 These buildings, spread across the central part of what is now Mexico, contain superb examples of the indigenous mastery of architecture and the sculptural arts.Their work, created under the supervision of the Catholic friars, was done in the "tequitqui" style, which originated in the architectural stone carving and decorative painting practiced by their ancestors before the Spanish conquest.The first cathedrals in Mexico were built beginning in 1521 when New Spain was established; from that time onward ever more elaborate structures were built, a prime example being the Mérida Cathedral in Yucatán, built in the Renaissance architectural style and one of the oldest cathedrals in the New World.