Why Is Teotihuacan Pyramids Important

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Jesus Dominguez Ann Merville Anthropology 20 9 November 2013 Teotihuacan Teotihuacan, located in the highlands of central Mexico, is one of the world's most impressive archaeological sites. Between 100,000 and 200,000 people lived there at its peak around 600 A.D., making it one of the ancient world's largest cities with an urban core covering some twenty square kilometers. Settlement began about 200 B.C. and the basic layout of the city was complete by the mid-second century A.D. Most of the major construction was accomplished within the next hundred years. In plan, Teotihuacan is a complex urban grid filled with single and multiform apartment compounds. This grid, unique in Mesoamerica in its scale and organization, implies a high degree…show more content…
The Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, echoing the shape of the mountains surrounding the valley, served as focal points for Teotihuacan's urban layout. Beneath the pyramids are earlier structures; perhaps even tombs of Teotihuacan rulers are to be found within their stone walls. When the Pyramid of the Sun was completed circa 200 A.D., it was some 63 meters tall and 215 meters square. One of the largest structures ever built in the ancient Americas, its aspect today is the result of reconstruction and consolidation carried out in the early part of the twentieth century. Excavations in 1971 directly under the Pyramid of the Sun revealed a tunnel-like cave, ending in a cloverleaf-shaped set of chambers, apparently the scene of numerous ancient fire and water rituals. This cave may have been a place of emergence the womb from which the first humans came into the world in central Mexican thought. Caves are a key part of symbolic imagery associated with creation myths and the underworld throughout Mesoamerican history. The location and orientation of this cave may have been the impetus for the Pyramid of the Sun's alignment and…show more content…
Teotihuacan's murals constitute a primary source for understanding the city's religion and social organization. Found throughout the city on the walls of apartment compounds such as Tetitla, the paintings depict a wide range of images centered on two major deities: a female known as the Great Goddess and a male known as the Storm God or Tlaloc. The Great Goddess is usually depicted frontally, with additional motifs pertaining to agricultural fertility. The Storm God is usually shown in profile and is identified by his distinctive face mask and the lightning bolt carried in his left hand. Animals, including coyotes, owls, and jaguars, are also prominent in the murals. The paintings were laid down quickly on thinly plastered walls. Red dominates the color scheme, although blues, yellows, and greens appear. The style is flat and linear, and the primary deities often appear in abbreviated versions. The abundance of smaller motifs may have constituted a pictorial notational system, but Teotihuacan is remarkable for its apparent lack of a writing system comparable to that seen in the Maya realm or at Monte

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