The Great Teotihuacan

I really enjoyed learning about Teotihuacan in my Pre Columbian Mesoamerica class last semester. The city is vast and its influence in Mesoamerican times spanned for miles throughout neighbouring communities. My blog posting is late this week because I was in New York for a class trip. I would like to quickly remark on the Roman style architectural influence in New York - almost everywhere you look you see the classic fluted columns, rectangular faces and porch features of the Roman empire. It was quite fascinating!!

Today I am traveling to Teotihuacan to see the pyramids in relation to the environment around them. I am traveling along the Avenue of the Dead and seeing many step pyramids in this complex. Many of them are short and flat on the top - not like a typical pointed pyramid you would see in Egypt. The Pyramid of the Moon is a step pyramid with talud tablero construction leading to a rounded, dull top that resembles more of a mound than a point. As I look straight down the Avenue of the Dead I notice that the Pyramid of the Moon is almost perfectly placed in front of a mountain or volcanic figure, and is centered to look like a smaller version, mimicking the mountain. In comparison, all of the structures around it are flat and do not attract attention like the Pyramid does. From my previous knowledge, I am already aware that this Pyramid was built to represent the mountainous environment around it. I "walk" down the Avenue of the Dead towards the Pyramid of the Moon and it takes a surprisingly long time. The pyramid doesn't look as if it's that far away, but as you come closer, you realize the monumental size of the mountain behind the pyramid and the pyramid itself.

The Pyramid of the Sun is down the avenue on the left side. As I walk towards it I notice the mountainous landscape that practically surrounds the entire complex, as if framing it. It has a very similar build to the pyramid of the moon, with the rounded mound on top reflecting the rounded look of a mountain or volcano.

The pyramids may have been built to represent gateways to the heavens - as if raising humankind off the middle ground to be closer to the sky. Kings and rulers would have stood or sat upon the tops of these pyramids which would have represented them as Godly and Holy to their people. Perhaps representing the natural landscape around them was a way to transfer a sense of power and strength through their architectural forms. The mountains may have been seen as a natural protection of the city, and perhaps the people of Teotihuacan wanted to emulate that sense of protection within their structures as well. Overall, the pyramids that represent the mountain landscape may have been built to convey power through strength, divinity, and protection.