If you make it to Mexico City you can’t avoid hearing about Teotihuacan. Many tour companies sell day trips to this vast complex of ancient pyramids and other buildings, located an hour or two outside of the city.
The complex was built by a peoples most often referred to as the ‘Teotihuacans’. This is, however, not a name they used themselves, and was given to the city by the Aztecs when they arrived a thousand years after the first buildings were built. The origins of the Teotihuacan people is still not known, and archaeologists hold a number of different beliefs.
Built between 200 BC and 700 AD the complex was home to anything between 125,000 and 200,000 people. The Teotihuacans held influence throughout much of the surrounding regions, spreading throughout Central Mexico and into what is now Guatemala, with their influence most obvious in the building styles of these areas. If you visit Yaxha in northern Guatemala, you can see the rounded style buildings that historians believe is a sign of the influence of the Teotihuacan peoples. They were most powerful between around 150 AD and 750 AD, from the end of the pre-classic period until the middle of the late classic period. When the Aztecs rose to power, they adopted many of the practices and beliefs held by the Teotihuacans, whom they believed were their ancestors. The Aztecs believe Teotihuacan was the site where the gods sacrificed themselves in order to recreate the world.
Archaeologists have found evidence of ritual sacrifice here, both of animals and humans, and you can view some of the skeletal remains in the Museo de Antropologia in Mexico City.
So how did such a great city fall? Forced to rely on only archaeological evidence, historians do not have a clear answer. It is most likely that internal strife led to an angry backlash by the people against the rulers of their city. Many of the buildings of the city were burnt around 750 AD, and these seem to have been the houses of the elite. As with many great civilisations, it seems that it was the people of Teotihuacan who initiated the end of their era of power, though the city remained inhabited up until the arrival of the Spanish.
The parts of the complex that we can see today as visitors constitute only between 5 and 10% of the original city, as much is still covered by plants and trees. This still leaves an impressive set of buildings ready to be explored.
The largest and most impressive of these are the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun. The Pyramid of the Moon lies at the beginning of the Avenue of the Dead. Climbing this smaller pyramid makes for good practice before any attempts at the larger Pyramid of the Sun. You cannot reach the very top of the Pyramid of the Moon as it has not been entirely restored, but anyone willing to make the climb receives a stunning view of the rest of the complex as their reward.
As you walk further down the Avenue of the Dead you will pass a number of smaller pyramids, including one which houses a great fresco of a jaguar, an animal that often appears in the art of the ancient cultures of Central America. The climb to the top of the 63 metre high Pyramid of the Sun is well worth it for the view it offers of the complex, and one cannot help but be impressed by the physical ability of the priests who would have climbed the pyramid often.
You can also visit some of the houses of the priests who lived in the city, where you can see frescos that still retain their original red colour, as well as seeing the bathroom (and toilet) of the house.
Some of the buildings in the complex have been restored, but this does not take away from their beauty and majesty; Teotihuacan is well worth your time.
For more information on Teotihuacan visit:
whc.unesco.org (search Teotihuacan)
http://www.science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/teotihuacan-/
Getting there and away:
Turibus run a day trip which includes a stop at the Basilica de Guadeloupe, a guide for the day, free time at the pyramids, entry to the complex, a buffet lunch, and return transport to the city for 900 Mexican Pesos. The company has a stand next to the metropolitan Cathedral in the Zocalo.
Entry to the complex costs 50 Mexican pesos.
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