“Walled place.” That’s what Tenayuca means in the Nahuatl language. The Piramide de Tenayuca stands before us. It whispers tales of empires and ancient gods.
Tenayuca was once a major power in the Valley of Mexico. It predates the Aztec empire. Imagine this city as a key settlement on the shores of Lake Texcoco. That lake is now largely drained. Mexico City sits where the lake once was.
Tenayuca’s history stretches back centuries. Some say it was founded around 1224 by Xolotl. Xolotl was a Chichimec ruler. The Chichimecs were nomadic tribes. They settled in the Valley of Mexico.
Archaeological evidence shows that Tenayuca was occupied long before Xolotl. The city grew after the fall of Tula. It became a regional power. In the late 13th century, Tenayuca allied with Coatlichán. Together, they dominated the central Valley of Mexico. Later, Azcapotzalco conquered Tenayuca. Around 1434, Tenochtitlan brought it into the Aztec Empire.
Even at the time of the Spanish Conquest, Tenayuca was inhabited. Fighting occurred here in 1520. Bernal Díaz del Castillo called Tenayuca the “town of the serpents”. The site was abandoned and later rediscovered in 1925.
The Piramide de Tenayuca is significant for its architecture. It features the earliest example of a double pyramid. This design consists of joined pyramidal bases. These bases support two temples. The Aztecs adopted this style for their own temples.
Notice the double stairway on the western side of the Piramide de Tenayuca. Twin temples once stood here. One was dedicated to Tlaloc and the other to Huitzilopochtli. Some steps have year-glyphs carved into them. These include knives, circles and shields.
Look to the south of the stairway. See the platform with sculptures of crossed bones and skulls. Like many Mesoamerican temples, the Piramide de Tenayuca was built in phases. Each phase added to the size. The basic form remained. The last construction phase was around 1507. It measures 62 meters wide by 50 meters deep.
Take a look at the coatepantli. This “wall of serpents” surrounds the temple. It features 138 stone sculptures of snakes. The snakes were once painted in vibrant colors. Their scales were painted black.
On the north and south sides, you can see sculptures of coiled serpents. These are Xiuhcoatl, the fire serpents. Their crests bear markings representing stars. All serpent sculptures were associated with fire and sun worship.
Not far from here are remains of an elite residential complex. Archaeologists call this area Tenayuca II. It shows signs of multiple construction phases.
Today, the Piramide de Tenayuca is cared for by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. It is open to the public. As you explore this site, remember its long history. Tenayuca was a Chichimec capital. It was conquered by the Aztecs. It was a “walled place” filled with power and symbolism.