Ch 20 set #1 Teotichuacan's Pyramid of the Sun vs.Twotihucan's Temple of the Feathered Serpent

The ancient city of Teotihuacan is the most visited of Mexico’s archaeological sites in Mexico City. The Pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the world. Teotihuacan was a large settlement by 150BC, its importance starting from a cave system with religious significance, located underneath the present day Pyramid of the Sun. As other settlements in the area diminished, Teotihuacan flourished and became a religious and economic center, controlling the region’s production of obsidian.

Between 1AD and 250AD the ceremonial core was completed, including the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon and the Calle de los Muertos. The massive pyramid structures were painted red and must have been an awe-inspiring sight.

Major expansion in population and housing occurred between 250-450AD. As many as 200,000 inhabitants have been estimated and at least 2000 "houses" counted. Most of these buildings were home to large family groups or artisan communes. The prosperity continued to 650AD and around this time it was the sixth largest city in the world.

However, in 650AD, a great fire swept through the city, devastating many communities. For some unknown reason a swift decline ensued and there was no massive reconstruction exercise. Whatever the cause, the population soon moved to other growing cities and Teotihuacan was virtually deserted. By the time the Aztecs arrived on the scene, the area was little more than an ancient ruin.

The Temple of the Feathered Serpent is the modern day name for the 3^rd largest pyramid at Teotichuacan in Central Mexico. The structure is well know due to the discovery in the 1980s of more than a hundred possibly sacfricial victims found buried beneath the structure. The burials, like the structure, are dated sometime between 150 and 200 CE. The pyramid takes its name from representations of the Mesoamerican “feathered serpent” deity which covered its sides. These are some of the earliest know representations of the feathered serpent, often identified with the much later Aztec god Quetzalocatl. The structure is also known as the Temple of Questzalcoatl, and the Feathered Serpent Pyramid.