Teotihuacan Mexico Ancient ruins North Mexico City
Photography by Bill Bell
Teotihuacan is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin
of Mexico, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures
built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal
structures, the archaeological site of Teotihuacan is also known
for its large residential complexes, the so-called "street of
the dead", and its colorful well-preserved murals.
Teotihuacan was, at its zenith in the first half of the 1st
millennium CE, the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas.
During its zenith it may have had more than 100,000 inhabitants
placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period.
The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site
is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano. Although it
is a subject of debate whether Teotihuacan was the center of an
empire,
its influence throughout Mesoamerica is well documented;
evidence of Teotihuacano presence, if not outright political and
economic control, can be seen at numerous sites in Veracruz and
the Maya region. The ethnicity of the inhabitants of Teotihuacan
is also a subject of debate and possible candidates are the
Nahua, Otomi or Totonac ethnic groups. Often it has been
suggested that Teotihuacan was in fact a multiethnic state.
The city and the archaeological site was located in what is now
the San Juan Teotihuacán municipality in the State of México,
Mexico, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Mexico
City. The site covers a total surface area of 83 km and was made
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and is one of the most
visited archaeological sites in Mexico.
A wide angle view of The Temple of Quetzalcoatl with its decoration the water
serpent and earth monster
To view in larger format click on photo
Pyramid of the Sun
Pyramid of the Moon
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