Purépecha Proto Urban Site

A Purepecha (Tarascan) proto-urban settlement in Michoacan, Mexico, dating to AD 1000-1520. The site covers approximately 5 square kilometers and contains over 1,300 documented architectural features including house mounds, small temples, plazas, agricultural terraces, and a pyramid. At its peak before the Purepecha Empire's formation, it served as a dense urban center with centralized settlement systems and a socially stratified society. As the nearby capital Tzintzuntzan grew, this settlement was gradually abandoned by 1500.