Ateocalli (Nahuatl: "God-house") is aMesoamericanpyramid surmounted by atemple.[1] The pyramid is terraced, and some of the most important religious rituals inPre-Columbian Mexico took place in the temple at the top of the pyramid.[1]
The famous, although no longer extant, AztecHuey Teocalli ("Great Temple," Spanish,Templo Mayor) was located next to what is nowMexico City's main square, theZócalo. A famous 1848 painting byEmanuel Leutze depictsThe Storming of Teocalli by Cortez and his Troops, which Leutze painted four years before his classicWashington Crossing the Delaware. One of theCuban poetJosé María Heredia's best-known poems is titledEn el teocalli deCholula.
The term is also used in a modern context byChicano people involved in theNative American Church. Chicano chapters of the Native American Church refer to the organization as a "teocalli."[1]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Wood, James, ed. (1907).The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)
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