page_title: Huapalcalco
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Huapalcalco / Background
caption_attribution_description: Español: huapalcalco
context_page_description: Huapalcalco is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archeological site located some 5 kilometers north of Tulancingo in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico.
  The site was built on the west slope of the "Tecolote" hill; the slope is separated east-west by a ravine that forms two sectors at the foot of the hill and two more on the top, all of which contain archaeological vestiges.
  The site depicts Teotihuacán influence, and some believe that Topilitzin Quetzalcóatl resided here, before governing Tula. Also it is considered the oldest human occupation site in the Hidalgo State.
  It is believed that it must have been a very important civil, religious and housing center. It is known that it was the second Toltec Empire, before Tula.
  The city was of olmeca-xicalanca origin, or the first settler tribes of the great central plateau of the mountain range. The meaning of such wooden building is not known, it was probably built when the ancient native people settled; perhaps it was a building destined as a Telpochcalli, for military training, justice administration, or learning dances or music.
context_section_description: During the Lithic period (10,000 - 3500 BCE) the first signs of human hunter-gatherers are noted in the valley. It's not until the gradual transition into the archaic period (8000 – 2000 BCE) that we start to see the first human settlements developing in Mesoamerica along with the development of agriculture. The Pre-classical, or Formative Stage, sees the emergence of the first civilization, the Olmecs lasting between (2000 BCE - 250 CE). During the Classical period (250-900 CE) Tulancingo becomes an important trade center, with roads and residential areas. It is during this period that Huapalcalco was built, of which today remain only a three-sided pyramid and stairway, built in the Toltec style.
caption: Cave Paintings.
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