thumb|400px|View of Cempoala from one of the temples
thumb|300px|The location of Cempoala within Central Mexico
Cempoala or Zempoala (Nahuatl Cēmpoalātl 'Place of Twenty Waters') is an important Mesoamerican archaeological site in the municipality of Úrsulo Galván in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It lies on the flat coastal plain, located one kilometer from the shore of the Actopan River and six kilometres from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It was the first urban settlement the Spaniards saw upon their arrival on the mainland of North America.
Cempoala was one of the most important settlements of the Totonac people during the Mesoamerican Postclassic period. The economy of Cempoala was largely based on marine resources and lowland agriculture. The town was settled around walled perimeters delimiting temples and palaces; dating back to the 11th to 16th centuries. Both versions imply that the city had many aqueducts which fed the numerous gardens and surrounding farmland fields. A third version conjectures that the name referred to commercial activities which, according to some sources, were performed every 20 days in pre-Hispanic times.
History
According to some sources, the city was founded at least 1,500 years before the arrival of the Spanish, and there is evidence of Olmec influence. Although not much is known about the Preclassic and Classic eras, the Preclassic town was built on mounds to protect it from floods. The Totonacs moved onto this coastal plain during the height of the Toltec Empire (A.D. 1000–1150). Archaeologists believe the Toltecs had pushed the Totonacs out of their settlements on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental and down to the coast.
Aztec conquest
Cempoala and other coastal Veracruz locations were defeated by the Aztec armies of Moctezuma I (mid-15th century), who was drawn to the area by local marine resources. They were heavily taxed and coerced into sending hundreds of people as tribute for sacrifices and to be used as household and agricultural slaves. This treatment at the hands of the Aztecs created the situation which led up to the defeat of the Aztecs by Cortés in the 16th century. The effort ended with the fall of Tenochtitlan and Moctezuma II, the Aztec tlatoani, being taken hostage.
After the victory and conquest, the people of Cempoala were relocated, Christianized, banned from practicing their ancient cults, and were enslaved to work new Spanish sugar cane fields. Between 1575 and 1577 a smallpox (matlazahuatl) epidemic decimated the population. It is estimated that two million people lost their lives in Mesoamerica due to this epidemic. The city was totally abandoned, and the few survivors moved to the city of Xalapa. The city was then lost to history until archaeologist Francisco del Paso y Troncoso rediscovered it.
Site
The Cempoala complex site is an assembly of impressive public spaces and fortress-like buildings surrounded by vegetation. The structures were built with stones from the nearby river, joined with mortar, and covered with lime made from burning shells and snails. This added a silver-like luster to their appearance when viewed from a distance.