Ancient in Mexico

Discover 28 ancient places in Mexico.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Museo de Historia Natural

Fossilized remains tell the story of the region’s past inside this small, unassuming museum.

Zempoala, Mexico

Zona Arqueológica Cempoala

Palace, temple, and pyramid ruins mark the ancient Mesoamerican capital of Totonacapan.

Miramar, Mexico

Quiahuiztlán

The site where the Spanish first landed in Mexico was once a thriving Mesoamerican city.

Teotenango

Tenango del Valle, Mexico

Teotenango

The archeological ruins of the ancient fortified city of the mysterious Teotenanca civilization.

Huápoca

These cliff-dwellings might be Mexico's least visited archaeological site.

Polé (Xcaret Archaeological Site)

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Polé (Xcaret Archaeological Site)

One of Mexico's least-visited archaeological sites is tucked away inside a theme park.

Palace Atetelco

San Juan Teotihuacan de Arista, Mexico

Palace Atetelco

This pre-Hispanic apartment complex also includes ancestral paintings that point to its military past.

Some of the many stone snake head sculptures.

Tlalnepantla, Mexico

Pyramids of Tenayuca

A barbarous band of serpents guard the bases of these Aztec temples.

Maya ruins can be seen in the background.

Mérida, Mexico

Cenote Xlacah

One of the few places where you can visit a cenote and Maya ruins at the same time.

Trunk and roots of the Millennium Tree.

El Árbol Milenario

A fairytale-like grove with a crystal-clear spring bubbling under the shade of a massive ancient tree.

Boca de Potrerillos

A mysterious, ancient collection of pre-Hispanic petroglyphs hidden deep in the Mexican desert.

Floor-to-ceiling paintings cover the room.

Bonampak, Mexico

Murals of Bonampak

Three small rooms in the jungle house the most elaborate and intact murals of the Mayan world.

Xalapa Museum of Anthropology

The largest collection of artifacts from the Olmec civilization, the mother culture of Mesoamerica.

San Juan Teotihuacan de Arista, Mexico

Mural of the Great Goddess

A striking depiction of Teotihuacan's mysterious "Spider Woman."

The death mask of Mayan king Pakal the Great.

Mexico City, Mexico

Death Mask of Pakal the Great

The striking jade death mask of an ancient Maya king is displayed in a replica tomb in Mexico City.

Mexico City, Mexico

Mask of the Bat God

This ancient jade mask depicting the Zapotec bat god was found in the ruins of the pyramids of Monte Alban.