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Part Two: The Mysteries of Teotihuacan

© Kathy O'Halleran

Teotihuacan rose out of nowhere, in archaeological terms, and grew to a level of supremacy unsurpassed for its time. There was absolutely no precedent set for such a complex civilization anywhere in Mesoamerica. Some theories hold that Teotihuacan, as early as AD 1-150 was designed as a "utopia" by its early settlers-a promise to the gods to live in harmony for the common good of all, to protect the earth, and to serve as the "keepers of the cosmos."

The promise was to mark a new bond with the supernatural, as humanity's reaction to a volcanic eruption that wreaked massive destruction in the Valley of Mexico. One myth carried down for centuries held that the gods were angry because the very bones of mortality were stolen by Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent the people worshipped. Unfortunately, as the legend explains, the bones belonged to the gods. After the volcano, a "new deal" was in order.

There are other myths about Teotihuacan's genesis. The name itself, by the way, means "The place of those who have the road to the gods." A more liberal interpretation, tied to a different Teotihuacan creation myth, translates the name as "the place where men are transformed into gods." Teotihuacan's significance early on as a religious shrine likely helped promote its settlement. In the beginning, Teotihuacan was a peaceful state, full of settlers bustling with the building of their city.

But over time, Teotihuacan developed into a more militaristic state. Conquered people may have been forced to move to the urban center to pay homage to the gods, help build monuments, produce more food for a growing non-food producing populace. Perhaps they would even offer themselves as human sacrifices to appease the gods, still angered by the "stealing" of mortal bones.

At the center of Teotihuacan it should come as no surprise, then, that there are massive pyramids and temples key to its religion which were placed along a nearly three mile long road known as "The Street of the Dead." Three pyramids are of paramount importance: The Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent.

The Pyramid of the Sun (linked to the Teotihuacan creation myth) is 210 feet tall and measures more than 700 feet at its baselines, with 268 steps to its summit. Twenty feet beneath the pyramid rests a cave (likely a lava tube) believed to be the location Teotihuacan's priests designated as humanity's emergence into this world. The entrance to the cave determined the center line of the Sun Pyramid, and The Street of the Dead is oriented 15.5 degrees east of north, a fact researcher Rene Millon believes is significant to astronomical observations in relation to this cave. Excavations during the Teotihuacan Mapping Project in 1978 revealed evidence of AD first century rituals and offerings. Explorations show at least four alterations to the cave between the first and fourth century AD.

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