TEOTIHUACÁN, MÉXICO The Pyramid of

the Sun is the largest of an immense array of pyramids in the Valley of Mexico, northeast of present-day Mexico City. This view is the westward side as seen from the ancient city's central avenue

¿Qué es Teotihuacán?

Definición: El pueblo de Teotihuacan fue construído en el altiplano de México acerca de 150 A.C. y se hizo uno de los pueblos más grandes del mundo en aquellos tiempos. En su gloria, el pueblo o la ciudad cubrió una área de aproximadamente 20 kilómetros cuadrados y sirvió como hogar para 125,000 personas, incluyendo imigrantes de todas partes de lo que ahora llamamos México.

¿Qué Significa Teotihuacán?

Teotihuacán significa “lugar en donde nacieron los dioses," reflejando las creencias Aztecas que los dioses crearon el universo aquí. Las pirámides fueron construidas alrededor de 300 A.C. y la ciudad sagrada se caracteriza por el tamaño emorme de los monumentos y como las construyeron sobre las ideas geométricos y simbólicos.

El comercio Trading relationships were

established with Monte Alban in Oaxaca and the gulf coast - there is little evidence of any hostility during the years of prosperity. (You will not see any depictions of warfare or human sacrifice in the carvings and murals at Teotihuacan, unlike many contemporary cities in Mexico).

Majestuoso

Between 1AD and 250AD the ceremonial core was completed, including the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon and the Calle de los Muertos. The massive pyramid structures were painted red and must have been an awe-inspiring sight.

Edificio sagrado This sacred, truncated edifice stood 210 feet high

and 650 feet square, a vast pyramid of rubble, adobe mud, and earth all faced with stone. A wooden temple on the summit of the pyramid afforded a spectacular view of the sprawling city below. The pyramid is actually a succession of pyramids built one on top the other over the centuries. The pyramids and many other structures at Teotihuacan are stepped, rather than smooth sided like the Egyptian pyramids, and the stones of which they are made are not as large as stones used to build Egyptian pyramids. 

Avenida de los Muertos Teotihuacán's

central avenue, the so-called 'Avenue of the Dead,' extends southward from the Pyramid of the Moon for four kilometers, past the Pyramid of the Sun and the entrance of the Ciudela.

LOS MISTERIOS LA HISTORIA La historia temprana de Teotihuacán está

bajo misterio—se sabe poco acerca de quiénes las construyeron, inclusivo sus nombres, las creencias religiosas, o el lenguaje. La ciudad se hizo el epicentro de cultura y comercio para Mesoamerica antigua, superando la ciudad de Roma en tamaño, y aún los habitantes abandonaron Teotihuacan por razones misteriosas.

¿QUIÉNES ERAN? Los palacios y pirámides magníficos

cubrieron 31 kilómetros cuadrados (12 sq. miles). Cubrió 31 sq. km (12 sq. miles). En el cenit de su popularidad (alrededor de 500 A.C.), la ciudad midió en tamaño más grande que la ciudad de Roma y también tenía una población más grande. A través de comercio y otros contactos, la influencía de Teotihuacan fue conocida en otras partes de México y el Yucatán y también en Guatemala. Todavía, se sabe poco acerca de las personas que vivieron allí: los idiomas que hablaron, de dónde vinieron y lo que llamaron a su ciudad magnífica.

Cuevas desubiertas In 1971, a large cave

underneath the Pyramid of the Sun was discovered which throws light on why the pyramid was constructed, and perhaps even on why Teotihuacan itself was built where it was.

El uso de las cuevas The ancient use of

the cave predates the pyramid. Aztec tradition placed the creation the Sun and Moon, and even the present universe, at Teotihuacan.

Las cavernas

In Pre-Spanish Mexico, such caverns were symbolic wombs from which gods like the Sun and the Moon, and the ancestors of mankind, emerged in the mythological past. This is an immensely holy spot and the memory of its location persisted into Aztec times.

Diosa de la luna

Plan de la ciudad The cave is actually a

natural lava tube enlarged and elaborated in ancient times. The Teotihuacan Valley is a side valley of the Valley of Mexico and is one of a number of natural basins in the midst of an extensive region of volcanoes, therefore, there are many caves formed from the tubes of old lava flows.

Temple of the Feathered Serpent

The people of Teotihuacan believed in ritual sacrifice to satisfy the gods. Multiple burials were found at the pyramid, and it is believed that they were sacrificed as part of the dedication of the temple. The numbers of the burials are 4, 8, 9, 13, 18, and 20; these numbers represent significant ideology in Mesoamerica. There are four directions in the world, nine layers of their underworld, thirteen layers of heaven and earth, and a ritual calendar of thirteen months of twenty days or two hundred and sixty day calendar, and a solar calendar of eighteen months of twenty days.

Pirámide de Quetzalcoatl

The view of the stepped front facade of the Quetzalcoatl Pyramid illustrates all the elements of the repeating design

La Serpiente y Máscaras

Feathered Serpent and Tlaloc masks project from the facade.

Pirámide Quetzalcoatl

The Quetzalcoatl Pyramid facade has been partially recreated in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. Trace amounts of the original paints allowed for a full color recreation.

Águilas y Jaguares On the same

level and a few feet away are found well preserved murals of eagles and jaguars.

Un juguete con ruedas

A wheeled toy!

Even the indigenous kids played with wheeled toys!

                              

La gente….