The pre-Columbian history of the territory now making up the country of Mexico is known through the work of archaeologists and epigraphers, and through the accounts of Spanish conquistadores, settlers and clergymen as well as the indigenous chroniclers of the immediate post-conquest period.
An image of one of the pyramids in the upper level of Yaxchilán
Olmec colossal head 1, at Jalapa.
View of Avenue of the Dead from Pyramid of the Moon
Mayan architecture at Uxmal
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It covers 1,972,550 km2, making it the world's 13th-largest country by area; with a population of almost 130 million, it is the 10th-most-populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is organized as a federal constitutional republic comprising 31 states and Mexico City, its capital. It shares land borders with the United States to the north, with Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; as well as maritime borders with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east.
Teotihuacan, the 6th largest city in the world at its peak (1 AD to 500 AD)
Temple of Kukulcán (El Castillo) in the Maya city of Chichen Itza
Artistic depiction of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital and largest city in the Americas at the time. The city was completely destroyed in the 1521 siege of Tenochtitlan and rebuilt as Mexico City.
Storming of the Teocalli by Cortez and his Troops (painted in 1848)
