Great Pyramid of Cholula facts for kids
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 Location in Mexico
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| Location | Cholula de Rivadabia, Puebla,  Mexico |
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| Region | Puebla |
| Coordinates | 19°03′27″N 98°18′07″W / 19.05750°N 98.30194°W |
| History | |
| Periods | Classic to Postclassic |
| Site notes | |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | Talud-tablero |
| Architectural details | Number of temples: 1 |
| Responsible body: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia | |
The Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as Tlachihualtepetl (Nahuatl for "made-by-hand mountain"), is a complex located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. It is the largest archaeological site of a pyramid (temple) in the New World, as well as the largest pyramid by volume known to exist in the world today. The adobe brick pyramid stands 25 metres (82 ft) above the surrounding plain, much shorter compared to 146.6 metres (481 ft) of the Great Pyramid of Giza, but is much wider, in its final form measuring 300 by 315 metres (984 by 1,033 ft), compared to the Great Pyramid at 230.3 by 230.3 metres (756 by 756 ft). The pyramid is a temple that traditionally has been viewed as having been dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl. The architectural style of the building was linked closely to that of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico, although influence from the Gulf Coast is evident as well, especially from El Tajín.
Location and etymology
The Cholula archaeological zone is situated 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) west of the city of Puebla, in the city of Cholula. The pyramid is located in the San Andrés Cholula, Puebla municipality, and marks the area in the center of the city where this municipality begins. The city is divided into two municipalities called San Andrés and San Pedro. This division originates in the Toltec-Chichimeca conquest of the city in the twelfth century. These pushed the former dominant ethnicity of the Olmeca-Xicalanca, to the south of the city. These people kept the pyramid as their primary religious center, but the newly dominant Toltec-Chichimecas founded a new temple to Quetzalcoatl where the San Gabriel monastery is now. The Toltec-Chichimec people who settled in the area around the twelfth century AD named Cholula as Tlachihualtepetl, meaning "artificial hill".
The name cholula has its origin in the ancient Nahuatl word cholollan, which means "place of refuge".
History
The Great Pyramid was an important religious and mythical centre in prehispanic times. Over a period of a thousand years prior to the Spanish Conquest, consecutive construction phases gradually built up the bulk of the pyramid until it became the largest in Mexico by volume.
Elements
Excavations have resulted in about eight kilometers of tunnels inside the pyramid, which began with two in 1931 to prove that the hill was an archeological find. Within, altars with offerings, floors, walls and buried human remains from around 900 AD were discovered. Today, only about 800 meters of these tunnels are open to the public, which have been made into well-lit, arched passages. Visitors enter on the north side, through the center of the pyramid and exit on the south side. There are few signs explaining the structures within, but in one section allows a view of main staircases of one of the pyramids, whose nine floors have been excavated from bottom to top. There are also two famous murals. One is called "Chapulines," which consists of images of grasshoppers with a black skull in the middle. And the other is the "Bebedores," which depicts various figures drinking out of vessels most commonly used for pulque. Around the pyramid are a number of other structures and patios, which form a massive complex. The Patio of the Altars was the main access to the pyramid and is named for the various altars that surround a main courtyard.
Initial excavations eventually indicated that the main access to the pyramid was on the west side, which latter excavations confirmed. Both also showed that there usually were minor accesses on the northeast and southwest corners.
Current importance
The pyramid remains important to modern Cholula as a religious site, an archeological site and a tourist attraction. The site receives about 220,000 visitors each year on average. Just before the arrival of the Spanish, the pyramid was considered sacred to a rain goddess called Chiconauhquiauhitl (Goddess of the Nine Rains). She was replaced with an image of the Virgin of the Remedies, keeping the 8 September date for the veneration of the old rain goddess but transferring it to this image of the Virgin Mary. The Spanish built a church to this image on top of the pyramid. This church was struck and damaged by lightning several times, which was attributed in the early colonial period to the old goddess. However, the change allowed the pyramid to keep its sacred nature to this day. The Virgin of the Remedies is the patron of the city of Cholula, and there are two major annual events related to it and the pyramid. The first is 8 September, when thousands come to honor the image, starting on the night of the 7th, when people spend the night with small lanterns so they can greet the image early on the eighth. The other is called the "Bajada" when the image comes down the pyramid to visit the various neighborhoods of the city for two weeks in May and June. Closer to the pyramid's pre-Hispanic roots is the Quetzalcoatl ritual, which is held each year on the spring equinox. This event can draw up to 20,000 visitors, leading authorities to restrict access to the exposed archeological ruins on the south side. The ritual is performed on the pyramid with poetry, indigenous dance and music and fireworks.
The pyramid site accounts for only six hectares of an archeological heritage site believed to extend over 154 hectares. However, 90 hectares of this land is privately owned, and there is resistance to major archeological exploration. Despite the ancient city's and pyramid's importance to the history of central Mexico, the pyramid has not been extensively studied and has not of yet played a significant role in the understanding of Mesoamerica.
The pyramid is the main tourist attraction in Cholula, receiving 496,518 visitors in 2017. Images of this church on top of the pyramid with Popocatepetl in the background is frequently used in Mexico's promotion of tourism. It is one of the better known destinations in central Mexico for foreign travelers. The attraction consists of three parts: the tunnels inside the pyramid, the complex on the south side and the site museum. About eight km of tunnels were dug into the pyramid by archaeologists but only 800 meters are open to the public. The tunnel entrance is on the north side and it goes through the center of the structure. This tour passes by the Mural of the Drinkers, which is one of the most famous aspects of the site. The structures on the south side are dominated by the Courtyard of the Altars. Separated from the site by the Camino Real road is the site museum, which contains a model of the pyramid's layers, a room dedicated to ceramics and other finds from the site and the recreation of two of the site's murals.
The pyramid's importance has led to a number of measures taken to protect it. The archaeological zone is patrolled by a police equestrian unit from the municipality of San Ándres. This to keep motor vehicles from damaging the site. Access to parts of the site is restricted during events such as the Quetzalcoatl Ritual. Certain large fireworks have been banned by the city and the Catholic Church because they cause serious vibrations in the pyramid's tunnels. Some of the land around the pyramid has been bought by authorities and made into soccer fields, and sown with flowers to create a buffer between the construction of homes and the pyramid.
See also
In Spanish: Gran Pirámide de Cholula para niños
