Teotiuacan Ruins

The Ruins of Teotiuacan

Teotihuacan was the sixth largest city in the world during its period of greatest prosperity, according to an estimated population of 125,000. The city seems to have functioned for centuries as a well-developed urban center until its rather sudden collapse, possibly in the seventh century. The place was called Teotihuacan by Nahuatl speakers several centuries after the city's fall, but its original name, the language or languages spoken there, and the ethnic groups who built the city are still unknown.

The Avenue of the Dead was the main street of Teotihuacan. It ran for more than 2.5 km, beginning at the Moon Plaza to the north and extending beyond the Ciudadela and the Great Compound complexes to the south.

The avenue divided the city into two sections. Apartment compounds with pyramidal constructions were arranged on both sides of the avenue, often symetrically and sharing the same orientation. This highly planned city-layout suggests that the avenue may have been planned since its earliest phases of urbanization.

As originally built, the Sun Pyramid was approximately 215 by 215 m at the base, and about 63 m high. It was significantly enlarged at least twice in later periods, resulting in a final size of 225 m along each side. The pyramid was located on the east side of the Avenue of the Dead in the northern half of the city. If the area of monumental construction between the Moon Pyramid and the San Juan Canal is regarded as the central zone of the city, the Sun Pyramid is located at its middle. In addition to its geographic centrality, the importance of the pyramid is indicated by a cave located under the structure. It is believed by certain scholars that the cave was used for ritual activities, and why the pyramid was constructed where it is today.

The Moon Pyramid is located at the northern end of the Avenue of the Dead, which was the main axis of the city. The pyramid, facing south, was built as the principal monument of the Moon Pyramid complex. The five-tiered platform was attached to the front of the Moon Pyramid.

The Ciudadela is a huge enclosure located at the geographic center of the city. It measures about 400 m on a side (i.e. about 160,000 m2), and the interior space is surrounded by four large platforms surmounted by pyramids. The main plaza had a capacity of about 100,000 persons without much crowding. One of the main functions of this closed huge space may have been ritual performance.

(Information from the University of Arizona)

Approaching the major temple sites

The Temple of the Feathered Serpent has a facade with a series of repeating images

Feaethered serpents are the most prominent images on the facade

In some cases, one can still see the remnants of the white paint that was used to emphasize the teeth

In one of the rooms beside the Luna temple is a preserved mural of a jaguar

In addition to the feathered serpent, the reliefs depict marine snails and an apple snail from fresh water

This is the location of the central living areas where about 100,000 people lived.

On top of the rooms, there are courtyards that may be upper story rooms.

The largest of the temples is dedicated to the sun and called Sol.

The smaller of the two temples is dedicated to the moon and is called Luna.

On this temple, the stairs are very steep and at frequent intervals there are facades possibly originally with murals.

From the top of Luna, one can see the full extent of the plaza and the view of Sol in the distance.

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Approaching the major temple sites	The Temple of the Feathered Serpent has a facade with a series of repeating images
Feaethered serpents are the most prominent images on the facade	In some cases, one can still see the remnants of the white paint that was used to emphasize the teeth
In one of the rooms beside the Luna temple is a preserved mural of a jaguar	In addition to the feathered serpent, the reliefs depict marine snails and an apple snail from fresh water
This is the location of the central living areas where about 100,000 people lived.	On top of the rooms, there are courtyards that may be upper story rooms.
The largest of the temples is dedicated to the sun and called Sol.	The smaller of the two temples is dedicated to the moon and is called Luna.
On this temple, the stairs are very steep and at frequent intervals there are facades possibly originally with murals.	From the top of Luna, one can see the full extent of the plaza and the view of Sol in the distance.