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Church stairs in Tzintzuntzan, Mexico
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- July 1970
- Location
- Tzintzuntzan, Mexico
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2007. Terms of use
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- Search LEARN NC for Mexico and Tzintzuntzan.
In the classroom
- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
An arch frames a set of stone stairs leading to a colonial-era church. A young boy is standing near the stairs pointing toward the church.
Tzintzuntzan is a small town near Pátzcuaro, Mexico in the state of Michoacán. It dates from before the arrival of the Spanish and was established by the P’urhépecha people. In the P’urhé language, Tzintzuntzan means the “Place of the Hummingbirds.” During the pre-colonial period, the town served as an important ceremonial site and had several large stone pyramids. Many of these pyramids were dismantled by the Spanish to provide building blocks for colonial institutions, but the original ruins remain for archaeologists to study. Today the town is a popular tourist attraction and is known also for its hand-made baskets.
