Archaeology of Teotihuacan, Mexico The Ciudadela

The Ciudadela is a huge enclosure located at the geographic center of the city. It measures about 400 m on a side (i.e. about 160,000 m²), and the interior space is surrounded by four large platforms surmounted by pyramids. The main plaza had a capacity of about 100,000 persons without much crowding (Cowgill 1983). One of the main functions of this closed huge space may have been ritual performance.

Feathered Serpent Pyramid was the central pyramid of this large complex. Adorned with large sculptural heads, it was one of the most monumental structures in Teotihuacan. A major portion of the principal facade of the pyramid was later covered by the Adosada platform; afterward, the Feathered Serpent Pyramid was not clearly visible to people standing on the main plaza, as is shown in this photo.


Two apartment compounds adjacent to this monument, called the North Palace (photo) and South Palace, were apparently provided residential space and/or administrative offices for elites. Both palaces were completely excavated and consolidated by the Proyecto Arqueológico Teotihuacán 1980-82 (PAT80-82) of Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) in Mexico (Cabrera, Rodríguez, and Morelos 1982a, 1982b, and 1991).

Ciudadela movie showing the front view of Ciudadel from the Ave. of the Dead