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Tajín Veracruz
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How it came to be
El Tajin is a pre-Hispanic city in the hills of Papantla, in Veracruz on the Gulf coast. After the fall of Teotihuacan it became the most important centre of north-east Mesoamerica, at its height from the early 9th to the early 13th century. Its population is estimated at 15,000 to 20,000, it has 17 ball courts, and the Pyramid of the Niches stands at its centre.
After 1200 the city was abandoned and partly destroyed, and it lay under the jungle for more than 500 years. In 1785 Diego Ruiz, an official searching for illegal tobacco plantings, came upon the Pyramid of the Niches, drew it and reported it to the Gaceta de Mexico. The name comes from Tajin, the rain god of the Totonac people who live in the area.
The first mapping and clearing took place in 1935 to 1938, and from 1938 Jose Garcia Payon excavated and restored the site for 39 years. Whether the city was built by the Huastecs or the Totonacs is still uncertain. El Tajin was inscribed in 1992.
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