Coatepantli

Coatepantli is a Nahuatl word meaning "wall of serpents". It comes from the words coatl meaning serpent and tepantli meaning wall. It is an architectural motif found in archeological sites in Mesoamerica.

== Purpose == There is no consensus on the purpose of these walls. Many researchers have suggested that the coatepantli were used to mark the boundary between ceremonial and non-ceremonial land, and at times the word has been used to signify any wall which encloses a sacred space, notably in Tlatelolco. Recent research disputes this and suggests that they varied in their nature, but they were not explicit boundaries between the sacred and the secular. thumb|Detail of the coatepantli at Tula (Mesoamerican site)|Tula|142x142px