Forgotten Pyramid in Mexico City
Thousands of tourists travel outside of Mexico City to visit Teotihuacan. Many of these people are not aware of a more ancient pyramid located near the prestigious National Autonomous University of Mexico. This massive circular pyramid named Cuicuilco once had an impressive population of 20,000 people. This archeological site is probably the first ceremonial center in the basin of Mexico, dated to be 7,000 years old. Statues portraying an old, wrinkled man carrying a brazier have been found in the area and have been linked to the god of fire known as Huehueteotl. It is possible that the reason the people who lived in Cuicuilco worshipped the god of fire is because of the nearby volcano Xitle. According to radiocarbon dating, Xitle erupted during 245 - 315 AD and the lava from this eruption made its way north to Cuicuilco. The development of this site that was originally founded as a farming village was disrupted due to the eruption. People were forced to abandon villages and according to archeological evidence, some of the Cuicuilcanos who left found refuge across the lake in the peninsula of Itzapalapa while others left to Teotihuacan. Parts of Mexico City today including UNAM are built on top of “El Pedregal,” the ancient lava flow of Xitle. This stunning archeological site that pre-dates Teotihuacan is just minutes away from the UNAM campus. Next time you are traveling in Mexico City make sure to visit this place whose Nahuatl name means “place where songs and dances are made”.