page_title: Cuicuilco
section_title: Archaeological site
hierarchical_section_title: Cuicuilco / Archaeological site
caption_attribution_description: English: Portion of the Cuicuilco pyramid with modern buildings of the Villa Olimpica neighborhood in the background, Mexico City
context_page_description: Cuicuilco is an important archaeological site located on the southern shore of Lake Texcoco in the southeastern Valley of Mexico, in what is today the borough of Tlalpan in Mexico City. The settlement goes back to 1400 BC.
  Cuicuilco flourished during the Mesoamerican Middle and Late Formative periods.
  Today, it is a significant archaeological site that was occupied during the Early Formative until its destruction in the Late Formative. Based on its date of occupation, Cuicuilco may be the oldest city in the Valley of Mexico and was roughly contemporary with, and possibly interacting with, the Olmec of the Gulf Coast of lowland Veracruz and Tabasco.
context_section_description: The site of Cuicuilco is covered by a dense volcanic lava field known as the Pedregal de San Ángel.  The lava covers an area of approximately 80 km², including the foothills of the Ajusco mountain range and extending down to a nearby lake shore.  A 1956 study concluded that the uneven lava deposits, reaching a depth over 10 m in areas, were a major factor in the preservation of Cuicuilco.  The site is also inside a modern urban area, and is partially covered by buildings associated with the National University of Mexico.  Only partial archaeological investigation has been possible, and modern building techniques have damaged the prehistoric city.  Several 1990 archaeological finds at Cuicuilco, consisting of a circular pyramid constructed within a plaza with smaller structures associated with the agricultural system, were destroyed for the construction of a multi-storied office complex.  Consequently, the true size and complexity of Cuicuilco may be difficult to ascertain.
caption: Stairway portion of the Cuicuilco pyramid with modern buildings of the Coyoacán borough in the background
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