Teotihuacán

Teotihuacán was not built by the Aztecs or Maya people, but by the lesser-known Teotihuacán people. We do know that it was the first large civilisation in Mexico. They built huge pyramids and worshipped Quetzalcóatl, god of water and fertility.

Their buildings date back to pre-Columbian times, at least, that’s what we’ve learnt from the Maya. 

This city is one of the largest mysteries of the pre-Columbian times, and not much remains of its first inhabitants. We don’t know their script, nor their heritage. We also don’t know what the city originally looked like. It’s remarkable, considering this city is only 40 kilometers from one of the current largest cities in the world: Mexico City. People have always lived in the area, yet somehow the civilisation of the Totonacs was lost completely.

The layout of the city makes scientist think that it was designed to be seen from the sky. Or perhaps they were attempting to recreate the universe, as the position of the temples seem to resemble that of the Pleiades, a star cluster that is also known as the Seven Sisters. How this group of stars relates to the site isn’t exactly clear yet. It is believed they were used for rituals and ceremonies, and not for agricultural purposes, as was previously thought. The street grid of Teotihuacán doesn’t follow the points of a compass, but the point where the Pleiades first appear at the horizon every year.

Most of the information that has been gathered about this site comes from the Maya peoples. These people experienced a similar growth in the south-east of Mexico and Central America. The Maya people recorded their history, and mentioned a certain Atlatl Cauac, which loosely translates to ‘Spearthrower Owl’. He was the ruler of Teotihuacán from the 4th of May 374 to the 9th of June 439.

He is one of the few people of whom we know the name. We’ve learnt that under his reign, many Maya cities and states became provinces of Teotihuacán. Though it’s not entirely sure whether they joined through agreement or were conquered by force. It’s possible that the Teotihuacán state grew to such prosperity thanks to the trade of obsidian (volcanic glass).

There is another person that gets mentioned in the Maya histories: a certain Teotihuacán general Siyah K’ak’, who conquered the city of Tikal. After this, Atlatl placed the city under the rule of Nun Yax Ayin (which means something along the lines of ‘Curl Snout’) in 379. The Maya people seem to be quite in awe of the state of Teotihuacán. Even five generations later, kings are still keen to mention they are descendants of the famous Atlatl Cauac. One of the great mysteries of the state of Teotihuacan is how it could flourish so well without any protection.

Scientists are still conducting research into that mystery now. At the end of the 19th century, an American archaeologist by the name of Eduard Seler undertook extensive research into the architecture, arts and many murals in the city. And in 1905, the Mexican archaeologist Leopoldo Batres began a large-scale dig. They removed a lot of the vegetation that had overgrown the structures, and tried to restore some of the buildings, as many buildings had collapsed or were about to collapse.

Researchers have found many tombs during their years of investigating the site. One of those is in the Pyramid of the Moon: in 1998 the American archaeologist Saburo Sugiyama discovered a skeleton here. The tomb included many jewels made of obsidian and jade. It also included the bones of eight birds and two jaguars, which might have been buried alive. It is one of the richest-decorated tombs, though it’s still not clear who the man in the tomb was.

The many mysteries surrounding Teotihuacán really speak to the imagination, as does the size of the city: it’s around 25 km2. Scientists believe that it might have been the largest city in Mexico between the year 400 and 700, potentially even the largest city in the world at that time. The city is located at 2.300 metres altitude, in the highlands of Mexico. It was founded around 150 BC and was left to ruin around 700AC. Teotihuacán had around 200.000 inhabitants when the city was in its prime.

It’s not clear how this state fell, though scientists did discover that many buildings were burnt down, either by the Teotihuacáns themselves or by others. The Aztecs, who came into power in Mexico centuries later, had great respect for the state of Teotihuacán, and believe that the city was built by gods.

They were the ones who named the city Teotihuacán (which translates to ‘where humans become gods’), because even the original name of the city was lost when it went to ruin. Much of the Aztec’s religious believes originated from this city, and their mythology depicts it as the place where the gods came to discuss the future.

The story goes that two of the gods jumped into the fire, creating the sun and the moon. And the two most important structures in the city relate to this tale: the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. These two structures helped the city become a beloved destination for Aztec pilgrims. These days, it’s a popular destination for many tourists.

It’s difficult to completely comprehend what Teotihuacán really means in history. The huge buildings are abstract and what we know if its history is very incomplete. But despite the lack of information, it’s obvious that Teotihuacán isn’t just special because of its size.

Those who travel through Mexico and visit other historic sites such as Chichén Itzá and Palenque, will quickly see how this city was an important place for people such as the Maya and the Aztecs.

In January, February and March the temperature is pleasant (between 18 and 23 degrees Celsius) and there is relatively little rain. Even the months after are usually quite nice, though there’s a bigger chance of rain.

The rain season is from June to August, and this means it’s mostly clouded and you should definitely take a rain coat. But the gloomy skies do make for much more interesting and dramatic photographs.

Teotihuacán is becoming more and more popular, as it’s relatively easy to get to from Mexico City. So make sure you get there early, or try and get there late in the afternoon to be there in time for sunset. Those are also better times to take photos and videos. Try to avoid going in the weekend.

You’ll also find that there are many salespeople who try to tell you souvenirs here. Most of them just sell cheap trinkets, but there are also real grave robbers active who sell items that are stolen from the site. Please avoid buying items from them, especially if they claim that they are ‘real’, because that encourages the theft of valuable historic items.