The center originally occupied about 130 hectares[1] of land and was home to many structures, of which 22 pyramids have been identified,[1] including a multitude of terraced agricultural fields that supported the population.

Another important building is the Main Structure, called by some La Mesita (The Small Table) or Recinto de los Gobernantes (Governors’ Precinct).

[4] Very little is known about these societies inhabiting the Bajio Region, they are thought to have been members of hunter-gatherer, fishing Chichimec groups, it is now known that places such as Peralta were trading confluence routes between central Mexico with northern and western Mesoamerica.

[4] In the prehispanic times, the Bajio region saw the most human development due to the fertility of the soil and the presence of surface water for agriculture.

[9] Data from historical documents indicated that the prehispanic Bajio inhabitants were only Chichimeca, nomadic groups with appropriation economies and belligerents.

[9] During the last ten years, archaeological studies have had a major boost in Guanajuato, and several myths of the Bajio past became truth, have provided better founded explanations based on the prehispanic life in this geographic area.

[9] Three aspects seem fundamental: a) the Bajio as an important part of the Mesoamerican universe was a trade communication region and a link between three the cultural areas proposed by Paul Kirchhoff (1967): Central, North and West Mexico; b) theories based on influences determination from major population centers, has now been replaced by understanding the interactions and bi-directional relationships, where the implications of local societies such as Peralta have barely been addressed but no doubt will continue to investigate; c) during the mesoamerican classical period, between 300 and 700 CE, the Bajio developed a notable agricultural population, with a social and political organization structure, in addition to its deep regional cultural roots, that has been identified as the Bajio tradition.

In modern times only one ethnic group is customarily referred to as Chichimecs, namely the Chichimeca Jonaz, although lately this usage is being changed for simply "Jonáz" or their own name for themselves "Úza".

As the Spaniards worked towards consolidating the rule of New Spain over the Mexican indigenous peoples during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the "Chichimecan tribes" maintained a resistance.

A number of ethnic groups of the region allied against the Spanish, and the following military colonization of northern Mexico has become known as the "Chichimeca Wars".

Many of the peoples called Chichimeca are virtually unknown today; few descriptions mention them and they seem to have been absorbed into mestizo culture or into other indigenous ethnic groups.

Other "Chichimec" peoples maintain a separate identity into the present day, for example the Otomies, Chichimeca Jonaz, Coras, Huicholes, Pames, Yaquis, Mayos, O'odham and the Tepehuánes.

With his descriptions of the rich and different cultures of the various "uncivilized" tribes, the picture of the uniform Chichimec barbarians was changed, although in Mexican Spanish the word "Chichimeca" remains connected to an image of "savagery".

The historian Paul Kirchhoff, in his work "The Hunting-Gathering People of North Mexico," described the Chichimecas as sharing a hunter-gatherer culture, based on the gathering of mesquite, agave, and tunas (the fruit of the nopal).

Notably, finds of turquoise, copper bells, seashells, and jadeite in the nearby site of Plazuelas indicate an extensive trade network spanning from Guatemala to the Caribbean to New Mexico.

The area discovered is only a small percentage of the entire city, which probably extended to Mount Peralta, several kilometers due west and all around the archaeological site.

Another Peralta characteristic is the presence of circular structures, typically used for ceremonial rituals, probably dedicated to wind, rain and fertility deities.

The offerings found are indicative of trade and relations with faraway regions; a turquoise collar is an indication of possible trade with New Mexico and Arizona; shell beads from Pacific Ocean coastal regions; other offerings included two well preserved wooden pieces, pigments, various ceramic vessels, and articles carved from obsidian and flint stone.

[4] It is believed the temples followed the typical staged construction practiced throughout Mesoamerica, where every few years a new structure was added over previous ones, by new governors or for new reasons.