Teotihuacan is an ancient site located in a valley named Teotihuacan and only 30 miles from the city of Mexico City. Teotihuacan means the City of the gods or the place where man became a god.
Teotihuacan of his time was a thriving city and a center for ceremonies, long before the Aztecs had settled in Mexico centuries before. At the height of its glory Teotihuacan is probably the largest city in Mexico and the 6th largest city in the world in the 650 AD era, but strangely it was abandoned 100 years later in 750 AD and no one knows why.
At its peak between the period of 500-600 M Teotihuacan is estimated to be inhabited by about 200 000 inhabitants. The city was designed with good planning with an area of about 8 square miles, much larger and more advanced than the cities in Europe at that time. This civilization is contemporary with ancient Roman civilization and lasts longer, about 500 years.
Although archaeologists have long been fascinated with this site but the culture and history of Teotihuacan remains largely Mystery. This civilization left the ruins of buildings and pyramids in large numbers and until now there has been no traces of the remains of a literary system and still very little is known with certainty about its population, which is only known that the first settlers were the Toltec nation and then controlled by the Aztecs.
The Aztecs did not live in the city, but those who gave the names of the major places and structures that existed on the site, they regarded the site as the "Place of the gods" in which they believed that from that place the world was created.
History of Teotihuacan
100 BC - 0 M Proto-Teotihuacan (Two small hamlets dikantung north of the valley of Mexico, population - 5000)
0 M - 150 M Teotihuacan I - (Avenue of the Dead and Pyramid of the Sun stands)
150 M - 300 M Teotihuacan II - (road network created)
300 M - 650 M Teotihuacan III - (Peak of development, population = 85,000-200,000)
650 M - 750 M Teotihuacan IV - Deterioration and Destruction
In addition to the Pyramids for major ceremonial events, in the city there are also palaces, temples, especially close to the northern end of the city surrounded by a plaza in front of the Pyramid of the Moon (moon pyramid). These include Quatzelcoatl palace, butterfly palace (Butterfly palace), feathered conches temple, and jaguar palace.
The city suffered its destruction around the 700s AD due to the deliberate destruction and burning by unknown conquerors. Although a century earlier the influence of Teotihuacan in Meso America has faded, indicating there has been internal turmoil within the region and the decline that led to the destruction of their civilization.
The first tension appeared in the year 650 AD, a century before their destruction, the population declined so dramatically that the once glorious city was nothing more than a series of hamlets in an area of 1 sq. Km.
The destruction of Teotihuacan is almost as fast as their appearance to be famous, though eight centuries later Teotihuacan is still widely revered by the Aztecs as a sacred place but no one knows who made it or that there have been tens to hundreds of thousands of people once lived there.
Although it has collapsed but parts of the city still linger for up to two centuries later even though the population has shrunk to 1/4 of its original total. Such cases seem to be a classic case for all the cities and civilizations of the ancient Indian people in MesoAmerica. Some archaeologists believe that the case occurred because of the decline in food supplies due to drought and reduced water supply to there.
Building Structures of Teotihuacan Site
Pyramid of the Sun
Pyramid of the Sun is a relic on the site of the famous Teotihuacan, built in the 2nd century AD, Long before the discovery of several new pyramids in Meso America and the restoration of the Red Pyramid in Egypt in the 20th century, the Pyramid of the Sun is the 3rd largest pyramid in this world. This pyramid dominates the Teotihuacan city landscape and is the largest building in the Teotihuacan complex. The sacred building, which has a height of 220 feet and an area of 650 square feet, in its time has a temple made of wood dipuncak pyramid, which provides spectacular scenery for Teotihuacan pastors to see the city below.
Like the pyramids of MesoAmerica, the Pyramid at Teotihuacan is a pyramid built in storied, unlike in Egypt that is perfectly pure like a pyramid structure and the rocks used are also not the big rocks used in Egypt. At the peak of its glory, almost all buildings in Teotihuacan plastered and the pyramids there were given a red cet.
Another interesting feature is that some of the structures of the Pyramid contain a large and thick layer made of mica, which must be brought from Brazil, which is 2000 miles from Mexico.
Mica is a fragile and fragile rock, but it is brought in very large pieces from a great distance (and there is no wheeled vehicle at that time) then the mica is used on the inner layer of the pyramid which can not be seen from the outside, why and for what's wearing mica? one of the characteristics of mica is used as an insulator in terms of electronics and electricity, what is the purpose of its use? this is another mystery from Teotihuacan.
Pyramid of the Moon (Pyramid of the Moon)
The moon pyramid is located north of Avenue of the Dead, which is the main center of Teotihuacan city, this south-facing Pyramid built as the main building in the lunar pyramid complex.
The five-tiered platform attached to the front of the moon's pyramid, mentioned that in its time the pyramid had its interior structure, and this pyramid was one of the most elusive Teotihuacan main buildings.
The Ciudadela
The Ciudadela is a large fenced-in field located in the center of the city, has sizes on each side of 400m and on the interior is surrounded by 4 large platforms pyramid-traversed.
The main Plaza has a capacity of up to 100 thousand people without crowds, One of the main functions of this large enclosed field is probably for ritual events.
while the main pyramid of the building complex in the center of the city is The Feathered Serpent Pyramid which is decorated by a large head-shaped sculpture and is the most monumental building structure in Teotihuacan.
