Definition:

Cholula is an archaeological site in the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley of the central highlands in the state of Puebla, Mexico. It was one of the most important regional centers in prehispanic Central America, and the center of the cult of Quetzalcoatl. Cholula reached its height of importance during the Late Classic period (AD 600-900), although archaeological evidence indicates the location was inhabited as early as 1000 BC.


Cholula is the site of the Great Pyramid Tlachihualtepetl, the largest prehispanic structure built in the New World. During its heyday, Cholula ruled or had control over much of central Mexico; the city covered an area of approximately ten square kilometers, with a population of between 30 and 50,000 people. The site is also known as the place in 1519 where La Malinche warned Cortés that he was about to be murdered; and where instead the Spanish massacred about ten percent of the population.

Numerous adventurers made it to Cholula, including E.B. Tylor, Desiree Charnay, and Adolph Bandelier; archaeologists associated with the site's excavation include Ignacio Marina, Eduardo Noguera, and Sergio Suarez Cruz.

Sources

This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Precolumbian History, the Guide to Northwest Mexico and the Dictionary of Archaeology.

McCafferty, GG 2001. Cholula. pp. 138-142 in The Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia 2001. Edited by ST Evans and DL Webster.

Garland Publishing Inc., New York