For this week’s blog, I looked at the Precolumbian site of Teotihuacan in Mexico. The people who built the site and the significance of them are still up for debate so I visited (once again virtually) the structures of the Pyramids of the Moon and the Sun -which are located along la Calzada de los Muertos or the Avenue of the Dead- to see for myself.
Starting up the Avenue of the Dead, I could see how huge the site is. The street itself extends so far and wide that I feel like there should be a procession walking here. The first pyramid that I see is the Pyramid of the Sun and to the north, at the end of the street, is the Pyramid of the Moon. Of the two, the Pyramid of the Sun is the largest, but both are so big that they rise above the rest of the structures and plazas to mirror the height and shape of the mountains. They both have rounded tops and stairs that lead up to the top so tourists (my virtual self included) can see the entire planned site from a bird’s eye view.
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| Site Plan for Teotihuacan http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hg/hb_teot_18.jpg (accessed February 12, 2013) |
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| Pyramid of the Sun http://www.sacredsites.com/americas/mexico/images/pyramid-sun-01-500.jpg (accessed February 12, 2013) |
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| Pyramid of the Moon http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/2666068.jpg (accessed February 12, 2013) |
Inside (sadly where no virtual being can enter), the pyramids show evidence of burial sites and sacrificial offerings, giving an insight to what may have been a ritualistic society. This also implies that the pyramids were for the people to have a place to worship and connect with their deities (it could even symbolize deities or a deity). Since the pyramids do look like mountains, it could symbolize the earth and the people’s spiritual connection to the earth.
Teotihuacan is laid out using cosmic harmony (stars) to orient the placement of the structures. The Pyramid of the Sun is located in the place where the Sun would have been at its highest point; the Avenue of the Dead is 90 degrees to the Pyramid of the Sun’s principle axis and the Pyramid of the Moon was placed to the North (perhaps to reflect the North star or true North).
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| View from top of Pyramid of the Moon http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com (accessed February 12, 2013) |
The pyramids, their placement and symbolism are part of the history of an unknown society but they are here for all of us (virtually or not) to see and explore for the marvels that they are. Not knowing who built them or for what purpose is all part of the journey.
That’s it for now.
I'm off.
