Precolonial Cities

This map shows the comparisons of present day Mexico City and Cusco to what they were like in precolonial times. In Mexico City, it can be seen that the precolonial and present day hearts of the city are in the same spot. In fact you can see the ruins of the temple of Tenochtitlan inside of the Zocalo. Cortes' map also reinforces this and shows that Tenochtitlan already had the same style of city planning that the Spanish brought with them. One major difference however is that Tenochtitlan was built on a lake that is now drained. In Cusco, the city was built to resemble a puma which was a sacred animal to the Inca. Today the puma outline can still be seen. Each region of the city is very symbolic to the design of the puma. The fortress is positioned at the jaws of the puma and they both represent protection from enemies. The Plaza de Armas of Cusco is positioned in the same location as the heart of the puma would be located. The tail of the puma is the is the two rivers emerging from the top and bottom of the puma.  Architecture from precolonial Cusco can also still be viewed today too. It is especially recognizable with the granite blocks put together without the use of mortar on the Sacsayhuaman.