Teopantecuanitlan

Teopantecuanitlan is an archaeological site in Guerrero, Mexico, spreading across two kilometers where the Amacuzac and Balsas rivers converge. The settlement contains residential compounds on stone foundations, ceremonial platforms, two ball courts, and an intricate system of irrigation channels carved into the terrain.

The site was occupied from around 1400 to 500 BCE, with its population peak occurring between 1000 and 800 BCE during the Early to Middle Formative Period. This flourishing time reveals how communities developed organized settlements and built lasting water management systems.

The Sunken Patio features carved travertine blocks with anthropomorphic designs that visitors can see up close, reflecting how people here tracked celestial events and seasons.

Visitors can move through the site along marked pathways that connect residential areas, ball courts, and ceremonial platforms. Informational signs throughout help orient you and explain what you are seeing at different locations.

The grounds hold one of Mesoamerica's oldest known irrigation systems, built around 1200 BCE using rough stones and flat stone slabs. This engineering achievement shows how early peoples mastered water management techniques that sustained their farming.