Tancama

Called “fire hill”, due to the particular color that the area acquires at sunset, Tancama is the main pre-Hispanic ceremonial center of the northern region of Queretaro. Located in the municipality of Jalpan, the heart of the Sierra Gorda, this archaeological zone is made up of three main plazas, two smaller complexes, and two terraces.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History has registered 56 structures of different sizes and shapes; among them are the circular and semicircular ones; also a ball game court measuring 18 m long.

Ranas

Belonging to the Early Classic to Late Classic periods, approximately from 400 to 1300 A.D., the Archaeological Zone of Ranas is one of the most beautiful and important in Queretaro. Located in the Sierra Gorda, at one of the highest points in the municipality of San Joaquin, this town inhabited by priests, according to the vestiges found in the area, allowed the control of the accesses and the exploitation of the resources of the surroundings, among which the extraction of cinnabar (with the greatest mineral wealth of the region), hunting and agricultural harvesting stand out.

Its inhabitants planned the city from the selection of the site to the efficient use of the land and the location of its buildings; these total more than 180, including two ball games..

El Cerrito

With an immense pyramid standing out among the great metropolis of the city of Querétaro, in the municipality of Corregidora, El Cerrito Archaeological Monument Zone was one of the most important ceremonial centers in the region, created and inhabited by various pre-Hispanic cultures, especially the Toltecs.

The altars, plazas, patios, and pyramidal bases that constitute this ceremonial center show square and rectangular shapes. The walls of these structures present a slope formed by basalt slabs, and the Toltec style of El Cerrito included in all the spaces abundant stone sculptures, walls decorated with mosaics in relief, and other ornaments.

Around 700 AD.

La Quemada

This enormous settlement is the most relevant in north-central Mexico for its architecture. The name of the archeological zone refers to the burnt remains found in the place when extracting stone.

Altavista

Considered the northern border of Mesoamerica, this archeological zone”s culture developed one of the oldest representations of the National Emblem on record.

Zona Arqueológica de Cempoala

A place of symmetrical fretwork that surrounds the vestiges of what was once a great wall. The archaeological zone of Cempoala is one of the most important historical points in Veracruz because this is where the Spanish united with the Totonac settlers against the Aztec Empire and which led to the colonization process of Spain in what is now Mexico.