Mixcoac Archaeological INAH Site in CDMX

I visited the small Mixcoac Archaeological Site (Zona Arqueológica de Mixcoac). It’s one of the many free things to do in Mexico City.

But you will learn a lot from this post. Trust me!!

Entrance to the Mixcoac Archaeological Site in Mexico City

It’s hard to start this blog post without going into the geographical history of what is now known as the Valley of Mexico looked like before the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s.

Map of the Valley of Mexico before the Spanish arrived

Wikimedia Commons screenshot of Lake Tenoco

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Yes, the whole area used to be a lake. What is now known as Mexico City occupied the western part of Lake Texcoco.

Further reading about why Mexico City is sinking at a rate of 2 cm per month

Tenayuca lies at the northern border of Mexico City and the Estado de México. You can see where Xochimilco, Coyoacán, Chapultepec, and Tenochtitlán are located.

Xochimilco is known for the canals. They were created by the Xochimilcas, an indigenous Nahua people, who migrated into the Valley of Mexico around the 10th century. The also created artificial agricultural plots called chinampas. And these can still be seen today

Coyoacán was the first capital of New Spain between the years 1521 and 1523. This is where you’ll find the Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo’s blue house, the Leon Trotsky House Museum and the Diego Rivera Anahuacalli Museum.

Chapultepec, known for the park of the same name, the Chapultepec Castle and the Museo de Arte Moderno.

Tenochtitlán was the grand capital city of the Aztec Empire, founded in 1325 and built by the Mexica.

Templo Mayor was the primary religious and ceremonial centre of the Mexica (Aztec) people in Tenochtitlan. It is located in what is now the historic centre of Mexico City.

On the map, you can also see the ancient cities of Teotihuacán, Cuicuilco, Tenayuca, Tlatelolco and Mixcoac, the subject of this blog post.

Mixcoac

Mixcoac, whose name in Nahuatl means “where the cloud serpent is venerated,” dates back to the Teotihuacan period (400-600 CE), but today, only a small part of the pre-Hispanic settlement remains and they date from 900 to 1521 CE.

The partially restored structures that visitors can see include: the Pyramid dedicated to the god Mixcóatl, the East Platform and its adjoining buildings, the Central Courtyard, the West Platform, and its ceremonial plaza.