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El Pahñú: Discovering the Xajay Heritage

On a plateau-shaped elevation in the community of La Mesilla, 12 kilometers ( 7 miles ) from Tecozautla, is the Archaeological Site of El Pahñú, which belonged to the Xajay culture, the ancestor of the current Otomi people and which had its time of splendor between the years 450 and 950 of our era.

 

According to the studies carried out in the place, the archaeological group would have been dedicated to venerating Otontecutli, the god of the old fire. The central square is escorted by a well-preserved structure of 17 meters ( 56 feet) on each side that at the time must have reached 10 meters (33 feet) in height.

 

In another of the three squares that form the site many petroglyphs were also found.

 

Besides the interesting pre-Hispanic structures, the place where the archaeological site is located offers magnificent views of the semi-desert landscape of El Valle del Mezquital and El Cerro de Hualtepec, believed to be the mythical Cerro de Coatepec or Mountain of the Serpent, which according to Mexica mythology was the place where Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war, was born.

 


Tourist Attraction
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