Archaeology of Teotihuacan, Mexico
The tunnels excavated by the Pyramid of the Moon project have made possible the identification of seven superimposed structures in the interior of the pyramid. As we know, the ancient Teotihuacanos periodically made modifications to the pyramid. With each modification one building was covered by another, so that each time the earlier building served as fill for the new construction.
|
The first structure that was constructed in the Plaza of the Moon was small in comparison with later structures, and is located under the Adosada of the current Pyramid of the Moon. The shape of this structure, like the three structures that subsequently covered it, was square. The increase in size of the pyramid in the first three stages of construction was gradual, but the fourth structure (the one that covered the three prior ones) was enlarged considerably extending toward the north. The fourth structure covered an area nine times larger than the third. For this reason it is believed that its construction marked a crucial moment in the political organization of the city. |
 |
The construction of the fifth structure must have also marked an important event in the ideology of the population or a change in the interest of the elite ruling class because with its construction the actual form of the pyramid underwent a significant change. Beginning with this fifth structure, and continuing with each of the following structures, the building consisted of a square platform with a smaller platform attached on the south side. The construction of the sixth superimposed structure marked a significant enlargement of the Pyramid towards the north, east and west, nearly reaching the size of the seventh structure, which is what we see today. The seventh remodeling of the pyramid in the fourth century was the last that was done, but we know that the building continued to be used until the moment of the fall of the city because later constructions attached to its sides or located in the immediate area were found. |
  |
In each instance of remodeling, besides the building itself, an offering-burial complex was placed on the north-south axis of the pyramid (which is the also the axis of the city). Thus, the so-called "Burial 2", "Burial 3" and "Burial 4" correspond to the Buildings 4, 5 and 6 respectively. The offering complexes were surprising because of their exceptional quality and careful arrangement, and provide abundant data with which to reconstruct the symbolism and state ideology of the ancient Teotihuacanos. | |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
