walls, plazas, palaces, shrines and dwellings. Maintained important commercial relationships (300-1200) with the neighboring region, the Gulf Coast of Mexico, the Central Depression of Chiapas and the Guatemala highlands.

An ancient Zapotec city whose Tomb 5 contained a plethora of symbols and beautiful figures, considered one of the finest examples of funerary art in ancient Mexico. It has a rich array of religious buildings from 300 and 800 AD when the city was flourishing.