Friday, July 18, 2025

Puebla town’s last standing pyramid at risk of disappearing

The only remaining pre-Hispanic pyramid in a community near the city of Zacatlán, Puebla, is at risk of being demolished by a private citizen who reportedly plans to appropriate the land on which it stands.

The approximately 6-meter-high structure is located on a piece of cultivated land in San Pedro Atmatla, a community about 2 kilometers from Zacatlán in northern Puebla. The pyramid, which looks more like a hillock as it is covered with dirt, grass and other vegetation, was likely built between the 10th and 16th centuries, according to a report by El Sol de Puebla.

The newspaper reported that a local plans to appropriate the land where the pre-Hispanic ceremonial temple stands. Residents who spoke with El Sol de Puebla said a man is planning to demolish the pyramid.

There is already evidence that the structure has been recently damaged, apparently “by the hand of man,” the newspaper said. Some of the stones used to built it have been removed and now lie beside the structure’s side. It was unclear whether local authorities planned to intervene to stop the destruction of the pyramid.

The land where Zacatlán is located was inhabited by the Chichimeca people early in the second millennium of the Common Era, but local historian Sergio Ramos González believes the pyramid may have been part of an Olmec settlement.

There are three other pyramids in the broader local area but they are not in San Pedro Atmatla. Five others have been lost over the years.

With reports from El Sol de Puebla 

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
A man stands by an open suitcase in an airport revision area

Foreign national caught with over a million pesos of ketamine in Cancún airport

0
Officials confiscated 2 kilograms of ketamine, a controlled substance in Mexico.

The very best independent bookstores in Mexico City

0
The streets of Mexico City are lined with second (or third) hand literature, and you can find the best of them at these stunning locations.
two people walkin gby a for rent sign

Can rent control stop gentrification? Mexico City officials plan to find out

9
Political leaders in the nation's capital have reached into their anti-gentrification toolkit and come up with an approach that goes straight to the heart of the problem.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity