Temple of Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl

19.3339°N, 99.6986°W.

The Temple of Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl at Calixtlahuaca in the Toluca Valley of central Mexico is a circular pyramid built and rebuilt in four superimposed phases between approximately 900 and 1500 CE under the Matlatzinca and later the Aztec Triple Alliance. The visible structure rises about 12 metres in concentric tiers of cut stone faced with stucco, with a single staircase on its eastern face leading to a circular summit shrine dedicated to Ehecatl, the wind aspect of Quetzalcoatl. Round pyramids in Mesoamerica are exclusively associated with this deity — the cylindrical form is interpreted as offering no corners that might block the wind. A famous carved stone image of Ehecatl in his characteristic duck-billed mask was recovered at the site by José García Payón in the 1930s.

The Temple of Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl is a circular pyramid built without corners on the principle that the wind god needed no walls to deflect.