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The Pyramid of the Moon in Mexico

Height: 43 m
Location: Mexico State
Architectural style: Talud-tablero
Part of: Teotihuacan
Condition: Protected by UNESCO

Pyramid of the Moon

The Pyramid of the Moon is located in Mexico, north of the ancient city of Teotihuacan. It is a place to worship the moon god. Its architectural style is the same as that of the Pyramid of the Sun, but it is smaller and built 200 years later than the Pyramid of the Sun. It is also divided into 5 floors. There are many colorful murals painted on the stone blocks stacked on the outside. The wide square in front of the tower can accommodate tens of thousands of people.

The Pyramid of the Moon is the second-largest pyramid in Mesoamerica, after the Pyramid of the Sun, and located in modern-day San Martín de las Pirámides, Mexico. It is found in the western part of the ancient city of Teotihuacan and mimics the contours of the mountain Cerro Gordo, just north of the site. Wikipedia

Basic overview

The Pyramid of the Moon is located in Mexico, north of the ancient city of Teotihuacan. Although the Pyramid of the Moon is small in scale, it is finely constructed. Each of its more than 200 steps has different inclination angles.

To the south of the Moon Pyramid is the Butterfly Palace, which is the residence of the upper-class religious figures and dignitaries, and the most gorgeous place in the city. The cylinder is engraved with a very delicate butterfly-winged bird body pattern, which is still brightly colored. Below the palace, a conch temple decorated with beautiful feathers was unearthed. The underground drainage system of this monument is criss-crossed like a cobweb.

Historical Origins

Between 100 and 500 AD, the ancients built a prosperous city, Teotihuacan, on the plateau, about 25 miles from what is today Mexico City. Teotihuacan Then, 700 years before the Aztecs built Teotihuacan as their capital, the ancient civilization of the Roman contemporaries disappeared.

The Teotihuacan culture was formed in 500 BC, flourished in 100 AD, and declined 650 years later. At its peak, it had a population of 120,000 to 130,000 and an area of ​​20 square kilometers, making it the largest city in the Americas. Archaeological excavations have shown that Teotihuacan was not only a religious center, but also had extensive trade relations with the Maya and other parts of Central America, forming a vast commercial network. Teotihuacan and the Maya were part of this vast commercial network. two hubs.

The Teotihuacans, like the Mayans, followed a 260-day divine calendar and a 365-day solar calendar, but they did not have the tradition of carving monuments and using hieroglyphs extensively. In their spiritual life, the main gods they believe in are still water gods, rain gods and fire gods closely related to agricultural production. In contrast, the Mayan civilization, which is universally civilized, has only just started, and the population of London, which is as far away as Europe, reaches 200,000, and it will be 1,000 years later!

Most mysteriously, the rise of the Teotihuacan civilization is as mysterious as its disappearance. The Teotihuacan people did not leave any written records, and information about their ethnic origin and religious beliefs can only be based on the history books of the Aztecs who took over the city of Teotihuacan around 700 AD, and more The important thing is that Teotihuacan did not bloom and bear fruit in the vast Central American jungle like the Maya. The entire civilization has only such a large city with the same name left, as if it is not expensive.

However, this one and only city shocked the whole world. No one knows how influential the Teotihuacan civilization’s heyday was. Archaeologists believe, however, that the Teotihuacan civilization had established a power as far as today’s Guatemala, occupying most of southern Mexico, but this power may have existed as a coalition rather than an empire. This bizarre civilization lasted for more than 600 years and suddenly disappeared around the seventh century AD. No one knows why and how it disappeared, and even when the Aztecs discovered the ruins in the fifteenth century, they could only marvel at its grandeur.

Between 650 and 700 AD, Teotibiae was invaded by foreigners, and the original ancient city buildings were almost destroyed, and people had to abandon this “city of the gods”. Many of the buildings that can be seen have been renovated later.