South-eastward from the ancient city of Quanhuahuac, on the western declivity of the Cordillera of Anahuac, rises an isolated mass of rock, 358 feet in height, shaped by human labor into a regular conic form. It has five stories or terraces, the sides of which incline inward as they ascend, each being covered above with masonry; the uppermost of these is 236 feet from north to south, and 315 from east to west; and is encircled by a wall of hewn stone six feet and a half in height. The base of the hill is also surrounded by a deep and very wide ditch, whose outer circumference measures nearly two miles and a half. In the centre of the upper natural platform was a Pyramid of five stories, of which only one now remains. It faces exactly the four cardinal points, and is on one side 67, and on the other 57 feet in extent. The stones of which it is composed are regular in shape, fitted neatly together, and are covered with hieroglyphics, each figure occupying several stones; among them we discovered heads of crocodiles spouting water, and men sitting cross legged, as is the custom in Eastern nations.
But the greatest, and perhaps the most ancient of the Pyramids of this country, is one on the plain of Cholula, which is separated from the valley of Mexico by a chain of volcanic mountains, extending from Popocatepetl towards Rio Frio and the peak of Telapor. This Pyramid was also so constructed as to face exactly the four cardinal points, and had a base of 1449 feet on each side; it rose by four terraces, and had an elevation of 164 feet. It was built of unbaked bricks, three inches thick by fifteen in length, alternating with layers of clay. In some places it has been penetrated, and chambers have been laid open, in one of which were found two skeletons, idols of basalt, and a great variety of vases, polished and varnished. On the summit of this Pyramid was an altar dedicated to Quatzee, the god of the air.
These Pyramids of Mexico were in existence when this region was conquered by the Aztecks, in the year 1190 of our era; and were attributed by the conquerors to their predecessors, the Toltecks, a powerful and highly civilized nation, who had obtained possession of the country about the year A.D. 648. But whether they were not built by another people long anterior to the Toltecks, it is now impossible to say, though it appears probable that they were.