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The holy
city of Teotihuacan ('the place where the gods were created') is
about 50 km northeast of Mexico City. Built between the 1st and 7th
centuries A.D., it is characterized by the vast size of its
monuments – in particular, the Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the
Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, laid out on geometric and symbolic
principles. As one of the most powerful cultural centers in
Mesoamerica, Teotihuacan extended its cultural and artistic
influence throughout the region, and even beyond.
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Click here for a short (jumpy)
movie
(2 MB) |
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Aerial view
(from Google Earth) |
Map of the Teotihuacan
site |
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Pyramid of the Sun
The Sun Pyramid
is approximately 740 ft per side at the base, and about 213 ft
high. It was the largest stone pyramid in pre-Columbian America.
The pyramid is on the east side of the Avenue of the Dead in the
northern half of the city. The pyramid originally consisted of four
stepped platforms, a surmounting temple, and a platform, which was
built over what was originally the principal facade of the pyramid.
No information about the temple itself is available, since, along
with the upper-most portion of the pyramid, it has been completely
destroyed. It’s a monstrous sized “building”, with huge, steep
steps to the top.
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Pyramid of the Sun
(note all the vendor's stalls along the entrance, left) |
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