A MAGNIFICENT JUNGLE RUIN

image courtesy mexcom.net

El Tajin, meaning thunder or hurricane in the Totonac language, was an important gulf coast city and ceremonial center long, long ago. The first construction probably began there 2,000 years ago. The city reached its peak from 600-900 AD. By 1200AD it was abandoned and lost to the voracious jungle. It first appears on paper in 1785 when a Spanish official found it while looking for illegal tobacco fields.

El Tajin was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. It has been partially excavated and studied, but most of the stories from this jungle city have been lost to the centuries. Because of its size it is known that it was a powerful city and important ceremonial center. Its niche pyramids are unique in the Americas, and the ball game was very important here- there are 17 ball courts in the city. (But don't bring your basketball, this was a different kind of ball game, and at the end of it one of the players lost their heart- literally).

LINKS

An excellent series of photographs of El Tajin, by Dallas-based photographer Edward Dawson.

More photographs of El Tajin, and a few links.