The Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as (Nahuatl for "made-by-hand mountain"), is a complex located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. It is the largest archaeological site of a pyramid (temple) in the New World, as well as the largest pyramid by volume known to exist in the world today. The adobe brick pyramid stands above the surrounding plain, which is significantly shorter than the Great Pyramid of Giza's height of , but much wider, measuring in its final form, compared to the Great Pyramid's base dimensions of . The pyramid is a temple that traditionally has been viewed as having been dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl. The architectural style of the building was linked closely to that of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico, although influence from the Gulf Coast is evident as well, especially from El Tajín. Location and etymology The Cholula archaeological zone is situated west of the city of Puebla, in the city of Cholula. The pyramid is located in the San Andrés Cholula, Puebla municipality, and marks the area in the center of the city where this municipality begins. The city is divided into two municipalities called San Andrés and San Pedro. This division originates in the Toltec-Chichimeca conquest of the city in the twelfth century. These pushed the former dominant ethnicity of the Olmeca-Xicalanca, to the south of the city. These people kept the pyramid as their primary religious center, but the newly dominant Toltec-Chichimecas founded a new temple to Quetzalcoatl where the San Gabriel monastery is now. The Toltec-Chichimec people who settled in the area around the twelfth century AD named Cholula as Tlachihualtepetl, meaning "artificial hill". The name cholula has its origin in the ancient Nahuatl word cholollan, which means "place of refuge". History The Great Pyramid was an important religious and mythical centre in prehispanic times. Over a period of a thousand years prior to the Spanish Conquest, consecutive construction phases gradually built up the bulk of the pyramid until it became the largest in Mexico by volume. Classic The temple-pyramid complex was built in four stages, starting from the 3rd century BC through the 9th century AD, and was dedicated to the deity Quetzalcoatl. It has a base of and a height of . According to the Guinness Book of Records, it is, in fact, the largest pyramid as well as the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, with