<\/span><\/h2>\nThe annual festival near the ancient pre-hispanic ruins of El Tajin, once the ancient capital of the Totonac indians.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/span>Who occupied El Tajin?<\/span><\/h2>\nMesoamerican culture at the great centre of El Tajin, placed among jungle-covered hills in a region occupied by the Totonac, whose capital this may well have been. Its most imposing structure is the Pyramid of the Niches, named for the approximately 365 recesses on its four sides.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/span>When was the Pyramid of the Niches built?<\/span><\/h2>\nIt remains an enigma; however the most widely accepted theory is that El Tajin was founded by the ancestors of the Totonac and Huastec indigenous peoples who live in the area to this day. Archeologists estimate that the city once accommodated a population of between 15,000 and 20,000 people.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/span>When did Taj\u00edn come out?<\/span><\/h2>\nPronounced ta-HEEN, the popular Mexican product hit the United States market in 1993, and in many places it is comparable to Heinz ketchup in its ubiquity and brand loyalty u2014 a nostalgic and widespread flavor in Mexican and Mexican-American food.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/span>What is the history of El Tajin?<\/span><\/h2>\nLocated in the state of Veracruz, El Tajin was at its height from the early 9th to the early 13th century. It became the most important centre in northeast Mesoamerica after the fall of the Teotihuacan Empire.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/span>Who found El Tajin?<\/span><\/h2>\nFor this reason, archaeologists prefer to distinguish the two, and speak of an El Taj\u00edn culture. The ruins of El Taj\u00edn were discovered in 1785, then excavated from 1938 to 1963 by Jos\u00e9 Garc\u00eda Pay\u00f3n, who restored some of the buildings and set up the bas-reliefs of its South Ball Court.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Why was the El Tajin built?<\/span><\/h2>\nEl Tajin was founded following the abandonment of the city of Teotihuacan. Built and inhabited from 800AD to 1200 AD, El Tajin was a thriving city of major ceremonial importance, a fact illustrated by the numerous Mesoamerican pyramids and other ceremonial structures still seen there today.<\/b><\/p>\n