Tehuacalco

The environment of the area is deciduous tropical forest, whose trees lose most of their leaves during the dry season in the fall and winter.

[2][3] The name of the site comes from the Nahuatl phrase “tehuacalli” which refers to holes bored into stones to be used for ritual purposes.

The sun was thought to be devoured by a monster at the end of the day and had to fight in the underworld to arise the next morning.

[4][1] Afterwards, forty million pesos were spent to ready the site for tourism and it was opened to the public in 2008.

[1] The site has four aspects, areas with rock etchings, the surrounding mountain terrain, pyramidal structures and caves in the hills with offerings.

[2] The rock etchings include the Piedra de los Pies Pintados, with markings of feet and Monument W which has circular patterns used to counts lunar cycles.

[5] Fifty seven caves on the sides of Compuerta have been explored with findings of offerings such as braziers and incense burners.

[2] The site has a distinct construction style, which consists of boulders with spaces between them filled in with layers of flat rock and red clay.

[2] The four main structures are Encinera or Main Temple, the Palace, the Templo del Espejo de Agua and Platform W.[1] The Palace, also denominated as Building Five, is the largest on the site, with a base that measures eighty meters on each side.

[3][4] The La Encinera is twenty meters tall and was the site for various rituals performed by priests and rulers.

However, the most sacred part of the site is a hill dedicated as sanctuary for the worship of water and rain.