Teotihuacan
in Mexico
Teotihuacan
The ruins of
Teotihuacán are among the most important in the world. The fate of its
civilization remains unclear, but we do know that this was once the
centre of an advanced society with a population of more than 200,000.
Occupation began about 500 BC, but it was only after 100 BC that building
of the Pyramid of the Sun began. The magnificent pyramids and palaces
once covered 31 sq km (12 sq miles) but were abandoned in about 700 AD and
little is known about the people.
Archaeologists
discovered that the Teotihuacán followed a cult of the planet Venus,
determining wars and sacrifices based on rituals timed with its
appearance as the morning or evening star. Numerous tombs with human
remains, jewelry, pottery and items from daily life have been uncovered
near the foundations of the buildings.
Today, the rough stone structures of three pyramids, sacrificial altars
and some grand houses, all of which were once covered in stucco and
painted with brilliant crimson frescoes, remain.
The front wall of the Pyramid of the Sun is exactly perpendicular to the
point on the horizon where the sun sets at the equinoxes and the rest of
the buildings were built at right angles to it. The main axis, Calzada de
los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead) runs north-south with the Pyramid of the
Moon to the north and the Ciudadela (Citadel) at the south. Only 1 km
(0.6 miles) has been uncovered and restored.
Archaeologists tunneling inside the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl found
evidence of ceremonial burials. Drawings of how the building once looked
show that every level was covered with feathered serpents.
As you stroll north along the Avenue of the Dead to the Pyramid of the
Moon, look on the right for a crumbling wall sheltered by a modern
corrugated roof. The wall still bears a painting of a jaguar from which
you may be able to imagine how amazing this site once was.
The Pyramid of the Sun, east of the Avenue of the Dead, is the
third-largest pyramid in the world, an imposing 221 meters (730 ft) per side
at its base and 64 meters (210 ft) high. Built on top of an already existing
structure, it was completed around 300 AD, and the views from its apex
are among the most extraordinary in Mexico.
The Pyramid of the Moon is surrounded by small temples and the Palace of
Quetzalpapalotl, with its striking butterfly paintings, and its straight
perspective down the Avenue of the Dead is breathtaking.
