Tajin

the conventional name for an ancient city in Mexico, whose ruins are found 8 km southeast of Papantla, in the central part of the state of Veracruz. According to archaeologists, who base their judgment on evidence obtained from excavations since 1934, Tajin in the first millennium A.D. was a major center of the civilization of the Totonacs, culturally one of the most advanced peoples of Pre-Columbian Mexico. Tajin’s buildings were dispersed over a narrow fertile valley and along adjoining mountain slopes, in an area of 959 hectares. The religious and administrative center of the city was located at the bottom of the valley and covered an area of approximately 60 hectares. Also situated there was the multitiered Pyramid of the Niches (height 18 m), commonly known as El Tajin, from which the city derives its name. It is believed that Tajin was built around the fourth century B.C. and flourished until the 13th century.