List of Mesoamerican pyramids


This is a list of Mesoamerican pyramids or ceremonial structures. In most cases they are not true pyramids. There are hundreds of these done in many different styles throughout Mexico and Central America. These were made by several pre-Columbian cultures including the Olmecs, Maya, Toltecs, and Aztecs. In most cases they were made by city states that created many structures in the same style. The style for each city state is usually different. These are usually made out of stone and mortar but some of the earliest may have been made out of clay.
SiteName of pyramidCultureBase length Height InclinationApproximate time of constructionFunctionNotesImage
Altun Ha BelizeMaya16200 to 900 CE
Caracol BelizeCaanaMaya43A triadic pyramid, Caana is the highest man-made structure in Belize
Caracol BelizeTemple of the Wooden LintelMaya
Lamanai BelizeHigh TempleMaya33Pre-Classic Period
Lamanai BelizeJaguar TempleMaya20Pre-Classic Period
Lamanai BelizeMask TempleMaya17Early Classic Period
Lubaantun BelizeMaya730 to 890 CELubaantun's structures are mostly built of large stone blocks laid with no mortar, using primarily black slate rather than the limestone typical of the region.
Lubaantun BelizeMaya730 to 890 CELubaantun includes many small step pyramids in addition to its far larger one.
Nim Li Punit BelizeMayatallest 12.2400 to 800 CENim Li Punit has several small-step pyramids, but none that possessed the sheer mass of other examples.
Xunantunich BelizeEl CastilloMaya40600 to 900 CE
San Andrés, El Salvadorthe Bell of San AndrésMaya600 to 900 CEThis is a scale model of structure 5. There are several other smaller structures that may be similar to pyramids on the site, but pending further investigation it remains unclear.
Tazumal El SalvadorMaya250 to 900 CE
Aguateca GuatemalaMaya6760 to 830 CEThis temple pyramid was left unfinished when the city was abandoned. The purpose it may have served is still unknown.
Dos Pilas GuatemalaLD-49Maya20after 629 CEThis pyramid's main stairway contains at least eighteen hieroglyphic steps. However, some of these glyphs are undecipherable due to the age of the site.
Dos Pilas GuatemalaEl DuendeMayaafter 629 CEThis temple pyramid was built by enlarging and terracing a natural hill some way from the site core, giving the impression of a single massive structure.
Kaminaljuyu GuatemalaMaya250 CEKaminaljuyu contains some 200 platforms and pyramidal mounds, at least half of which were made before 250 CE. Some of these were used to hold temples on top.
El Mirador GuatemalaLa DantaMaya72300 BCE to 100 CELa Danta pyramid temple has an estimated volume of 2,800,000 cubic meters, making it one of the largest pyramids in the world.
El Mirador GuatemalaEl TigreMaya55300 BCE to 100 CE
Mixco Viejo GuatemalaMaya1100 to 1500 CE
Tikal GuatemalaMaya47
Copán HondurasMayaCopán has several overlapping step-pyramids.
Bonampak MexicoThe Temple of the MuralsMaya580 to 800 CE
Calakmul MexicoThe Great PyramidMaya55
Chichen Itza MexicoEl CastilloMaya55.330
Cholula MexicoThe Great Pyramid of CholulaXelhua450 sq.66300 BCE - 800 CEThe largest pyramid and the largest manmade monument anywhere in the New world.
Coba MexicoThe Nohoch Mul pyramidMaya42500 to 900 CE
Coba MexicoLa IglesiaMaya20500 to 900 CE
Coba MexicoCrossroads TempleMaya500 to 900 CE
Comalcalco MexicoTemple 1Maya20600 BCE to 900 CEThe city's buildings were made from fired-clay bricks held together with mortar made from oyster shells. The use of bricks at Comalcalco was unique among Maya sites, and many of them are decorated with iconography and/or hieroglyphs.
El Tajín MexicoPyramid of the NichesClassic Veracruz18
La Venta MexicoThe Great PyramidOlmec33This is one of the earliest pyramids known in Mesoamerica. It was made out of an estimated 100,000 cubic meters of earth fill.
Mayapan MexicoMaya15
Moral-Reforma MexicoConjunto 14Maya37
Palenque MexicoTemple of the CrossMaya
Palenque MexicoTemple of the InscriptionsMayaBore the Classic Maya name B'olon Yej Te' Naah "House of the Nine Sharpened Spears".
Santa Cecilia Acatitlan MexicoAztecIn 1962, the architect and archaeologist Eduardo Pareyon Moreno reconstructed and reinforced the pyramid's basement and rebuilt the temple that crowns it.
Tenayuca MexicoAztec62 by 50This is the earliest example yet found of the typical Aztec double pyramid, which consists of joined pyramidal bases supporting two temples.
Tenochtitlan MexicoTemplo MayorAztec100 by 801390 to 1500 CETenochtitlan was destroyed by the Spanish. Recreations of this and other pyramids are based on historical text and archaeological ruins.
Tenochtitlan MexicoAztec1325 to 1521 CETenochtitlan, the Aztec capital city, was completely razed by the Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortez. Recreations the city are based on historical text and archaeological ruins. This site once included at least half a dozen pyramids.
Teotihuacan MexicoPyramid of the SunTeotihuacano223.571.232.494100 BCEThere are also dozens of platforms 4 stories high lining the Avenue of the Dead at Teotihuacan. Each step in each story creates a stairway to the top in front of the platforms.
Teotihuacan MexicoPyramid of the MoonTeotihuacano43100 BCE
El Tepozteco MexicoAztec1502 CE
Tula, Hidalgo MexicoToltec
Uxmal MexicoPyramid of the MagicianMaya40
Uxmal MexicoLa Gran PiramideMaya
Xochicalco MexicoTemple of the Feather Serpent200 BCE to 900 CE
Xochicalco Mexico200 BCE to 900 CEThis is one of several other step-pyramid temples in addition to the Temple of the Feather Serpent
Xochitecatl MexicoThe Pyramid of Flowers100 by 140the Preclassic Period
Xochitecatl MexicoThe Spiral Building700 BCEThis is a circular stepped pyramid. The interior of the structure consists of volcanic ash. The building has no stairway giving access to the top, it was climbed by following the spiral form of the building itself.
Yaxchilan MexicoMaya600 to 900 CEThis is one of the pyramids on the upper terrace of Yaxchilan
Tikal GuatemalaTikal Temple IVMaya88 by 6570741 ADThe pyramid was built to mark the reign of the 27th king of the Tikal dynastyTemple IV at the Classic Period Maya ruins of Tikal, 8th century AD, Peten Department, Guatemala.