Introduction
Teotihuacan means 'The City of the Gods", or "Where
Men Become Gods"
(in Nahuatl). It is located in the valley of the same name 30 miles north of
Mexico City.
Teotihuacan Location: 19° 40'
N 98° 52' W
Image courtesy of the GoogleEarth [
http://earth.google.com ]
The above satellite image of ancient ruins of
Teotihuacan
has been generated by
Teotihuacan used to be a thriving city and ceremonial center that
predated the Aztecs by several centuries. Most likely it was Mexico's biggest ancient
city at its peak and the sixth largest city in the world in AD 600.
Teotihuacan began declining sharply around 650 AD, and was almost
completely abandoned around 750 AD. No one knows why.
At its peak around 500-600 A.D., Teotihuacan contained perhaps
200,000 people. It was a well planned city covering nearly eight square
miles and larger and more advanced than any European city of the
time. Its civilization was contemporary with that of ancient Rome ,
and lasted longer - more than 500 years.
Though archaeologists have long been fascinated with the site,
Teotihuacan's culture and history are still largely mysterious. The
civilization left massive ruins, but no trace has yet been found of
a writing system and very little is known for sure about its
inhabitants, who were succeeded first by the Toltecs and then by the
Aztecs.
The Aztecs did not live in the city, but gave the place and
its major structures their current names. They considered it the
"Place of the Gods" - a place where, they believed, the
current world was created.
Mysterious Layout of Teotihuacán
The city of Teotihuacán is meticulously laid out on a grid which
is offset 15º.5 from the cardinal points. Its main avenue, the
"Street of the Dead," runs from 15º.5 east of north to
15º.5 west of south, while its most impressive structure, the
Pyramid of the Sun, is directly oriented to a point 15º.5 north of
west -- the position at which the sun sets on August 13.
There is one very peculiar thing
about the city of Teotihuacan;
It is oriented 15.5 degrees east of True North!*
Click for more detail ( 322KB
)
Teotihuacan satellite photo courtesy
of ©
Space Imaging LLC
Click on the image above to enlarge (1.9MB JPG)
Do not miss this incredible website:
Space Imaging :: Satellite Image Gallery of Ancient Observatories..,
The siting of the Pyramid of the Moon at the far end of the
avenue was likewise done with such care that a sight-line directly
over the top of the Pyramid of the Sun marks the meridian, thus
allowing the priests of the city to fix the times of noon and
midnight with complete accuracy.
Several attempts had been made to explain the layout of
Teotihuacán by means of astronomy. The most credible solution to
the mystery of the orientation of Teotihuacán (and other
Mesoamerican cities and archaeological sites) is provided by Dr.
Vincent H. Malmström in his 1997 volume, "Cycles
of the Sun, Mysteries of the Moon: The Calendar in Mesoamerican
Civilization" published by the University of Texas Press.
Here (with his permission) is a link to Chapter
5 of his book where he presents the main gist of his argument.
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* 15.5 degrees
"misalignment" - Related links:
- 100 BC - 0 AD Proto-Teotihuacan (two small hamlets in northern
pocket of Valley of Mexico, population = 5000)
- 0 BC - 150 AD Teotihuacan I - (Avenue of the Dead, Pyramid of the
Sun established)
- 150 AD - 300 AD Teotihuacan II - (Grid pattern established)
- 300 AD - 650 AD Teotihuacan III - (Pinacle of development,
population = 85,000-200,000)
- 650 AD - 750 AD Teotihuacan IV - Decline and fall
Besides the major ceremonial pyramids, there were also palaces and
temples, especially near the north end of the city surrounding the
plaza in front of the Pyramid of the Moon. These included the Palace
of Quetzalcoatl, the Butterfly Palace, the Temple of the Feathered
Conches, and the Palace of the Jaguars. The sophistication and
artistry of the Teotihuacanos can be seen everywhere in the
magnificent murals and stone carvings which adorn the walls of the
palaces and apartment compounds.
The city met its end around 700 AD through deliberate destruction
and burning by the hand of unknown invaders. Although a century earlier,
around AD 600, almost all of Teotihuacan's influence over the rest
of Mesoamerica had ceased, indicating some sort of internal malaise
or decline before the destruction.
The first strains appeared about AD 650. A century later,
Teotihuacan was a shadow of its former self. The population had
declined so rapidly that the once-proud city was now little more
than a series of hamlets extending over an area of about a square
kilometer.
Some great catastrophe apparently struck the city in AD 700,
reducing its population to below 70,000. Many of its people moved
eastward. The city was deliberately burnt and destroyed. Over the
years, its buildings collapsed and the pyramids became overgrown
with dense vegetation.
Teotihuacan's decline was almost as rapid as its rise to
prominence. Even so, eight centuries later, Teotihuacan was still
revered far and wide as an intensely sacred place. But no one
remembered who had built it or that tens of thousands of people had
once lived there.
Away from the Avenue of the Dead, the city continued to live on
for another two centuries, although the population of Teotihuacan
sunk to only a quarter of its former total. Some sort of crisis
overtook all the Classic civilizations of Mesoamerica (including the
Maya) two centuries later, forcing them to abandon most of the
cities. Some anthropologists believe the crisis may have been a
lessening of the food supply caused by a drying out of the land and
a loss of water sources to the area.
They speculate that this might have been brought about by a
combination of natural climactic shift towards aridness that appears
to have happened all over Mexico during the Classic period and the
residents having cut all the timber in the valley. Originally there
were cedar, cypress, pine, and oak forests; today there are cactus,
yucca, agave, and California pepper trees. This change in vegetation
indicates a big climate shift.
Although Teotihuacan presents a puzzle to archaeologists because
it was a huge city that appears to have arisen without antecedents,
the single most important fact which archaeologists have learned
about the Classic period in Mexico was the supremacy of Teotihuacan.
As the urbanized center of Mexico, with high population and
tremendous production, its power was imposed through political and
cultural means not only in its native highland habitat, but also
along the tropical coasts, reaching even into the Maya area. It's
trading and tribute empire was comparable with the Aztec empire that
eventually followed it. All other Mexican states were partly or
entirely dependent upon it for whatever achievements they attained.
When Teotihuacan fell, around 650 AD, the unifying force in
Mesoamerica was gone, and with it widespread inter-regional trade.
The Late Classic period saw increasing fractionalization among
cultures. In the place of great states, petty kingdoms and
militarism arose. From the highpoint of civilization at Teotihuacan,
wars became the rule of the day, and for those unfortunate enough to
be captured, sacrifice to the gods. Military empires, such as the
Toltecs in the twelfth century AD (and later the Aztecs, starting in
fourteenth century AD), which grew up from these warring factions
were the cultures met by the Spanish in 1519 and largely eradicated
by 1521.
Probably the reason that the Spanish were able to conquer the
Aztecs in such a short amount of time had less to do with their
skill as soldiers and more to do with the fact that the Spaniards
physically resembled the descriptions in Aztec legends of the god
Quetzalcoatl.
Quetzalcoatl, while symbolized as a feathered serpent, appears
also to have been an historic figure - the man credited with
bringing civilization, learning, culture, the calendar, mathematics,
metallurgy, astronomy, masonry, architecture, productive
agriculture, knowledge of the healing properties of plants, law,
crafts, the arts, and peace to the native people. He is pictured as
a quite different physical type than the natives - fair skinned and
ruddy complexioned, long nosed, and with a long beard. He was said
to have arrived by boat from the east, and sailed off again years
later promising to return someday.
The Pyramid of the Sun
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The Pyramid of the Sun, built in the 2nd century AD, dominates
the landscape of the ancient city of Teotihuacan in Mexico.It is the third largest pyramid in the world and the largest in
the Teotihuacan complex.
Image Source:
Mexico and Its Ancient Ruins - PHOTO CD
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.
At its peak time - most of Teotihuacan was plastered, and the
pyramids were painted bright red.
Another fascinating feature of some of the pyramidal structures
is that they contain a broad, thick layer of mica, which had to be
brought from Brazil, over 2000 miles away! Mica is very flaky and fragile, yet it was brought in very
large pieces from great distances (and without wheeled vehicles).
Then the mica was used on an inner layer of the pyramid, not where
it could be seen. Why? One characteristic of mica is that it is used
as an insulator in electronic and electrical things. Was that its
purpose here? Another mystery of Teotihuacan.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Pyramid of the Moon
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The Moon Pyramid is located at the northern end of the Avenue of
the Dead, which is the main axis of the city. The pyramid, facing
south, was built as the principal monument of the Moon Pyramid
complex.
Image Source:
Mexico and Its Ancient Ruins - PHOTO CD
The five-tiered platform was attached to the front of the
Moon Pyramid. It is said that the present pyramid has interior
structures within it. However, the pyramid still remains as one of
the least understood major monuments in Teotihuacan.
The current excavation under the Pyramid of the Moon may be one
of the best opportunities to answer questions about the
civilization, as its underlying older, primitive loose rock
construction may have protected buried secrets by making it
difficult to dig under and resistant to looters.
Many scholars outside the established academic circles,
have produced extensive evidence that the precise arrangement,
proportion and alignment of many ancient monuments expresses, at the
very least, advanced and detailed astronomical knowledge well beyond
that with which their builders have been credited.
The Pyramid of the Sun and the Great Pyramid of Egypt are
almost or very nearly equal to one another in base perimeter. The Pyramid of
the Sun is "almost" half the height of the Great Pyramid.
There is a slight difference. The Great Pyramid is 1.03 - times
larger than the base of the Pyramid of the Sun. Conversely, the base
of the Pyramid of the Sun is 97% of the Great Pyramid's base.
The ratio of the base perimeter to the height:
| Great Pyramid |
Pyramid of the Sun |
6.2800001... : 1
(deviates by 0.05 % from the
6.2831853 value for 2 x pi) |
12.560171... : 1
(deviates by 0.05 % from the
12.566371 value for 4 x pi) |
The ratio of their height to the perimeter of their base are both
based on the mathematical ratio 'pi'. The perimeter of the base of
the Pyramid of the Sun is 4pi times its height, whereas the Great
pyramid of Giza's base perimeter is 2pi times its height. The
mathematical ratio 'pi' is based on knowledge of geometry, so the
use of 'pi' implies knowledge of sophisticated mathematics also.
Related links:
Beckmann, Petr. A History of pi. (New York:
The Golem Press, 1971). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Cook, Theodore Andrea. The Curves of Life
(New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1979).
To order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Euclid. The Thirteen Books on the Elements.
Thomas L. Heath, trans. (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1956). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Erlande-Brandenburg, Alain. Cathedrals and
Castles: Building in the Middle Ages (New York: Harry N. Abrams,
1995). To order this book
from Amazon.com, click
here.
Garland, Trudi Hammel. Math and Music
(Palo Alto: Dale Seymour Publications, 1995). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Hall, Manly P. The Secret Teachings of All
Ages (Los Angeles: The Philosophical Research Society, 1988). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Hambidge, Jay. The Elements of Dynamic
Symmetry (New York: Dover Publications, 1967). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Hancock, Graham. Fingerprints of the Gods
(New York: Crown Trade Paperbacks, 1995). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Lawlor, Robert. Sacred Geometry. (London:
Thames and Hudson, 1982).To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
McClain, Ernest G. The Myth of Invariance
(York Beach: Nicolas-Hays, 1976). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Michell, John. New View Over Atlantis
(London: Thames & Hudson, 1983). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Plato. Timaeus and Critias. Desmond Lee,
trans. (London: Penguin Books, 1965). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Schneider, Michael. The Beginners Guide to
Constructing the Universe (New York: Harper Collins, 1995). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Schwaller de Lubicz, Rene A. The Egyptian
Miracle (Rochester: Inner Traditions International, 1988). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Schwaller de Lubicz, Rene A. Sacred Science
(Rochester: Inner Traditions International, 1988). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Schwaller de Lubicz, Rene A., The Temple of
Man. 2 volumes (Rochester: Inner Traditions International, Ltd.,
1998. To order this book
from Amazon.com, click
here.
Thompson, D'Arcy Wentworth. On Growth and Form
(New York: Dover Publications, 1992). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
Tompkins, Peter. Mysteries of the Mexican
Pyramids (New York: Harper & Row, 1976). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here
Tompkins, Peter. Secrets of the Great Pyramid
(New York: Harper Collins, 1971). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
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Release Date: April 14, 1997
Run Time: 60 minutes
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