Cempoala

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 Totonacs ruled the area of Totonacapan which consisted of the northern part of Veracruz together with the Zacatlán district of Puebla. In the early sixteenth century, this area had a total population of approximately 250,000 and contained some 50 towns. At its peak, Cempoala had a population of between 25,000 and 30,000. 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.