thumb|250px|View of the yácata pyramids from the south end
Tzintzuntzan was the ceremonial center of the pre-Columbian Purépecha capital of the same name. The name comes from the Purépecha word Ts’intsuntsani, which means "place of hummingbirds." The site includes at least 1,000 archaeological features in an area that is at least 1,075 hectares.
After being in Pátzcuaro for the first years of the Purépecha Empire, power was consolidated in Tzintzuntzan in the mid 15th century. The empire continued to grow and hold off attacks by the neighboring Aztec Empire, until the Spanish arrived. Not wanting to suffer the destruction that the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan did, the emperor in this city surrendered to the Spanish. Eventually, much of the site and especially its distinct five rounded pyramids called yácatas were destroyed and the city almost completely abandoned.
Due to lack of interest in the old Purépecha dominion, excavation of this site did not begin until the 1930s.
Capital of the Purépecha Empire
thumb|Purépecha copper and brass objects in the site museum
Tzintzuntzan was the capital of the Purépecha Empire when the Spanish arrived in 1522. As these people did not leave written records, what we know of this city and its empire come from Spanish writings and archeological evidence. The main Spanish document is called the Relación de las ceremonias y ritos población y gobierno de los indios de Michoacán, written by Jerónimo de Alcalá based on what he was told by the Purépecha elite in 1539. Other writings that refer to the capital include Hernán Cortés’ fourth letter in 1524, “La información de Don Vasco de Quiroga, sobre el asiento de su iglesia Catedral,” from 1538, “Tratado curioso y doctor de las cosas de la Nueva España” by Antonio de la Ciudad Real in 1590, “Relaciones goegráficas; las Crónica de la orden de Nuestro Seráfico Padre San Francisco, provincia de San Pedro y San Pablo de Mechoacan in la Nueva España” by Alonso de la Rea in the 17th century and the “Crónica de la provincia de los santos apóstoles San Pedro y San Pablo de Michoacán” by Pablo Beaumont.
For a number of reasons, the Purépecha origins are shrouded in mystery. Much of Purépecha culture is very distinct from other Mesoamerican cultures. The Purépecha language is unrelated to any other Mesoamerican language. According to collected evidence, the Purépecha people may have begun to dominate the Pátzcuaro Lake area as early as 1000 CE, but definitely by 1250. Around 1440, the empire was consolidated and an administrative bureaucracy founded at Tzintzuntzan. More expansion of the empire occurred between. The pre-Hispanic city of Tzintzuntzan extended from Lake Pátzcuaro to the hills just to the east and had a population of between 25,000 and 30,000 when the Spanish arrived in the 1520s. Purépecha power extended over a wide section of what is now central-west Mexico, encompassing what is now the state of Michoacán and parts of modern Guanajuato, Guerrero and Jalisco states.
thumb|Excavations by yácatas revealing older structures
The yácatas were built over older, more traditional pyramidal structures from the first stage of the site's occupation. The palace had a room dedicated to storing the heads of enemies killed in battle.
The Site Museum of the Archeological Zone of Tzintzuntzan was inaugurated in 1992, with the basic purpose of exhibiting items from the site. The museum contains one hall in which there are displays of religious, decorative and utilitarian items. There are graphics relating the history of the empire's governors as well as a map of modern Michoacán indicating the locations from which the displayed objects originated. The museum offers guided tours and the sale of publications and reproductions of artifacts.
Excavation of the site
thumb|Part of one reconstructed yácata showing some of the stone facing.
In contrast to the Aztecs and the Maya, the ancient Purépechans left little monumental architecture. Towns were not fortified in any significant way, and roads had little if any paving. Only two ball courts are known in the area of the old empire and neither is in the capital. Until relatively recently, archeologists, anthropologists and historians had little interest in these people. There was even doubt that the Purépechans ever had a state society. However, recent investigations have revealed that the ancient Purépecha had a vast empire, second in territory only to the Aztecs and a complex culture that was in many ways unlike any other in Mesoamerica. The first fieldwork here was that of Nicolas León in 1888. He outlined the basic characteristics of the buildings and gave a brief history of the site, emphasizing the events that led to the ancient city's destruction.