• INAH-DMC
    INAH-DMC
El Zapotal
Mictlantecuhtli, the great lord of death (the other life), was the patron of the ancient Totonac city. The site museum’s most prized item is the sole unfired clay sculpture with stucco and the remains of paint in Mesoamerica. To this are added funerary offerings and ceramic figures of the very highest quality.
About the site
The site was an important pre-Hispanic settlement, with monumental structures built from unfired clay. It might have been an urban complex of the Classic period (300 - 900 AD) for two reasons: the layout and the monumental size of the buildings, and it is a complex in the La Mixtequilla region, which reached its peak during this period. Among the most important findings are a group of magnificent ceramic figures, including Mictlantecuhtli, the god of death. The various sculptures were accompanied by an ossuary which had one hundred clay figures, including the so-called smiling faces, and a group of women with bare torsos who have been called “Ladies of the Earth,” as they are identified with Cihuateteotl.

The culture is very similar to that of the Cerro de las Mesas site and other small Remojadas culture sites.

Practical information
Temporarily closed
Free entrance


Independencia #1
Zona Arqueológica El Zapotal, C.P. 95240
Ignacio de la Llave, Veracruz, México

Take the Veracruz-Alvarado highway and turn right into the Municipality of Tlalixcoyan. Continue towards the town of Ignacio de la Llave and turn right for El Zapotal.

Services
  • +52 (229) 934 99 81
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Directory
Jefe del Departamento de Servicios Administrativos del Centro INAH Veracruz
Edy Flores Romero
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
+52 (229) 934 9981 y 934 5282
14540
Mictlantechutli_Zapotal
Mictlantechutli_Zapotal2
INAH-DMC
Golfo
Museo de Sitio de El Zapotal
El gran señor de la muerte (la otra vida), Mictlantecuhtli, preside la antigua ciudad totonaca. Única escultura mesoamericana de barro sin cocer, estucada y con restos de pintura, es el tesoro del museo, al que se añaden ofrendas funerarias y figuras de cerámica de inmejorable factura.
Mictlantecuhtli, the great lord of death (the other life), was the patron of the ancient Totonac city. The site museum’s most prized item is the sole unfired clay sculpture with stucco and the remains of paint in Mesoamerica. To this are added funerary offerings and ceramic figures of the very highest quality.

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