What is inside the Pyramid of the Sun?
Well, what’s inside the Pyramid of the Sun is some 41 million cubic feet of mostly rubble. It is a big pile of mud brick, rocks, and junk. (The same is true of the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, which is why looters and archaeologists could tunnel into it.)
What was the Quetzalcoatl pyramid?
feature of Teotihuacán Citadel stands the Temple of Quetzalcóatl (the Feathered Serpent) in the form of a truncated pyramid; projecting from its ornately decorated walls are numerous stone heads of the deity. The temple walls were once painted in hematite red.
What resources did Teotihuacan control over?
obsidian
Teotihuacan monopolized access to two nearby sources of obsidian, so they controlled most of the obsidian in the region. Metalworking was rare in Mesoamerica, so obsidian was essential to everyday life and military power. Controlling it allowed Teotihuacan to dominate regional trade.
How many stones did it take to build the Quetzalcoatl pyramid?
First, let’s look at the blueprint: The pyramid is 756 feet long on each side, 481 feet high, and composed of 2.3 million stones weighing nearly 3 tons each for a total mass of 6.5 million tons.
Who built Teotihuacan?
Scholars once believed the ancient Toltec civilization may have built the massive city, based largely on colonial period texts. But the Toltec culture (900-1150 A.D.) flourished hundreds of years after Teotihuacan peaked. Other scholars believe the Totonacs, a tribe from the east, built and inhabited the city.
What was at the heart of Teotihuacan?
What was at the heart of Teotihuacan? At the heart was the giant pyramid of the sun. It became the center of trade.
Who was Quetzalcoatl to the Teotihuacan?
Representations of a feathered snake occur as early as the Teotihuacán civilization (3rd to 8th century ce) on the central plateau. At that time Quetzalcóatl seems to have been conceived as a vegetation god—an earth and water deity closely associated with the rain god Tlaloc.
Is Quetzalcoatl good or evil?
Is Quetzalcoatl good or bad? Quetzalcoatl was neither good nor bad to the Aztecs. As the creator, he was responsible for both life and death, so the people used human sacrifice to satisfy him and gain favor. Quetzalcoatl was also responsible for bringing maize, a life-sustaining food in the region.
What was Teotihuacan famous for?
Teotihuacan is well-known for its colorful murals painted on plastered walls. They can be found in the city’s many apartment compounds as well as on other buildings identified as palaces and temples.
What makes Teotihuacan so special and important?
Artifacts found in the city and sites across Mexico suggest Teotihuacan was a wealthy trade metropolis in its prime. In particular, the city exported fine obsidian tools, including spear and dart heads. Teotihuacan had a monopoly on obsidian trade—the most important deposit in Mesoamerica was located near the city.
How was Teotihuacan built?
No matter its principal builders, evidence shows that Teotihuacan hosted a patchwork of cultures including the Maya, Mixtec, and Zapotec. One theory says an erupting volcano forced a wave of immigrants into the Teotihuacan valley and that those refugees either built or bolstered the city.
What was discovered under the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacan?
Hundreds of mysterious spheres lie beneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, an ancient six-level step pyramid just 30 miles from Mexico City. The enigmatic spheres were found during an archaeological dig using a camera-equipped robot at one of the most important buildings in the pre-Hispanic city of Teotihuacan.